|
Pertinax - 'Usurper'
Roman Emperor: 1 January 193 28 March 193 A.D.
Buy Coins of Pertinax - Roman Emperor
Pertinax was a Roman emperor who briefly reigned from
December 31, 192 until his death on March 28, 193. He was emperor for
only 86 days
Publius
Helvius Pertinax, commonly known as Pertinax (August 1, 126 March
28, 193), was a
Roman emperor who briefly reigned from December 31, 192 until his death on
March 28, 193. He was emperor for only 86 days. He is known as the first emperor
of the tumultuous
Year of the Five Emperors. Upon his death, he was succeeded by
Didius Julianus, whose reign was similarly short-lived.
Early
life
His career before becoming emperor is documented in the
Historia Augusta and confirmed in many places by existing inscriptions.
Born in
Alba Pompeia in Italy, the son of a
freedman
Helvius Successus, originally Pertinax made his way as a grammaticus
(teacher of grammar), but he eventually decided to find a more rewarding line of
work and through the help of patronage he was commissioned an officer in a
cohort. In the
Parthian war that followed, he was able to distinguish himself, which
resulted in a string of promotions, and after postings in
Britain (as military tribune of the
Legio VI Victrix) and along the
Danube, he
served as a procurator in
Dacia. He
suffered a setback as a victim of court intrigues during the reign of
Marcus Aurelius, but shortly afterwards he was recalled to assist
Claudius Pompeianus in the
Marcomannic Wars. In 175 he received the honor of a
suffect consulship
and until 185, Pertinax was governor of the provinces of Upper and Lower
Moesia,
Dacia,
Syria and finally
governor of Britain.
In the decade of the 180s, Pertinax took a pivotal role in the
Roman
Senate until the praetorian prefect
Sextus Tigidius Perennis forced him out of public life. He was recalled
after three years to Britain, whose army at the time was in a state of mutiny.
He tried to quell the unruly soldiers there but one legion mutinied and attacked
his bodyguard, leaving Pertinax for dead. When he recovered, he punished the
mutineers severely which led to his growing reputation as a disciplinarian. When
he was forced to resign in 187, the reason given was that the legions had grown
hostile to him because of his harsh rule.
He served as proconsul of Africa during the years 188189, and followed this
term of service with the prefecture of Rome, and a second consulship as
ordinarius with the emperor as his colleague.
Emperor
When
Commodus' behaviour became increasingly erratic throughout the early 190s,
Pertinax is thought to have been implicated in the conspiracy that led to his
assassination on December 31, 192. The plot was carried out by the
Praetorian prefect
Quintus Aemilius Laetus,
Commodus'
mistress
Marcia, and his chamberlain Eclectus. After the murder had been carried out,
Pertinax, who was serving as
urban prefect at this time, was hurried to the
Praetorian Camp and proclaimed emperor the following morning. His short
reign (86 days) was an uneasy one. He attempted to emulate the restrained
practices of
Marcus Aurelius, and made an effort to reform the
alimenta but he faced antagonism from many quarters. Ancient writers detail
how the
Praetorian Guard expected a generous
donativum
on his ascension, and when they were disappointed, agitated until he produced
the money, selling off
Commodus'
property, including the concubines and youths Commodus kept for his sexual
pleasures. In early March he narrowly averted one conspiracy by a group to
replace him with the consul Quintus Sosius Falco while he was in
Ostia inspecting the arrangements for grain shipments. The plot was
betrayed; Falco himself was pardoned but several of the officers behind the coup
were executed.
On 28 March 193, Pertinax was at his palace when a contingent of some three
hundred soldiers of the Praetorian Guard rushed the gates. Ancient sources
suggest that they had received only half their promised pay. Neither the guards
on duty nor the palace officials chose to resist them. Pertinax sent Laetus to
meet them, but he chose to side with the insurgents instead and deserted the
emperor. Although advised to flee, he then attempted to reason with them, and
was almost successful before being struck down by one of the soldiers. Pertinax
must have been aware of the danger he faced by assuming the purple, for he
refused to use imperial titles for either his wife or son, thus protecting them
from the aftermath of his own assassination.
Aftermath
The praetorian guards auctioned off the imperial position, which Senator
Didius Julianus won and became the new Emperor, an act which triggered a
brief civil war over the succession, won later in the same year by
Septimius Severus.
After his entry to Rome, Septimius recognized Pertinax as a legitimate
emperor, executed the soldiers who killed him, and not only pressured the Senate
to deify him and provide for him a
state
funeral, but also adapted his
cognomen
of Pertinax as part of his name, and also for some time held
games on the anniversary of Pertinax's ascension and his birthday.
Cultural
references
Pertinax's leadership style is criticised in
Machiavelli's
The Prince
for making him hated and scorned by his soldiers, due to living unadventurously
and being kind and courteous.[1]
In
Romanitas, an
alternate history novel by
Sophia McDougall, Pertinax's reign is the
point of divergence. In the history as established by the novel, the plot
against Pertinax was thwarted, and Pertinax introduced a series of reforms that
would consolidate the Roman Empire to such a degree that it would still be a
major power in the 21st century.
| 
