Year of the Five Emperors

The Year of the Five Emperors refers to the year 193 AD, in which there were five claimants for the title of Roman Emperor. The five were Pertinax, Didius Julianus, Pescennius Niger, Clodius Albinus and Septimius Severus. This year started a period of civil war where multiple rulers vied for the chance to become Caesar.

The political unrest began with the murder of Commodus on New Year’s Eve 192 AD. Once Commodus was assassinated, Pertinax was named emperor but immediately had aroused opposition from the Praetorian Guard. They plotted and carried out his assassination. Pertinax was killed while resisting. He was only emperor for three months. Didius Julianus succeeded Pertinax as emperor but was ousted by Septimius Severus and executed on June 1. Severus was declared Caesar by the Senate but Pescennius Niger was hostile when he declared himself emperor. This started the civil war between Niger and Severus as both gathered troops and fought throughout the territory of the empire. Due to this war, Severus allowed Clodius Albinus, who he suspected as a threat to him, to be co-Caesar so that Severus did not have to preoccupy himself with imperial governance. This move allowed him to concentrate on waging the war against Niger. Most historians count Severus and Albinus as two emperors even though they ruled simultaneously. The Severan dynasty was created out of the chaos of 193 AD.

Commodus’ sane rule began to fail when a close advocate, Cleander, was assassinated. This made Commodus start to fear for his life. He dealt with this fear through massacre of the nobles and aristocracy. He began removing himself from his identity as ruler ideologically by resuming his birth name instead of keeping the names that his father gave him when he succeeded to imperial rule. His behavior decayed further as he became more paranoid. He planned a huge massacre in Rome for New Year’s Eve 192 AD, in which he killed many of the nobles so that he could become the sole consul. Three nobles, Eclectus, Marcia, and Laetus, trying to survive and save their lives, arranged to have Commodus strangled. The assassins named Pertinax the new Caesar.

The person who planned the murder of Commodus is still a debated topic. Some sources name Pertinax as the mastermind of the assassination because he obtained imperial rule once Commodus was killed. The reason for this is that Pertinax’s enemies wanted to create enmity for Pertinax within Rome so they blamed him when they really had no idea who planned it.

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