"once the Roman soldiers contracted a deadly disease (possibly smallpox) that soon ravaged the Roman world. Although they withdrew, from this point forward the city of Dura-Europos remained in Roman hands. When Roman emperor Septimius Severus (""r"". 193–211 AD) invaded Mesopotamia in 197 AD during the reign of Vologases V of Parthia (""r"". c. 191–208 AD), the Romans once again marched down the Euphrates and captured Seleucia and Ctesiphon. After assuming the title ""Parthicus Maximus"", he retreated in late 198 AD, failing as Trajan once did to capture Hatra during a siege. Around 212 AD, soon after Vologases VI of"
"of Nero, compromising the long-term strength of the economy. Severus was also distinguished for his buildings. Apart from the triumphal arch in the Roman Forum carrying his full name, he also built the Septizodium in Rome. He enriched his native city of Leptis Magna, including commissioning a triumphal arch on the occasion of his visit of 203. The greater part of the Flavian Palace overlooking the Circus Maximus was undertaken in his reign. Septimius Severus Septimius Severus (; ; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211), also known as Severus, was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born"
"Galerius Galerius (; ; ""circa"" 250 – April or May 311) was Roman emperor from 305 to 311. During his reign, he campaigned, aided by Diocletian, against the Sassanid Empire, sacking their capital Ctesiphon in 299. He also campaigned across the Danube against the Carpi, defeating them in 297 and 300. Although he was a staunch opponent of Christianity, Galerius ended the Diocletianic Persecution when he issued an Edict of Toleration in Serdica in 311. Galerius was born near Serdica, in Dacia Ripensis, later named Dacia Mediterranea, though some modern scholars consider the strategic site where he later built his"
"and many Iberian and Celtiberian warriors fought for both Rome and Carthage, though most tribes sided with Carthage. Rome sent Gnaeus and Publius Cornelius Scipio to conquer Iberia from Carthage. Gnaeus subsequently defeated the Iberian Ilergetes tribe north of the Ebro who were allied with Carthage, conquered the Iberian oppidum of Tarraco and defeated the Carthaginian fleet. After the arrival of Publius Scipio, Tarraco was fortified and, by 211 BC, the Scipio brothers had overrun the Carthaginian and allied forces south of the Ebro. However, during this campaign, Publius Scipio was killed in battle and Gnaeus died in the retreat."
"time and refortified. Severus died on 4 February 211 in ""Eburacum"". In 287-296, during the usurpation of Carausius, Hadrian's Wall had fallen into disrepair and was partially destroyed in fighting. At the same time Carausius successfully defended his island kingdom against barbarian invasions. By his order Hadrian's Wall was repaired in order to re-establish an effective barrier against the northern Picts and Scots. As in his earlier actions against Frankish pirates Carausius rebuilt good diplomatic relations with the northern barbarians, and his local military successes may have been partly due to his good contacts with their leaders. Carausius' successor, Allectus,"
"Fabius Maximus Verrucosus, nicknamed ""Cunctator"" (""the delayer""), Claudius Marcellus, and Fulvius Flaccus. The ""Fabian Strategy"" favoured a slow reconquest of the lost territories, since Hannibal could not be everywhere to defend them. Although he remained invincible on the battlefield, defeating all the Roman armies on his way, he could not prevent Claudius Marcellus from taking Syracuse in 212 after a long siege, nor the fall of his bases of Capua and Tarentum in 211 and 209. However, in 208 the consuls Claudius Marcellus and Quinctius Crispinus were ambushed and killed near Venusia. In Hispania, the situation was overall much better"
"March 11, 222, Elagabalus was killed by members of the Praetorian Guard, and replaced by his cousin Severus Alexander. Elagabalus' religious edicts were reversed, and the statues which had been moved to the Elagabalium were restored to their original shrines. Elagabalium The Elagabalium was a temple built by the Roman emperor Elagabalus, located on the north-east corner of the Palatine Hill. During Elagabalus' reign from 218 until 222, the Elagabalium was the center of a controversial religious cult, dedicated to Deus Sol Invictus, of which the emperor himself was the high priest. The temple was a colonnaded structure some 70"
"into believing that the whole Roman army was still in camp, while he marched with a selected corps north and reinforced the Romans engaged against Hasdrubal. The combined Roman force attacked Hasdrubal and destroyed his army at the Battle of the Metaurus on 22 June 207 BC, killing Hasdrubal and scattering the survivors of his army. The outcome of Metaurus confirmed Roman dominance in Italy. Without Hasdrubal's troops, Hannibal was compelled to evacuate allied towns in Italy and withdraw to Bruttium. In the Battle of Ilipa (206 BC), Scipio with 48,000 men, half of them Italians and the rest Spaniards,"
"was killed by a Roman soldier. In 211 BC, Hannibal sent a force of Numidian cavalry to Sicily, which was led by the skilled Liby-Phoenician officer Mottones, who inflicted heavy losses on Marcellus' army through hit-and-run attacks. Agrigentum's Carthaginian garrison under Hanno engaged Marcellus at the river Himera and were crushed. In 211 BC, Rome countered the Macedonian threat with a Greek alliance of the Aetolians, Elis, Sparta, Messenia and Attalus I of Pergamon, as well as two Roman clients, the Illyrians Pleuratus and Scerdilaidas. In 210 BC, Scipio Africanus arrived in Spain on with a proconsular ""imperium"" and more"
"the ""Emperor Claudius"" in 270 AD and as a result was beheaded. Since then, February 14 marks Valentine's Day, a day set aside by the Christian church in memory of the Roman priest and physician. Claudius Gothicus Claudius Gothicus (; May 10, 214 – January 270), also known as Claudius II, was Roman emperor from 268 to 270. During his reign he fought successfully against the Alemanni and decisively defeated the Goths at the Battle of Naissus. He died after succumbing to ""pestilence"", possibly the Plague of Cyprian that had ravaged the provinces of the Empire. Claudius' origin is uncertain."
