The Year of the Five Emperors Or how to shake the foundations of the empire from within
177 was the year when Marcus Aurelius, "The Philosopher", died in what is now Vienna. Ridley Scott says it was his own son, who ended his life because he wanted a general of his troops would restore the Republic, but let me hesitate. What is certain is that Marcus Aurelius Commodus knew his son was going to be difficult to keep up. Instead of taking someone more suitable (as did the previous emperors), appointed his own son Cesare, and history has shown us that missed.
So begins the second great crisis of the Roman Empire. The first came after the rise and subsequent murder of the Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, Nero to dry for short. After his death he began what became known as the "Year of Four Emperors," a year (approximately) in which Galba, Otho, Vitellius and Vespasian fought copper to be leaders for at least a couple of weeks. And is that the Imperial Guard, the Praetorians, they began to have much power, so as to make and depose emperors to taste.
History tends to repeat itself if not careful. Was not comfortable, and Nero became another century and a bit later. The difference is that instead of burning Rome, the gladiatorial games entertained for months (although Rome was also burned at the end of his reign, one that should not be your fault ...). But far from being a hedonist, Commodus was a paranoid and cruel autocrat. Something like a perverse mixture of the worst of Caligula, Nero and Domitian.
Bust of Commodus in Ephesus
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Comfortable gradually degenerated saw his character and embittered, and at one point that anyone was close to you could run the risk of being accused of conspiring against him. But you have to understand, he spent much of his early dismantling assassination attempts, some gestures even members of his family, who plotted his sister Lucilla (widow of former co-Emperor Lucius Verus).
When not trying to kill him, the plots against his relatives and great men of Rome affected him fully. And although it was upsetting for days, sources show him as a cruel and ruthless fair delivery of justice and relatively efficient administrator. As Emperor, used to play dance with the ugliest, he was responsible for issuing death sentences against those who were related, but who were either victims of a plot hatched or truth whatsoever. And as we are in Rome, not only paid for the condemned, but also his family.
But the mind of Commodus had reached a point of no return and, like airplanes, it was impossible to return to earth without causing an accident. Your personal airs eventually became untenable, as (yes, Finally!) Assimilating the demigod Hercules and his growing fondness for down to the arena to fight gladiators, let's face it, not fight with one hand tied behind their backs and feet chained miracle. All the decent administration went to hell in just five years, and senior officials of his government decided to end it.
Comfortable, like Hercules
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And the end came in 193 when, after surviving a poisonous snack was strangled by a freedman as he took a bath. Bad grass never dies, they say. But in truth was not an end but the beginning of the end of a period of relative internal peace. We had one hundred and ten years without an emperor was killed, but this "tradition" will become all too common from here on out.
Pertinax The conspirators arranged to be his successor, January 1 193. Until then he had developed a political career impeccable, and reached the post of civil governor. It was the first of five emperors during that year competed for the Roman throne.
Pertinax was killed in late March by the Praetorians. The power vacuum was filled on the basis of sesterces, namely 25,000 per head to each legionary supporting Didier Julian, five thousand more than those who offered his rival, Sulpician. With the support of the troops, the Senate recognized as the new Emperor Julian.
But, and here begins the mess, could not bribe the entire tropamen, and three leaders said that if he had troops, including more. The three chosen were Prescenio Niger, governor of Asia Minor, Clodius Albinus in Britain, and Septimius Severus, general of the legions of Pannonia (the around the Danube in what is now Austria and Hungary). The three emperors were proclaimed by their troops, and began to mint coins.
Septimius marched on Rome
ipso facto, with the intention of executing a Didio Juliano, and indeed he did: he was captured and beheaded, and incidentally, gave a review of the Praetorian Guard, eliminating anyone soldier suspected of having conspired against Pertinax. And it sought to legitimize Severe clinging to it as the last emperor legal.
On June 193 there were only three, and civil war could extend for years, for Septimus Severus now had to Julian's troops in his service, but their opponents commanded to veterans of the conflict areas of the Empire ( basically were hartitos to crack a Pictish and births).
But Septimius Severus was far more intelligent than you might expect. You can blame many things, but at some events you have to tip your hat. She knew that could not beat the two together, but they also knew that an alliance between his enemies was virtually impossible. So he brought to himself one of the two and then wiped out one by one.
Clodius Albinus negotiated with the recognition of it as Emperor Septimius Severus in exchange for being named Caesar, his successor. And so crushed on three successive battles Pescennius troops Niger, in early 194. And once rid of one, the other subtly told that no, it was a joke, and who were his sons, Caracalla and Geta, who would succeed him on the imperial throne. Faced with shame, self-proclaimed emperor Clodius 195 and gave the rod in Gaul until his final defeat in 197.
Aureus of Septimius Severus : IMP (Erator) CAE (sar) L (ucius) SEP (timius) SEV (ERUs) PERT (INAX) AVG (Augustus)
Septimius Severus had been imposed on the four-way civil war with intelligence and brute force equally. Not only pacified the Empire for a couple of decades but has succeeded in establishing his dynasty, the Severe (by his surname, not his attitude, although in some episodes, especially during the reign of Caracalla, as we have seen for many months seem to agree).
However, Rome was wound. Many did not see it, others did not want to see and those who did, were resigned to not doing anything. The Crisis of the third century was going to be done in a few years, especially following the assassination of Caracalla and the subsequent turmoil that engulfed the Empire since: Macrinus, executed, Diadumeniano, executed, Elagabulus, killed (thrown into the Tiber ), Alexander Severus, who was killed, Maximinus the Thracian (remember him?), killed; Gordian I committed suicide after learning that his son, Gordian II, was killed in action during the uprising against Maximinus family ...
And so on. The first was not murdered, died in battle, plague, in prison or committed suicide was Diocletian abdicated (takes Jerome!) 305. One hundred years of political assassinations, civil war ... One hundred years of crisis. And here we complain because we have four. At least we have not reached the point where Candidate A to Candidate B kills the throne of Moncloa ...
By the way, is not it odd that the opponents of severe are called White and Black?
