3Rd Century A.D.

201 A.D.–225 A.D.

202 A.D.: political events

Septimius Severus, Caracalla, Elagabalus, Decius, Valerian, Aurelian, and Diocletian will rule the Roman Empire in this century.

The Roman emperor Septimius Severus undertakes a series of changes in the imperial government that will occupy him for the next 6 years, giving the army a dominant role in governance, raising pay in the legions and permitting legionnaires to marry in order to secure their loyalty, reducing the number of legions under any one general's control in order to prevent the rise of a serious rival, recruiting his officials from the equestrian order rather than from the senatorial aristocracy, and elevating many provincials and even peasants to power.

202 A.D.: human rights, social justice

Some 400,000 slaves perform the menial work of Rome, with middle-class citizens often owning eight; the rich from 500 to 1,000; an emperor as many as 20,000. Free urban workers enjoy 17 to 18 hours of leisure each day, with free admission to baths, sports events, and gladiatorial contests.

202 A.D.: transportation

Roman public roads are so good that travelers can average 100 miles per day, picking up fresh horses at way stations.

202 A.D.: medicine

Rome establishes medical licenses, awarded only to trained physicians who have passed examinations. Medical societies and civic hospitals are set up, and laws are passed to govern the behavior of medical students. They are prohibited from visiting brothels.

202 A.D.: religion

Christianity will gain a wide following in this century, although many practicing Christians will continue to worship the old Roman gods.

202 A.D.: food and drink

The average Roman breakfasts on bean meal mash and unleavened breadcakes cooked on cinders and dipped in milk or honey. Midday meals, often eaten standing up in a public place, consist generally of fruit, a sweetmeat, cheese, and watered wine (the prandium). The evening meal, or convivium, may include meat, fish, broccoli, cereals, and a porridge of breadcrumbs and onions fried in oil and seasoned with vinegar and chickpeas.

202 A.D.: population

Rome is a city of about 1.5 million, its people housed mostly in 46,600 insulae, or apartment blocks, each three to eight stories high, flimsily made of wood, brick, or rubble, with shutters and hangings to deaden the nightly din of iron-rimmed cartwheels in the streets.

204 A.D.: commerce

A trade recession in North Africa's Leptis Magna region is alleviated by Rome's emperor Septimius Severus, a native of Leptis, who buys up the country's olive oil for free distribution in Rome.

208 A.D.: political events

Parthia's Vologases V dies after a 17-year reign and is succeeded by his elder son, who will reign until 228 as Vologases VI, but his younger son, Artabanus IV of Media, immediately challenges the succession of Vologases VI, precipitating civil war (see 216 A.D.).

The Roman emperor Septimius Severus leads an army to what will be called Britain with the aim of subduing parts of the island not under his rule. He is accompanied by his eldest son, Augustus, and will remain in Britain until his death in 211.

211 A.D.: political events

The Roman emperor Septimius Severus falls ill and dies in Britain at Eboracum (later York) February 4 at age 64. He is succeeded after a 17-year reign by his son Augustus, who is called Caracalla (or Caracallus) after the long-hooded tunic that he has introduced from Gaul, but the new emperor will reign only until 217.

212 A.D.: political events

The Edict of Caracalla (Constitutio Antoniniana) extends Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of the empire with the exception of a limited group that may include Egyptians.

213 A.D.: everyday life

The Baths of Caracalla are completed by the Roman emperor with public baths (Thermae), reading rooms, auditoriums, running tracks, and public gardens that cover 20 acres. The main building alone covers six acres and can accommodate as many as 1,600 at one time. The poor of Rome are obliged to bathe in the Tiber, and while Rome has sewers and public health inspectors (who enforce hygiene in brothels and markets), the streets are filthy, and in small towns and villages outside the capital the streets stream with excrement.

215 A.D.: religion

The Daoist (Taoist) celestial master Chang Lu bows to the authority of the Han general Tsao Tsao (see 221 A.D.).

216 A.D.: political events

Media's Artabanus IV sets himself up as a rival to his Parthian brother Vologases VI, beginning a reign that will continue until 224. The Roman emperor Caracalla provokes a war with Artabanus, who controls the western part of the Parthian empire and who temporarily ceases hostilities with Vologases.

217 A.D.: political events

The Roman emperor Caracalla is murdered near Carrhae in Mesopotamia April 8 by a group of his officers as he prepares to invade Parthia. He is succeeded after a 6-year reign by the Mauretanian Marcus Opellius (Severus) Macrinus, 53, who will reign only 14 months.

Artabanus IV of Media defeats the Roman emperor Macrinus at Nisibis and resumes the civil war with his brother Volgases VI.

