Didius Julianus (30 January 133-1 June 193) was Roman emperor from 28 March to 1 June 193, succeeding Pertinax and preceding Septimius Severus.
Biography[]
Didius Julianus was born on 30 January 133 in Mediolanium (Milan), Italy in the Roman Empire. He came from a prominent northern Italian family, and he held the offices of quaestor and aedile under Antoninus Pius. In 162, he was named praetor under Lucius Verus, and he repelled a Chauci invasion on the Scheldt River in Germania. In 175, Didius Julianus and Pertinax were raised to the consulship, and he ruled Dalmatia and Germania Inferior after fighting against the Chatti; he would later be sent to distribute money to the poor of Italy. Eventually, he would succeed Pertinax as proconsul of North Africa, and he paid the highest price in order to succeed Pertinax as Roman emperor after the Praetorian Guard murdered him in 193. When he devalued the Roman currency, people threw stones at him and moaned as he headed to the Capitol, and he was an unpopular emperor. The public anger in Rome led to Pescennius Niger, Septimius Severus, and Clodius Albinus rebelling against Didius Julainus' rule, and he was forced to make Clodius Albinus caesar in order to gain his loyalty. However, the Praetorian Guard lacked discipline due to engaging in debauchery and laziness, and Julianus executed Pertinax's murderers and dismissed the guard. On 1 June 193, he was killed in his palace by a Roman soldier at the age of 60.
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