The anticipations which had been formed of Perti nax, were in no respect disappointed. By strict dis cipline and wise regulations, he restrained the licen tiousness of the Prxtorian bands, and 'protected the citizens against the overbearing insolence with'which they had so long treated them. He punished the wretches who had a share in corrupting the late em peror, whose ill-gotten property he sold for dhe bene fit of the public. He sold as slaves most of the buf foons and jesters of Commodus; particularly those who had obscene names. He attended all the meet ings of the senate; and such was his devotion to busi ness, that the meanest applicant could at any time command an audience of him. He melted the silver statues which had been erected to Commodus; and having sold his concubines, horses, and arms, he raised so large a sum as to enable him to abolish all the taxes which that emperor had laid upon the rivers, har bours, and roads in the empire.
The reformation which Pertinax had introduced among the Prwtorian bands, excited against him, as might have been expected, the hatred of these insolent soldiers. They therefore resolved to depose him; and having declared an ancient senator of the name of Ma ternus emperor, they attempted to carry him to the camp to be proclaimed. Unwilling, however, to con cur in such a design, he escaped from their power ; and having first gone to the emperor, he afterwards fled from the city. Undismayed by this refusal, the insurgents nominated another senator of the name of Falco, who was more compliant; and whom the senate would have ordered for execution, had not Pertinax interposed his authority, and repeated his resolution, that no senator should suffer in his reign.
The Praetorian soldiers, however, were determined to gain their object; and they openly avowed their design of seizing upon the emperor. Having assem bled, therefore, in the streets, they marched to the palace. Terrified at their approach, many of the em peror's attendants forsook him, while those who re mained steady, urged him to fly for protection to the people. He scorned this advice, and marching to face the rebels, and advancing in the midst of them, he boldly asked them if they who were bound to defend the emperor had come to betray him and to shed his blood. Confounded with this act of personal heroism, the rebels began to retire, when one Thrasinus, a Tun grain, struck him with his lance on the breast, and exclaimed, " the soldiers send you this." This pious and good emperor, muffling his head in his robe, and calling upon Jupiter to avenge his death, sunk down and expired of a multitude of wounds. Several of his faithful attendants, among whom was Eclectus, were slain in their attempt to defend him; and his son and daughter owed their life to the circumstance of their not residing in the palace.
Rome was now placed in the most deplorable con dition. Her unprincipled population had shown their submission to any emperor, however detestable and cruel, provided he administered to their own pleasures; and they had now reached that acme of vice, at which a good man was considered unfit, as well as unable to govern them. It was not be wondered at, therefore, that the empire was soon exposed to sale by a public proclamation of the army. Only two offerers appeared for the sceptre of the world. Sulpicianus, prefect of the city, and son-in-law to Pertinax, got first to the camp, and made liberal promises to the soldiers. He was, however, soon supplanted by Didius Julianus, an eminent lawyer, who had amassed an enormous fortune by his avarice. He produced immense sums of ready money, and having been received into the camp by a soldier, and being declared the highest bidder, the empire was knocked clown to him. Attended by the conductors of the sale, who amounted to about 10,000 men, Juliamts entered the city. Although the people hissed him as lie passed, and refused to sanction his elevation, yet the senate concurred with the army, and Didius was acknowledged emperor in the 57th year of his age. Having acquired the imperial diadem by purchase, Didius resolved to use it for his pleasure. He gave himself no trouble about the affairs of state, but resigned himself to indolence and•repose. The soldiers, however, began to discover his avarice, and to view him with detestation. He was loaded with curses whenever he left the palace, and, saluted with the appellation of a thief, he was told that he had stolen the empire. The good-natured monarch, how ever, bore all this with the greatest gentleness and forbearance. He bowed and smiled to those who in sulted him, and was always willing to submit to the humours and caprices of the people.
A portion of the Roman spirit, however, seems still to have lingered among the provinces. The governor of Syria, Pescennius Niger, and Septimius Sevcrus, who commanded the German legions, resolved to aspire to the throne. They both held out Pertinax as their model; and Septimius Severus, an African by birth, assumed his name, and vowed to revenge his death. Niger was proclaimed emperor by his troops; and the different kings and potentates in Asia sent ambassadors to acknowledge his title. Content with this homage, he made no efforts to secure the empire, but devoted himself to a luxurious life at Antioch.