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3rd Century

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217

Politics3rd CenturyMiddle East & North Africa

Roman Emperor Caracalla Assassinated Near Carrhae

In the early third century, the Roman Empire faced internal strife and external pressures during the reign of Emperor Caracalla, who had ruled since 211 after co-ruling with his father Septimius Severus. Caracalla pursued aggressive military campaigns, including against the Parthian Empire, while granting citizenship to free inhabitants across the empire through the Antonine Constitution. On April 8, 217, while traveling on the road between Edessa and Carrhae in Mesopotamia to visit a temple, Caracalla stopped to relieve himself and was stabbed by a disaffected soldier named Justin Martialis, likely acting with the knowledge of Praetorian prefect Macrinus. The emperor died at age 29, and Macrinus quickly seized power with army support, ending the immediate Severan line's dominance. This event...

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284

Politics3rd CenturyMiddle East & North Africa

Diocletian Proclaimed Roman Emperor

The sudden death of Emperor Numerian during the army's return from a Persian campaign created another succession crisis in an empire weakened by decades of civil war and rapid changes of ruler. At a military assembly near Nicomedia on November 20, 284, senior officer Diocles was proclaimed emperor by the troops. He publicly accused the praetorian prefect Aper of murdering Numerian and killed him before the assembled army. Taking the imperial name Diocletian, the new ruler still had to defeat Numerian's brother Carinus before controlling the empire. His accession nevertheless marked the beginning of a more durable political settlement after the Crisis of the Third Century.

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