193 CE
The Year of the Five Emperors, a period of violent political upheaval in which five men claimed the imperial throne following the assassination of Commodus, ending with Septimius Severus establishing a new dynasty through military force.
Geopolitics & Power
- Emperor Commodus was assassinated on December 31 of the previous year, and Pertinax, a veteran senator and general, was proclaimed emperor on January 1, only to be murdered by the Praetorian Guard after a reign of just 86 days.
- The Praetorian Guard notoriously auctioned off the imperial throne to the highest bidder, the wealthy senator Didius Julianus, who outbid Pertinax's father-in-law Sulpicianus in a spectacle that shocked the Roman world.
- Three rival claimants rose against Didius Julianus in the provinces: Septimius Severus in Pannonia, Pescennius Niger in Syria, and Clodius Albinus in Britain, each backed by the legions under their command.
- Septimius Severus marched on Rome and seized power after the Senate condemned Didius Julianus to death, then turned to defeat his remaining rivals over the following years.
- The crisis demonstrated the fragility of the imperial succession and the overwhelming power of the provincial armies in determining who would rule, foreshadowing the military anarchy of the third century.
Climate & Environment
- Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration was approximately 278 parts per million, as later confirmed by ice core analysis.
Society & Population
- The global population is estimated to have been approximately 259 million.