Numerian
| Numerian | |||||
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Antoninianus of Numerian
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| 50th Emperor of the Roman Empire | |||||
| Reign | 282–83 (as Caesar under his father); July 283 – 20 November 284 (together with Carinus) |
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| Predecessor | Carus | ||||
| Successor | Diocletian | ||||
| Died | 20 November 284 Emesa |
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| Full name | |
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| Marcus Aurelius Numerius Numerianus (from birth to elevation to Caesar); Caesar Marcus Aurelius Numerius Numerianus (as Caesar); Caesar Marcus Aurelius Numerius Numerianus Augustus (as emperor) |
Numerian (Latin: Marcus Aurelius Numerius Numerianus Augustus; died 20 November 284) was Roman Emperor from 283 to 284 with his older brother Carinus. They were sons of Carus, a general raised to the office of praetorian prefect under Emperor Probus in 282.
In 282, the legions of the upper Danube in Raetia and Noricum proclaimed as emperor Numerian's father, the praetorian prefect Marcus Aurelius Carus, beginning a rebellion against the emperor Probus. Probus' army, stationed in Sirmium (Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia), decided they did not wish to fight Carus and assassinated Probus instead. Carus, already sixty, wished to establish a dynasty and immediately elevated Carinus and Numerian to the rank of Caesar.
In 283, Carus left Carinus in charge of the West and moved with Numerian and his praetorian prefect Arrius Aper to the East to wage war against the Sassanid Empire. The Sassanids had been embroiled in a succession dispute since the death of Shapur and were in no position to oppose Carus' advance.
According to Zonaras, Eutropius, and Festus, Carus won a major victory against the Persians, taking Seleucia and the Sassanid capital of Ctesiphon (near modern Al-Mada'in, Iraq), cities on opposite banks of the Tigris. In celebration, Numerian, Carus, and Carinus all took the title Persici maximi. Carus died in July or early August of 283, possibly due to a strike of lightning.
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