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Historical person

Clodius Albinus

150–197

Clodius Albinus was a Roman senator and general who became a contender for imperial power during the civil wars following the murder of Commodus. Born in Roman North Africa around the middle of the second century, he pursued a senatorial and military career and by 193 commanded the strategically important province of Britain. When imperial authority collapsed, Septimius Severus temporarily recognised Albinus as Caesar to secure his neutrality while defeating rival claimants in the East.

The alliance did not last. After Severus strengthened his position and promoted his son Caracalla as successor, Albinus was acclaimed emperor by his forces and crossed from Britain into Gaul. His supporters included senators hostile to Severus, and he established himself at Lugdunum. In February 197 the rival armies fought a massive battle near the city. Albinus was defeated and died shortly afterwards, allowing Severus to consolidate sole control of the Roman Empire.

In Simon Turney’s Praetorian: Eagles of Dacia: Volume 3, Rufinus must work with soldiers and local allies while tracing a plot whose consequences reach back to the capital. Distance from Commodus offers no safety: Clodius Albinus, Pescennius Niger and other ambitious commanders are already part of the political landscape. Further fictional perspectives on Clodius Albinus can be found in Anthony Riches’ Storm of War.

Series

Historical novels and book series featuring Clodius Albinus (2 series)

Empire in Order

by Anthony Riches 16 books 4.5(20,598)

The Empire series follows Marcus Valerius Aquila, a Roman aristocrat forced into hiding after his family is destroyed under Commodus. Serving under an assumed name with the Tungrian auxiliaries, he moves from Hadrian’s Wall and the Rhine to Rome, Egypt and the eastern civil wars that follow the…

All books in this series

Praetorian in Order

by Simon Turney 8 books 4.5(14,984)

The Praetorian series centres on Gnaeus Marcius Rustius Rufinus, a legionary drawn into the Praetorian Guard and the lethal politics of Commodus’s court. Investigations, covert missions and frontier commands expose him to conspiracies involving imperial relatives, prefects, freedmen, senators and rival claimants to the throne. As Commodus’s reign…

All books in this series