Year of the Five Emperors

The Year of the Five Emperors was the Roman civil-war crisis of 193 CE, when five men were recognized as emperor after Commodus was killed.

Assassination of Commodus: Commodus was the Roman emperor whose assassination on 31 December 192 ended his rule. His death opened the succession crisis that began the year.
Clodius Albinus: Clodius Albinus was a Roman commander who claimed imperial power in 193 and later fought Septimius Severus. He was one of the rival claimants recognized as emperor during the crisis.
Commodus: Commodus was Roman emperor from 180 until his assassination on 31 December 192. His rule and violent removal created the immediate succession vacuum.
Severan dynasty: The Severan dynasty was a Roman imperial house founded by Septimius Severus and ruling from 193 to 235 CE. Severus’s victory in the civil wars established this new dynasty.
Pertinax: Pertinax was Roman emperor for about three months in 193 before soldiers of the Praetorian Guard killed him. His brief reign was the first failed settlement after Commodus.
Pescennius Niger: Pescennius Niger was a Roman governor and military commander proclaimed emperor in 193 before Septimius Severus defeated him. His eastern army backed one of the five competing imperial claims.
Roman imperial succession: Roman imperial succession was the set of political practices through which emperors secured or transferred power. No settled hereditary rule or binding election process resolved the crisis.
Military anarchy: Military anarchy is a label for the period of intense imperial turnover and civil conflict in the Roman Empire during the third century. The wars of 193 foreshadowed later contests in which armies elevated rival emperors.
Didius Julianus: Didius Julianus was the Roman emperor who secured the throne in Rome after the Praetorian Guard auctioned its support in 193. His accession exposed the Praetorian Guard’s role in choosing emperors.
Julia Domna: Julia Domna was a Roman empress from Syria and the wife of Septimius Severus. Her marriage to Severus connected the new ruling house to the aftermath of civil war.

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CaracallaRelated: Septimius Severus seized power in this crisis, establishing Caracalla’s dynastic inheritance.