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HISTORICAL TIMELINE 1 Timeline for Chapter 4 AD The ‘five good emperors’ 96 Accession of Nerva, who takes an oath that he will not execute any senator. 97 98 99 Nerva adopts Trajan as co-ruler and successor. Death of Nerva. He is succeeded by Trajan, who is campaigning on the Rhine. Trajan arrives in Rome, having made preparations along the Danube frontier for a forthcoming campaign. Hadrian, first-cousin once removed of Trajan, who is also Hadrian’s guardian, marries Vibia Sabina, Trajan’s great-niece. Trajan invades Dacia, which is finally annexed in 106. Decebalus, Dacian king, capitulates and becomes a client king of Rome. Death of the poet Martial. New war against Decebalus. Arabia annexed. Death of Decebalus and annexation of Dacia. Trajan’s 123-day triumph. Correspondence between Pliny, governor of Bithynia, and Trajan about the Christians. Dedication of Trajan’s Forum, incorporating Trajan’s Market. Dedication of Trajan’s Column. Trajan prepares for Parthian campaign. Trajan conquers Mesopotamia, capturing Babylon and Ctesiphon, capital of the Parthian empire. Jewish risings are brutally put down, with the virtual destruction of the Jewish communities in North Africa, Alexandria and Cyprus. Death of the historian Tacitus. Trajan dies in Cilicia on his way home, having left Hadrian in charge of the armies in the East. Trajan’s widow, Pompeia Plotina, announces that he had adopted Hadrian, who is hailed emperor by the army in Syria. Roman empire at its greatest extent. Four former consuls and senior commanders, all Trajan’s men, are executed on the orders of the Senate. Hadrian reaches Rome. Hadrian in Gaul, Upper Germany, Raetia and Noricum. Hadrian in Lower Germany, Britain (where he begins construction of Hadrian’s Wall), Gaul and Spain. Suetonius is dismissed from his post as director of the imperial correspondence for some disrespectful behaviour relating to the empress Sabina. Hadrian in North Africa, Crete, Syria and Asia Minor. Hadrian in western Europe and Greece. Hadrian in Greece and Sicily, before returning to Rome. Rebuilding of Pantheon in its present form. Hadrian in Africa, Athens and Sparta. Hadrian tours eastern provinces. Hadrian in Judaea, where he proposes the foundation of Aelia Capitolina on the site of the old Jerusalem and the building of a temple to Jupiter where the 100 101 102 104 105 106 107 111 112 113 114–116 116 c. 117 117 118 121 122 123 124 125 c. 126 128 129 130 HISTORICAL TIMELINE 2 Temple had stood. Then in Egypt, where Antinous drowns in the Nile; Hadrian founds Antinoopolis in his memory. 132–135 Second Jewish War, at the end of which Jerusalem is razed and Judaea is renamed Syria Palaestina, or ‘Palestine’. 126 Death of Sabina. Hadrian adopts Ceionius Commodus as his successor. 138 Death of Commodus. Hadrian adopts Antoninus, consul in 120 and more recently governor of Asia, whom he causes to adopt Lucius Verus, son of Commodus, and Marcus Aurelius, Antoninus’ nephew. Death of Hadrian (10 July). Accession of Antoninus. 139 Antoninus persuades the Senate to confirm Hadrian’s deification, for which act he is granted the surname Pius. c. 140 Death of the poet Juvenal. 141 Death of Antoninus’ wife, the empress Faustina. She is deified by the Senate; Antoninus establishes in her honour an alimentary programme for the care of orphaned girls (the Puellae Faustinianae). 142–143 Building of the Antonine Wall in northern Britain between the Clyde and Forth estuaries. 145 Marcus Aurelius marries Faustina, daughter of Antoninus. 147 Marcus Aurelius receives imperial powers. 161 Death and deification of Antoninus in his seventy-fifth year, having named as his successor Marcus Aurelius. Marcus Aurelius accedes as emperor but insists that Verus rules with him. 161–166 Parthian Wars, successfully conducted by Verus with the help of his generals. 164 Verus marries Lucilla, fourteen-year-old daughter of Marcus Aurelius. c. 165 Antonine Wall is dismantled. 166 Verus’ army brings back with it the most virulent plague (probably smallpox) experienced in the empire. 167 Rising of Marcomanni. Barbarian invasions of Danube provinces. Famine and plague. 169 Marcomanni and Quadi invade Italy and besiege Aquileia. The two emperors oppose them with an army into which slaves have been enlisted. Death and deification of Verus. Marcus Aurelius returns to Rome with the body, then goes back to the northern frontier, where he spends most of his remaining years. c. 174–c. 180 Marcus Aurelius composes his Meditations. 176 From Syria, Marcus Aurelius travels to Alexandria and Athens, where he endows chairs of philosophy. Back in Rome, he celebrates a triumph and makes his fifteen-year-old son Commodus joint ruler. 