221

Updated on Dec 18, 2023

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Year 221 (CCXXI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gratus and Vitellius (or, less frequently, year 974 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 221 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

June 26 – Emperor Elagabalus adopts his cousin Alexander Severus as his heir and receives the title of Caesar.

July – Elagabalus is forced to divorce Aquilia Severa and marries his third wife Annia Faustina. After five months he returns to Severa and claims that the original divorce is invalid. The marriage is symbolic, because Elagabalus appears to be homosexual or bisexual. According to the historian Cassius Dio, he has a stable relationship with his chariot driver, the slave Hierocles.

Asia

May 15 – Liu Bei, Chinese warlord and descendant of the royal family of the Han Dynasty, proclaims himself emperor in Sichuan and establishes the Kingdom of Shu Han. Three kingdoms arise – the Wei in the north, the Wu in the south and the Shu Han in the west.