View source for Clodius Albinus

{{Short description|Roman imperial pretender (c. 150 – 197 CE)}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Clodius Albinus
| image        = Bust of Clodius Albinus - Palazzo Nuovo - Musei Capitolini - Rome 2016 (3).jpg
| image_size   = 250
| alt          = White statue of bearded man in military attire
| caption      = Bust in the [[Capitoline Museums]], [[Rome]]
| birth_name   = 
| birth_date   = {{c.}} 150
| birth_place  = Hadrumetum, Roman Africa (Sousse, Tunisia) 
| death_date   = 19 February 197
| death_place  = [[Lugdunum]]
| burial_date  = 
| burial_place = 
| issue        = 
| full name    = {{bulleted list|Decimus Clodius Albinus (before 193)|Decimus Clodius Septimius Albinus<ref name="OCD"/><ref>[[Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft|''RE'']] [[s:de:RE:Clodius 17|Clodius 17]]</ref>}}
| regnal name  = Imperator Caesar Decimus Clodius Septimius Albinus Augustus
}}

'''Decimus Clodius Albinus''' ({{c.}} 150 – 19 February 197) was a Roman imperial pretender between 193 and 197. He was proclaimed [[Roman emperor|emperor]] by the legions in [[Roman Britain|Britain]] and [[Hispania]] after the murder of [[Pertinax]] in 193 (known as the "[[Year of the Five Emperors]]"). Initially Albinus cooperated with another contender for the throne, [[Septimius Severus]], but the two turned on each other in 196 and commenced a civil war. Albinus died in battle the following year.<ref name="OCD">{{Citation | last = Birley | first = Anthony R. | author-link = Anthony Birley | contribution = Clodius Septimius Albinus, Decimus | editor-last = Hornblower | editor-first = Simon | title = [[Oxford Classical Dictionary]] | publisher = [[Oxford University Press]] | place = Oxford | year = 1996 }}</ref>

==Biography==
===Early life===
Albinus was born in [[Hadrumetum]], [[Africa Province]] ([[Sousse]], [[Tunisia]]) to an aristocratic Roman family. The unreliable ''[[Historia Augusta]]'' claims his parents' names were Aurelia Messallina and Ceionius Postumus, along with other relatives mentioned in ''Vita Albini''. None of these names are considered likely to be accurate by modern historians.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Bonner Historia-Augusta-Colloquium|publisher=R. Habelt Verlag.|year=1970|isbn=9783774910980|pages=54|language=En|volume=7}}</ref> The text also claims that Clodius received the [[cognomen]] Albinus because of the extraordinary whiteness of his complexion.<ref name="cap">[[Capitolinus]], ''Clodius Albinus'' 4-10</ref>

===Career under Marcus Aurelius and Commodus===
Showing a disposition for military life, he entered the army when very young and served with distinction, especially in 175 during the rebellion of [[Avidius Cassius]] against Emperor [[Marcus Aurelius]]. His merit was acknowledged by the Emperor in two letters in which he calls Albinus an African, who resembled his countrymen but little, and who was praiseworthy for his military experience and the gravity of his character.<ref name="cap"/> The Emperor likewise declared that without Albinus the legions (in [[Bithynia]]) would have gone over to [[Avidius Cassius]], and that he intended to have him chosen [[Roman consul|consul]].<ref name="DGRBM">{{Citation | last = Plate | first = William | contribution = Albinus, Clodius | editor-last = Smith | editor-first = William | title = [[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]] | volume = 1 | pages = 93–94 | publisher = [[Little, Brown and Company]] | place = Boston | year = 1867 | contribution-url = http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0102.html | access-date = 2008-06-17 | archive-date = 2012-10-10 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121010102429/http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0102.html | url-status = dead }}</ref>

The Emperor [[Commodus]] gave Albinus a command in [[Gallia Belgica]] and afterwards in [[Roman Britain|Britain]]. A false rumor having been spread that Commodus had died, Albinus denounced the man before his soldiers in Britain, calling Commodus a tyrant, and maintaining that it would be useful to the [[Roman Empire]] to restore to the [[Roman Senate|Senate]] its ancient dignity and power. The Senate was very pleased with these sentiments, but not so the Emperor, who sent Junius Severus to relieve Albinus of his command. Despite this, Albinus kept his command until after the murders of Commodus and his successor [[Pertinax]] in 193.{{cn|date=October 2025}}

