Pacatian in the context of "Syria (Roman province)"

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⭐ Core Definition: Pacatian

Pacatianus, known in English as Pacatian (/ˈpəkʃ(i)ən/; Latin: Tiberius Claudius Mar[...] Pacatianus; died c. 248) was a usurper in the Danube area of the Roman Empire during the time of Philip the Arab. His praenomen and nomen suggest his ancestors obtained Roman citizenship either during the time of Tiberius or of Claudius.

His life is known from mentions in the histories of Zosimus and Zonaras. However, the chronology of these accounts is obscure, and modern scholars use coinage to establish the timeline of his life and revolt. Zonaras names him as a 'unit commander' of one of the Danube legions, possibly Legio VII Claudia. He was likely a leader in the effort to drive Gothic invaders out of Roman territory in 248, one of the first actions of the Gothic War. Either during this action or soon after he was acclaimed emperor by the Danube legions. Eventually his control extended to the city of Viminacium. According to Zosimus, the news of Pacatian's revolt in Moesia and of Jotapian's near-simultaneous revolt in Syria prompted Philip to make an offer to the Roman Senate to step down. Both Zosimus and Zonoras relate that Philip was advised by the senator Decius, who predicted that Pacatian would soon be killed by his troops. This soon came to pass, and Philip (over Decius' objections) sent Decius to the Danube to find out the causes of the revolt. Decius was promptly acclaimed as emperor by the legions on the Danube, and (though Zonaras records that Decius offered to resign) eventually overcame Philip by the end of 249.

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Pacatian in the context of Ab urbe condita

Ab urbe condita (Latin: [ab ˈʊrbɛ ˈkɔndɪtaː]; 'from the founding of the City'), or anno urbis conditae (Latin: [ˈannoː ˈʊrbɪs ˈkɔndɪtae̯]; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is an expression used in antiquity and by classical historians to refer to a given year in Ancient Rome. In reference to the traditional year of the foundation of Rome, the year 1 BC would be written AUC 753, whereas AD 1 would be AUC 754. The foundation of the Roman Empire in 27 BC would be AUC 727. The current year AD 2025 would be AUC 2778.

Usage of the term was more common during the Renaissance, when editors sometimes added AUC to Roman manuscripts they published, giving the false impression that the convention was commonly used in antiquity. In reality, the dominant method of identifying years in Roman times was to name the two consuls who held office that year. In late antiquity, regnal years were also in use, as in Roman Egypt during the Diocletian era after AD 293, and in the Byzantine Empire from AD 537, following a decree by Justinian.

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