177 Pogrom of the Christian community in Lugdunum (Lyon). 178 Further rising of Marcomanni and other tribes. 180 Death of Marcus Aurelius at the age of fifty-nine. Accession of Commodus, who, having made peace with the northern tribes, enters Rome and holds a triumph. The Severan and disintegration of dynastic rule 182 Conspiracy in which the emperor’s sister Lucilla is involved; she is exiled and then executed. Tigidius Perennis becomes commander of the imperial guard, in which capacity he effectively runs the state. HISTORICAL TIMELINE 184 190 192 193 194 195 197 198 202 203 205 208 209 211 212 213 3 Commodus acclaimed as imperator and takes the title Britannicus for victories by Ulpius Marcellus in northern Britain. Death of Cleander, whom the people hold responsible for the famine. Commodus renames the months of the year to correspond with his own names and titles. Pertinax, consul for that year, is appointed prefect (chief administrator) of Rome. Commodus is murdered (31 December), bringing to an end the Antonine dynasty. Pertinax is acclaimed emperor by the Senate. Pertinax is assassinated by the imperial guard (28 March), who acclaim Didius Julianus as emperor. In April, Septimius Severus, governor of Pannonia Superior, is proclaimed emperor by his legions at Carnuntum. Pescennius Niger, governor of Syria, is also proclaimed emperor by his troops. Severus marches on Rome, gaining the support of Clodius by appointing him Caesar (deputy emperor). As Severus approaches Rome (1 June), he is recognized as emperor by the Senate. Didius is murdered (2 June). Severus enters Rome (9 June) and disbands the imperial guard, which he replaces with three of his own legions. Pescennius is defeated and his base of Byzantium is besieged. Severus defeats Pescennius, campaigns in Mesopotamia, and launches attacks on eastern tribes. For his victories in Mesopotamia, Severus dubs himself Parthicus Arabicus and Parthicus Adiabenicus. He also proclaims himself the son of Marcus Aurelius and renames his elder son Marcus Aurelius Antonius (later nicknamed ‘Caracalla’) and makes him Caesar. His wife Julia Domna receives the title Mater Castrorum (‘Mother of the Camp’). Clodius, put in an impossible position, crosses into Gaul with his army, who proclaim him emperor. Severus defeats Clodius Albinus and departs for a second Parthian war. Severus captures Ctesiphon, Babylonia’s chief city. He names himself Parthicus Maximus, promotes Caracalla to Augustus and his younger brother Geta to Caesar. Mesopotamia, annexed by Trajan, abandoned by Hadrian, becomes a province again. Severus holds lavish celebratory games but refuses a triumph. Marriage of Caracalla to Fulvia Plautilla, daughter of G. Fulvius Plautianus, commander of the imperial guard, who had held the fort while Severus was away. Severus and his family leave for a triumphal tour of his native Africa. Erection of Arch of Severus in the Forum. Plautianus and others are executed for alleged conspiracy. Caracalla divorces Plautilla. The lawyer Papinian replaces Plautianus, heralding an Augustan age of Roman law. The imperial family leaves for Britain. Geta is promoted to Augustus, but is left behind while Severus and Caracalla campaign in Scotland. Severus dies at York. His family returns to Rome, where Caracalla and Geta are to be joint emperors. Caracalla has Geta murdered in his mother’s arms, and instigates wholesale slaughter of sympathizers and innocent citizens. All free inhabitants of the empire are now entitled to be Roman citizens. Caracalla defeats the Alamanni, then campaigns on the Danube frontier and in Asia Minor. HISTORICAL TIMELINE 215 217 218 218–228 219 221 222 226 227 229 231–233 234 235 236 4 Caracalla visits Alexandria, where there are riots; the governor of Egypt is executed along with thousands of young men. He institutes the antoninianus (worth two denarii but weighing less), which contributes to inflation. Caracalla, campaigning in the East, is killed near Carrhae by members of his entourage on the instructions of Macrinus, commander of the imperial guard. Macrinus’ troops proclaim him emperor. Death of Julia Domna. Macrinus buys peace with Parthia. Julia Maesa, sister of Julia Domna, promulgates a story that her fifteen-year-old grandson Bassianus, priest of the cult of Elagabalus at Emesa, is Caracalla’s son. He is proclaimed emperor by the troops in Syria. Macrinus is defeated and subsequently executed. The historian Cassius Dio is successively administrator of Pergamum and then Smyrna, governor of Africa, and military commander of Dalmatia and then Upper Pannonia. Bassianus reaches Rome and takes office as Elagabalus. Elagabalus adopts his fifteen-year-old cousin Severus Alexander, son of Julia Maesa’s daughter, Julia Mammaea. Elagabalus