Michael Sperry

Professor Corlu
Western Civilization-Section 6
1 December 2015

The Year of the Five Emperors

The Year of the Five Emperors was in many ways a pivotal event in the history of the

Roman Empire. The overall events of this year were not especially significant; the Year of the

Emperors was a fairly short civil war that broke out as a result of a power vacuum left behind

after the assassination of the Emperor Commodus. However, this particular episode in Rome’s

history is very important in terms of what is represents. In many ways, the Year of the Five

Emperors would foreshadow the imminent decline of this great empire, especially with regards

to its government. The integrity of Emperor’s throne was severely damaged by this civil war, not

just because of the constant influx of emperors grappling for power before being killed, but also

because it was during the Year of the Five Emperors that the imperial throne was infamously

auctioned off to the highest bidder by the Praetorian Guard. This incident severely damaged the

authority of the throne not only by showing that the seat of emperor could be assigned a

numerical value but also that the military, and the Praetorian Guard in particular, could exert

undue influence over the most powerful position in Rome.

The civil war that became referred to as the Year of the Five Emperors began in 193 A.D

and lasted until 197A.D. It began as a result of a vacancy of the Imperial Throne that was created

as a result of the assassination of the emperor Commodus (crystalinks.com). The day after

Commodus’ death, a high ranking military general and statesman known as Pertinax was

appointed emperor. However, Pertinax only managed to maintain power for 86 days before being
murdered by members of the Praetorian Guard, the emperor’s personal body guards, due their

dissatisfaction with their pay (crystalinks.com). This event was followed by the controversial

ascension of Didius Julianus to the seat of emperor. Julianus gained his power by buying the

throne from the Praetorian Guard for a sum of 25,000 sesterces, a move that would have dire

implications for the potency of the emperor’s power (crystalinks.com). Civil war erupted

throughout the Roman Empire soon after Julianus took control of the throne and proceeded to

devalue the Roman currency, a decision that proved very unpopular amongst the Roman

populace. Three high ranking generals, Septimius Severus, Pescennius Niger, and Clodius

Albinus, each with substantial military forces at their command, rose against Julianus, intending

to claim the throne for themselves (crystalinks.com). Severus was the most successful as he

defeated Didius Julianus and had him executed, thus allowing him to seize control of Rome

(crystalinks.com).Severus then went on to eliminate all of his rivals; by 197 A.D both Niger and

Albinus had been defeated and executed, ensuring Severus’ victory (crystalinks.com). While

Septimius Severus did succeed in restoring order within the empire for a time, this civil war did

expose a key weakness within the Roman government. The throne of the Emperor was

vulnerable in many respects; it could be usurped by powerful and ambitious military generals

and even by the Emperor’s own bodyguards. In certain instances, the throne could even be

purchased, thus diluting the true authority of the throne. So while Severus may have ended the

civil war and restored some semblance of peace to the Roman Empire, he couldn’t possibly have

ensured the throne’s long term viability.

The decline in power of the Roman Emperors in many ways can be traced to the relative

ineptitude of the men entrusted to the position. This weakness was made more prevalent during

the Year of the Five Emperors primarily in the form of two characters: Pertinax and Didius
Julianus. Pertinax was certainly not an unscrupulous character like some other Roman Emperors

historically had been; in fact he was described the Roman historian Cassius Dio as “an excellent

and upright man” (Dio, Cassius). However, Pertinax was unable to maintain control of his own

court, in large part due to his idealistic attempts to reform the Roman economy and to restore

discipline to the Praetorian Guard (Kerrigan, Michael). While these gestures may have been

noble, they also earned him the hatred of many of his guardsmen, who were unhappy with the

notion that they may have their generous incomes reduced (Dio, Cassius). Pertinax attempted to

maintain their loyalty through extensive bribes but was unable to consistently maintain the funds

and was assassinated as a result (Kerrigan, Michael). Didius Julianus came to power following

this event after successfully bribing the Praetorian Guard with a generous sum of 25,000

sesterces. Given the unscrupulous means by which Julianus gained the throne, it would have

been very important for him to win the support of as many important figures in the Roman

Government as possible. He attempted this by means of bestowing favors upon many Roman

Senators but was ultimately unable to keep all of the army at his side; thus resulting in a civil war

in which Septimius Severus supplanted him and had him executed (Dio, Cassius). While the

initial conflict may have been resolved, the issue remained that there was true way to protect the

imperial throne from future revolts. The military demonstrated that it was more than capable of

subverting the emperor’s power if the individual in power showed any signs of weakness. This

precedent would continue to haunt the Roman Empire for the remainder of its history and would

prove to be a contributing factor in its decline.