217 A.D.: religion

Pope Zephyrinus dies after a 19-year reign and is succeeded by a cardinal who will reign until 222 as Callistus (or Calixtus) I. Zephyrinus has been attacked by the Church leader Hippolytus of Rome on grounds that he was a modalist (someone who believes that the entire Trinity resides in Christ and that Father and Son are merely different designations for the same subject). His successor, Callistus, was originally a household slave of one Carpophorus who was accused of peculation, sentenced to work in the mines, released through the influence of a concubine of the late emperor Commodus, and permitted to live at Anzio on a stipend from the late Pope Victor I.

218 A.D.: political events

The Roman emperor Macrinus forces Parthia's Artabanus IV to sue for peace and pay an indemnity of 5 million denarii.

The Roman emperor Macrinus tries to reduce the pay of his troops and is defeated and slain near Antioch June 8. His successor is the Syrian Varius Avitus Bassianus, 14, a grandnephew by marriage of the late Septimius Severus, who claims to be a son of Caracalla and calls himself Elagabalus, or Heliogabalus, taking the name of the Syrian sun king. He will reign for nearly 4 years.

218 A.D.: commerce

The silver content of the Roman denarius will fall to 43 percent under Elagabalus, down from 50 percent under Septimius Severus, as he empties the treasury with his excesses while his capable grandmother, Julia Maesa, runs the empire.

220 A.D.: political events

The Sassanian king Ardashir of Persis gains support from some other Parthian sub-kings and revolts against the rule of Vologases VI. A grandson of Sasan, Ardashir has ruled Persis since 208 and 6 years ago gained control of the region surrounding Persepolis (see 222 A.D.).

The Wei dynasty in North China has its beginnings as the Han general Cao Bei (Cao Pei) eliminates the last Han emperor, makes himself emperor, and proclaims a new dynasty in the name of his late father, Cao Cao (Tsao Tsao), but the new emperor Zhaoliedi will reign only until 223. The Shu dynasty rules in Sichuan (Szechwan), the Wu dynasty in the southeast.

220 A.D.: religion

China's Wei dynasty will give official recognition to Daoism (Taoism) as its religious sect, and the sect's celestial masters will reciprocate by giving spiritual approbation to the Wei as successors to the Han. By the end of this century many of North China's most powerful families will subscribe to Daoist principles (see 448 A.D.).

222 A.D.: political events

The Roman emperor Elagabalus is murdered March 11 by members of his praetorian guard after a corrupt 10-month reign that has exasperated Julia Maesa and her daughter Julia Mamaea. Elagabalus's mutilated body is dragged through the streets of Rome and thrown into the Tiber. He is succeeded by his 14-year-old cousin (Gessius) Bassianus, whom he has adopted at the persuasion of the boy's maternal grandmother, Julia Maesa, and who takes the name Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander as he begins a 12-year reign. The Senate appoints a regency council of 16 Senators with nominal ruling power, but Severus Alexander will be dominated by his mother, Julia Mamaea, and (until she dies in 226) her mother, Julia Maesa.

Rebels against Parthia's Vologases VI defeat him but he manages to escape (see 220 A.D.; 224 A.D.).

222 A.D.: commerce

The silver content of the Roman denarius will fall to 35 percent under Severus Alexander, down from 43 percent under Elagabalus.

Government control of Rome's trade guilds will be extended under Severus Alexander.

222 A.D.: technology

Gunpowder will be invented in the next half century by alchemists of the Wu empire in southeast China who will mix sulfur and saltpeter in the correct proportions and at the correct temperature to produce the explosive. It will be used mostly for fireworks (see 1067 A.D.).

222 A.D.: religion

Pope Callistus (or Calixtus) I is killed by the mob in Rome's Trastavere section October 14 (in 223 by some reckonings) after a 5- (or 6-) year reign in which he has stabilized the Saturday fast three times per year, with no food, oil, or wine to be consumed on those days. Callistus is succeeded by a cardinal who will reign until his death in 230 as Urban I.

223 A.D.: political events

Northern China's Wei dynasty emperor Zhaoliedi dies after a 2-year reign and is succeeded by his son Shan, who will reign until 263 as the emperor Houdi (Hou-ti).

224 A.D.: political events

The Parthian Arsacid (Arshakuni) dynasty that has ruled Persia and other parts of central Asia since 247 B.C. ends, having tolerated the existence of vassal kingdoms while becoming rich through its control of nearly all the trade routes between Asia and the Greco-Roman world. The Parthian king Artabanus V is killed in the battle of Hormuzdagan after a reign of about 8 years, having been defeated by the Sassanian king Ardashir, who will reign until 241, inaugurating the Sassanian dynasty that will rule until 642. Artabanus's brother Vologases VI will continue to rule with Armenian and Kushan support over outlying parts of the Parthian empire until 228, and some Parthian resistance will continue until about 239.

225 A.D.: commerce

The Roman jurist Ulpian devises a set of life-expectancy tables that will be used for more than 1,400 years as the basis for annuities.

