Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the

Julian calendar The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception). The Julian calendar is still used as a religious calendar in parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church and in parts ...

. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 ''

Ab urbe condita ''Ab urbe condita'' (; 'from the founding of Rome, founding of the City'), or (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is ...

''). The denomination 197 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the

Anno Domini The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used when designating years in the Gregorian calendar, Gregorian and Julian calendar, Julian calendars. The term is Medieval Latin and means "in the year of the Lord" but is often presented using "o ...

calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Events

By place

Roman Empire

February 19 Events Pre-1600 * 197 – Emperor Septimius Severus defeats Roman usurper, usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum, the bloodiest battle between Roman armies. * 356 – The anti-paganism policy of Constantius II forbids the w ...

– Battle of Lugdunum:

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; ; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through cursus honorum, the ...

defeats the self-proclaimed emperor Clodius Albinus at Lugdunum (modern Lyon). Albinus commits suicide; legionaries sack the town. * Septimius Severus returns to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and has about 30 of Albinus's supporters in the Senate executed. After his victory he declares himself the adopted son of the late

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...

. * Septimius Severus forms new naval units, manning all the triremes in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

with heavily armed troops for war in the East. His soldiers embark on an artificial canal between the Tigris and

Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

. * Legio I, II, and III ''Parthica'' are levied by Septimius Severus for his

Parthia Parthia ( ''Parθava''; ''Parθaw''; ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Medes during the 7th century BC, was incorporated into the subsequent Achaemeni ...

n campaign. * The

Roman army The Roman army () served ancient Rome and the Roman people, enduring through the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC), the Roman Republic (509–27 BC), and the Roman Empire (27 BC–AD 1453), including the Western Roman Empire (collapsed Fall of the W ...

marches east to repel a Parthian invasion of

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

; they loot the royal palace at

Ctesiphon Ctesiphon ( ; , ''Tyspwn'' or ''Tysfwn''; ; , ; Thomas A. Carlson et al., “Ctesiphon — ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modified July 28, 2014, http://syriaca.org/place/58.) was an ancient city in modern Iraq, on the eastern ba ...

and capture an enormous number of its inhabitants as slaves. * Septimius Severus reconstitutes the Province of

under an equestrian governor commanding two legions. * Septimius Severus, who had spared the Senate at the beginning of his reign, now excludes it from controlling the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

by declaring a military dictatorship.

Asia

* Battle of Wancheng: Zhang Xiu launches a surprise attack at Cao Cao. * Yuan Shu declares himself emperor of the short-lived Zhong dynasty. * Sansang becomes ruler of the Korean kingdom of

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC – 668 AD) (; ; Old Korean: Guryeo) also later known as Goryeo (; ; Middle Korean: 고ᇢ롕〮, ''kwòwlyéy''), was a Korean kingdom which was located on the northern and central parts of the Korea, Korean Peninsula an ...

By topic

Art and Science

* Galen's major work on medicines, ''Pharmacologia'', is published.

Religion

* A Christian council is held in Edessa.

Births

* Cao, Chinese empress of the Han Dynasty (d. 260) * Deng Ai, Chinese general of the

Cao Wei Wei () was one of the major Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic states in China during the Three Kingdoms period. The state was established in 220 by Cao Pi based upon the foundations laid by his father Cao Cao during the end of the Han dy ...

state (d. 264)

Deaths

– Clodius Albinus, Roman general and usurper * Cao Ang (or Zixiu), eldest son of Cao Cao (b. 177) * Dian Wei, Chinese general serving under Cao Cao * Gaius Julius Erucius Clarus Vibianus, Roman politician * Gogukcheon of Goguryeo, Korean ruler of

* Guo Si (or Guo Duo), Chinese general and

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

* Li Jue, Chinese general serving under Dong Zhuo * Liu Chong, Chinese nobleman and Prince of Chen * Titus Flavius Claudius Sulpicianus, Roman statesman * Yang Feng, Chinese general serving under Li Jue

References

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