Carinus
Ca-ri'nus, [Fr. Carin, k3'raN',] (Marcus Aurelius,)
a Roman emperor, eldest son of the emperor
Carus, who committed to him the government of Italy,
Africa, and the West, when he set out on an expedition
against Persia in 283 A.D. Carus died, or was killed, in
284, soon after which Diocletian was chosen emperoi
by the army in the East. A battle was fought between
Carinus and his rival near Margum, in Mcesia, in which
the latter was successful, and Carinus, who was detested
for his cruelty, was killed by his own soldiers in 285.
See Vopircus, "Carinus;" Gibbon, "Decline and Fall of the
Roman Empire."
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Marcus Aurelius Carinus (died 285) was Roman Emperor (283 – July, 285) and elder son of the Emperor Carus, on whose accession he
was appointed Caesar and co-emperor of the western portion of the empire. Official accounts of his character and career have
been filtered through the propaganda of his successful opponent, Diocletian.
Reign
He fought with success against the Germanic Quadi tribes,[1] but soon left the defence of the Upper Rhine to his legates and
returned to Rome, where the surviving accounts, which demonize him, assert that he abandoned himself to all kinds of debauchery
and excess. More certainly, he also celebrated the annual ludi Romani on a scale of unexampled magnificence.[2]
After the death of Carus, the army in the East demanded to be led back to Europe, and Numerian, the younger son of Carus, was
forced to comply.[3] During a halt at Chalcedon, Numerian was found dead, and Diocletian, commander of the body-guards, claimed
that Numerian had been assassinated and was proclaimed emperor by the soldiers.[4]
Carinus at once left Rome and set out for the East to meet Diocletian. On his way through Pannonia he put down the usurper
Sabinus Iulianus, and encountered the army of Diocletian in Moesia.[1]
Carinus was successful in several engagements, and at the Battle of the Margus River (Morava), according to one account, the
valour of his troops had gained the day, when he was assassinated by a tribune whose wife he had seduced. In another account,
the battle is represented as having resulted in a complete victory for Diocletian, for Carinus' army deserted him: this second
account is also confirmed by the fact that Diocletian kept Carinus' Praetorian Guard commander in service.[1]
Carinus has the reputation of having been one of the worst of the emperors. This infamy was possibly supported by Diocletian
himself. For example, Historia Augusta has Carinus marrying nine wives, while neglecting to mention his only real wife, Magnia
Urbica, by whom he had an only son, Marcus Aurelius Nigrinianus.
After his death, Carinus' memory was condemned and his name, along with that of his wife, was erased from inscriptions. [5]
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Carīnus, M. Aurelius -
The eldest son of the emperor Carus, who gave him the title of Caesar and the rank of Augustus, together with the government of
Italy, Illyricum, Africa, and the West, when he himself was setting out, with his second son Numerianus, to make war against the
Persians. Carus, knowing the evil qualities of Carinus, gave him this charge with great reluctance; but he had no alternative, as
Numerianus, though superior in every respect to his elder brother, was too young to hold so important a command. As soon as
Carinus entered Gaul, which his father had particularly charged him to defend against the barbarians, who menaced an irruption,
he gave himself up to the most degrading excesses, discharged the most competent men from public employment, and substituted the
vile companions of his debaucheries. On hearing of the death of his father, he indulged in new excesses and new crimes. Still,
however, his courage and his victories merit praise. He defeated the barbarians who had begun to attack the Empire, among others
the Sarmatae, and he afterwards overthrew Sabinus Inlianus, who had assumed the purple in Venetia. He then marched against
Diocletian, who had proclaimed himself emperor after the death of Numerian. The two armies met in Moesia, and several engagements
took place, in which success seemed balanced. At last a decisive battle was fought near Margum, and Carinus was on the point of
gaining a complete victory, when he was slain by a tribune of his own army, who had received an outrage at his hands. This event
took place A.D. 285, so that the reign of Carinus, computing it from his father's death, was a little more than one year. His
life was written by Vopiscus.
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