226 A.D.–250 A.D.

230 A.D.: political events

Persia's Sassanian king Ardashir I invades the Roman province of Mesopotamia. The Romans put up resistance, but the Persians make inroads.

230 A.D.: religion

Pope Urban I dies at Rome after an 8-year reign and is buried in the cemetery of St. Calixtus. He is succeeded by a cardinal who will reign until 235 as Pontian.

231 A.D.: political events

The Persian forces of Ardashir I invade Mesopotamia, as they did last year, and the Roman legate demands support from the emperor Severus Alexander.

232 A.D.: political events

The Roman emperor Severus Alexander launches a three-pronged counterattack against the Persian forces of Ardashir I, who have invaded Mesopotamia, but the force under the emperor's personal command refuses to advance and the Persians prevail, suffering such heavy losses, however, that they withdraw.

233 A.D.: political events

The emperor Severus Alexander celebrates a great triumph at Rome to observe his "victory" last year over the Persians, but he is soon summoned to the Rhine, where the Alamanni have been making incursions (see 235 A.D.).

234 A.D.: political events

The Chinese general Wenchang (Wei Yan) is executed for treason at age 59 after a notable career in which he has campaigned in the north in support of the late Zhuge Liang.

234 A.D.: food and drink

Ready-made bread rather than grain is issued to the poor of Rome by decree of the emperor Severus Alexander, now 26.

235 A.D.: political events

The Roman emperor Severus Alexander follows the advice of his mother, Julia Mammaea, and buys peace from the Alamanni, who have invaded Gaul, but the action alienates his troops on the Rhine; they have the young man killed March 18, possibly while he sleeps, kill his mother as well, and proclaim the Thracian Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus, 62, emperor; he begins a 3-year reign as the emperor Maximinus.

235 A.D.: religion

Pope Pontian is exiled to the mines of Sardinia after a 5-year reign as the Roman emperor Maximinus persecutes Christians. Also exiled is Church leader Hippolytus of Rome, who becomes reconciled with Pontian; both men die as martyrs after resigning to allow for a successor, who will reign until next year as Anterus.

236 A.D.: religion

Pope Anterus dies after a brief reign and is succeeded by a cardinal who will reign until 250 as Fabian. The new pontiff brings the bodies of the late Pope Pontian and Hippolytus of Rome back to Rome for Christian burial.

238 A.D.: political events

Roman subjects in Africa revolt against the emperor Maximinus and elect as emperor their proconsul Marcus Antonius Gordianus (Africanus), 79. A rich descendant of the Gracchi and of the emperor Trajan, Gordianus yields to public demand that he succeed Maximinus and rules jointly with his 46-year-old son Gordianus II (who has 22 acknowledged concubines and a library of 62,000 volumes). The Senate and most of the provinces support him, but a supporter of Maximinus besieges Gordianus for 36 days at Carthage. He commits suicide at news that his son and namesake is dead, and the Roman populace proclaims one of his grandsons emperor (Gordianus II has sired three or four children by each of his concubines). The praetorian guards conspire to murder the co-emperor Maximinus in mid-June. They name young Gordianus sole emperor, and he begins a 6-year reign as Gordianus III.

238 A.D.: commerce

The silver content of the Roman denarius will fall to 28 percent under the emperor Gordianus III, down from 35 percent under Severus Alexander.

241 A.D.: political events

Persia's first Sassanian king Ardashir I dies after a 17-year reign and is succeeded by his son, who will reign until 272 as Shapur I (the name Shapur means "son of a king").

242 A.D.: political events

The Roman emperor Gordianus III begins a campaign against the new Persian king Shapur I.

242 A.D.: literature

The 37-year-old Greek philosopher Plotinus joins Gordianus in his expedition against Persia. Having studied for 11 years at Alexandria under Ammonius, Plotinus hopes to obtain first-hand knowledge of Persian and Indian philosophies; however, he will never make actual contact with any Eastern sage (see 244 A.D.).

244 A.D.: political events

The Roman emperor Gordianus III drives a Persian army back across the Euphrates and defeats the Persians in the Battle of Resaena, but mutinous soldiers murder the emperor at the urging of the Arabian Marcus Julius Philippus. They proclaim Philippus emperor, and he makes a disgraceful peace with the Persians.

244 A.D.: commerce

The silver content of the Roman denarius will fall to 0.5 percent under the emperor Philippus, down from 28 percent under Gordianus III.

244 A.D.: literature

The philosopher Plotinus escapes the bloodshed that accompanies the murder of Gordianus III and makes his way to Antioch, where he will remain until he relocates to Rome next year (see 243 A.D.; 270 A.D.).

248 A.D.: sports

The Roman emperor Philippus holds a great exhibition of games to celebrate the 1,000 anniversary of the founding of Rome in 753 B.C.

