280s

Events

Contents: 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289

280

By place

Roman Empire

• Proculus, Roman usurper, starts a rebellion at Lugdunum (Lyon, France) and proclaims himself emperor.
• Emperor Probus drives the Alans off to Asia Minor and suppresses the revolt in Gaul; Proculus is executed.
• The Germans destroy the Roman fleet on the Rhine; Bonosus is proclaimed emperor at Colonia Agrippina (Cologne).
• Probus defeats the army under Bonosus. Bonosus sees no way out and hangs himself. His family is treated with honours.
• Julius Saturninus, governor of Syria, is in Alexandria, charged with the defense of the East. He is declared emperor and withdraws to Apamea. Probus besieges the city and puts him to death.
• Roman territory is under constant threat of raids from Franks. The cities in Gaul are reinforced with defensive walls.

Europe

• The Thuringii, a Germanic tribe, appears in the Harz Mountains (Thuringia) of central Germania.

Asia

• Emperor Sima Yan occupies most of the southern Kingdom of Wu and unites the Chinese Empire under one rule; he founds the Western Jin Dynasty. Ending the period of the Three Kingdoms, the capital becomes the old and prosperous city of Luoyang. It is a thriving centre of commerce, and ambassadors from throughout the world arrive there.
• King Bahram II of the Sassanid Empire (Persia) sends envoys to seek peaceful relations with Rome.
• The Gupta Empire (India) is founded (approximate date).

By topic

Arts and sciences

• The Greek mathematician Pappus demonstrates geometrically the property of the center of gravity.

281

By place

Roman Empire

• Emperor Probus returns to Rome, where he celebrates his triumph over the Vandals and the usurpers (Bonosus, Julius Saturninus and Proculus).

282

By place

Roman Empire

• Emperor Probus travels towards Sirmium (Serbia). He tries to employ his troops in peaceful projects, such as draining the swamps in Pannonia.
• Probus is murdered by his discontented troops. Marcus Aurelius Carus, an Illyrian and praetorian prefect, is proclaimed new emperor.
• Carus defeats the Quadi and Sarmatians on the Danube; for his victories he is given the title Germanicus Maximus.
• Carus appoints his oldest son Marcus Aurelius Carinus, Caesar and co-emperor of the western Roman Empire.

Asia

• A new city is constructed in Fuzhou, slightly south of the original city Ye (the main street of the city has remained unchanged since that time).

By topic

Religion

• The Patriarch Theonas of Alexandria becomes one of the first bishops to use the title Pope.

283

By place

Roman Empire

• Emperor Carus travels through Thrace and Asia Minor; he invades the Persian Empire. After a long march he conquers Ctesiphon, the capital of the Persian kingdom, and presses on with the Roman army beyond the Tigris.
• Carus receives for his victories in Persia the title of Persicus Maximus.
• Carus dies in mysterious circumstances during the war against the Sassanids; during a violent dust storm he is killed by a stroke of lightning.
• Marcus Aurelius Carinus succeeds his father Carus.
• December – Numerian is proclaimed Emperor by his soldiers.

By topic

Religion

• December 17 – Pope Caius succeeds Pope Eutychian as the 28th pope.

284

By place

Roman Empire

• November 20 – Emperor Numerian travels through Bithynia (Asia Minor) on his way home to Rome. Suffering from an inflammation of the eyes, he travels in a closed litter in which soldiers find his decaying corpse.
• November 20 – Diocletian, age 39, is proclaimed new emperor. He establishes himself at Nicomedia (modern İzmit, Turkey) and accepts the purple imperial vestments, claiming that the praetorian prefect (and rival for the throne) Arrius Aper murdered Numerian, killing him on the spot for the alleged deed. Diocletian carries out reforms of the Roman army, increasing conscription, and admitting large numbers of barbarian volunteers. In the winter he advances with his army across the Balkans.
• Sabinus Julianus, Roman usurper against Emperor Carinus, revolts in the Roman province of Pannonia on the edge of the Balkans. He invades northern Italy and declares himself emperor.
• The Bagaudae, a group of peasant insurgents, begin a revolt in Gaul against the Roman Empire.
• Diocletian declares the Dardani, a region located in Illyria, as a Roman province separate from Moesia.

By topic

Religion

• Patriarch Rufinus I succeeds Dometius of Byzantium as Patriarch of Constantinople.

285

By place

Roman Empire

• Early – Emperor Carinus marches from Britain to northern Italy, and defeats the army of the usurper Sabinus Julianus at Verona.
• Summer – Battle of the Margus: Emperor Diocletian defeats the forces of Carinus in the valley of the Margus (Serbia).
• July 21 or July 25 – Diocletian appoints his fellow-officer Maximian to the office of Caesar, or junior co-emperor.
• Late summer – Diocletian defends the Danube against Sarmatian raids. He transfers his capital to Nicomedia (modern-day İzmit in Turkey).
• Carausius, naval commander at Bononia (modern-day Boulogne), is given the task to clear the English Channel of Frankish and Saxon pirates.
• Maximian is sent to pacify Gaul where the Bagaudae, a band of peasants, are revolting against the Roman Empire.

286

By place

Roman Empire

• April 1 – Emperor Diocletian elevates his friend Maximian to co-emperor, giving him the title Augustus. The Bagaudae are crushed, after their revolt in Gaul.
• Carausius, commander of the Classis Britannica, is accused of piracy and sentenced to death. He responds by declaring himself emperor of Britain and Northwestern Gaul. His forces consist of the newly built Roman fleet and three legions in Britain. The Carausian Revolt is supported by Gaulish merchant ships and barbarian mercenaries.
• Diocletian divides the empire in two, after economic and military problems. He gives Maximian control over the Western Roman Empire and appoints himself ruler of the Eastern Roman Empire (later known as the Byzantine Empire).

Asia

• Tuoba Chuo succeeds his brother Tuoba Xilu as chieftain of the Tuoba clan.

287

By place

Roman Empire

• Emperor Diocletian and Maximian become Roman Consuls.
• Diocletian signs a peace treaty with Bahram II, king of Persia, and installs Tiridates III as king of Armenia.
• Diocletian re-organizes the Mesopotamian frontier and fortifies the city of Circesium (modern Busayrah) on the Euphrates.
• September – The first Indiction begins.

288

By place

Roman Empire

• Emperor Diocletian conducts a military campaign in Raetia (Switzerland).
• Maximian builds in Gaul a Roman fleet to fight Carausius, usurper of Britain.

289

By place

Roman Empire

• Emperor Diocletian gains several victories along the Danube against the Sarmatians. He is given the honorable title of Sarmaticus Maximus.
• Maximian attempts to reconquer Britain from the usurper Carausius, but fails due to bad weather. He loses his fleet and accepts a peace treaty.
• Constantius Chlorus divorces his wife (or concubine) Helena, mother of Constantine I, and marries emperor Maximian's stepdaughter, Theodora.

Deaths

• Marcus Aurelius Probus, Roman emperor. Died in 282.
• Carus, Roman emperor. Died in 283.
• Numerian, Roman emperor. Died in 284.
• Carinus, Roman emperor. Died in 285. Possibly a casualty of the Battle of the Margus (285), though sources differ on whether he was killed in the battle or its aftermath.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 280s.