The military renown of Probus being thus made known to his enemies, the king of Persia sued for peace, and endeavoured by the most splendid presents to purchase the favour of the emperor. When the ambassadors were introduced with their offers, Probus was refreshing- himself with the most common fare, and without deigning to cast his eyes upon them, lie said, that if the Persian king did not make proper sa tisfaction to the Romans, he would leave their terri tories as naked as the crown of his head. Upon say ing this, he took off his hat, and exhibited the crown of his head to the ambassadors. The Persian monarch accepted of the proffered conditions, and Probus re turned to Rome, and was honoured with a triumph which lasted several days.
Having vanquished his foreign enemies, Probus was next employed in pulling down various usurpers of his power. Saturninus, whom the Egyptians had forced to declare himself emperor, was defeated and killed. Proculus, another pretender to the empire, who was notorious for his debaucheries, and who had acquired wealth by his piracies, was defeated; and having been delivered up by the Germans, was exposed on a gibbet. Bonosius, celebrated as a drunkard, next raised the standard of rebellion; but haiiing been beaten, he hang ed himself in despair.
_ When the Goths and Vandals saw the extent of these domestic commotions, they resumed their in roads into the empire; but Probus succeeded in driv ing them among their native wilds, and returned in triumph to Rome. Probus now devoted himself to the arts of peace. He encouraged the inhabitants of Gaul and Illyricum to plant vines in their territories, and he repaired no fewer than seventy cities, which had fallen into decay in different parts of the empire.
Having passed through his native city or Sirmium, on an expedition against the Persians, he employed se veral thousands of his soldiers in draining a fen in its neighbourhood by means of artificial canals commu nicating with the sea. The troops, however, disliking the labour of this task, mutinied and attacked Probus as he was passing into one of the towns of Illyricum. The emperor escaped into an iron tower, which he had built for the purpose of watching the operations in the marshes; but having none of his guards along with him, he was overpowered and murdered in the 50th year of his age, and the seventh of his reign. The news of this event occasioned great consternation in Rome. Both his friends and hig enemies deplored his loss; and the very army who had basely murdered him erected a monument over his body, with the inscrip tion, Ilic Probus imp erato r, vere Probus, situs est, victor onznium gentium barbarorunz, victor etiam ty ran norum.
Probus was succeeded by Aurelius Carus the Prxto rian prefect, who was proclaimed by the army, who ap pointed his two sons Carinus and Numerianus to assist him in his duties. He was employed in bringing to punishment the murderers of Probus, he was called upon to repel an attack from the Sarmatians, and also from the Persians. After defeating the former in a decisive battle, he conducted his army into Persia, and marching to the very walls of Ctesiphon, he overthrew the Persian army with great loss. He did not live, however, to enjoy this success, for he and many of his attendants were killed by a stroke of lightning in his tent. The distress of his youngest son Numerianus, is said to have been so great that he brought on a severe disease in his eyes by excessive weeping, and was obliged to accompany the army shut up in a close litter. Aper, his father-in-law, conceived the design of aiming at the soNet eignty. He hired an assassin to murder Numerianus in his litter; and in order to con ceal the deed, he announced, that Numerianus was unable to bear the light, and the deception was kept up till the smell of the dead body discovered the treachery of Aper. An uproar was immediately ex cited in the army. Diocicsian was chosen emperor, and with his own hand slew Aper. Carinus, however, the other brother, still resisted the election of Diocle sian, and the rival armies having met in Dalmatia, Dioclesian was victorious, and Carinus was slain by a tribune of his own army, whose wife he had debauched.
When Dioclesian ascended the throne he assumed his general Maximian as his partner in the empire, and after a reign of twenty-one years, the events of which we have already fully detailed in our life of DIOCLESIAN, they resigned.
Constantius Chlorus and Galerius, who had been created Cxsars by Dioclesian and I\ laximian, were now proclaimed their successors. The former was distin guished by his bravery, his humanity, and his virtues; while the latter debased his personal courage by his cruelty and incontinence. Having agreed to divide the empire, Constantius received Italy, Sicily, the greater part of Africa, along with Spain, Great Bri tain, and Germany; while Galerius obtained the do minion of Illyricum, Pannonia, Macedonia, the pro vinces of Greece, Asia Minor, Egypt, Syria, Judea, and other eastern countries.