249 A.D.: political events

The Pannonian-born Roman commander Gaius Messius Quintus Traianus Decius, 48, puts down a revolt of troops in Moesia and Pannonia. Loyal troops proclaim Decius emperor, and he kills the emperor Philippus, who has advanced to oppose him at Verona.

249 A.D.: religion

The Chinese Daoist philosopher Wang Bi (Wang Pi) dies at age 23, having gained a reputation for his brilliant commentaries on the I Ching and other classics.

250 A.D.: science

Arithmetica by the Greek mathematician Diophantus at Alexandria includes the first book on algebra. Alexandrians have developed a great store of technical knowledge, but reliance on slave labor leaves them no economic incentive to devise labor-saving machinery.

250 A.D.: religion

The Roman emperor Decius institutes the first wholesale persecution of Christians in an attempt to restore the religion and institutions of ancient Rome. The persecution produces martyrs, who will be revered as saints.

Pope Fabian dies after a 14-year reign and will not be replaced on the papal throne until next year.

251 A.D.–275 A.D.

251 A.D.: political events

The Roman emperor Decius and his son die fighting the Goths on swampy ground in the Dobrudja. His treacherous general Gaius Vibius Trebonianus Gallus, 46, succeeds as emperor, makes peace with the Goths, permits them to keep their plunder, offers them a bribe not to return, and will reign until 253.

251 A.D.: religion

The vacancy of the papal throne, unoccupied since last year by the death of Pope Fabian, ends with the election of a cleric who will reign until 253 as Cornelius, but another cleric is elected as the first antipope and will reign until about 258 as Novatian.

253 A.D.: political events

Roman soldiers who have campaigned against the barbarians on the Danube elect the governor of Pannonia and Moesia as emperor. The emperor Gallus marches out to meet his rival. The new emperor Aemilianus defeats Gallus and kills him but dies himself soon after; a supporter of Gallus, who has arrived too late to save him, wins the support of the legions, who elect him emperor. Publius Licinius Valerianus, 60, promptly gives his 35-year-old son Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus the title Augustus, dispatches him to the Danube where the Goths have been trying to cross into Moesia, and begins a 7-year reign as the emperor Valerian.

253 A.D.: medicine

A 15-year plague begins in the Roman Empire.

253 A.D.: religion

Pope Cornelius dies after a 2-year reign and is succeeded by a cleric who will reign until next year as Lucius I.

254 A.D.: religion

Pope Lucius dies in May and is succeeded on or about May 12 by a priest who will reign until 257 as Stephen I.

255 A.D.: medicine

De Mortalitate by Thascius Caecilius Cyprianus, bishop of Carthage, describes a pandemic said to have started in Ethiopia. Symptoms include diarrhea and vomiting, an ulcerated sore throat, high fever, and gangrenous hands and feet. The pandemic will pass through Egypt and extend through Europe to the northernmost reaches of what later will be called the British Isles.

255 A.D.: environment

"The world itself now bears witness to its failing powers," writes Bishop Cyprian to the Roman proconsul of Africa. "There is not so much rain in the winter for fertilizing the seeds, nor in the summer is there so much warmth for ripening them. The springtime is no longer mild, nor the autumn so rich in fruit."

256 A.D.: medicine

The great pandemic of the Roman world strikes violently in Pontus on the Black Sea and causes enormous loss of life in Alexandria, encouraging thousands to embrace Christianity.

256 A.D.: religion

"We will that all our subjects . . . believe the one divinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, of majesty co-equal, in the Holy Trinity," says the Roman emperor Valerian. "We will that all those who embrace this creed be called Catholic Christians. We brand all the senseless followers of other religions by the infamous name of heretics, and forbid their conventicles to assume the name of churches."

Pope Stephen I threatens to excommunicate Thascius Caecilius Cyprianus, bishop of Carthage, and other bishops in Africa and Asia Minor unless they stop rebaptizing heretics. Cyprian attacks the pope in a treatise which gains support from the Council of Carthage, and he sends envoys to Rome, raising the specter of a schism between the Roman and Carthaginian Churches (see 258 A.D.).

257 A.D.: political events

The Roman emperor Valerian's son Gallienus enters into a joint consulship with his father, having brought some order to the Danube area and left his son Valerian II in nominal control there while Pannonia's governor Ingenuus exercises the real power. Threats from Goths across the Rhine occupy Gallienus's attention.

257 A.D.: religion

Pope Stephen I dies at Rome August 2 after a 3-year reign in which he has become the first bishop of Rome to exercise supervision over the entire Church; he is succeeded by a cleric who will reign until his death in 259 as Sixtus II.

258 A.D.: political events

The Roman co-consul Gallienus's son Valerian II dies, possibly having been murdered by Pannonia's governor Ingenuus; the emperor Valerian names another of Gallienus's sons, Saloninus, Caesar.

