Herodian, History of the Empire: a Standard history source. Covers AD 180 – 238, with 122 events in chronological order. Text license and provenance included.
| Type | Standard history |
|---|---|
| Viewpoint | Insider account |
| Years covered | AD 180 – 238 |
| Events | 122 events, 120 placed on the map |
| Author | Herodian of Antioch |
| Original title | Ἡρωδιανοῦ τῆς μετὰ Μάρκον βασιλείας ἱστορία (1749 영역본으로 추출) |
Regions: Southern Europe 70 · West Asia 28 · Western Europe 15 · Egypt & North Africa 7 · Eastern Europe & Russia 2
| Year | Place | Event | Passage |
|---|---|---|---|
| AD 180 | Pannonia (Danube frontier) | Marcus Aurelius dies of illness on the Danube front. He urges his son Commodus to treat his ministers well and passes away within a day and a night. | 1.4 |
| AD 180 | Pannonia (Danube frontier) | Commodus addresses the army from a platform and wins its loyalty by distributing a donative. | 1.5 |
| AD 180 | Pannonia (Danube frontier) | Flatterers disparage the Danube cold and extol the pleasures of Rome, so Commodus longs to return. | 1.6 |
| AD 180 | Pannonia (Danube frontier) | Pompeianus urges him to end the war and leave, saying "Rome is wherever the emperor is." Commodus asks for time. | 1.6 |
| AD 180 | Danube frontier | Commodus entrusts the frontier defenses to others, buys peace from the barbarians with money, and leaves for Rome. | 1.6 |
| AD 180 | Rome | As Commodus enters Rome, the Senate and the people meet him with laurels and flowers. He stops at the temple of Jupiter and then goes to the palace. | 1.7 |
| AD 182 | Rome | Commodus dismisses his father's friends and installs the Italian-born Perennis as praetorian prefect, entrusting him with the government. | 1.8 |
| AD 182 | Rome | His sister Lucilla incites Quintianus to plot Commodus's assassination. Quintianus draws a dagger in a theater passage, shouting, and is seized. | 1.8 |
| AD 182 | Rome | Quintianus's shout lodges in Commodus's heart, and from then on he regards the whole Senate as his enemy. | 1.8 |
| AD 185 | Rome | A man dressed as a philosopher bursts into the Capitoline games, crying "Perennis's dagger is at your throat." Perennis seizes and kills him. | 1.9 |
| AD 185 | Rome | 1,500 lancers sent by the army of Britain accuse Perennis of treason. Commodus executes him and his sons. | 1.9 |
| AD 186 – 187 | Gallia | The deserter Maternus gathers a band, plunders villages, and swells his force by opening prisons. Provincial governors cannot stop him. | 1.10 |
| AD 187 | Rome | Maternus disperses his men and slips into Italy to strike Commodus during the festival of Cybele, but is betrayed by a comrade, seized in Rome and beheaded. | 1.10 |
| AD 189 | Laurentum | A plague strikes Rome, and Commodus flees to a cool place with laurel groves (Laurentum). The plague spreads among men and beasts alike. | 1.12 |
| AD 190 | Rome | The praetorian prefect Cleander hoards grain and raises prices, deepening the famine (the grain official Papirius was under him). | 1.12 |
| AD 190 | Rome | The mob marches on the suburban villa demanding Cleander; cavalry cut them down while citizens throw stones and tiles from the rooftops. Street fighting erupts in Rome. | 1.12 |
| AD 190 | Rome | His sister Fadilla runs to Commodus and begs him to hand over the cause of the disaster. Cleander is beheaded, his head paraded on a spear, and the riot subsides. | 1.13 |
| AD 191 | Rome | A fire at night burns the Temple of Peace and nearby buildings, spreading as far as the temple of Vesta. People read it as an omen of war. | 1.14 |
| AD 192 | Rome | Commodus styles himself "Hercules, son of Jupiter" and goes about with a lion skin and club. He also renames the months. | 1.14 |
| AD 192 | Rome | In the amphitheater Commodus fells beasts with spear and arrows from a high platform. He also stages a show of killing 100 lions with 100 spears. | 1.15 |
| AD 192 | Rome | At the gladiator school Commodus prepares to greet the new year dressed as a gladiator, and leaves on his bed a death list naming Marcia, Laetus, Electus and others. | 1.16 |
| AD 192 | Rome | A young boy carries off the list; Marcia reads it and poisons his wine. When Commodus vomits, Narcissus strangles him. His 13-year reign ends. | 1.17 |
