Gaius Pescennius Niger (c. 135 – 194) was Roman Emperor from 193 to 194 during the Year of the Five Emperors. He claimed the imperial throne in response to the murder of

Pertinax Publius Helvius Pertinax (; 1 August 126 – 28 March 193) was Roman emperor for the first three months of 193. He succeeded Commodus to become the first emperor during the tumultuous Year of the Five Emperors. Born the son of a freed slav ...

and the elevation of

Didius Julianus Marcus Didius Julianus (; 29 January 133 or 137 – 2 June 193) was Roman emperor for nine weeks from March to June 193, during the Year of the Five Emperors. Julianus had a promising political career, governing several provinces, including D ...

, but was defeated by a rival claimant,

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 the customary suc ...

, and killed while attempting to flee from

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

Early career

Although Niger was born into an old Italian equestrian family, around the year 135, he was the first member of his family to achieve the rank of Roman senator.Potter, p. 101 Not much is known of his early career; it is possible that he held an administrative position in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

, and that he served in a military campaign in

Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It ...

early in

Commodus Commodus (; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was a Roman emperor who ruled from 177 to 192. He served jointly with his father Marcus Aurelius from 176 until the latter's death in 180, and thereafter he reigned alone until his assassination. ...

’ reign.Meckler, ''Pescennius Niger'' During the late 180s, Niger was elected as a Suffect consul, after which Commodus made him imperial legate of

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

in 191. He was still serving in Syria when news came of the murder of

, followed by the auctioning off of the imperial title to

. Niger was a well regarded public figure in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and soon a popular demonstration against Didius Julianus broke out, during which the citizens called out for Niger to come to Rome and claim the imperial title for himself. As a consequence, it is alleged that Julianus dispatched a

centurion A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 ...

to the east with orders to assassinate Niger at

.Potter, p. 99 The result of the unrest in Rome saw Niger proclaimed Emperor by the eastern legions by the end of April 193. On his accession, Niger took the additional cognomen ''Justus'', or "the Just". Although imperial propaganda issued on behalf of Septimius Severus later claimed that Niger was the first to rebel against Didius Julianus, it was Severus who persisted, claiming the imperial title on 14 April. Although Niger sent envoys to Rome to announce his elevation to the imperial throne, his messengers were intercepted by Severus. As Niger began bolstering his support in the eastern provinces, Severus marched on Rome which he entered in early June 193 after Julianus had been murdered.

Septimius Severus and Niger

Severus wasted no time consolidating his hold on Rome, and ordered his newly appointed prefect of the watch, Gaius Fulvius Plautianus to capture Niger's children and hold them as hostages.Potter, p. 103 Meanwhile, Niger was busy securing the support of all of the governors in the Asiatic provinces, including the esteemed

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ' ...

of Asia, Asellius Aemilianus, who had occupied Byzantium in the name of Niger. He then proceeded to secure direct control over

, while Severus did as much as he could to protect the wheat supply, and ordered troops loyal to him to keep watch on the western border of Egypt and prevent the legion stationed there – Legio II Traiana Fortis – from sending military aid to Niger. Although the Asiatic provinces contained great wealth, Niger's military resources were inferior to Severus’. While Severus had the sixteen Danubian legions at his disposal, Niger possessed only six: three in

, the two stationed in

Arabia Petraea Arabia Petraea or Petrea, also known as Rome's Arabian Province ( la, Provincia Arabia; ar, العربية البترائية; grc, Ἐπαρχία Πετραίας Ἀραβίας) or simply Arabia, was a frontier province of the Roman Emp ...

, and one located at Melitene. Niger therefore decided to act aggressively, and sent a force into

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

where it defeated a part of Severus’ army under Lucius Fabius Cilo at Perinthus.Potter, p. 104 Severus then marched from Rome to the east, sending his general Tiberius Claudius Candidus ahead of him.Bowman, p. 4 Niger, having made Byzantium his headquarters, gave Asellius Aemilianus the task of defending the southern shore of the Sea of Marmara. As Severus approached, he offered Niger the opportunity to surrender and go into exile, but Niger refused, trusting in the outcome of a military encounter. In the fall of 193, Candidus met Aemilianus in battle at Cyzicus, resulting in Niger's forces being defeated as well as the capture and death of Aemilianus.Bowman, p. 4; Potter, p. 104; Southern, p. 33 Byzantium was now placed under siege, forcing Niger to abandon the city and retreat to

Nicaea Nicaea, also known as Nicea or Nikaia (; ; grc-gre, Νίκαια, ) was an ancient Greek city in Bithynia, where located in northwestern Anatolia and is primarily known as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and s ...