258 A.D.: religion

More than 153 Christians and possibly as many as 300 are executed by rival Christians at Carthage August 24 as the Roman and Carthaginian churches continue hostilities (see 255 A.D.); among those who will be venerated as martyrs is Bishop Thascius Caecilius Cyprianus.

259 A.D.: religion

Pope Sixtus II dies at Rome July 22 after a 2-year reign. Martyred in the persecution of Christians under the Roman emperor Valerian, he is succeeded by a former presbyter of Greek origin who will reign until 268 as Dionysius. The new pope sends funds to Christians in Cappadocia who are suffering as the result of a Persian invasion.

260 A.D.: political events

Persia's Shapur I defeats the Roman emperor Valerian at Edessa in the summer, seizes him treacherously at a parley, and has him flayed alive (he will be held prisoner until his death). His son and co-emperor Gallienus, now 42, has established himself at Mediolanum (Milan), whence he is able to dispatch troops quickly either to the Rhine or the Danube. He reigns alone as the Pannonian governor Ingenuus revolts on the Danube. Other revolts break out elsewhere as Gallienus withdraws troops to resist Ingenuus. He returns to Mediolanum after triumphing over Ingenuus and saves the town from an invasion by the Alamanni, but the empire comes under attack on all sides from Berbers, Franks, Goths, Palmyrans, Vandals, and plague.

The Roman commander Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus on the Rhine frontier defeats some Germanic marauders as they try to cross back over the river with their plunder. An adviser to the emperor Gallienus's son Saloninus demands that the loot be turned over to him, Saloninus and Postumus make a show of complying, Postumus's troops proclaim him Augustus to avoid losing the booty, Saloninus is proclaimed Augustus by his troops, Postumus's men besiege Saloninus and his adviser at Cologne, they are put to death when the city surrenders, Postumus sets himself up as emperor at Trier, and he soon wins over all the provinces west of the Alps, including Gaul, Britain, and Spain (see 265 A.D.).

260 A.D.: commerce

Runaway inflation makes the Roman denarius nearly worthless, paralyzing trade. The depression ruins craftsmen, tradesmen, and small farmers, who are reduced to bartering. Large landowners grow larger by buying up cheap land.

260 A.D.: religion

Pope Dionysius convenes a synod at Rome to demand an explanation from Bishop Dionysius of Alexandria, who has been charged with separating the members of the Trinity as three distinct deities (triethism). Discussions at the synod about differing Greek and Roman interpretations of the same terms resolve the "affair of the two Dionysii" (see Nicene Creed, 325 A.D.).

262 A.D.: architecture, real estate

Gothic invaders overrun the city of Ephesus and destroy the Temple of Artemis that was rebuilt after its willful destruction in 356 B.C.

263 A.D.: political events

China's northern Wei dynasty emperor Houdi (Hou-ti) is deposed after a 39-year reign (see 265 A.D.).

265 A.D.: political events

The Roman emperor Gallienus tries twice to crush the usurper Postumus (see 260 A.D.), but on the first occasion the emperor's cavalry commander Aureolus carelessly lets him escape, and on the second he sustains an arrow wound and has to break off his siege of a Gallic town where Postumus has holed up, but Postumus makes no move to march on Rome and claim territory south of Gaul (see 269 A.D.).

China's western Jin (Chin) dynasty begins in the person of Sima Yan, a grandson of the late Sima Yi, who has deposed the northern Wei dynasty emperor Houdi (Hou-ti), establishes his capital at Luoyang, and will reign until 290 as the emperor Wudi (see 280 A.D.).

267 A.D.: political events

Palmyra's Prince Odenaethus is assassinated along with his eldest son, evidently on orders from the Roman emperor Gallienus. He has been a staunch ally of Rome since his rebuff by Persia's Shapur I; his second wife, who has borne some younger princes, takes power as Septimia Zenobia and prepares to expand her desert realm to reach from the Nile to the Black Sea.

268 A.D.: political events

The Roman emperor Gallienus is killed by his own senior officers at Mediolanum (Milan) while besieging the pretender Aureolus, who surrenders in late summer or early fall and is slain in turn by the imperial guard. The Illyricum-born pretender Marcus Aurelius Claudius, 54, is charged with having murdered Gallienus (it will never be proven) and will reign until 270 as Claudius II. Gallienus has excluded members of the senatorial order from all military commands, and they will blacken his memory, but Claudius II asks the Senate to spare the lives of Gallienus's family and supporters.

268 A.D.: religion

Pope Dionysius I dies at Rome December 26 after a 9-year reign and is succeeded by a cleric who will reign until 274 as Felix I.

269 A.D.: political events

The Roman legate Ulpius Cornelius Laelianus rebels in the spring at Moguntiacum (Mainz) against the self-proclaimed Gallic emperor Postumus as legions on the Rhine become increasingly dissatisfied. Postumus has by all accounts governed well, restored the western provinces, and repelled inroads by Germanic tribesmen; he takes the city and puts down the rebellion, but he refuses to let the troops sack it, whereupon they murder him, replace him with the soldier Marcus Aurelius Marius, put him to death soon afterward, and replace him with Marcus Piavonius Victorinus.

