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Roman Empire
A part of Rome burns, and Emperor Commodus orders the city to be rebuilt under the name Colonia Commodiana.
A Roman road crosses the Alps by the Simplon Pass.
China
First year of the Chuping era of the Chinese Han Dynasty.
The Campaign against Dong Zhuo begins.
Luoyang is burned and plundered by the forces of Dong Zhuo. The court is moved to Xi'an.
Parthia
Osroes II controlling Media claims the throne of the Parthian Empire. King Vologases IV of Parthia puts down the rebellion and restores order.
Arts and sciences
Cleomedes teaches that the moon does not glow on its own, but rather reflects sunlight.
Economics
Egypt (under Roman rule) is impoverished due to an inflation rate of 100% during the previous decade.
The percentage of silver in the Egyptian denarius is lowered from 90% to 70%.
Parthia
King Vologases IV of Parthia of Parthia dies after a 44-year reign and is succeeded by his son Vologases V.
Asia
A coalition of Chinese warlords launches a punitive campaign against Chancellor Dong Zhuo, who had occupied the capital at Luoyang. In response, Dong Zhuo forces Emperor Xian to move the capital to Chang'an. Dong Zhuo's troops burn Luoyang and loot the tombs of the late Han emperors for treasures.
Yuan Shao battles Gongsun Zan at the Battle of Jieqiao in northern China.
Art
c. 191–192 – Commodus as Hercules, from Esquiline Hill, Rome, is made. It is now kept at Palazzo dei Conservatori, Rome.
Religion
Serapion of Antioch becomes Patriarch of Antioch.
Roman Empire
December 31 – Emperor Commodus alarms the Senate by appearing dressed as a gladiator for his new consulship (January 1). His mistress, Marcia, finds her name on the imperial execution list and hires the champion wrestler named Narcissus to assassinate Commodus. The Antonines dynasty ends.
Civil war again strikes Ancient Rome (192–193).
Asia
May 22 – Lü Bu assassinate's his stepfather Dong Zhuo, Chancellor of the Han Dynasty.
The kingdom of Champa begins to control south and central Vietnam (approximate date).
Arts and sciences
A fire destroys Galen's library.
Religion
Syrian Christians establish a Christian community in Kerala, India.
Roman Empire
January 1 – Year of the Five Emperors: The Roman Senate chooses Publius Helvius Pertinax, against his will to succeed the late Commodus as Emperor. Pertinax is forced to reorganize the handling of finances, which were wrecked under Commodus, to reestablish discipline in the Roman army and to suspend the food programs established by Trajan, provoking the ire of the Praetorian Guard.
March 28 – Pertinax is assassinated by members of the Praetorian Guard, who storm the imperial palace. The Empire is auctioned off, Marcus Didius Julianus the highest bidder, offers 300 million sesterces for the throne. The Roman governors Clodius Albinus (Britannia) and Pescennius Niger (Syria) claim with support of their troops the imperial throne.
April 14 – Lucius Septimius Severus is proclaimed Emperor by his troops at Carnuntum in Pannonia Superior (Balkans). He marches with his army to Rome.
June 1 – Septimius Severus enters the capital and has Julianus put to death. He replaces the Praetorian Guard with a 15,000-man force from the Danubian legions and gains control of the Roman Empire, beginning the Severan dynasty.
Septimius Severus defeats the army under Pescennius at the Battle of Cyzicus and Battle of Nicaea (Asia Minor).
In Britain, Clodius Albinus allies with Septimius Severus and accepts the title of Caesar. British tribes take advantage of the disorder in the Empire and damage Hadrian's Wall. Extensive repairs to the defence work is carried out by the legionaries.
Counterfeiting workshops begin to appear throughout the Roman Empire.
Asia
Last (4th) year of Chuping era of the Chinese Han dynasty.
Cao Cao's invasion of Xu Province: Cao Cao invades Tao Qian's Xu Province, holding him responsible for the death of Cao Song.
Commerce
The silver content of the Roman denarius falls to 50 percent under emperor Septimius Severus, down from 68 percent under Marcus Aurelius.
Roman Empire
Imperator Septimius Severus and Decimus Clodius Septimius Albinus Caesar become Roman Consuls.
Battle of Issus: Emperor Septimius Severus marches with his army (12 legions) to Cilicia and defeats Pescennius Niger, governor of Syria. Pescennius retreats to Antioch and is executed by Severus' troops.
Septimius Severus besieges Byzantium (194-196); the city walls suffer extensive damage.
Asia
First year of Xingping era of the Chinese Han Dynasty.
Battle of Yan Province: Cao Cao battles Lü Bu for control over Yan Province. The battle lasts for over one hundred days.
Arts and sciences
Galen writes his manual on pathology, The Art of Curing.
Religion
Irenaeus declares Gnostic doctrines to be heretical.
Roman Empire
Emperor Septimius Severus has the Roman Senate deify Commodus, in an attempt to gain favor with the family of Marcus Aurelius.
