#pescennius niger

[kamaandhallie]

Drawing Roman emperor side profiles based on their coins

[romegreeceart]

Year of the five emperors - Pescennius Niger

Imperial legate of the Syria who was proclaimed emperor in April 193 after Didius Julianus had bought the throne. In the following year he was defeated in a string of baatles by armies of Septimius Severus.  

Silver coin minted in Antioch, 193-194. "IMP CAES C PESC - NIGER IVST A[V]G"

* = Pescennius Niger tool a cognomen “The Just”.

https://smb.museum-digital.de/index.php?t=objekt&oges=146067&cachesLoaded=true

Source: Münzkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin - Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz; Creator: Lutz-Jürgen Lübke (Lübke und Wiedemann)  ; Copyright Notice;CC BY-NC-SA

[kamaandhallie]

Pescennius Niger and Clodius Albinus, very minor figures in both my novel and Roman history, but man, drawing these two is so much fun

[kamaandhallie]

Pescennius Niger and Clodius Albinus doodle

[classicalcivilisation]

The year of the Five Emperors

We're covering the next five emperors in the list today... though only one year, 193 AD. Commodus was murdered on 31st December 192, and on 1st January 193, our first emperor was proclaimed.

1. Pertinax - probably implicated in the conspiracy that killed Commodus, Pertinax was a harsh disciplinarian. He was hurried to the Praetorian camp on the 1st of January and proclaimed emperor, but on 28th March the Praetorians turned on him - after not having been paid as promised when he ascended to the purple - and was murdered. It's notable that he didn't give his wife or son imperial titles, thus sparing them from the aftermath of his own assassination. 

2. Didius Julianus - the Praetorian Guard auctioned off the throne, and Didius Julianus promised 25,000 sesterces to every solider - an incredible sum. He immediately devalued the currency to bring up money to pay the guard. During this period, Pescennius Niger, Clodius Albinus, and Septimus Severus all raised rebellions, with Septimus Severus ultimately becoming his real rival....

3. Pescennius Niger - Pescennius was stationed in Syria when Didius Julianus bought the purple, and was proclaimed emperor by the eastern legions towards the end of April. He came up against Septimus Severus after he had marched into Rome, and was ultimately defeated. He and his family were all put to death. 

4. Clodius Albinus - Clodius was stationed in Britain, and after Didus Julianus bought the throne was proclaimed emperor by his troops.  He allied himself with Septimus Severus, accepting the title of Caesar, but eventually turned against Septimus after realising he wanted total power. He was defeated at the battle of Lugdunum in 196, and his body - along with the corpses of his murdered family - thrown into the Rhine.

5. Septimus Severus - the first of the Severan dynasty (!). After disposing of Pescennius and Clodius, Septimus became the sole ruler of the empire.  He was originally from Libya, and was of Italian ancestry on his mother's side, and either Punic or Libyan-Punic ancestry on his father's. After his ascension, he completely razed the Praetorian guard, restaffing it with loyal soldiers, and fought wars against the Parthians and invaded Caledonia, undertaking a policy of genocide against the natives. He also outlawed conversions to Christianity or Judaism. His advice to his two sons to whom he left the empire was "Be harmonius, enrich the soldiers, and scorn all other men". As you might guess, they screwed this up mightily.