is murdered by soldiers and succeeded by Severus Alexander, who rules with the help and under the influence of his mother. The Aqua Alexandrina, the last of Rome’s eleven significant aqueducts, is operative. The Sasanid dynasty, having succeeded the Parthians, threatens to overrun all the former Persian territories in the East. Cassius Dio is consul, with Severus Alexander, after which he retires to Bithynia, land of his birth. Severus Alexander’s eastern campaign restores the status quo in the region. Trouble on the Rhine. Severus Alexander and his mother go to Mainz to oversee a response to further threats from the Alamanni. Assassination of Severus Alexander and his mother. A senior officer, Maximinus Thrax, becomes emperor on the spot. Maximinus campaigns successfully across the Rhine and Danube. Third-century crisis 238 242–243 244 248 249 250 251 Year of six emperors. The Senate declares as emperor Gordian I, governor of Africa, who includes his son Gordian II in the invitation. Both die after their forces are attacked by the army commander of Numidia, who supports Maximinus. The Senate deifies them and selects two replacements, Pupienus and Balbinus. Maximinus invades Italy but is murdered by his troops. The imperial guard kills Pupienus and Balbinus and proclaims as emperor Gordian III, the thirteen-year-old nephew of Gordian II. Roman victories over Goths and Persians. Gordian is murdered in Mesopotamia. Philippus ‘the Arabian’, commander of the imperial guard, becomes emperor and makes peace with the Persians. Decius, commander in Moesia, proclaimed emperor by his troops. Celebrations for the thousandth anniversary of Rome’s foundation. Decius defeats and kills Philippus near Verona. Widespread persecution of Christians by Decius. Plague rages for fifteen years. Invasion of Goths. Decius is killed trying to prevent them returning home. Trebonianus Gallus, governor of Moesia, declared emperor by the troops. HISTORICAL TIMELINE 253 255 257 258 259–274 259 260 260–261 268 270 270–273 271 272 273 274 275 276 277–280 280–281 281 5 Aemilius Aemilianus, commander in Moesia, declared emperor by his troops, as is the elderly Licinius Valerianus (Valerian), who is in Moesia gathering troops to oppose him. Aemilianus defeats and kills Trebonianus, but is himself killed by his troops. Valerian reaches Rome and is recognized as emperor jointly with his son Gallienus. Further invasions of Goths, as well as Scythians and Alamanni. Persians reach Antioch. Edict of Valerian against the Christians. The Alamanni are checked by Gallienus, and the Goths by his army commander Aurelian. Valerian goes to the East. Postumus makes himself ruler of Gaul. Imperium Galliarum, breakaway state of Gaul, established by Postumus. Gallienus defeats the Alamanni at Milan and in Gaul. Valerian captured by the Persians. First Edict of Toleration for Christians. Some nine usurpers to the title of emperor come and go in various parts of the empire. Postumus and three successors murdered by local troops; the senate of Gaul appoints Tetricus ruler. Gallienus, having successfully campaigned against the Goths, is murdered by his own officers in northern Italy. Claudius emerges as emperor. Death of Claudius by plague. Aurelian, now commander-in-chief of all Roman cavalry, is proclaimed emperor by his troops in Sirmium while campaigning against the Goths, though Claudius’ brother Quintillus has been chosen in Rome for the office. Aurelian defeats Quintillus and is confirmed as emperor by the Senate after Quintillus dies in mysterious circumstances. Zenobia, regent of Palmyra for her young son, occupies Egypt and much of Asia Minor. Revolt of Zenobia. Aurelian defeats Vandals and Alamanni, then begins fortifications: Aurelian Wall in Rome; defences for other cities. Aurelian abandons Dacia north of the Danube and creates a new province south of the river, with its capital at Serdica (Sophia). In the East he defeats Zenobia and captures Palmyra. In the West Aurelian defeats the Carpi, and in the East he puts down a revolt in Palmyra, which he destroys. Aurelian defeats Tetricus, bringing Britain and Gaul back into the empire. He celebrates his second triumph and makes Sol Invictus the supreme god of the Roman empire. Assassination of Aurelian while on his way to fight the Persians. The army asks the Senate to choose an emperor; after a delay, its members elect Tacitus, an elderly senator. Tacitus is killed by his own troops in Cappadocia. Florianus, commander of the imperial guard, is chosen emperor in Rome, while Probus is proclaimed in the East. They meet in battle at Tarsus, where Florianus is killed by his own men. Probus is now sole emperor. Probus campaigns successfully on the Rhine and the Danube and then moves to the