During the Year of the Five Emperors, it was made very evident that the Roman military,

and in particular the Praetorian Guard, were gaining a great deal of power at the expense of the

emperors. This is best demonstrated by the Praetorian Guard’s assassination of Pertinax and
subsequent auctioning of the Seat of Emperor to Didius Julianus. This consolidation of power on

the part of the military in no way should be considered sudden, as it can be argued that the

military’s continued acquisition of power was an eventuality. The reality is that controlling the

army in Ancient Rome would have been a very difficult task at the time, given its extensive size

and structure. In order to regulate the growth of the army’s power, political positions were often

given to the generals in command of the army and land was allocated to veterans who

distinguished themselves in war (Fielden, Jerry), Thus, the military became a popular

springboard for those seeking to start political careers or attain new wealth (Rodgers, Nigel).

However, this became more of an issue when Rome became dominated by the Emperors, as the

responsibility for maintaining the loyalty of the troops fell squarely on the Emperor’s shoulders.

Initially, the process was handled deftly under emperors like Augustus, who managed to maintain

the loyalty of the army and the newly formed Praetorian Guard through the prescription of

generous salaries as well as appointing high-ranking figures to positions of political power

(Fielden, Jerry). However, this process had become badly misused by the time the Year of the

Five Emperors took place. Due to the excessive spending and gift giving to the Praetorians on

the part of Commodus, the Imperial Treasury was nearly bankrupt, thus putting Pertinax in a

difficult position, as the Praetorian Guard had become accustomed to receiving lavish gifts by the

emperor (Kerrigan, Michael). When it became clear to them that this could no longer continue,

they murdered Pertinax and installed Julianus to the throne, as he offered them the best pay.

However, this would prove to be a poor foundation for Julianus to base his authority and thus he

was quickly challenged by multiple high ranking generals and subsequently ousted.

Perhaps the most devastating blow to the authority of the Roman Government was the

auctioning of the Seat of Emperor. While a power–hungry army and a series of inept emperors
also did much to dilute the integrity of the throne, the very notion that the most powerful political

position in Rome could be bought by anyone with enough capital was easily enough to demolish

the emperor’s authority. This was true for Didius Julianus, as he could never have commanded

the respect necessary to govern the empire by purchasing his position, but it would also be true

for many of the emperors who would rule after The Year of the Five Emperors occurred. If the

position of emperor was to restore its authority after it became clear that it could be simply

bought, it would have needed a series of very powerful and transformative leaders. Septimius

Severus was more or less able to meet this challenge, though he was certainly not always popular

with the Roman Senate (Dio, Cassius). However, his immediate successor, Caracalla, was much

less qualified for the position due to his violent and unstable behavior which saw the murder of

many prominent Roman citizens (Kerrigan, Michael). While he was later assassinated, this

would not bring any true long-term stability to the Roman Empire (Kerrigan, Michael). As time

progressed, the Imperial Throne became more and more vulnerable to the point where, by the

year 235 A.D, civil war returned in what became known as The Crisis of the Third Century,

where the Roman Empire became embroiled in a series of wars over the Seat of Emperor that

would last for decades (McFarnon, Emma). So, in this sense, it could be said that by auctioning

the Throne of the Emperor, a message was being sent that any who desired ultimate power in

Rome could claim it if they had the means to do so, thus contributing to Rome’s overall decline.

The Year of the Five Emperors, in many respects, marked a new chapter in the history of

the ancient Roman Empire. It represented a change within the Roman Government, and with the

emperors who governed it in particular. This civil war demonstrated that the power of the Seat of

Emperor was diminishing under the continued accumulation of power exhibited by the Roman

Army and, in particular, the Praetorian Guard. If either of these parties were dissatisfied with the
decisions made by the emperor in power, then they could simply overthrow that individual and

place a more pleasing character on the throne. This inherent weakness paved the way for the

Praetorian Guard’s auctioning of the position of emperor to Didius Julianus, an act that would

not only provoke civil war but also signify that the Imperial Throne was weak and could easily

be seized by anyone with the means and willingness to do so. This precedent would lead to

decades of civil war, which in turn, would prove to be a contributing factor in the decline of the

Roman Empire.