Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a

common year starting on Saturday A common year starting on Saturday is any non-leap year (i.e. a year with 365 days) that begins on Saturday, 1 January, and ends on Saturday, 31 December. Its dominical letter hence is B. The current year, 2022, is a common year starting on Saturd ...

(link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. 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 the City'), or ''anno urbis conditae'' (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is an exp ...

''). The denomination 197 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini 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 usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum, the bloodiest battle between Roman armies. * 356 – The anti-paganism policy of Constantius II forbids the worship of pagan ...

– Battle of Lugdunum: Emperor Septimius Severus defeats the self-proclaimed emperor Clodius Albinus at Lugdunum (modern Lyon). Albinus commits

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

; legionaries sack the town. * Septimius Severus returns to Rome and has about 30 of Albinus's supporters in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

executed. After his victory he declares himself the adopted son of the late Marcus Aurelius. * Septimius Severus forms new

naval A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

units, manning all the triremes in Italy with heavily armed troops for war in the East. His soldiers embark on an artificial canal between the Tigris and

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...

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

Roman army The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (c. 500 BC) to the Roman Republic (500–31 BC) and the Roman Empire (31 BC–395 AD), and its medieval continu ...

marches east to repel a Parthian invasion of Mesopotamia; they loot the royal palace at

Ctesiphon Ctesiphon ( ; Middle Persian: 𐭲𐭩𐭮𐭯𐭥𐭭 ''tyspwn'' or ''tysfwn''; fa, تیسفون; grc-gre, Κτησιφῶν, ; syr, ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢThomas A. Carlson et al., “Ctesiphon — ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modi ...

and capture an enormous number of its inhabitants as

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

. * Septimius Severus reconstitutes the Province of Mesopotamia 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 by declaring a military dictatorship.

Asia

Battle of Wancheng The war between Cao Cao and Zhang Xiu was fought between the warlords Cao Cao and Zhang Xiu between 197 and 199 in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. It concluded with Zhang Xiu's surrender to Cao Cao. Background In 196, the warlord Cao ...

: Zhang Xiu launches a surprise attack at

Cao Cao Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate Grand chancellor (China), grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the End of ...

. * Yuan Shu declares himself emperor of the short-lived Zhong dynasty. * Sansang becomes ruler of the Korean kingdom of Goguryeo.

By topic

Art and Science

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

Religion

* A

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

council is held in

Edessa Edessa (; grc, Ἔδεσσα, Édessa) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, founded during the Hellenistic period by King Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Seleucid Empire. It later became capital of the Kingdom of Osroene ...

Births

* Cao, Chinese empress of the Han Dynasty (d.

260 __NOTOC__ Year 260 ( CCLX) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Saecularis and Donatus (or, less frequently, year 1013 ''Ab ...

) * Deng Ai, Chinese general of the Cao Wei state (d.

264 __NOTOC__ Year 264 ( CCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gallienus and Saturninus (or, less frequently, year 1017 '' ...

)

Deaths

– Clodius Albinus, Roman general and usurper * Cao Ang (or Zixiu), eldest son of

(b.

177 Year 177 ( CLXXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Commodus and Plautius (or, less frequently, year 930 ''Ab urbe co ...

) * Dian Wei, Chinese general serving under Cao Cao * Gaius Julius Erucius Clarus Vibianus, Roman politician * Gogukcheon of Goguryeo, Korean ruler of Goguryeo * Guo Si (or Guo Duo), Chinese general and regent * 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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