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Curated category

3rd-century Roman emperors

  • HostilianGaius Valens Hostilianus Messius Quintus entered the world at an unknown date, born to Decius and Herennia Etruscilla. His full name included Perpenna or…
  • Constantius ChlorusFlavius Valerius Constantius entered the world on the 31st of March, though historians cannot name his birth year. His career and the age of his eldest son…
  • Gordian IMarcus Antonius Gordianus lived from 158 to April 238. His name suggests paternal ancestors received Roman citizenship under Mark Antony during the late…
  • CaracallaLucius Septimius Bassianus entered the world on the 4th of April 188 in the city of Lugdunum, Gaul. This location is now known as Lyon, France.
  • GallienusPublius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus entered the world around 218 AD, born into a wealthy senatorial family in Falerii, an ancient city in Etruria.
  • Septimius SeverusOn the 11th of April in 145, Lucius Septimius Severus drew his first breath within the walls of Leptis Magna. This city sat in the Roman province of Africa…
  • BalbinusDecimus Caelius Calvinus Balbinus emerged from the Roman aristocracy around 178 AD. His lineage remains a subject of historical conjecture rather than…
  • Claudius GothicusMarcus Aurelius Claudius was born on the 10th of May in 214. Some researchers suggest a later date of 219 or 220, yet most historians adhere to the first…
  • Gordian IIMarcus Antonius Gordianus was born in 192 to a family with deep roots in the Roman Republic. His praenomen and nomen suggest his ancestors received…
  • DiocletianIn the year 284, an army gathered on a hill outside Nicomedia to choose their new leader. The soldiers had just discovered that Emperor Numerian was dead…
  • GaleriusGalerius Valerius Maximianus arrived in the world between 258 and 260 within the Danube provinces. Ancient texts place his birth either near Serdica or at a…
  • MaximianMaximian was born around the year 250 near Sirmium in the province of Pannonia. His family owned a shop, and he grew up along the war-torn Danube frontier.
  • Maximinus ThraxGaius Julius Verus Maximinus Thrax emerged from the provinces of Moesia, a region along the Danube River. Ancient sources offer conflicting accounts of his…
  • AurelianAurelian entered the Roman army in 235, a year that marked the beginning of his ascent from modest circumstances. Most historians agree he was born on the…
  • Valerian (emperor)Valerian entered the Senate before AD 238 as a Suffectus consul. He later served as Ordinarius consul in that same year, marking his early ascent within…
  • ElagabalusMarcus Aurelius Antoninus arrived in the world between 203 and 204 as Sextus Varius Avitus Bassianus. His parents were Sextus Varius Marcellus and Julia…
  • MacrinusMarcus Opellius Macrinus was born in Caesarea, now known as Cherchell, within the Roman province of Mauretania Caesariensis.
  • Gordian IIIThe 20th of January in the year 225 marked the birth of Marcus Antonius Gordianus. Historical records regarding his early years remain frustratingly sparse…
  • Severus AlexanderOn the 13th of March 222, the Roman army hailed a thirteen-year-old boy as emperor. This young man was Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander, grandson of Julia…