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Gaius Pescennius Niger (c. 140–194) was a Roman usurper
Roman usurper

Usurpers are individuals or groups of individuals who obtain and maintain the power or rights of another by force and without legal authority. Usurpers were a common feature of the late Roman Empire, especially from the crisis of the third century onwards, when political instability became the rule....
 from 193 to 194. Niger was born of an old Italian equestrian family. Niger was a governor of Syria
Syria (Roman province)

Syria was a Roman province, annexed in 64 BC by Pompey, as a consequence of his military presence after pursuing victory in the Third Mithridatic War....
 who was proclaimed emperor by the eastern legions after the murder of Pertinax
Pertinax

Publius Helvius Pertinax, commonly known as Pertinax , was a Roman emperor who briefly reigned from December 31 192 until his death on March 28 193....
 and the auctioning off of the imperial title to Didius Julianus
Didius Julianus

Marcus Didius Severus Julianus was briefly Roman Emperor from 28 March 193 to 1 June 193. He ascended the throne after buying it from the Praetorian Guard, who had assassinated his predecessor Pertinax....
. Among the provinces that fell under his direct control was Aegyptus
Aegyptus (Roman province)

File:Roman Africa.JPGThe History of Roman Egypt begins with the conquest of Egypt in 30 BC by Augustus , following the defeat of Mark Antony and History of Ptolemaic Egypt Queen Cleopatra VII in the Battle of Actium....
, and he also enjoyed support from the government of Asia. Although these lands contained great wealth, another rebel general, Septimius Severus
Septimius Severus

Lucius Septimius Severus was a Roman Empire general, and Roman Emperor from April 14 193 to 211. He was born in what is now the Libyan part of Rome's historic Africa Province, making him the first emperor to be born in the Roman province of Africa Province....
, succeeding in taking Rome
Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
 first, and he then marched east to confront Niger.






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Gaius Pescennius Niger (c. 140–194) was a Roman usurper
Roman usurper

Usurpers are individuals or groups of individuals who obtain and maintain the power or rights of another by force and without legal authority. Usurpers were a common feature of the late Roman Empire, especially from the crisis of the third century onwards, when political instability became the rule....
 from 193 to 194. Niger was born of an old Italian equestrian family. Niger was a governor of Syria
Syria (Roman province)

Syria was a Roman province, annexed in 64 BC by Pompey, as a consequence of his military presence after pursuing victory in the Third Mithridatic War....
 who was proclaimed emperor by the eastern legions after the murder of Pertinax
Pertinax

Publius Helvius Pertinax, commonly known as Pertinax , was a Roman emperor who briefly reigned from December 31 192 until his death on March 28 193....
 and the auctioning off of the imperial title to Didius Julianus
Didius Julianus

Marcus Didius Severus Julianus was briefly Roman Emperor from 28 March 193 to 1 June 193. He ascended the throne after buying it from the Praetorian Guard, who had assassinated his predecessor Pertinax....
. Among the provinces that fell under his direct control was Aegyptus
Aegyptus (Roman province)

File:Roman Africa.JPGThe History of Roman Egypt begins with the conquest of Egypt in 30 BC by Augustus , following the defeat of Mark Antony and History of Ptolemaic Egypt Queen Cleopatra VII in the Battle of Actium....
, and he also enjoyed support from the government of Asia. Although these lands contained great wealth, another rebel general, Septimius Severus
Septimius Severus

Lucius Septimius Severus was a Roman Empire general, and Roman Emperor from April 14 193 to 211. He was born in what is now the Libyan part of Rome's historic Africa Province, making him the first emperor to be born in the Roman province of Africa Province....
, succeeding in taking Rome
Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
 first, and he then marched east to confront Niger. Niger was defeated at Cyzicus
Battle of Cyzicus (193)

The Battle of Cyzicus was fought in 193 between the forces of Septimus Severus and his rival for the empire, Pescennius Niger.The battle took place in the context of the Year of the Five Emperors, a tumultuous period in the Roman Empire when Emperor Pertinax was assassinated by the Praetorian Guards....
 and Nicea
Battle of Nicaea

The Battle of Nicaea was fought in 193 between the forces of Septimus Severus and his eastern rival, Pescennius Niger. It took place at Iznik in Asia Minor....
 (193) and then, definitively, at Issus
Battle of Issus (194)

The Battle of Issus was the third major battle, following the Battle of Nicaea, in 194 between the forces of Emperor Septimus Severus and his rival, Pescennius Niger, Roman governor of Syria who had been acclaimed Emperor by his troops, like Severus, following the death of Pertinax....
 (194); forced to retreat to Antioch
Antioch

Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the nearer East and was a cradle of gentile hi...
, Niger was killed while attempting to flee to Parthia
Parthia

Parthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, after which the Arsacid Empire is then also known as the 'Parthian Empire'....
. The name "Niger" means "black", which incidentaly, contrasts him with one of his rivals for the throne in 194 AD, Clodius Albinus
Clodius Albinus

Decimus Clodius Septimius Al?binus was a Roman usurper proclaimed Roman Emperor by the legions in Roman Britain and Hispania upon the murder of Pertinax....
, whose name means "white".

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