| AD 192 | Rome | Laetus, Electus and their companions go by night to Pertinax's house and urge him to take the throne. | 2.1 |
| AD 193 | Rome | At the praetorian camp Laetus announces Commodus's death; the crowd hails Pertinax as Augustus and the soldiers follow. | 2.2 |
| AD 193 | Rome | Pertinax begins reforms: giving uncultivated land to those who cultivate it with a ten-year tax exemption, and abolishing tolls and informers. | 2.4 |
| AD 193 | Rome | Praetorian guards storm the palace at noon. Pertinax tries to calm them with a speech, but some rush him and kill him. | 2.5 |
| AD 193 | Rome | From the camp wall the guards shout that they will sell the empire to the highest bidder. Julianus climbs up and wins it by promising each soldier a large sum. | 2.6 |
| AD 193 | Rome | Soldiers escort Julianus to the palace, but the citizens, cursing him for buying the empire with money, follow at a distance. | 2.6 |
| AD 193 | Antioch on the Orontes | Niger, governor of Syria, accepts the throne at Antioch at the citizens' request and holds an accession ceremony of purple robe and fire carried before him around the temples. | 2.8 |
| AD 193 | Carnuntum | Severus, governor of Pannonia, proclaims vengeance for Pertinax, and his army declares him emperor. | 2.9 |
| AD 193 | Pannonia (Danube frontier) | Severus gives his army only minimal baggage and sets out in haste for Rome. | 2.11 |
| AD 193 | Rome | Italian cities open their gates to Severus with laurels in hand. Julianus cannot defend himself. | 2.11 |
| AD 193 | Rome | The Senate proclaims Severus sole emperor, and the tribune it sends kills the abandoned Julianus. | 2.12 |
| AD 193 | Rome | Severus has the praetorians come out unarmed with only laurels, encircles them with spears and rebukes them, then strips them of arms and belts and drives them out. | 2.13 |
| AD 193 | Rome | Severus enters Rome without a single battle. The Senate and people greet him with laurels. | 2.14 |
| AD 193 | Britannia (province) | Severus placates Albinus in Britain by granting him the title of Caesar and promising him the succession. | 2.15 |
| AD 193 | Rome | Severus distributes donatives, selects a new praetorian guard, and gathers recruits in Italy to prepare an eastern campaign. The Illyrian army comes down to Thrace to join him. | 2.15 |
| AD 193 – 194 | Cyzicus | Aemilianus, governor of Asia sent by Niger, and Severus's troops clash repeatedly at Cyzicus. Severus's forces win. | 3.2 |
| AD 193 – 194 | Nicaea (Bithynia) | In Bithynia, Nicomedia sides with Severus and Nicaea with Niger, and each city sends out forces to fight. Severus's army wins again. | 3.2 |
| AD 193 – 196 | Byzantium | Byzantium, which had sided with Niger, surrenders after a long siege. Its walls and ornaments are torn down, it is reduced to an open village, and its people are made subject to Perinthus. | 3.6 |
| AD 194 | Laodicea (Syria) | Niger sends Moorish troops against Laodicea and Tyre, which had turned to Severus, massacring the inhabitants and burning the cities. | 3.3 |
| AD 194 | Cilician Gates (Taurus pass) | As Severus's troops attack the wall at the Taurus pass, an overnight downpour swells a torrent that collapses the wall, opening the road, and they descend into Cilicia. | 3.3 |
| AD 194 | Issus | Niger fights on the plain of Issus with a large army made up mostly of recruits, but is badly defeated and flees. | 3.4 |
| AD 194 | Antioch on the Orontes | Niger, fleeing toward Antioch, is caught by pursuers and killed. | 3.4 |
| AD 195 – 196 | Rome | With no pretext to attack Albinus in open war, Severus tries to eliminate him secretly. | 3.5 |
| AD 196 | Rome | Severus explains to the army why he struck Niger and incites them to punish Albinus's betrayal in the same way. | 3.6 |
| AD 197 | Lugdunum (Lyon) | Severus's and Albinus's armies fight a decisive battle in Gaul. Severus's army revives from a crisis and wins, and Albinus dies. | 3.7 |
| AD 197 | Gallia | Severus appoints two governors for Britain and settles Gaul, killing those who had aided Albinus and confiscating their property. | 3.8 |
