Decius, [489]born in [490]Lower Pannonia, a man of great [491]courage and [492]experience in war, [493]succeeded him. He [494]perished in a [495]morass in a battle against the [496]Barbarians. This [497]defeat was [498]occasioned by the [499]treachery of Gallus, who [500]secretly [501]caballed with the enemy after he had reigned thirty months. This Gallus being made emperor by the [502]choice of the [503]soldiery, and having [504]taken his son as a [505]partner in the [506]government, was slain together with him by the soldiers, two years and four months after at Interamna, as he was [507]marching against Æmilian, who was [508]raising a [509]rebellion in Mœtia.
Æmilian did not reign long, being slain three months after his [510]advancement, and was [511]succeeded by Valerian, with his son Gallienus, who reigned six years together; during which time the Roman empire was [512]miserably [513]rent by the Barbarians. Thirty [514]tyrants [515]started up in several [516]places, according to [517]Trebellius Pollio. Wherefore Valerian [518]marching against the [519]Scythians, who had [520]taken [521]Chalcedon, [522]burnt Nice, and the [523]temple of the [524]Ephesian Diana, and from thence [525]advancing against Sapores, who [526]was very troublesome to the [527]Eastern [528]borders, he [529]took him [530]prisoner, and [531]treated him like a vile [532]slave; for when he [533]mounted his [534]horse, he [535]set his [536]foot upon his [537]neck, who [538]bowed down [539]for that purpose. At last he [540]ordered him to be [541]flayed and [542]salted. This [543]victory over the Romans [544]happened in the year of Christ 260. After which Odenatus, a senator of the [545]Palmyrenians, whom Zenobia had [546]married, [547]bravely [548]repulsed the Persians that still [549]harassed the [550]borders.
[551]In the mean time Gallienus, wholly [552]given up to [553]luxury and [554]debauchery, [555]suffered the empire to be [556]torn to pieces by the Barbarians, and [557]tyrants. Odenatus, after the [558]taking of Nisibis and Carræ, and the [559]recovery of Mesopotamia, [560]upon routing of the king of the Persians, having [561]sent the great [562]lords of the Persians to him in [563]chains, he was [564]not ashamed to [565]triumph, as if he had [566]conquered them himself. Odenatus was [567]murdered by his [568]cousin, together with his son Herod, whose [569]wife Zenobia, being a [570]woman of a [571]masculine spirit, [572]undertook the government. Gallienus was slain with his brother Valerian at [573]Milan, as he was marching against Aureolus the tyrant. He reigned almost seven years with his father, and eight alone.
Claudius [574]succeeded him; a [575]frugal and [576]moderate prince, and very [577]serviceable to the public, who having [578]taken off the tyrant Aureolus, was very [579]successful against the [580]Goths, of whom he [581]slew 320,000, and [582]sunk 200 of their [583]ships. The rest of the Barbarians were [584]consumed at [585]Hæmimontium by [586]famine and [587]pestilence; and soon after Claudius [588]died of the same [589]plague, after a reign of one year and nine months.
His brother Quintilius [590]usurping the empire, was slain by the soldiers ten days after, who had now [591]made choice of Aurelian, a person of [592]mean birth, but [593]reckoned amongst the most [594]glorious princes, only rather too [595]cruel. He [596]subdued the Alemanni and Marcomanni, from whom the Romans had before [597]received a [598]signal [599]overthrow. After that victory he [600]came to Rome, [601]put several of the [602]senators to death, and [603]enlarged the [604]walls of the city. Then marching [605]eastward, he conquered Zenobia, whom with the tyrant [606]Tetrichus, he [607]led in [608]triumph. [609]Aurelius Victor tells us, he was the first of the Roman emperors who [610]wore a [611]diadem on his [612]head, or [613]used [614]jewels and [615]cloth of [616]gold. He was [617]taken off by [618]Mnestheus, a [619]notary to the [620]secretaries at [621]Cænophrurium, [622]betwixt [623]Byzantium and Heraclea. After his [624]death, there was an [625]interregnum of about seven months, [626]occasioned by a [627]dispute between the senate and the army, about the [628]choice of an emperor; at length Tacitus was [629]chosen by the senate, a person of [630]excellent [631]morals, and very [632]fit for the [633]government, he was [634]descended from Tacitus the [635]historian; and he [636]died of a [637]fever six months after at Tarsus. His brother Florianus [638]succeeded him: but Probus being [639]set up by a [640]majority of the army, Florianus [641]bled himself to death, two months after his brother died, in the year of Christ 276.
