Roman Emperors

Marcus Aurelius Carus was born in 230 and was educated in Rome and eventually rose to become a senator. He then served in the army before the emperor Probus appointed prefect of the Praetorian guard in 282. Once Probus was killed by his soldiers, a clear path was left for Carus to rule over the empire, though never formally returning to Rome.

He had two sons, Carinus and Numerian who received the title of Caesar from their father. With this newly found power, Carinus was left in charge of the western regions of the empire and Numerian followed his father on an expedition against the Persians. There were many battles to avenge former defeats of the Romans against the Sassanids spread over several eastern regions and the victories earned Carus the title of Persicus Maximus.

His death was to come soon after a violent storm, records recount that his death was a result of disease, a lightening strike or a wound that had been received during a previous campaign. He was succeeded in 283 by his son Numerian.

Marcus Aurelius Probus was born in 232 and entered the army at an early age. He was soon appointed governor of the east under the rule of Tacitus. Tacitus was then succeeded by his half brother Florianus who was killed by his own soldiers once they were to realise that Probus was a far more superior general. Probus was elected emperor by the troops at that point and moved to the west to defeat the Goths who were wreaking havoc, it was after this victory that the senate ratified him.

During his reign he re-established security on all the regions under Rome’s rule and this included ridding Gaul of its German invaders. During times of peace, he would put his soldiers to work re-planting crops and repairing structures in areas that had been ravaged by war in order to keep the economy flowing.

After his victories in the West, he was keen to start his campaign in the east and upon leaving Rome in 282 he received news that the commander of the Praetorian Guard, Marcus Aurelius Carus, had been proclaimed emperor by his troops Probus was killed by his own soldiers.

Marcus Annius Florianus was the half brother of Tacitus and was chose by the western armies to succeed him after his death in 276, this however was not agreed upon by the senate.

It was during battle that he discovered that the army in the east had elected Probus as emperor, and he unfortunately had the benefit of support from Italia, Gaul, Hispania, Britain, Africa and Mauretania. A battle followed between the two emperors and although Florianus had a larger army at the time, Probus was more of an experienced general and was more likely to come out victorious. The army of Florianus saw this and were quick to assassinate him.

Marcus Claudius Tacitus was born in 200 and during his early years carried out duties for various civil offices and became consul in 273. after the assassination of Aurelian he was selected by the senate to ascend the throne as emperor and this was supported by the army.

His half brother Florianus was praetorian prefect and together they moved to continue the battle against the barbarians that Aurelian had started but had been cancelled after his death allowing the barbarians to plunder the eastern roman provinces.

Together they were victorious on this campaign but soon after Tacitus was assassinated in 276

Lucius Domitius Aurelianus was born in 214 to a family of average wealth.

His military career took him to the rank of general, which he held through several wars and his successes made him noticeable and he soon became a cavalry commander of the army of emperor Gallienus. In 270, when Quintillus seized power after the death of Claudius, the troops were unhappy with the choice of ruler and nominated Aurelian as emperor. After the death of Quintillus, the senate officially recognised Aurelian as emperor.

During his reign, Aurelian was able to reunite all parts of the empire than had split from Rome during the reign of previous rulers. This actually amounted to regaining two thirds of what the empire was in its entirety 15 years ago.

He was threatened many times with those who wanted the power of emperor but was heavily supported by his legions.

In 275 Aurelian’s secretary (who was concerned about what his punishment might be for having told a lie recently) created a false document stating names of high officials that would soon be executed and passed it around. Fearing punishment for being in possession of these documents, several high ranking officers murdered Aurelian. While a new emperor was chosen, Aurelian’s wife held power for a brief period.

Marcus Aurelius Claudius Quintillus was brother of emperor Claudius II and upon the death of Claudius, Quintillus became emperor himself. There are several accounts of how he rose to power. The first reports that he was chosen by the soldiers of the Roman army and this was then approved by the senate, another report states that he was elected by the senate itself.

Unfortunately the legions supporting Claudius through his campaign along the Danube were reluctant to have Quintillus as their emperor and chose to elevate their existing leader Aurelian to the rank of Augustus.

Historians disagree on the length of his reign, which could have been between 7 days and six months, and also the cause of Quintillus’ death. He was either murdered by his own soldiers in response to the amount of discipline he forced on them, killed while battling Aurelian for the throne or lastly by committing suicide

Marcus Aurelius Claudius Augustus Gothicus was born in 213 and was the commander of the Roman army at the time that they fought the battle of Naissus and defeated the Goths. He rose to the throne after the death of Gallienus who he was said to have murdered but that was never proven.

His greatest military achievement was the battle of Naissus where he destroyed the Gothic cavalry and after their retreat it would be another hundred years before they tried to attack again.

He then turned on the Gallic empire and soon regained control over Spain and Gaul. This would lay the foundations for future emperor Aurelian to regain control over he entire western empire once more.

In 269 while preparing to go to war once more, this time against the Vandals, he fell ill with the plague and died in early 270. Before his death he is said to have elevated Aurelian to replace him but for a brief period the empire was taken over by Claudius’s brother Quintillus.

Caius Pius Esuvius Tetricus was born to a noble family and at the time of Victorinus’ death, he held the position of provincial governor of Aquitania. Upon his elevation to emperor (with the help of the mother of the former emperor Victorinus) he nominated his son Tetricus II as Caesar.During his reign he managed to fight off Germanic tribes, who tried to invade during the confusion after the loss of Victorianus, but he never attempted to expand the Gallic empire. In 273, Aurelian the Emperor of Rome sought to reconquer the Western Roman empire and Tetricus and the army headed south to meet him before he could invade. During the battle both Tetricus and his son surrendered to Aurelian but it is said that their lives were spared and Tetricus was given the position of governor of a southern region of Italia.

Marcus Piavonius Victorinus was born into a wealthy family and was a soldier under the order of Postumus. In 267 he became co-consul of Postumus and later, following the death of Marius he was proclaimed emperor. Gaul and Britain both recognised Victorinus as emperor but Spain reunited with the Roman empire.In 270 he seduced the wife of one of his officers who in retaliation, rose up against him and murdered him. Victorinus’ mother is said to have held power after his death while she could arrange for Tetricus I to be appointed as his successor and pay the army handsomely to support him in this position.

Marcus Aurelius Marius was a blacksmith by trade and rose through the ranks of the Roman army eventually becoming an officer. When Postumus was killed he seized power for himself. Although many historians believe that he was only in power for a matter of three or for days, coins depicting his image were in circulation which would mean that his entire reign would have lasted at least two to three months. It seemed not everyone agreed that he was the right man for the job and at the time of his death it is said that he was killed by a sword of his own making.