The Battle of Naissus in September ends in victory for the Roman emperor Claudius II (or his general Gallenius), who repels a Gothic invasion of the Balkans. The Goths have pushed their way across the Danube, looted and sacked several cities in the province of Pannonia, and although stopped by Gallenius in the spring have pressed on against Roman legions weakened by decades of internal conflict and rebellions. The 45-year-old Roman soldier Lucius Domitius Aurelianus commands a cavalry force that decides the issue, routing the Gothic heavy cavalry, storming the invaders' lines, leaving 30,000 to 50,000 Goths dead or wounded, and taking thousands prisoner. Many of the prisoners will opt to serve in the Roman legions, and Claudius receives the title Gothicus for the triumph, which stifles the threat of the Goths (see 271 A.D.; Battle of Adrianople, 378 A.D.).

Palmyra's Zenobia conquers Egypt, giving her control of Rome's grain supply.

270 A.D.: political events

The Illyrian Roman emperor Claudius II Gothicus dies of plague early in January at age 55 while preparing to fight the Vandals, who have inavaded Pannonia. He is succeeded by his brother Quintillus, who is proclaimed Marcus Aurelius Claudius Quintillus but deserted by his troops. Quintillus commits suicide and is succeeded by an associate of his brother Lucius Domitius Aurelianus, the military leader who distinguished himself last year at the Battle of Naissus and will reign until 275 as Aurelian.

270 A.D.: commerce

The silver content of the denarius has fallen to 0.02 percent, down from 0.5 percent under the emperor Philippus.

270 A.D.: literature

The philosopher Plotinus dies of what may be either leprosy or tuberculosis on the country estate of a friend in Campania at age 65, having laid the foundations for a Neoplatonic school (see 244 A.D.). His physician Eustochius attends him at the end and hears his final words, which are either, "Try to bring back the god in you to the divine in All" or, "I am trying to bring back the divine in us to the divine in the All" (accounts vary). Plotinus asked the late emperor Gallienus to restore a ruined city in the region and endow it with surrounding lands, promising to live in the new city of Platonopolis himself, but Gallienus refused, perhaps because he feared that the senatorial order would use the city as a center of intrigue against imperial authority. Plotinus's 36-year-old Greek disciple Porphyry (originally Malchus) to Sicily has been editing his master's works and will further develop Neoplatonism, foreshadowing medieval developments of logic.

271 A.D.: political events

The Roman emperor Aurelian expels the Alamanni from Italy (see Battle of Naissus, 269 A.D.). He abandons trans-Danubian Dacia, settles its Roman inhabitants in a new Dacia (later Romania) carved out of Moesia, begins new walls to protect Rome, and is called restitutor orbis (restorer of the world).

272 A.D.: political events

Persia's Sassanian king of kings Shapur I dies after a reign of more than 30 years in which he has conquered much of Anatolia and Armenia, made deep inroads into Syria, sacked and looted Antioch, and defeated and captured the Roman emperor Valerian. He is succeeded by his eldest son, who will reign until next year as Normizd I.

The Roman emperor Aurelian lays siege to Palmyra, his horsemen capture Zenobia and her young son Vaballathus on the banks of the Euphrates, she is forced to march in gold chains before the emperor's chariot in his triumphal procession, but Aurelianus spares her life.

272 A.D.: religion

Three Christians are beheaded on the road to the Temple of Mercury that stands atop a hill that will be named Montmartre (Mountain of Martyrs) in Lutetia, later to be called Paris.

273 A.D.: political events

Persia's Sassanian king Hormizd I dies after a brief reign in which he has shown tolerance toward the ascetic, antimaterialist Manichean faith; he is succeeded by his brother, who has been governing the province of Atropatene and will reign until 276 as Bahram I, imprisoning the Manichaean leader Mani and strengthening the position of the Zoroastrians and their high priest, Karter.

The Roman emperor Aurelian sacks Palmyra after putting down a new revolt. He deposes her new king and reduces the city to a village.

273 A.D.: food availability

The Roman emperor Aurelian increases Rome's daily bread ration to nearly 1.5 pounds per capita and adds pork fat to the list of foods distributed free to the populace.

274 A.D.: political events

The Roman emperor Aurelian recovers Gaul from insurgent forces in a battle at Chalons, ends the "Gallic Empire," reunifies the empire, and returns in triumph to Rome. The former Palmyran queen Zenobia participates in the emperor's triumphant celebration but dies later in the year at Rome. She has married a Roman senator.

274 A.D.: transportation

Japanese shipwrights build a 100-foot oar-powered vessel for the Japanese emperor Ojin. The Japanese will not use sails for another 7 centuries.

274 A.D.: religion

Pope Felix I dies at Rome December 30 after a 5-year reign. He will not be replaced until next year.

275 A.D.: political events

Rome's legions retreat from Transylvania and the Black Forest, falling back to the Rhine and Danube. The situation has become so perilous that the emperor Aurelian pushes construction of fortifications for Rome begun 4 years ago.

The Roman emperor Aurelian prepares a campaign against the Parthians in Asia Minor, but he has taken a hard line against corrupt officers, some in his Praetorian Guard fear punishment, and they murder him near Byzantium in September. Dead at age 61, he has reigned capably since 270, winning the honorific Restitutor Orbis (Restorer of the World) from the Senate; the Praetorian Guard uncovers a conspiracy, puts Aurelian's personal secretary and his fellow conspirators to death, and send a messenger to the Senate asking it to appoint a successor to the popular Aurelian. The senators choose their scholarly 75-year-old colleague Marcus Claudius Tacitus, who reluctantly accepts the throne, appoints his half brother Marcus Annius Florianus praetorian prefect, marches the legions to Cilicia, and will rule briefly as the emperor Tacitus.

275 A.D.: medicine

A plague so severe that many wonder whether the human race can survive weakens the Roman legions in Gaul and in Mesopotamia.

275 A.D.: religion

The late Pope Felix I is succeeded by a cleric who is elected in January and will reign until 283 as Eutychian.

276 A.D.–300 A.D.

276 A.D.: political events

Rome's praetorian prefect Marcus Annius Florianus defeats the Goths and Alans who have invaded Asia Minor. His half brother Tacitus dies soon thereafter, either of illness or murdered by his troops. The army chooses Florianus to succeed him. The new emperor Florian breaks off a battle with the Eruli and marches from the Bosphorus with support from the legions in Gaul, Spain, Britain, and Italy, but the 44-year-old Illyrian soldier Marcus Aurelius Probus gains backing from the legions in Syria, Phoenicia, Palestine, and Egypt. The two opposing forces skirmish outside Tarsus; since Probus is outnumbered he avoids a pitched battle and lets Florian's troops suffer in the heat. The troops murder Florian in August, replacing him with Probus, who will reign as emperor until 282.

Persia's Sassanian king Bahram I dies after a 3-year reign in which the Zorostrian clergy has put pressure on him to persecute Buddhists, Christians, and Manichaeans. He is succeeded by his son, who will reign until his death in 293 as Bahram II.

276 A.D.: religion

The Persian sage Mani dies at Gundeshapur February 26 at age 60 after 30 years of preaching his "heresy" at the court of the late Sassanian king Shapur I and on long journeys to Turkestan, India, and China. Whether he has been executed or allowed to die in prison will remain in dispute, but Mani has incurred the hostility of the Zoroastrian priests at Ctesiphon by claiming that he received divine revelations and was the final prophet of God in the world; his system combines Zoroastrian dualism with Christian salvation, and his disciples will gain wide support for Manichaeism despite opposition from Byzantine and Roman emperors.

277 A.D.: political events

The new Roman emperor Probus liberates Gaul from the Franks and Alamanni, having traveled west across the Propontis and through the provinces of Thrace, Moesia, and Pannonia. He visits Rome to have his powers ratified by the Senate.

279 A.D.: political events

The Roman emperor Probus expels the Burgundians and Vandals from Rhaetia.

280 A.D.: political events

The Sassanian Persian king Bahram II sends emissaries to seek peaceful relations with the Roman emperor Probus.

Forces of China's western Jin (Chin) dynasty emperor Wudi wipes out survivors of the Three Kingdoms Period that ruled from 221 to 265 and reunifies the north and south.

282 A.D.: political events

The Roman emperor Probus tries to employ his troops in such peaceful projects as clearing the canals of Egypt (see 279 A.D.). He has driven the Franks and Alamanni out of Gaul, suppressed pretenders in Gaul, quieted Asia Minor, and strengthened defenses on the Danube, but his troops murder him in the autumn and replace him with an Illyrian who has served as praetorian prefect to the late emperor Aurelian and now conducts a successful campaign against the Persians to begin a brief reign as Marcus Aurelius Carus.

283 A.D.: political events

Roman forces capture Ctesiphon in Persia, but the emperor Marcus Aurelius Carus dies during the campaign and is succeeded by his son and co-emperor, Marcus Aurelius Numerius Numerianus.

283 A.D.: religion

Pope Eutychian dies at Rome after a 9-year reign and is succeeded by a cleric who will reign until 296 as Caius.

284 A.D.: political events

The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius Numerius Numerianus is assassinated in late summer and succeeded by his Illyrian general Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus Jovius, 39, who is proclaimed emperor at Chelcedon August 29 and will reign with oriental despotism as Diocletian until 305, establishing himself at Nicomedia in Bithynia while his colleague Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus Herculius controls the west from Mediolanum (Milan).