This Probus was [642]born in Pannonia Sirmiensis, a very fine man, and an excellent [643]soldier, of [644]unspotted morals. [645]As soon as he was [646]made emperor, he [647]punished all those who [648]had a hand in the death of Aurelian. After that, he [649]marched to [650]Gaul, [651]recovered several towns out of the [652]hands of the [653]Barbarians, and [654]slew nearly 70,000 of them. After [655]reducing [656]Gaul, he recovered [657]Illyricum, and [658]subdued the people [659]called the [660]Getæ; then going into the [661]East, he [662]fell upon the [663]Persians; when having [664]defeated them, and [665]taken several towns, he was [666]slain on his [667]return to Italy, by the soldiers, at [668]Sirmium, who [669]hated him for his great [670]severity. This [671]happened in the seventh year of his [672]reign, and the 282nd of Christ.
Probus was [673]succeeded by M. Aurelius Carus, [674]born at [675]Narbon in France, who [676]immediately [677]made his sons Carinus, and Numerianus, [678]Cæsars; and having [679]sent Carinus to [680]take the care of Gaul, he [681]marched into the [682]East against the Persians with Numerianus; where, after he had [683]reduced Mesopotamia, and marched as far as [684]Ctesiphon, he was [685]struck dead by [686]lightning, having [687]reigned about a year. Numerianus being much [688]concerned for his father’s death, [689]contracted a [690]weakness in his [691]eyes with [692]weeping, and was [693]slain by the [694]contrivance of Aper his [695]father-in-law.
Carinus was nothing [696]like his father and brother, being [697]guilty of all [698]manner of [699]wickedness; [700]wherefore he was [701]odious to all [702]ranks of [703]people. He was [704]betrayed by his own army at [705]Margum in Mœsia, and [706]killed by the soldiers of Dioclesian, who, as soon as Numerianus was [707]dead, [708]accepted of the [709]purple [710]offered him by the army, being born of [711]mean parents in [712]Dalmatia (for [713]he is said to have been the [714]slave of [715]Anulinus the senator), but a [716]gallant soldier. He [717]took his [718]oath in an [719]assembly of the soldiers, that he [720]had no hand in the death of Numerianus, and upon that [721]slew Aper with his own [722]hand; and so [723]fulfilled the [724]prophecy of him, that he should be emperor, when he had killed a [725]boar with his own hand; for which reason [726]as often as he [727]met with a boar, he [728]used to kill him. After he had killed Aper, he said he had [729]found the fatal boar. He [730]suppressed the [731]boors who made an [732]insurrection in Gaul, and [733]called themselves Bacaudæ, by means of [734]Maximianus Herculius, whom he [735]sent thither [736]for that purpose in the year 285, in which this Herculius was first made Cæsar, and the year [737]following he was made Augustus. About the same time Carausius having [738]seized upon [739]Britain, and Achilleus in [740]Egypt, [741]pretended to the empire; and in the [742]East, Narses king of Persia, being [743]ready to [744]fall upon the Romans, and Africa being [745]wasted by the [746]Quinquegentians, the better to [747]conduct all these wars at once, he [748]created Constantius Chlorus, and Galerius Maximianus, Cæsars. The latter was [749]born in Dacia, not far from Sardica, and was [750]surnamed [751]Armentarius, because he had been a [752]herdsman. Dioclesian [753]gave his daughter Valeria to Armentarius, and Maximianus Herculius [754]disposed of his step-daughter Theodora to Constantius. After this, Dioclesian [755]went to Egypt, Herculius into Africa, Armentarius into the East, and Constantius into Britain. Alexandria was [756]taken by Dioclesian, after a [757]siege of eight months, in the twelfth year of his reign. Ceransius was [758]killed by his friend [759]Alectus, eight years after his [760]revolt. At the same time the Quinquegentians were [761]reduced by Maximianus Herculius: and Galerius Armentarius [762]defeated by Narsus, being [763]haughtily [764]received by Dioclesian, he the year following 297, [765]revenged this [766]disgrace, by [767]routing the Persian army, and [768]taking the [769]wives, [770]sisters, and [771]children of Narsus prisoners; upon which Dioclesian received him [772]honourably in Mesopotamia.
At length, after a [773]splendid [774]triumph, Dioclesian and Herculius [775]laid down their [776]authority; the former did it [777]by choice, and [778]retired to Salonæ; the other was [779]prevailed upon more by the [780]authority of his [781]colleague, than from any [782]inclination for it. This [783]happened in the 20th of Dioclesian, and 304th year of Christ; upon which [784]Constantius Chlorus, and [785]Galerius Maximianus Armentarius, were [786]proclaimed emperors; Severus, and Galerius Maximianus, the [787]nephew of Armentarius by a sister, were [788]declared Cæsars. Constantius [789]divided the Roman empire with Maximian, [790]keeping to himself Gaul, Italy, and Africa; but the two [791]last he afterwards [792]left to his colleague, who had besides [793]Illyricum, Asia, and the [794]East. Of this he made Maximianus [795]governor, and [796]placed Severus in Italy.