Pertinax
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Publius Helvius Pertinax (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell; 1 August 126 – 28 March 193) was Roman emperor for the first three months of 193. He succeeded Commodus and became the first ruler of the turbulent Year of the Five Emperors.
The son of a freedman, Pertinax rose from modest origins through a military career. He distinguished himself in the Roman–Parthian War of 161–166 and went on to hold a succession of governorships and senior commands. He also sat in the Roman Senate, where he was a contemporary of the historian Cassius Dio.
After the assassination of Commodus, Pertinax was chosen emperor. He tried to restore discipline to the army and finances of the empire, but his reforms antagonised the Praetorian Guard, who killed him after just 87 days. He was later deified by Septimius Severus, who promoted his memory as part of his own rise to power. Ancient and modern assessments generally view Pertinax as a capable and conscientious ruler undone by circumstances.
Early life
Pertinax’s background is recorded in the Historia Augusta and in Cassius Dio’s Roman History, with many details supported by inscriptions. He was born in Alba Pompeia in northern Italy,<ref name="dio 74:3">Dio, 74:3</ref> the son of Helvius Successus, a freedman. According to Dio, Successus had no noble lineage but gave his son an education sufficient to secure him advancement.<ref name="dio 74:3"/> With the support of a patron—either Lucius Avitus or Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus—Pertinax obtained a commission as a cohort officer.<ref>Historia Augusta, Pertinax, 1:6</ref>
He won distinction in the Parthian War,<ref>Historia Augusta, Pertinax, 2:1</ref> earning rapid promotion. He later served in Roman Britain as tribune of the Legio VI VictrixTemplate:Sfnp and along the Danube frontier, and then as procurator in Dacia.<ref>Historia Augusta, Pertinax, 2:4</ref> Though briefly sidelined by court politics under Marcus Aurelius, he was recalled for the Marcomannic Wars and made suffect consul in 175.<ref name="dio 74:3"/>
Between 175 and 185, he governed a series of provinces including Upper and Lower Moesia, Dacia, Syria, and finally Britain.Template:Sfnp In Britain his strict discipline provoked hostility: mutinous soldiers once left him for dead, and he was forced to resign in 187.<ref>Historia Augusta, Pertinax, 3:10</ref>
He later served as proconsul of Africa (188–189),<ref>Historia Augusta, Pertinax, 4:1</ref> then as urban prefect of Rome,<ref>Victor, 18:2</ref> and finally consul again in 192 with Commodus as colleague.Template:Sfnp
Emperor
On 31 December 192 Commodus was assassinated by a palace conspiracy involving the praetorian prefect Quintus Aemilius Laetus, his mistress Marcia, and his chamberlain Eclectus.Template:Sfnp Pertinax, then urban prefect, was taken to the Praetorian camp and acclaimed emperor.<ref>Historia Augusta, Pertinax, 4:5</ref>
He reigned only 87 days,<ref>Dio 74:6</ref> but attempted to emulate Marcus Aurelius in restraint and reform. He tightened discipline in the Praetorian Guard, tried to regulate the alimenta (a state welfare scheme), and improved the coinage by raising the silver content of the denarius from 74% to 87%.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
His efforts, however, met resistance. The Guard resented the modest donativum on his accession and demanded more, forcing him to sell off Commodus’ property and concubines.<ref name="dio 74:5">Dio, 74:5</ref><ref>Historia Augusta, Pertinax, 7:8</ref> In March, a failed coup sought to replace him with the consul Quintus Pompeius Sosius Falco.<ref name="dio 74:8">Dio, 74:8</ref>
On 28 March 193, around 200–300 praetorians stormed the palace.<ref name="dio 74:9">Dio, 74:9</ref> Abandoned by his guards and betrayed by Laetus, Pertinax attempted to reason with them, but was cut down. Cassius Dio praised his courage but noted the futility of confronting enraged soldiers.<ref name="dio 74:10">Dio, 74:10</ref>
Aftermath
After Pertinax’s death, the Guard notoriously auctioned the throne, which was purchased by Didius Julianus.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Julianus lasted only weeks before being replaced by Septimius Severus, who honoured Pertinax by executing his killers, securing his deification, and adopting “Pertinax” into his own name.<ref>Historia Augusta, Pertinax, 15:2</ref>
Historical reputation
Cassius Dio, who knew him personally, called him “an excellent and upright man” who governed with integrity and frugality.<ref>Dio, 74:1</ref> He criticised only the haste of his reforms, which provoked resentment and led to his downfall.<ref>Dio, 74:10</ref>
Later writers echoed this assessment. Niccolò Machiavelli cited him in The Prince as a good ruler fatally undermined by trying to reform corrupt soldiers too quickly. David Hume praised him as an “excellent prince”. In 1788, at the Virginia Ratifying Convention, John Dawson referred to Pertinax’s murder as a warning against standing armies.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In popular culture
The French journalist André Géraud (1882–1974) wrote under the pseudonym “Pertinax”.<ref>Template:Cite magazineTemplate:Subscription required</ref>
In the alternate history novel Romanitas by Sophia McDougall, Pertinax survives the coup and enacts reforms that preserve the Roman Empire into the modern age.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
References
Sources
Primary sources
- Historia Augusta, Life of Pertinax, English translation at Lacus Curtius
- Herodian, History of the Roman Empire, English translation at Lacus Curtius
- Cassius Dio, Roman History, Book 74, English translation at The Tertullian Project
- Aurelius Victor, "Epitome de Caesaribus", English translation at De Imperatoribus Romanis
- Zosimus, "Historia Nova", English translation at The Tertullian Project
Secondary sources
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External links
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