"empire should be called, not the Roman, but the Dacian Empire, much to the horror of the patricians and senators. He exhibited anti-Roman attitude as soon as he had attained the highest power, treating the Roman citizens with ruthless cruelty, like the conquerors treated the conquered, all in the name of the same treatment that the victorious Trajan had applied to the conquered Dacians, forefathers of Galerius, two centuries before. Galerius Peak in Antarctica is named after Emperor Galerius. Galerius Galerius (; ; ""circa"" 250 – April or May 311) was Roman emperor from 305 to 311. During his reign,"
"Claudius Gothicus Claudius Gothicus (; May 10, 214 – January 270), also known as Claudius II, was Roman emperor from 268 to 270. During his reign he fought successfully against the Alemanni and decisively defeated the Goths at the Battle of Naissus. He died after succumbing to ""pestilence"", possibly the Plague of Cyprian that had ravaged the provinces of the Empire. Claudius' origin is uncertain. Born on May 10, 214, he was either from Sirmium in Pannonia Inferior or from Naissus in Moesia Superior. According to the fourth-century ""Epitome de Caesaribus"", he would be the son of one of Emperor"
"legion stationed in the city. This subdivision of Britannia lasted throughout the Severan dynasty until the reorganisation of the empire under Diocletian in 296. During the reign of Commodus, the defences along the northern border of the empire in Britannia fell into neglect and disrepair. The peace of the region was further disturbed in the tumultuous period after Commodus' death as the military power vacuum on the continent distracted the defensive legions stationed in Britannia. After his accession in 193, Severus took special interest in refortifying the northern border in Britannia, and in 208 he moved to Eboracum to oversee"
"Elagabalus Elagabalus (), also known as Heliogabalus (; 203 – 11 March 222), was Roman emperor from 218 to 222. A member of the Severan dynasty, he was Syrian, the second son of Julia Soaemias and Sextus Varius Marcellus. In his early youth he served the god Elagabalus as a priest in Emesa, the hometown of his mother's family. As a private citizen, he was probably named Sextus Varius Avitus Bassianus. Upon becoming emperor he took the name Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus. He was called Elagabalus only after his death. In 217, the emperor Caracalla was assassinated and replaced by"
"of the Roman pantheon. The god was renamed ""Deus Sol Invictus"", meaning ""God of the Undefeated Sun"", and was honored even above Jupiter. Elagabalus and his entourage spent the winter of 218 in Bithynia at Nicomedia, where the emperor's religious beliefs first presented themselves as a problem. The contemporary historian Cassius Dio suggests that Gannys was in fact killed by the new emperor because he pressured Elagabalus to live ""temperately and prudently"". To help Romans adjust to having an oriental priest as emperor, Julia Maesa (Soaemias's mother) had a painting of Elagabalus in priestly robes sent to Rome and hung"
"of the Caledonians through starvation. By 210 however, the Caledonians had re-formed their alliance with the Maeatae and joined their fresh offensive. A punitive expedition led by Severus' son, Caracalla, was sent out with the purpose of slaughtering everyone it encountered from any of the northern tribes. Severus meanwhile prepared for total conquest but was already ill; he died at Eboracum (modern day York) in ""Britannia"" in 211. Caracalla attempted to take over command but when his troops refused to recognise him as emperor, he made peace with the Caledonians and retreated south of Hadrian's Wall to press his claim"
"Marcus Claudius Marcellus Marcus Claudius Marcellus (; c. 268 – 208 BC), five times elected as consul of the Roman Republic, was an important Roman military leader during the Gallic War of 225 BC and the Second Punic War. Marcellus gained the most prestigious award a Roman general could earn, the ""spolia opima"", for killing the Gallic military leader and king Viridomarus in hand-to-hand combat in 222 BC at the Battle of Clastidium. Furthermore, he is noted for having conquered the fortified city of Syracuse in a protracted siege during which Archimedes, the famous mathematician, scientist and inventor, was killed."