| AD 197 | Rome | Severus rides into Rome on horseback; the citizens greet him with laurels and the Senate offers him honorific titles. | 3.8 |
| AD 198 | Rome | Herodian criticizes Severus for loosening army discipline by allowing soldiers grain rations, gold rings and living with their wives. | 3.8 |
| AD 198 – 199 | Hatra | Severus besieges Hatra in Mesopotamia, but the city is strong and he withdraws with only losses. | 3.9 |
| AD 204 | Rome | Severus holds the Secular Games and placates the citizens with a great spectacle in which hundreds of beasts are killed, and with frequent donatives. | 3.8 |
| AD 205 | Rome | Plautianus sends a tribune on a plot to kill the emperor and his sons; it is exposed, and he is summoned to the palace and murdered. His body is thrown into the street. | 3.11 |
| AD 208 | Britannia (province) | On news of a revolt by the barbarians in Britain, the aging Severus crosses by ship with his two sons. | 3.14 |
| AD 208 | Britannia (province) | Severus leaves his young son Geta in Roman territory to handle administration and marches against the Britons, who hide in marshes and thickets. | 3.14 |
| AD 211 | Eboracum (York) | The ailing Severus hands command of the army to his son and dies, leaving his two sons wealth and a mighty army. | 3.15 |
| AD 211 | Rome | Severus's funeral and deification take place in Rome. It is believed that an eagle rising from the burning pyre carries his soul to heaven. | 4.2 |
| AD 211 | Rome | The two brothers divide the palace, suspect each other of poisoning, and even eat at separate tables. The army and officials split into two factions. | 4.3 |
| AD 211 | Byzantium | A proposal to divide the empire: Antoninus would camp at Byzantium in Europe and Geta at Chalcedon in Asia. It fails because of their mother's opposition. | 4.3 |
| AD 211 | Rome | After Geta's murder, Caracalla tells the praetorians in excuse that "my brother attacked me with armed men." | 4.4 |
| AD 212 | Rome | Caracalla kills a great many of Geta's associates, including the praetorian prefect and jurist Papinian. | 4.6 |
| AD 213 | Danube frontier | Caracalla leaves for the Danube, eats simply like a soldier and mostly marches on foot. | 4.7 |
| AD 214 | Ilium/Troia | At Achilles' tomb at Ilium, Caracalla lays a wreath and imitates Achilles. It is reported that he poisoned a friend to make him his Patroclus. | 4.8 |
| AD 214 | Antioch on the Orontes | Passing through Asia Minor and Bithynia, he reaches Antioch, is given a grand welcome and stays for a time. | 4.8 |
| AD 215 | Alexandria | The people of Alexandria greet him lavishly with flowers and incense. The emperor sacrifices at the temples and dedicates clothing and rings at Alexander's tomb. | 4.8 |
| AD 215 | Alexandria | Caracalla gathers the young men on the pretext of a review, surrounds them with soldiers and massacres them. They are buried in heaps in pits, and blood stains the mouths of the Nile. | 4.9 |
| AD 216 | Ctesiphon | Caracalla asks for the hand of the daughter of the Parthian king Artabanus. The king refuses, citing the two peoples' differing cultures, but wavers at gifts and oaths and consents. | 4.10 |
| AD 216 | Mesopotamia | As he crosses the river into Parthian territory, the Parthians greet the bridegroom with garlands and music. Caracalla gives a signal, massacres the unarmed crowd and plunders. | 4.11 |
| AD 217 | Carrhae (Harran) | Caracalla sets out with only a small cavalry escort to visit the temple of the Moon at Carrhae. | 4.13 |
| AD 217 | Carrhae (Harran) | Martialis stabs Caracalla from behind as he steps away alone to relieve himself, and kills him. The prefect Macrinus had arranged it. | 4.13 |
| AD 217 | Antioch on the Orontes | The army raises Macrinus to emperor (they first proposed an older man, who declined). | 4.14 |
| AD 217 | Nisibis | Macrinus's army confronts the Parthians and scatters caltrops that injure camels and cavalry. Bodies pile up like mountains, and both sides withdraw. | 4.15 |
| AD 218 | Nisibis | Artabanus makes a treaty with Macrinus in return for the return of prisoners and goods, and goes home. | 4.15 |
| AD 218 | Emesa | At Emesa the boy Bassianus, high priest of the sun god Elagabal, performs the rites in splendid eastern dress. Roman troops stationed nearby gather to watch. | 5.3 |