===Alliance with Septimius Severus===
[[File:Aureus-Clodius Albinus-RIC 0009b.jpg|300px|thumb|left|Coin of Clodius Albinus{{Efn|This coin celebrates ''Saeculum Frugiferum'', the embodiment of a "fruitful era", probably [[Baal Hammon]], a [[Phoenicia]]n divinity worshipped in North Africa, where Clodius came from.}}]]
After Pertinax was [[assassination|assassinated]], the [[Praetorian Guard|praetorian prefect]] [[Quintus Aemilius Laetus|Aemilius Laetus]] and his men, who had arranged the murder, "sold" the imperial throne to wealthy senator [[Didius Julianus]], effectively crowning him emperor. A string of mutinies by the troops in the provinces, however, meant the next emperor was far from decided. [[Pescennius Niger]] was proclaimed emperor by the legions in [[Syria (Roman province)|Syria]]; [[Septimius Severus]] by the troops in [[Illyricum (Roman province)|Illyricum]] and [[Pannonia]]; and Albinus by the armies in Britain and Gaul.

In the civil war that followed, Albinus was initially allied with Septimius Severus, who had captured Rome. Albinus added the name Septimius to his own, and accepted the title of [[Caesar (title)|Caesar]] from him; the two shared a [[Roman consul|consulship]] in 194. Albinus remained effective ruler of much of the western part of the Empire, with support from three British legions and one Spanish.{{Efn|The British legions were [[Legio II Augusta|II ''Augusta'']], [[Legio VI Victrix|VI ''Victrix'']], and [[Legio XX Valeria Victrix|XX ''Valeria Victrix'']], the Spanish legion was the [[legio VII Gemina|VII ''Gemina'']].}} When Didius Julianus was put to death by order of the Senate, who dreaded the power of Septimius Severus, the latter turned his arms against Pescennius Niger. After the defeat and death of Niger in 194, and the complete discomfiture of his adherents, especially after the fall of [[Byzantium]] in 196, Severus resolved to make himself the absolute master of the Roman Empire. Albinus, seeing the danger of his position, prepared for resistance. He narrowly escaped being assassinated by a messenger of Severus, after which he put himself at the head of his army, which is said to have consisted of 150,000 men.<ref name="cap"/>
{{Year of Five Emperors}}

===Declaring himself emperor===

In autumn 196, Albinus received word that Severus had appointed his elder son [[Caracalla]] as his successor with the title of Caesar and convinced the Senate to declare Albinus himself an official enemy of Rome. Now with nothing to lose, Albinus mobilized his legions in Britannia, proclaimed himself emperor (''Imperator Caesar Decimus Clodius Septimius Albinus Augustus'') and crossed from Britain to [[Gaul]], bringing a large part of the British garrison with him.{{Efn|Indeed, he stripped Britain of every available soldier, which meant that Severus' new administration had to deal with several rebellions, including those of the [[Maeatae]].}} He defeated Severus' legate [[Virius Lupus]], and was able to lay claim to the military resources of Gaul, but although he made [[Lugdunum]] the headquarters of his forces, he was unable to win the allegiance of the Rhine legions.<ref name="OCD"/>

On 19 February 197 Albinus met Severus' army at the [[Battle of Lugdunum]].<ref>[[Spartianus]], ''Severus'' 11</ref> After a hard-fought battle, with 150,000 troops on both sides according to [[Cassius Dio]], Albinus was defeated and killed himself, or was captured and executed on the orders of Severus.<ref>{{Citation|last1=Collingwood|first1=Robin George|last2=Myres|first2=John Nowell Linton|title=Roman Britain and English Settlements|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fMcbnMFn8lcC|access-date=January 27, 2009|year=1998|publisher=Biblo & Tannen Publishers|isbn=978-0-8196-1160-4|page=155|chapter=Severeus and Albinus|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fMcbnMFn8lcC&pg=PA155}}</ref> Severus had his naked body laid out on the ground before him, so that he could ride his horse over it, in a final act of humiliation. Albinus' wife and two sons were initially pardoned by Severus, but he changed his mind almost immediately afterwards, for as the dead Albinus was beheaded, so were they. Albinus' headless body was thrown into the Rhône, together with the corpses of his murdered family. Severus sent his head to Rome as a warning to his supporters; with it he sent an insolent letter, in which he mocked the Senate for their loyalty to Albinus. The town of [[Lugdunum]] was plundered, and the adherents of Albinus were cruelly persecuted by Severus.

