Probus in Roman Biography

Pro'bus, (Marcus Aurei.ius,) an excellent Roman emperor, born at Sirmium about 235 A.D. He served with distinction in the armies of Valerian and succeeding emperors, in Egypt, Arabia, Persia, and Germany. He received the command of all the legions in the East from Tacitus, at whose death, in 276 A.D., Probus was proclaimed emperor by his army. The senate confirmed their choice. He defeated the Germans in Gaul, and his rivals Saturninus, Proculus, and Bonosus. He was killed by mutinous soldiers in 282 A.D., and left a very high reputation for virtue and ability. It is said that he had offended his troops by the expression of a hope that the time was near when armies would be no longer necessary. See Gibbon, "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire ;" Aurelius Victor, " De Czesaribus" and " Epitome."