| AD 218 | Emesa | Maesa says her grandson is Caracalla's son and promises money. The soldiers open the gates by night, receive him, call him "Antoninus" and dress him in purple. | 5.3 |
| AD 218 | Emesa | When the general sent by Macrinus surrounds the camp, the boy is shown on the wall along with bags of money to win the soldiers over. The soldiers come over. | 5.4 |
| AD 218 | Antioch on the Orontes | The defeated Macrinus shaves his beard, slips out of Antioch dressed as a traveler, and runs day and night. | 5.4 |
| AD 218 | Antioch on the Orontes | The entire eastern army goes over to Antoninus (Elagabalus) and proclaims him emperor. Under his grandmother's guardianship he settles the East and prepares a march on Rome. | 5.5 |
| AD 219 | Rome | Urged on by Maesa, Elagabalus sets out for Rome. | 5.5 |
| AD 220 | Rome | Elagabalus holds a procession carrying the black stone idol along a road strewn with gold dust, and the citizens follow with torches and flowers. | 5.6 |
| AD 220 | Rome | Elagabalus marries a Vestal Virgin, excusing it by saying a marriage of priest and priestess is fitting. | 5.6 |
| AD 220 | Carthage | Elagabalus has the statue of the Carthaginian goddess (Urania) and the gold of her temple brought to Rome. | 5.6 |
| AD 221 | Rome | The soldiers, scorning Elagabalus's women's dress and dancing, turn to the prudent Alexander and protect him. His mother Mamaea even checks his food herself. | 5.7 |
| AD 222 | Rome | In the praetorian camp the soldiers cheer only Alexander. Enraged, Elagabalus tries to punish the troublemakers, and the soldiers kill him and his mother. Their bodies are thrown into a sewer. | 5.8 |
| AD 222 | Rome | The soldiers proclaim Alexander emperor and bring him into the palace. Still young, he is under the guidance of his mother and grandmother. | 5.8 |
| AD 222 | Rome | Alexander fills offices with learned jurists and officers with war experience. His mother keeps away from the palace those who would corrupt him. | 6.1 |
| AD 230 | Mesopotamia | News reaches Rome that the Persian Artaxerxes has overthrown Parthia, threatens Mesopotamia and Syria, and claims all of Asia as former Persian territory. | 6.2 |
| AD 231 | Antioch on the Orontes | Alexander tries to soothe him by letter, telling him to stay in his own land, but Artaxerxes replies in a coercive tone, sending 400 magnificently attired envoys. | 6.4 |
| AD 232 | Mesopotamia | Alexander sets out with the army divided into three columns. His mother wants to keep her son away from danger, so the emperor spares himself. | 6.5 |
| AD 232 | Mesopotamia | One column is wiped out by arrows pouring from every side. Alexander falls ill and disease spreads through the camp; losses on both sides are similar, but Rome does not win. | 6.6 |
| AD 234 | Mogontiacum (Mainz) | Facing the threat of the Germans crossing the Rhine, Alexander reluctantly leads the army and hurries from northern Italy to the Rhine bank. | 6.7 |
| AD 234 | Mogontiacum (Mainz) | He tries to move the army across the Rhine on a bridge of boats and plans to deploy Moorish and Osroene archers brought from the East. | 6.7 |
| AD 235 | Mogontiacum (Mainz) | Alexander tries to buy peace through envoys and passes the time with chariot races and the like, enraging the soldiers. | 6.7 |
| AD 235 | Mogontiacum (Mainz) | During a review the soldiers dress Maximinus in purple and have him hailed as emperor. He first refuses, then accepts at swordpoint. | 7.1 |
| AD 235 | Mogontiacum (Mainz) | Tribunes and centurions sent by Maximinus burst into Alexander's tent and kill mother and son. His 14-year reign ends. | 7.1 |
| AD 235 | Mogontiacum (Mainz) | Centurions including Magnus try to cut the Rhine bridge and strike Maximinus, but are exposed. Quartinus is made emperor against his will and then betrayed. | 7.1 |
| AD 235 – 236 | Germania | Maximinus crosses the Rhine and pursues Germans hiding in forests and marshes. He rides into a lake to fight, and the marsh is filled with corpses. | 7.2 |
| AD 236 | Sirmium | Maximinus spends the winter at Sirmium and prepares for the next year's campaign. | 7.2 |