284 A.D.: everyday life

August 29: first day of the calendar that will be used by Coptics in Egypt and Ethiopia.

285 A.D.: political events

The Battle of the Margus in Moesia ends in victory for the Roman emperor Diocletian over Carinus, elder brother of the late Marcus Aurelius Numerius Numerianus.

286 A.D.: political events

The Roman emperor Diocletian elevates his general Maximian in Gaul to co-emperor April 1, giving him the title Augustus. The empire will soon be ruled by a tetrarchy, with Diocletian and Galerius Valerius Maximanus holding power in the east, Maximiana and Constantinus Chlorus in the west (see 293 A.D.).

287 A.D.: political events

The Roman admiral Marcus Aurelius Carausius, 42, seizes control of Britain and part of Gaul and sets himself up as "emperor" of Britain. A onetime Batavian pilot, he has been entrusted with warding off pirates in the channel.

290 A.D.: political events

China's first western Jin dynasty emperor Wudi (Wu-ti) dies after a 25-year reign in which he has reunified north and south but given away so many dukedoms to his kinsmen that it creates problems for his son Zhong, who will reign until 306 as the emperor Huidi but will have to deal with conflicts among the aristocratic families.

292 A.D.: political events

Egyptians revolt against the rule of Rome, but the Roman emperor Diocletian suppresses the uprising (see 297 A.D.).

293 A.D.: political events

The Roman emperor Diocletian arranges March 1 to have his two Caesars—the Thracian Galerius Valerius Maximanus and the Illyrian Constantius Chlorus—join with the two Augusti (himself and Maximian) in ruling the empire (see 286 A.D.).

The "emperor" Marcus Aurelius Carausius is murdered by one of his officers, Allectus, who sets himself up as "emperor" of Britain (see 296 A.D.).

Persia's Sassanian king Bahram II dies after a 17-year reign, his viceroy for Armenia lays claim to the throne in preference to the king's son, who is proclaimed Bahram III, the viceroy prevails, and he will reign until 302 as Narses (or Narseh), reverting to the policy of his late father, Shapur I, in opposition to the interests of Rome. Shapur invaded Mesopotamia and Syria on two occasions but was driven back each time; Narses, however, continues to have the backing of Rome.

295 A.D.: political events

Persia's Sassanian king Narses occupies the independent portion of Armenia, antagonizing authorities at Rome (see 294 A.D.; 296 A.D.).

296 A.D.: political events

Persia's Sassanian king Narses suffers a defeat, losing his war chest and harem in a battle with Roman legions. He comes to terms with the Romans, who retain dominion over Armenia and also gain the steppes of northern Mesopotamia, including Singara and the hill country on the left bank of the Tigris as far as Gordyene. Narses recovers his household and withdraws his forces completely from the contested areas, establishing a peace that will last for 40 years.

The Roman co-emperor Constantius Chlorus recovers the province of Britain from Allectus, the usurper who murdered the "emperor" Marcus Aurelius Carausius 3 years ago. Constantius announces that he will establish his capital on the Moselle River at Trier (Augusta Treviorum), founded in 44 by the emperor Claudius.

296 A.D.: religion

Pope Caius dies at Rome after a 13-year reign and is succeeded by a cleric who will reign until 304 as Marcellinus.

297 A.D.: political events

Persia's king Narses ousts Armenia's king Tiradates. When the Roman emperor Diocletian sends his Thracian co-emperor Galerius Valerius Maximanus to confront Narses near Carrhae, the Roman forces are beaten back (but see 298 A.D.).

The Roman emperor Diocletian puts down a second revolt in Egypt (see 292 A.D.).

298 A.D.: political events

The Roman co-emperor Galerius Valerius Maximanus obtains reinforcements, routs the Persian army, and forces Persia's king Narses to sign the Treaty of Nisibis, ceding some lands beyond the Tigris and affirming Roman supremacy over Armenia.

300 A.D.: religion

Armenia's king Tiradates is converted to Christianity by Gregory the Illuminator (see 301 A.D.).

300 A.D.: literature

Poetry: The Kama Sutra (Aphorisms on Love) by the Indian sage Vatsayna Mallagana is a 36-chapter Sanskrit work of 1,250 slokas (verses) that amounts to an encyclopedia of sexuality based on the Hindu philosophy that sexuality is a fundamental part of human life (year approximate). It lists hundreds of positions for sexual intercourse, discusses the sexual preferences of various nationalities, provides information on courtesans, courtship, go-betweens, kissing, marriage, and seduction, but emphasizes that the Cosmic Dance of Shiva, the god of creation, is as much a religious experience as a physical or sensual one.

201 A.D.–225 A.D. 226 A.D.–250 A.D. 251 A.D.–275 A.D. 276 A.D.–300 A.D.