Clodius Albinus

Clodius Albinus governed Britain, was made Caesar to keep him quiet, and lost the empire at Lyon. Born at Hadrumetum in North Africa around AD 150 into a wealthy family, he took the standard senatorial career, commanded legions in Bithynia and Dacia, and was governing Britain with three legions when Commodus was murdered on the last day of AD 192. Four men were proclaimed within months. Pertinax lasted eighty-seven days; Didius Julianus bought the throne from the praetorian guard; Pescennius Niger was proclaimed in Syria; and Septimius Severus in Pannonia. Severus was closest to Rome and marched on it. To secure his rear while he dealt with Niger in the east, he offered Albinus the title of Caesar — nominally the junior emperor and designated heir — and Albinus accepted it, which took the British legions out of the contest for three years. Severus destroyed Niger by 194, consolidated, and then declared himself the adopted son of Marcus Aurelius, which made his own son heir and Albinus redundant. The Senate declared Albinus a public enemy in 195. He crossed to Gaul with perhaps forty thousand men, was recognised at Lyon, and could not take the Rhine legions. The two armies met near Lugdunum on 19 February 197 — one of the largest battles between Roman forces ever fought, with estimates around 150,000 men engaged. Severus's left wing collapsed and he was thrown from his horse; his cavalry retrieved the day. Albinus killed himself. Severus rode his horse over the body and executed his supporters.

MyHistorian
A causal knowledge graph of history