. The city remained loyal to Pescennius Niger, and it would take Severus until the end of 195 to finally capture Byzantium.Southern, p. 33 Another battle took place outside

in later December 193, which also resulted in a defeat for Niger. Nevertheless, Niger was able to withdraw the bulk of his army intact to the Taurus Mountains, where he held the passes for a few months while he returned to Antioch. However, Niger's support in Asia was falling. Some previously loyal cities changed their allegiance, in particular Laodicea and Tyre. By February 13, 194, Egypt had declared for Severus, as had the imperial legate of

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Pl ...

, further diminishing Niger's chances. After Severus had replaced Candidus with another general,

Publius Cornelius Anullinus Publius Cornelius Anullinus (or, occasionally, Anulinus) was one of the generals of the Roman emperor Septimius Severus. He was from the city of Iliberis (Granada, or identified by modern scholars as likely being in or near Albayzín), and, while ...

, Niger met Anullinus in battle at Issus in May 194, where after a long and hard-fought struggle, Niger was decisively defeated. Forced to retreat to

, Niger was captured while attempting to flee to

Parthia Parthia ( peo, 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 ''Parθava''; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 ''Parθaw''; pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Med ...

. Niger was beheaded, and his severed head was taken to Byzantium, but the city refused to surrender. Eventually, Severus stormed and completely destroyed Byzantium before he had it rebuilt. Niger's head eventually found its way to Rome where it was displayed. After his victory in the east, Severus punished Niger's supporters. He had Niger's wife and children put to death, while his estates were confiscated.

Name

The name "Pescennius Niger" means "black Pescennius", which incidentally contrasts him with one of his rivals for the throne in 194,

Clodius Albinus Decimus Clodius Albinus ( 150 – 19 February 197) was a Roman imperial pretender between 193 and 197. He was proclaimed emperor by the legions in Britain and Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula, comprising modern Spain and Portugal) after the murd ...

, whose name means "white Clodius". Cassius Dio's "Roman History" reports that, when a priest of

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousand ...

saw in a dream a "black/dark man" (ἄνθρωποι τὸν μέλανα) breaking into the emperor's camp, this was interpreted as referring to Pescennius Niger. According to the (unreliable) '' Historia Augusta'', his parents had the cognomen "fuscus", meaning "brown", and though his body was allegedly white and corpulent, his face was dark red with a very black neck, which was thought "by many men" to have been the origin of his cognomen "Niger".

Family

Pescennius is known to have been married and had children. The names of his children are not mentioned in any sources, nor how many they were. In the past it has been supposed by some historians based on medals bearing the inscription "Pescennia Plautiana Augusta" that Niger was married to a woman named Plautiana or that he had a daughter named Pescennia Plautiana, but the medals are said to be forgeries.

Popular culture

In the film ''

The Fall of The Roman Empire The fall of the Western Roman Empire (also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome) was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vas ...

'' Niger is played by Douglas Wilmer and depicted as a scheming henchman of Commodus. At the end of the film, Niger and

, played by

Eric Porter Eric Richard Porter (8 April 192815 May 1995) was an English actor of stage, film and television. Early life Porter was born in Shepherd's Bush, London, to bus conductor Richard John Porter and Phoebe Elizabeth (née Spall). His parents hope ...

, another crony of Commodus, compete against each other in the auction for the throne of Rome.

References

Sources

Primary sources

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

''Roman History'', Books 74 & 75
* Herodian
''Roman History'', Books 2 & 3
* Historia Augusta
''Life of Pescennius Niger''

Secondary sources

* Southern, Pat. ''The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine'', Routledge, 2001 * Potter, David Stone, ''The Roman Empire at Bay, AD 180-395'', Routledge, 2004 * Bowman, Alan K., ''The Cambridge Ancient History: The Crisis of Empire, A.D. 193-337'', Cambridge University Press, 2005 * http://www.roman-emperors.org/pniger.htm Meckler, Michael L, "Pescennius Niger (193-194 A.D.)", ''De Imperatoribus Romanis'' (1998)

External links

*

{{Authority control 2nd-century Roman governors of Syria People from Roman Anatolia Roman governors of Syria Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome Deaths by decapitation Annii 2nd-century births 194 deaths 2nd-century Roman emperors Roman pharaohs