Year of the Five Emperors
The Year of the Five Emperors is the conventional name for the struggle for power in 193, following Commodus’s assassination on 31 December 192. Pertinax, Didius Julianus, Septimius Severus, Pescennius Niger and Clodius Albinus attained or claimed imperial rank. They were not five successive rulers at Rome: some claims overlapped, and Albinus initially received the junior title Caesar from Severus.
Civil warfare continued until Severus defeated Albinus in 197. These events reveal the roles of provincial armies, praetorians and the Senate in succession. They should not be confused with the Year of the Four Emperors, 69.
Bust of the Emperor Commodus,2nd-3rd century A.D.Pertinax was the son of a freedman but was himself freeborn. He pursued a senatorial and military career, holding a consulship and provincial appointments. He was recognised as emperor after Commodus’s death.
Attempts to restore discipline and reduce court expenditure met praetorian opposition. They killed him on 28 March 193. He ruled for less than three months; his background does not mean that he became emperor while enslaved or lacking Roman citizenship.
Bust of Emperor Pertinax,2nd-3rd century ADDidius Julianus secured praetorian support by promising a large payment. Cassius Dio and Herodian portray his accession as a disgraceful bidding contest for imperial power. The Senate recognised him, but military rivals challenged him in the provinces.
As Septimius Severus’s troops approached Rome, Julianus lost support. The Senate ordered his deposition and execution; he died on 1 June 193. Explaining his death solely through an unpaid praetorian reward misses the circumstances of his fall.
Image on the coin of Didius Julianus,2nd-3rd century AD.Third Emperor-Gaius Pescennius Niger Justus he came from an Italian equestrian family. It is known that he was a suffect consul, but the year of his consulate could not be established. During the reign of Julian, a revolt broke out among the common Roman population with the aim of elevating Pescennius Niger to the throne. It was rumored that after the rebellion was crushed, Didius Julian sent the centurion Aquilius to Syria with orders to kill Niger, but this was not done. Learning of this, Pescennius Niger decided that he could proclaim himself emperor of the Syrian Legion, which happened at the end of April 193. He adopted the nickname Justa, which meant that he was favored by Justicia (in Greek mythology, Astrea) — the goddess of justice. It is justice that has become the motto of Niger's government. Niger called the soldiers together on a certain day, and the people came and made a speech. The historian Herodian testifies that after the speech of Pescennius Niger to the people of Antioch, the soldiers and the assembled inhabitants proclaimed him emperor. At the same time, after the murder of Julian, Septimius Severus entered Rome with troops. A civil war broke out, during which Niger was defeated and killed.
Aureus with a portrait of Pescennius Niger,2nd-3rd century AD.Clodius Albinus commanded troops in Britain. In 193 Severus offered him the title Caesar, temporarily securing his western rival’s neutrality. Their alliance later broke down; Albinus assumed the title Augustus and moved his main forces to Gaul. He was not recognised as the reigning emperor at Rome in 193. Severus defeated him at Lugdunum in February 197, after which Albinus died.
Coin of Clodius Albinus. The coin depicts one of the holidays celebrated in North Africa,where Albin was originally from. 2-3 century ADSeptimius Severus was proclaimed emperor by the Danubian army in April 193. He entered Rome after Julianus’s fall and replaced the praetorian guard with soldiers loyal to him. He then defeated Niger in the East and Albinus in the West. His final victory in 197 established the Severan dynasty’s dominance, although Macrinus interrupted its rule in 217–218.
Bust of Emperor Septimius Severus,2nd-3rd century ADRelated topics
Literature and sources
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