| AD 236 – 238 | Maximinus encourages informing, turning the rich into beggars, and plunders even cities' grain stores and the funds for theaters and temples. | 7.3 | |
| AD 238 | Thysdrus | In Africa (Libya), when the governor tries to seize young men's property, they gather tenant farmers and stab him to death in the forum at dawn. The revolt begins. | 7.4 |
| AD 238 | Thysdrus | The rebel youths rouse the governor Gordian from his bedchamber and hail him as emperor. He feigns refusal, then accepts. | 7.5 |
| AD 238 | Carthage | Gordian moves from Thysdrus to Carthage, assumes imperial dignity, and writes to Rome's leading men and the Senate. | 7.6 |
| AD 238 | Rome | Quaestors sent by Gordian approach Maximinus's praetorian prefect Vitalianus on the pretext of a secret letter and stab him to death. | 7.6 |
| AD 238 | Rome | The Senate sends messengers to provincial governors. Most kill Maximinus's officials and side with Rome, but some kill the messengers or send them to Maximinus. | 7.7 |
| AD 238 | Sirmium | Maximinus orders a march on Italy, distributes donatives, and sets out with a large army including Germans, and siege engines. | 7.8 |
| AD 238 | Carthage | Capelianus, governor of Numidia, sides with Maximinus and attacks Carthage; the untrained Carthaginian force collapses, and Gordian II is killed in battle, his body never found. | 7.9 |
| AD 238 | Rome | The Senate elects Pupienus Maximus and Balbinus as joint emperors. | 7.10 |
| AD 238 | Rome | At the citizens' demand, the boy Gordian (grandson of Gordian I) is brought and made Caesar. | 7.10 |
| AD 238 | Rome | The citizens, even rallying gladiators, attack the praetorian camp, but the soldiers open the gates and counterattack, and gladiators and the crowd fall. | 7.11 |
| AD 238 | Rome | A large part of the city is burned. The looting is done by the lower classes mixed into the crowd. | 7.11 |
| AD 238 | Emona | Aemona (Emona), the first city Maximinus's army meets at the edge of the plain, is empty: the inhabitants have set fire to temples and houses and removed the food. The soldiers fear hunger. | 8.1 |
| AD 238 | Emona | At sunrise the next day they climb into the Alps and cross the narrow pass fearing ambushes. Italians do not guard it, and the soldiers are bewildered. | 8.1 |
| AD 238 | Aquileia | The citizens of Aquileia repair the walls, send back the envoys urging surrender under senatorial commanders, and resolve to hold out to the end. | 8.2 |
| AD 238 | Aquileia | The people of Aquileia break the bridge over the river swollen with snowmelt, so Maximinus's army builds a bridge of empty wine casks lashed together in place of logs. | 8.4 |
| AD 238 | Aquileia | Maximinus's army encircles the city and attacks without rest, but the garrison pours down a mixture of sulphur, asphalt and pitch that heats the iron armor, and the army suffers heavily. | 8.4 |
| AD 238 | Aquileia | The soldiers of the Roman camp on Mount Albanus, worried about their wives and children, rush to the tent at midday, kill Maximinus and his son, and throw the bodies to dogs and birds. | 8.5 |
| AD 238 | Aquileia | The heads of Maximinus and his son are sent to Rome. The soldiers lay down their arms and seek reconciliation before the walls, and the Aquileians welcome them warmly. | 8.6 |
| AD 238 | Ravenna | At Ravenna, Pupienus gathers Italian elite troops and Germanic auxiliaries to prepare against Maximinus. | 8.6 |
| AD 238 | Rome | On news of Maximinus's death, the people of Rome rush out in joy and Balbinus offers sacrifices. | 8.6 |
| AD 238 | Rome | The praetorians, suspicious of the German guards the emperors keep beside them, cause a disturbance during the Capitoline games. | 8.8 |
| AD 238 | Rome | Praetorians storm the palace, tear the clothing of the two old emperors, mutilate their bodies, kill them and leave them in the street. | 8.8 |
| AD 238 | Rome | The praetorians hail the boy Gordian as emperor and shout to the citizens that they had "only removed the two they disliked." | 8.8 |
Herodian, History of the Roman Empire after Marcus, 1749 English translation (archive.org OCR, 긴 s 복원 처리)
PD (1749, archive.org PD Mark)
https://archive.org/details/HerodiansHistoryOfHisOwnTimesOrOfTheRomanEmpireAfterMarcus