Pescennius Niger

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Gaius Pescennius Niger
Usurper of the Roman Empire
Coin of Pescennius Niger
Reign	193 - 194
Born	c. 140
Died	194
Predecessor	Didius Julianus
Successor	Septimius Severus
Dynasty	None

Gaius Pescennius Niger (c. 140–194) was a Roman usurper from 193 to 194. The name "Niger" means "black", contrasting him with one of his rivals for the throne, Clodius Albinus, whose name means "white". (Niger born of an Italian equestrian family as is written in Cassius Dio's Book 75 and described as a "black man" in some translations. Since the ethnic make-up of Italians during that era consisted of Indo-European and Etruscan stock it may imply simply skin tone rather than racial background. However, it is probably just a pun on his name, as Cassius Dio says that a priest prophesied that a "black man" would seize the throne and meet his end by violence, and people decided that it referred to Niger due to his name.)

Niger, an Italian of the equestrian order, was a governor of Syria who was proclaimed emperor by the eastern legions after the murder of Pertinax and the auctioning off of the imperial title to Didius Julianus. Among the provinces that fell under his direct control was Aegyptus, and he also enjoyed support from the government of Asia. Although these lands contained great wealth, another rebel general, Septimius Severus, succeeding in taking Rome first, and he then marched east to confront Niger. Niger was defeated at Cyzicus and Nicea (193) and then, definitively, at Issus (194); forced to retreat to Antioch, Niger was killed while attempting to flee to Parthia.