Pescennius Niger

Aureus of Pescennius Niger

Gaius Pescennius Niger (* probably around 135/140, allegedly in Aquinum ; † in April 194 near Antiocheia ) was Roman counter-emperor from mid-April 193 until his decisive defeat around the end of March 194. He was one of the emperors of the second year of the Four Emperor which is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the Year of the Five Emperors.

Origin and career

Pescennius Niger came from Italy. His alleged place of birth Aquinum (today Aquino in the Latium region ) has only been deduced from a vague reference in his untrustworthy biography in the Historia Augusta ; this source contains many inventions, including false information about his official career. The names of his parents Annius Fuscus and Lampridia mentioned there were also invented. The period of his birth can only be deduced speculatively from his presumed age as emperor. In any case, he originally belonged to the knighthood and was admitted to the Senate under Emperor Commodus (180-192) . At the time of Commodus he also became a suffect consul . There is reliable evidence that he was involved in successful battles against the Sarmatians in the border area of Dacia , where he was possibly governor . From 190 or 191 he was governor of the rich province of Syria and commanded the legions stationed there.

Elevation

After the assassination of Emperor Pertinax on March 28, 193, a power vacuum arose because the successor Didius Iulianus, who had been raised by the Praetorians, could not gain respect, was rejected by the population of Rome and was not recognized anywhere else. Niger, on the other hand, was popular in Rome, and its supporters there demanded that the Syrian army intervene and become emperor. This news arrived in the east around mid-April. Shortly afterwards Niger convened a soldiers and people's assembly in the provincial capital Antiocheia , at which he was proclaimed emperor. The troops in Asia Minor and Egypt submitted to him, so that he could bring the entire eastern part of the empire under his control.

The news of the collapse of imperial authority in the capital had also been the signal for other ambitious commanders to act. As early as April 9, 193 , the governor Septimius Severus was proclaimed emperor by his troops in Carnuntum in what is now Lower Austria, the capital of the province of Upper Pannonia ; In addition, the governor of Britain , Clodius Albinus , also claimed the dignity of emperor. Septimius Severus immediately set out on the march to Rome, where he was recognized by the Senate on June 1st before his arrival and then entered on June 9th. Didius Iulianus found death. Severus agreed with Albinus that he could bear the title of Caesar and thus consider himself the heir to the throne. Since Septimius Severus already had two sons, this arrangement was not sustainable, but it kept his back free for the upcoming fight against Niger.

Civil war

Niger was disadvantaged from the start as its legions were quantitatively and qualitatively inferior. On the other hand, he was also popular in the West, at least in Rome, and had many highly motivated supporters in his sphere of influence. He could regard the Parthian king Vologaeses V as an ally, and Abdsamiya , the king of the small kingdom of Hatra , even made archers available.

Niger's troops occupied the city of Byzantion and thus secured the transition from Asia to Europe. From there they advanced to Thrace and tried to take the strategically important Perinthos . Despite an initial success against the opposing vanguard, however, they soon had to give up Thrace and retreat to Byzantium, which was trapped and besieged by the Severan troops. Severus' main army landed on the Asian coast. At Kyzikos the most important commander of Niger, the governor of the province of Asia , Asellius Aemilianus , suffered a heavy defeat towards the end of 193. He was then killed while trying to escape.

Due to tactical ineptitude, Niger was defeated at Nikaia (now İznik ) at the end of 193 or beginning of 194 and had to evacuate most of Asia Minor and build a new line of defense on the easily defended, well-fortified Tauro passes . But the Severan army was able to prevail there too. After the battle of Nicaea, Egypt had already gone over to the other side. Even individual cities in the rest of Niger's sphere of influence fell apart, so that his defeat was already evident.

Niger then plundered and burned the rebellious cities of Tire and Laodikeia as a deterrent . He hurried north with the rest of his armed forces from his headquarters in Antiochia and at the end of March 194 came across the enemy army near Issus , whereupon the battle of Issus broke out. However, Niger's army consisted to a large extent of inexperienced, freshly recruited volunteers, and as with Nikaia it became clear that he was not particularly talented as a general. The opposing cavalry managed to bypass his position and attack from behind after a violent thunderstorm had caused confusion in its ranks. Then a panic escape began. 20,000 men are said to have died on the side of Niger; he himself escaped with difficulty to Antioch.

death

The Antiochians, who suffered many casualties, now had to realize that the war was lost and that they were in a desperate situation. They had been particularly keen to support Niger from the beginning and had to expect terrible vengeance from the winner. The Severan troops quickly advanced into Antioch. Niger fled towards the Euphrates to get to safety with the allied Parthians. But he did not get far, but was caught and killed. However, some of his followers managed to flee across the border.

Niger's severed head was taken to Byzantium, where his beleaguered supporters had endured. Only later did Septimius Severus arrive in Syria. He had never gone to the front, but left the battles to his commanders and waited for the decision in Thrace. The damnatio memoriae was imposed on Niger . His sons were executed.

Judgments from contemporaries and posterity

The main sources are the historical works by the contemporaries Cassius Dio and Herodian . The generally more reliable Cassius Dio judges neutrally, while Herodian, an opponent of Severus, paints a generally favorable picture of Niger. In the Historia Augusta there are allegations of an emphatically Niger-friendly tradition alongside material from a source hostile to Niger. Aurelius Victor (360/61) and the Christian Orosius (417/418) assess Niger as a power-hungry usurper; in the Epitome de Caesaribus (around 400) he is even referred to as a “man of all shame”. This negative judgment determined the image of Niger in the Middle Ages, as far as one was aware of it.

Niger was unable to take advantage of its opportunities and was overwhelmed by its task, especially militarily. Even Herodian, who sympathized with him, criticized his lack of determination and energy. Cassius Dio describes him as mediocre and not particularly clever and suggests that his inconspicuousness was beneficial for his career. On the other hand, it should be noted that its great popularity was due to a relatively citizen-friendly administration, which was felt to be fair. The epithet Iustus ( the righteous ), which he adopted as emperor, and the emphasis on justice ( iustitia ) on his coins should indicate this.

literature

• Fabrizio Minucci: Precisazioni cronologiche sulla lotta tra Settimio Severo e Pescennio Nigro . In: Università di Siena. Annali della Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia 23, 2002, pp. 43-70.
• Steve Pasek : Bellum civile inter principes. The civil war between Septimius Severus and Pescennius Niger (193/194 AD). Academic Publishing Association, Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-86924-586-7
• Ze'ev Rubin: Civil-War Propaganda and Historiography. Bruxelles 1980, ISBN 2-87031-113-3 .
• Martin Zimmermann : Emperor and Event. Studies on the history of Herodian (= Vestigia . Vol. 52). CH Beck, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-406-45162-4 , pp. 171-188.

Web links

Commons : Pescennius Niger  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

• Michael L. Meckler: Short biography (English) at De Imperatoribus Romanis (with references).
• Biography from the Historia Augusta (English)
• Jona Lendering: Lucius Pescennius Niger . In: Livius.org (English)

Remarks

1. ^ Edward Dąbrowa: The Governors of Roman Syria from Augustus to Septimius Severus , Bonn 1998, p. 127 f .; Steve Pasek: Coniuratio ad principem occidendum faciendumque , Munich 2013, pp. 361-364.