Italy: Icon of Pescennius Niger (135/140-194), usurper emperor, from the book Icones imperatorvm romanorvm (Icons of Roman Emperors), Antwerp, c. 1645

Pescennius Niger (135/140-194) was born into an old Italian equestrian family, and was the first member to become a Roman senator. He was appointed by Commodus to be imperial legate of Syria in 191, where he was serving when news came of the murder of Pertinax in 193 and the auctioning of the imperial throne to Didius Julianus.

Niger was a well regarded public figure, and the citizens of Rome called out for him to return to Rome and claim the title from Julianus. Consequently, the eastern legions proclaimed Niger as emperor in 193, the second emperor to claim the imperial title after Septimius Severus. The resulting chaos and civil war was known as the Year of the Five Emperors, with claimants all across the Roman Empire vying for the throne.

Niger and Severus fought in the east to see who would become undisputed emperor, though Niger was militarily outmatched and outnumbered. Severus offered Niger the chance to surrender and go into exile, but he refused, and was eventually captured in 194. He was beheaded, with his severed head travelling to Byzantium first in an attempt to cow the city into surrendering, before eventually arriving in Rome where it was displayed for all to see.

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Supplier: CPA Media Co. Ltd.

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