"The Imperial court was based in York until at least 211, in which year Severus died and was succeeded by his sons, Caracalla and Geta. A biographer, Cassius Dio, described a scene in which the Emperor utters the final words to his two sons on his death bed: ""Agree with each other, make the soldiers rich, and ignore everyone else."" Severus was cremated in Eboracum shortly after his death. Dio described the ceremony: ""His body arrayed in military garb was placed upon a pyre, and as a mark of honour the soldiers and his sons ran about it and as"
"everyday for the Roman army. Another was Cluvia Facula, a prostitute, who supplied food to the Roman prisoners of war. When Capua was defeated, the Roman Senate gave back their freedom and property and rewarded them. These two momen were even praised at an important Senate meeting in 210 BCE. Valerius gives another example of gratitude when he writes of Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus (c. 280 BC – 203 BC), called Cunctator (""the Delayer""). Fabius died in 203 BCE after being consul for five terms. Many people of Rome generously gave money to his funeral in gratitude for his leadership."
"other traits with which Elagabalus is commonly identified. Due to the ancient tradition about him, Elagabalus became something of an (anti-)hero in the Decadent movement of the late 19th century. He often appears in literature and other creative media as the epitome of a young, amoral aesthete. His life and character have informed or at least inspired many famous works of art, by Decadents, even by contemporary artists. The most notable of these works include: Elagabalus Elagabalus (), also known as Heliogabalus (; 203 – 11 March 222), was Roman emperor from 218 to 222. A member of the Severan"
"and strengthening Rome's position in the Iberian peninsula. He continued the Iberian campaigns until 211, when he was killed during the defeat of his army at the upper Baetis river by the Carthaginians and their Iberian allies under Indibilis and Mandonius. That same year, Calvus and his army were destroyed at Ilorci near Carthago Nova. The details of these campaigns are not completely known, but it seems that the ultimate defeat and death of the two Scipiones was due to the desertion of the Celtiberians, who were bribed by Hasdrubal Barca, Hannibal's brother. The son of Lucius Cornelius Scipio, he"
"Capua fell. In 212 BC, Marcellus conquered Syracuse and the Romans destroyed the Carthaginian army in Sicily in 211–210 BC. In 210 BC, the Romans entered into an alliance with the Aetolian League to counter Philip V of Macedon. Philip, who attempted to exploit Rome's preoccupation in Italy to conquer Illyria, now found himself under attack from several sides at once and was quickly subdued by Rome and her Greek allies. In 210 BC, Hannibal again proved his superiority in tactics by inflicting a severe defeat at the Battle of Herdonia (modern Ordona) in Apulia upon a proconsular army and,"
"of Abraham and Jesus in his oratory, along with other Roman deities and classical figures. Severus Alexander Severus Alexander (; ; c.207 - 19 March 235) was Roman Emperor from 222 to 235 and the last emperor of the Severan dynasty. He succeeded his cousin Elagabalus upon the latter's assassination in 222. His own assassination marked the epoch event for the Crisis of the Third Century—nearly 50 years of civil wars, foreign invasion, and collapse of the monetary economy, though this last part is now disputed. Alexander was the heir to his cousin, the 19-year-old Emperor who had been murdered"
"majority of the Roman army in Iberia and killing both the Scipios. Carthaginians gained control of Iberia up to the Ebro as a result of this victory. However, the lack of cooperation between the Carthaginian generals led to the surviving Roman force of 8,000 retiring safely to the north of the river Ebro. These troops somehow managed to keep the Carthaginian armies from gaining a foothold north of the Ebro. The Romans reinforced this detachment with 10,000 troops under Claudius Nero in 211 BC and with another 10,000 soldiers under Scipio Africanus Major in 210 BC, who spent the year"
"Fulvius Flaccus, who also captured his camp. In the following Battle of the Silarus, in the same year, the Romans under Marcus Centenius were ambushed and lost all but 1,000 of their 16,000 effectives. Also, in 212 BC, the Battle of Herdonia resulted in another Roman defeat, with only 2,000 Romans out of a force of 18,000 surviving a direct attack by Hannibal's numerically superior forces, combined with an ambush that cut off the Roman line of retreat. During the Roman Siege of Capua (211 BC), Hannibal again tried to regain use of his main harbour as in the previous"