East, where he restores order in Egypt and undertakes civil engineering work along the Nile. Revolts of Proculus and Bonosus in the West, and of Saturninus in the East. Probus celebrates a triumph and completes the Aurelian Wall. HISTORICAL TIMELINE 282 283 6 Probus leaves Rome to embark on an invasion of Persia. Carus, commander of the imperial guard, is proclaimed emperor. Troops sent by Probus defect to Carus, and Probus is killed by those who are still with him. Carus subdues the Quadi and Sarmatians but dies en route to fight the Persians. Recovery: Diocletian and Constantine 284 285 286 287–290 293 296 c. 297 298 301 303 305 306 307 308 309–310 310 311 312 The empire is shared between Carus’ sons, Carinus and Numerianus. On the death of Numerianus in mysterious circumstances, Diocles, commander of the cavalry of the imperial guard and suffect consul in 283, is proclaimed emperor in his place, and changes his name to Diocletian. Carinus is killed in battle. Diocletian appoints his Dalmatian colleague Maximian Caesar, with responsibility for the western empire. Maximian is promoted to Augustus, with responsibility for the West. Carausius declares himself ruler of Britain and part of northern Gaul. Diocletian campaigns on the Danube and in the East. Galerius and Constantius appointed Caesars, to serve respectively in the eastern and western halves of the empire. Constantius takes Boulogne, the headquarters of Carausius, who is murdered and supplanted as ruler of Britain by his finance officer, Allectus. Constantius’ troops defeat and kill Allectus, and slaughter his Frankish mercenaries in London. Diocletian begins dividing the provinces into smaller units. Great victories by Galerius over the Persians. Diocletian’s edict on prices. Edict against the Christians. Diocletian visits Rome for the only time. Diocletian abdicates, forcing Maximian to do the same, and retires to his palace at Split. Galerius and Constantius become Augusti; Maximinus, nephew and adopted son of Galerius, and Flavius Severus are the new Caesars. Constantius dies at York while mounting a campaign against the Picts. His son Constantine is proclaimed Augustus by the troops in Britain. Galerius, having given the title of Augustus to Severus, appoints Constantine Caesar. In Rome, Maxentius, son of Maximian, is proclaimed Augustus, but Maximian comes out of retirement and reclaims his title. Constantine, now in charge of his father’s former territories of Britain, Gaul and Spain, is visited by Maximian, who appoints him Augustus and gives him his daughter Fausta in marriage. At Carnuntum in Pannonia, Galerius gives the title of Augustus to Valerius Licinianus Licinius, upon which Maximinus has his troops in the East proclaim him Augustus. Galerius recognizes Constantine and Maximinus, who is Galerius’ nephew and adopted son, as Augusti. Death of Maximian. Galerius, Constantine and Licinius issue the Edict of Toleration, ending persecution of Christians. Death of Galerius. Maximinus drives Licinius out of Asia. Vision of Constantine, who attributes his victory over Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge to the ‘god of the Christians’. With the suicide of Maxentius, Constantine becomes sole ruler of the western empire. HISTORICAL TIMELINE 313 315 316 317 322–323 324 325 326 330 332 333 334 335 337 7 Constantine meets Licinius at Milan, and gives him his half-sister Constantia in marriage. They issue the Edict of Milan, ending persecution of Christians. In Nicomedia, Licinius issues an edict agreeing with Constantine on religious freedom. At Adrianople, Licinius defeats Maximinus, who commits suicide. Death of Diocletian. Erection of Arch of Constantine. War against Licinius, who cedes all his European territories except Thrace. Constantine appoints three new Caesars: his sons Crispus (twelve), with whose mother he had had a long-term affair, and Constantine (about seven months), and Licinius’ son Licinius (twenty months). Victories of Constantine over Sarmatians and Goths. Licinius is defeated and killed, making Constantine sole ruler of the empire. Constantine appoints as Caesar his son Constantius. Council of Nicaea, with Constantine in the chair. Formation of Nicene Creed. Executions of the empress Fausta, Crispus and Licinius Junior. Dedication of new capital city, Constantinople. Great victory over the Goths, 40,000 of whom enter Roman service as allies. Constantine appoints as Caesar his youngest son Constans. Victories over the Sarmatians, 300,000 of whom settle within the empire. Constantine appoints his nephew Flavius Dalmatius Caesar. Baptism of Constantine, who dies on 22 May. Purge of rivals, including Dalmatius. Constantine II, Constantius II and Constans recognized as Augusti (9 September).