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Marcus Aurelius Claudius Quintillus (died 270) was a short-lived Roman emperor. He took power after the death of his brother, Emperor Claudius Gothicus, in 270. After reigning for a few weeks Quintillus was overthrown by Aurelian, who had been proclaimed rival emperor by the Roman legion he commanded. The ancient sources variously report him to have killed himself, to have fallen in battle against Aurelian, or to have been murdered by his own soldiers.
The few records of Quintillus' reign are contradictory. It is variously reported to have lasted 17 days (Jerome, Eutropius and Zonaras), 77 days (Filocalus), or "a few months" (Zosimus). Modern scholars believe "17" to be a misreading of a larger number, since Quintillus had time to produce an abundance of coins. Records also disagree on the cause of his death. The Historia Augusta reports him by his own soldiers in reaction to his strict military discipline. Jerome says that he was slain at Aquileia, without further specifics. According to Joannes Zonaras, Quintillus opened his veins and bled himself to death; John of Antioch concurs, adding that the suicide was assisted by a physician. Claudius Salmasius noted that Dexippus recorded the death without stating causes. All records, however, agree in placing the death at Aquileia. Quintillus was reportedly survived by his two sons.
The Historia Augusta reports Claudius and Quintillus having another brother named Crispus and through him a niece, Claudia, who reportedly married Eutropius and was mother to Constantius Chlorus. Some historians however suspect this account to be a genealogical fabrication to flatter Constantine I.
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