Pertinax
| Pertinax | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bust, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence[1] | |||||||||
| Roman emperor | |||||||||
| Reign | 1 January 193 – 28 March 193 | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Commodus | ||||||||
| Successor | Didius Julianus | ||||||||
| Born | 1 August 126 Alba Pompeia, Italy | ||||||||
| Died | 28 March 193 (aged 66) Rome, Italy | ||||||||
| Burial | Rome | ||||||||
| Spouse | Flavia Titiana | ||||||||
| Issue | |||||||||
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| Father | Helvius Successus | ||||||||
| Roman imperial dynasties | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year of the Five Emperors (193) | ||
| Chronology | ||
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193 |
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193 |
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Pescennius Niger 193–194 |
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Clodius Albinus 193–197 |
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193–211 |
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| Succession | ||
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Publius Helvius Pertinax (/ˈpɜːrtɪnæks/ PER-tin-ax; 1 August 126 – 28 March 193) was Roman emperor for the first three months of 193. He succeeded Commodus and became the first ruler of the turbulent Year of the Five Emperors.
The son of a freedman, Pertinax rose from modest origins through a military career. He distinguished himself in the Roman–Parthian War of 161–166 and went on to hold a succession of governorships and senior commands. He also sat in the Roman Senate, where he was a contemporary of the historian Cassius Dio.
After the assassination of Commodus, Pertinax was chosen emperor. He tried to restore discipline to the army and finances of the empire, but his reforms antagonised the Praetorian Guard, who killed him after just 87 days. He was later deified by Septimius Severus, who promoted his memory as part of his own rise to power. Ancient and modern assessments generally view Pertinax as a capable and conscientious ruler undone by circumstances.
- ^ Pertinax Inv. 1914 n. 202. Uffizi Digitization Project.
- ^ Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae 5842, 5845.
- ^ Elliott, Simon (2020). Pertinax: The Son of a Slave Who Became Roman Emperor. Greenhill Books. p. 115. ISBN 978-1-78438-526-2.
- ^ Cooley, Alison E. (2012). The Cambridge Manual of Latin Epigraphy. Cambridge University Press. p. 494. ISBN 978-0-521-84026-2.