==Personal life==
It is said that he wrote a treatise on agriculture and a collection of [[Milesian tale]]s.<ref>[[Cassius Dio]], lxx. 4–7</ref><ref>[[Herodian]], ii. 15, iii. 5–7</ref>

The name of Albinus' wife is unknown,{{Efn|In the past some have thought that she might have been Pescennia Plautiana;<ref>{{Cite book|title=Claudii Chifletii ... De antiquo nummo ... liber posthumus ... hac tertia editione, parte quoque secunda et tertia auctus: eo fini, ut ad hanc regulam et stateram, examinari, censeri et probari possit, Nummophylacium illud Luederianum Hamburgense, incredibili diligentia et sumpta comparatum ... prodit accurante Rudolfo Capello|last=Chifflet|first=Claude|year=1678|pages=10|language=French}}</ref> this name has also been ascribed to a possible wife or daughter of Pescennius Niger. The woman may be entirely fictional and created by [[Coin counterfeiting|coin forgers]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Numismatic Chronicle and Journal of the Royal Numismatic Society|publisher=Royal Numismatic Society|year=1875|pages=34–40|volume=15–16}}</ref> Anthony Birley has proposed that she may have been an [[Asellia gens|Asellia]], a relative of [[Asellius Aemilianus]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Fasti of Roman Britain |last=Birley |first=Anthony |publisher=Clarendon Press |year=1981 |isbn=9780198148210 |pages=149}}</ref> Alexander Mlasowsky and Dietmar Kienast also found this plausible.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Imago imperatoris: römische Kaiserbildnisse einer norddeutschen Sammlung |last=Mlasowsky |first=Alexander |publisher=Biering & Brinkmann |year=2001 |isbn=9783930609307 |pages=272 |series=Schriften der Archäologischen Sammlung Freiburg |volume=6}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Römische Kaisertabelle: Grundzüge einer römischen Kaiserchronologie |last=Kienast |first=Dietmar |publisher=Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft |year=1996 |isbn=9783534132898 |pages=161 |edition=Second}}</ref>}} and only the unreliable ''[[Historia Augusta]]'' mention any name for his sons,<ref>{{Cite book|title=Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum|author=British Museum. Dept. of Coins and Medals|publisher=Trustees of the British Museum|year=1965|pages=105|volume=5}}</ref> claiming that he had an infant son named Pescennius Princus,{{Efn|The name "Princus" may have been a mistake for Prineus, Primus or Priscus.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Contributions to the criticism of our literary tradition for the period from Commodus' fall to the death of M. Aurelius Antoninus (Caracalla)|last=Schulz|first=Otto Theodor|publisher=Scientia-Verlag|year=1984|isbn=9783511072612|pages=77}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Historische Zeitschrift|last=von Sybel|first=Heinrich|publisher=Cott'sche Buchhandlung|year=1897|pages=457}}</ref>}} but some historians such as [[Anthony Birley]] hold that this name is fictitious.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Fasti of Roman Britain|last=Birley|first=Anthony|publisher=Clarendon Press|year=1981|isbn=9780198148210|pages=149}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |last1=Heil |first1=M. |editor1-last=Wiemer |editor1-first=H.-U. |title=Staatlichkeit und politisches Handeln in der römischen Kaiserzeit |date=2021 |isbn=9783110926590 |pages=55–85 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110926590/html |chapter=Clodius Albinus und der Bürgerkrieg von 197|doi=10.1515/9783110926590 |s2cid=127247624 }}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Clodius Albinus}}
*[https://www.livius.org/cg-cm/clodius/albinus.html Livius.org: Decimus Clodius Albinus] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813111459/https://www.livius.org/cg-cm/clodius/albinus.html |date=2014-08-13 }}
*[http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/britannia/miscellanea/albinus.html James Grout: ''D. Clodius Albinus'', part of the Encyclopædia Romana]
*[http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/clodius_albinus/i.html Albinus coinage]

{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Pertinax]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Roman governors of Britain|Governor of Britain]]|years=191–197}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Virius Lupus]]}}
{{s-bef |before=[[Lucius Fabius Cilo|L. Fabius Cilo]] |before2=G. Aemilius Severus Cantabrinus}}
{{s-ttl |title=[[List of Roman consuls|Roman consul]]|years=194|with=[[Septimius Severus]]}}
{{s-aft |after=[[Publius Julius Scapula Tertullus Priscus|P. Julius Scapula Tertullus Priscus]] |after2=[[Quintus Tineius Clemens|Q. Tineius Clemens]]}}
{{s-reg}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Didius Julianus]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Roman emperors|Roman emperor]]|years=193<br>in competition with <br>[[Pescennius Niger]]<br>and [[Septimius Severus]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Septimius Severus]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clodius Albinus}}
[[Category:2nd-century births]]
[[Category:197 deaths]]
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]
[[Category:2nd-century Roman usurpers]]
[[Category:Clodii|Albinus]]
[[Category:2nd-century Roman consuls]]
[[Category:People from Sousse]]
[[Category:2nd-century people of Africa (Roman province)]]
[[Category:Roman governors of Britain]]
[[Category:Septimii]]
[[Category:Damnatio memoriae]]