"Scotland. This may have been due either to Roman military aggression or the collapse of local grain markets in the wake of Roman withdrawal. By 210, Severus' campaigning had made significant gains, but his campaign was cut short when he fell fatally ill, dying at Eboracum in 211. Although his son Caracalla continued campaigning the following year, he soon settled for peace. The Romans never campaigned deep into Caledonia again: they soon withdrew south permanently to Hadrian's Wall. It was during the negotiations to purchase the truce necessary to secure the Roman retreat to the wall that the first recorded"
"army of 80,000 Romans and allies was amassed together to smash the Carthaginian army under Hannibal. The historian Polybius records that both he and Servilius died fighting bravely at the Battle of Cannae. However, there was a Marcus Atilius Regulus who was Praetor Urbanus (and later also Peregrinus), but it is thought that this person is actually a textual mis-reading of the name Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. It is unlikely that the aged, former consul would become a Praetor again three years after Cannae. His younger brother Gaius was killed fighting the Gauls at the Battle of Telamon in 225 BC,"
"site of the famous defeat dealt the Romans by Hannibal in 216 BC: Cannae. This second battle of Cannae was a disaster both for the Normans, who lost their leader Gilbert, and for the Lombards, whose leaders fled: Melus to the ""Samnite lands"" (Amatus) of the Papal States and Dattus to Montecassino and the tower again. Melus continued wandering through south and central Italy and finally northwards to Germany. He ended up at the imperial court of Henry II in Bamberg. Though greatly honoured (he was given the empty title Duke of Apulia by the emperor), he died a broken"
"womb of the mother, if it be male; let it nevertheless not escape sheer destruction."" Severus' campaign was cut short when he fell ill. He withdrew to Eboracum (York) and died there in 211. Although his son Caracalla continued campaigning the following year, he soon settled for peace. The Romans never campaigned deep into Caledonia again. Shortly after this the frontier was permanently withdrawn south to Hadrian's Wall. Severus is famously said to have given the advice to his sons: ""Be harmonious, enrich the soldiers, scorn all others"" before he died on 4 February 211. On his death, Severus was"
"the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"" (1776–89), ""Twenty-two acknowledged concubines, and a library of sixty-two thousand volumes, attested to the variety of [Gordian's] inclinations; and from the productions that he left behind him, it appears that the former as well as the latter were designed for use rather than ostentation."" Gordian II Gordian II (; c. 193 – April 12, 238) was Roman Emperor for 21 days with his father Gordian I in 238, the Year of the Six Emperors. Seeking to overthrow Emperor Maximinus Thrax, he died in battle outside Carthage. Since he died before his father,"
"C. Fulvius Flaccus faced Hannibal and his forces. Claudius' army assisted in the defeat of Hannibal in that battle and Capua later succumbed to the Roman siege in 211 BC after the failure of Hannibal's march on Rome. With Capua now captured, the Senate was able to focus on the situation in Spain. Rome urgently required a new general to fill the vacuum of command left there by the deaths of Gnaeus and Publius Cornelius Scipio. Late in 211 BC Claudius was appointed to Spain as propraetor with an army of 6,000 Roman infantry and 300 Roman cavalry, alongside an"
"Parthia (""r"". c. 208–222 AD) took the throne, his brother Artabanus V of Parthia (d. 224 AD) rebelled against him and gained control over a greater part of the empire. Meanwhile, the Roman emperor Caracalla (""r"". 211–217 AD) deposed the kings of Osroene and Armenia to make them Roman provinces once more. He marched into Mesopotamia under the pretext of marrying one of Artabanus' daughters, but—because the marriage was not allowed—made war on Parthia and conquered Arbil east of the Tigris river. Caracalla was assassinated the next year on the road to Carrhae by his soldiers. After this debacle, the"
"in 214 BC. During the ""Third Illyrian War"" in 168 BC the Illyrian king Gentius allied himself with the Macedonians. First in 171 BC, he was allied with the Romans against the Macedonians, but in 169 he changed sides and allied himself with Perseus of Macedon. He arrested two Roman legati and destroyed the cities of Apollonia and Dyrrhachium, which were allied with Rome. In 168 he was defeated at Scodra by a Roman force under L. Anicius Gallus, and in 167 brought to Rome as a captive to participate in Gallus' triumph, after which he was interned in Iguvium."