King Vologases V and other eastern princes support the claims of Pescennius Niger. The province of Mesopotamia rises in revolt with Parthian support. Severus travels to Mesopotamia to battle the Parthians.
The province of Syria is divided and the role of Antioch is diminished. The Romans annex the Syrian city's Edessa and Nisibis (modern Turkey). Severus re-establishes his headquarters and colonies there.
Lucius Septimius Bassianus (Caracalla), age 7, changes his name to Marcus Aurelius Antoninus to solidify connections with the family of Marcus Aurelius, and is given the title Caesar.
Clodius Albinus, who had been proclaimed emperor in Britain, crosses into Gaul with his legions, while at the same time recruiting new soldiers. He is soon the head of an army of 150,000 men. Severus, still in Mesopotamia, hastily returns to Rome.
The denarius is devalued by Severus. The coin now contains only 50% precious metal.
Asia
Last (2nd) year of Xingping era of the Chinese Han Dynasty.
In China, the Xiongnu Federation crosses the Great Wall and establishes itself in Shanxi province.
Roman Empire
Emperor Septimius Severus attempts to assassinate Clodius Albinus but fails, causing Albinus to retaliate militarily.
Emperor Septimius Severus captures and sacks Byzantium; the city is rebuilt and regains its previous prosperity.
In order to assure the support of the Roman legion in Germany on his march to Rome, Clodius Albinus is declared Augustus by his army while crossing Gaul.
Hadrian's wall in Britain is partially destroyed.
Asia
First year of the Jian'an era of the Chinese Han Dynasty.
Emperor Xian of Han returns to Luoyang, which has been ravaged by war, and seeks for the protection of warlord Cao Cao. He is advised to move the capital to Xuchang; the Emperor becomes a pawn in the hands of the Chinese warlords.
Roman Empire
February 19 – Battle of Lugdunum: Emperor Septimius Severus defeats the self-proclaimed emperor Clodius Albinus at Lugdunum (modern Lyon). Albinus commits suicide; legionaries sack the town.
Septimius Severus returns to Rome and has about 30 of Albinus's supporters in the Senate executed. After his victory he declares himself the adopted son of the late Marcus Aurelius.
Septimius Severus forms new naval units, manning all the triremes in Italy with heavily armed troops for war in the East. His soldiers embark on an artificial canal between the Tigris and Euphrates.
Legio I, II, and III Parthica are levied by Septimius Severus for his Parthian campaign.
The Roman army marches east to repel a Parthian invasion of Mesopotamia; they loot the royal palace at Ctesiphon and capture an enormous number of its inhabitants as slaves.
Septimius Severus reconstitutes the Province of Mesopotamia under an equestrian governor commanding two legions.
Septimius Severus, who had spared the Senate at the beginning of his reign, now excludes it from controlling the Roman empire by declaring a military dictatorship.
Asia
Battle of Wancheng: Zhang Xiu launches a surprise attack at Cao Cao.
Yuan Shu declares himself emperor of the short-lived Zhong dynasty.
Arts and sciences
Galen's major work on medicines, Pharmacologia, is published.
Religion
A Christian council is held in Edessa.
Roman Empire
Publius Septimius Geta, son of Septimius Severus, receives the title of Caesar.
Caracalla, son of Septimius Severus, is given the title of Augustus.
Asia
Chinese warlord Cao Cao defeats Lü Bu in the Battle of Xiapi; afterwards Cao Cao has Lü Bu executed.
Religion
Mark I succeeds Olympians as Patriarch of Constantinople.
Roman Empire
Mesopotamia is partitioned into two Roman provinces divided by the Euphrates, Mesopotamia and Osroene.
Emperor Septimius Severus lays siege to the city-state Hatra in Central-Mesopotamia, but fails to capture the city despite breaching the walls.
Two new legions, I Parthica and III Parthica, are formed as a permanent garrison.
Asia
Chinese warlord Yuan Shao defeats Gongsun Zan in the Battle of Yijing.
Geodeung succeeds Suro of Geumgwan Gaya as king of the Korean kingdom of Gaya (traditional date).
Sun Ce and Zhou Yu wed the Qiao sisters.
Religion
Pope Zephyrinus succeeds Pope Victor I as the fifteenth pope.
Septimius Severus, Roman Emperor
Marcus Antonius Gordianus Sempronianus, better known as Gordian II. Born c. 192, he would eventually become a Roman emperor.
Publius Licinius Valerianus, better known as Valerian. Born between 193 and 200, he would eventually become a Roman emperor.
Commodus, Roman emperor. Died in 192.
Pertinax, Roman emperor. Died in 193.
Didius Julianus, Roman emperor. Died in 193.
Sun Jian of the Wu Kingdom of China was killed in an ambush which destroyed his unit.
Lu Bu is executed by Xiahou Dun.
190s Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA
