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270s

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The 270s decade ran from January 1, 270, to December 31, 279.

Events

270

By place

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Roman Empire
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  • Emperor Claudius II Gothicus fights a drawn-out campaign against the Gothic raiders in the Balkans, with setbacks suffered on both sides. Eventually, many Goths die of plague and others are absorbed into the Roman legions.
  • Zenobia seizes control of Roman Arabia and Egypt.
  • Claudius dies of plague in Sirmium while preparing to fight the Vandals and Sarmatians, who have invaded Pannonia. He is succeeded by his brother Quintillus, who briefly holds power over the Roman Empire.
  • Victorinus besieges and sacks the city of Autun, which had declared allegiance to Claudius.
  • Lucius Domitius Aurelianus (or Aurelian), the cavalry commander who distinguished himself in the previous year at the Battle of Naissus (Serbia), usurps power in Sirmium and marches against Quintillus in Aquileia. Quintillus commits suicide.
  • Aurelius defeats an incursion by the Iuthungi into Raetia, defeating them as they attempted to re-cross the Danube.
Asia
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Africa
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271

By place

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Roman Empire
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  • After an indecisive battle, Emperor Aurelian defeats the Vandals, and forces them from Pannonia, and across the Danube.
  • Battle of Placentia: The Iuthungi[2] invade Italy and sack the city of Piacenza. A Roman army under Emperor Aurelian is ambushed and defeated.
  • Following Aurelian's execution of Felicissimus, the financial minister of the state treasury, on the charge of corruption, the mint workers of the city of Rome, with senatorial support, lead an uprising against Aurelian. In bitter street-fighting on the Caelian Hill the rebels are defeated. The revolt is followed by a purge of Aurelian's senatorial opponents, including Urbanus.
  • Around this time, generals loyal to Aurelian defeat the usurpers Septimius in Dalmatia and Domitian II in southern Gaul. The Iuthungian invasion may have encouraged the spate of revolts.
  • Aurelian begins construction of a new defensive wall to protect Rome. The Aurelian Walls, 19 kilometers (12 mi), enclose the city with fortifications.
  • Perhaps around this time, Aurelian increases Rome's daily bread ration to nearly 1.5 pounds and adds pig fat to the list of foods distributed free to the populace.
  • Aurelian defeats a Gothic raid into the Balkans and then invades the Gothic homeland. Here he defeats the Goths again, killing one of their leaders, Cannabas, who may be Cniva, the Goth who had won the battle of Abritus, at which Emperor Decius was killed.
  • Aurelian withdraws Rome's administrative and military presence from Dacia (modern Romania), thereby rationalizing the Danube frontier and freeing resources for the forthcoming campaign against Zenobia.
Europe
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Near East
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  • Zenobia invades Asia Minor and seizes control of Cilicia and Galatia before being stalled in Bithynia.
  • Shapur I of the Sasanian Empire dies, and his successor, his son Hormizd I, leads an army against nomads in Sogdiana, perhaps taking command of a war that had begun under his father. (Note: Some scholars date Shapur's death to 270 or 272)

By topic

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Art and Science
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272

By place

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Roman Empire
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  • Emperor Aurelian launches a two-pronged invasion of the Palmyrene Empire, sending his commander Marcus Aurelius Probus to restore Roman rule in Egypt while he marches into Asia Minor.
  • As part of a strategy of clemency, Aurelian spares Tyana after capturing the city. This strategy encourages units under Zenobia to defect to Aurelian.
  • Battle of Immae: Aurelian defeats the Palmyrene heavy cavalry (clibanarii) near Antioch. Queen Zenobia flees under cover of darkness to Emesa (Syria).
  • Aurelian supports the bishops of Italy in deposing the bishop of Antioch, Paul of Samosata, who had been a supporter of Zenobia. This is the first recorded instance of an imperial intervention in an ecclesiastical dispute.
  • Battle of Emesa: Aurelian decisively defeats the Palmyrene army.
  • Aurelian besieges Palmyra. Zenobia attempts to escape to Persia but is captured on the Euphrates. Palmyra surrenders soon after.
  • Following a series of trials held in Emesa, Cassius Longinus and other advisors of Zenobia are executed for conspiring against Aurelian.

By topic

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Religion
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273

By place

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Roman Empire
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Persia
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  • King Hormizd I of Persia dies after a brief reign in which he has shown tolerance toward the ascetic, anti-materialist Manichean faith. He is succeeded by his brother Bahram I, who has been governing the province of Atropatene. Bahram proceeds to crush a rebellion by various vassal kings.

274

By place

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Roman Empire
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Africa
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  • The Kingdom of Aksum attains great prosperity thanks to its control of Red Sea trade.

By topic

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Religion
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Transportation
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  • Japanese shipwrights build a 100-foot oar-powered vessel for Emperor Ōjin. The Japanese will not use sails for another seven centuries.

275

By place

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Roman Empire
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  • Emperor Aurelian puts down unrest in Gaul, and defeats Germanic incursions into Gaul and Raetia (these problems had been caused by Aurelian's defeat and overthrow of the Gallic Empire).
  • The Goths begin to raid Thrace and Asia Minor. Aurelian begins a campaign against the Goths in Thrace.
  • Aurelian is assassinated near Byzantium (Turkey). Aurelian had developed a reputation for punishing corruption with severity, and his secretary Eros was under suspicion. As a result, Eros, fearing for his life, had forged a list of high-ranking officers marked for execution. In this way, the secretary tricked the officers into assassinating Aurelian, and they then fled into Asia Minor to avoid the wrath of the soldiers. Unusually for the period, the imperial field army defers to the Senate to choose a successor.
  • September 25Marcus Claudius Tacitus is proclaimed Emperor by the Senate; his half brother Marcus Annius Florianus becomes praetorian prefect.
  • Tacitus marches into Asia Minor to fight the Goths and track down the faction responsible for assassinating Aurelian.
Asia
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By topic

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Religion
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276

By place

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Roman Empire
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  • Emperor Tacitus doubles the silver content of the aurelianianus, and halves its tariffing to 2.5 d.c. They carry the value marks X.I.
  • Tacitus campaigns successfully against the Goths who have invaded Asia Minor, and his half-brother, the praetorian prefect Marcus Annius Florianus, continues the campaign.
  • Tacitus' cousin Maximinus administers Syria in a harsh manner, and is assassinated by local men of power, who are joined in the conspiracy by the faction responsible for having assassinated Aurelian in the previous year.
  • Tacitus dies in Tyana, Cappadocia. He either dies of illness, or is murdered by the faction responsible for having assassinated Aurelian and Maximinus.
  • Florianus becomes Roman Emperor with the support of the Senate, but a general in the east, Marcus Aurelius Probus, usurps power against him. Florianus breaks off his campaign against the Goths and marches east from the Bosporus with support from the Roman legions in Britain, Gaul, Spain and Italy.
  • Florianus holds power for some weeks and fights indecisively against Probus in Cilicia, but his soldiers, many of whom are from the colder Rhine and Danube frontiers, suffer from heat and disease. He is overthrown and then assassinated by his own troops near Tarsus (Turkey), in collusion with Probus. Probus, age 44, is proclaimed new Emperor of Rome.
  • Probus returns the aurelianianus to the tariffing of Aurelian.
  • Probus invites the faction responsible for the murders of Aurelian and Tacitus to a banquet, only to massacre them. He then arrests a surviving conspirator and has him burned alive.
Sassanid Empire
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Asia
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277

By place

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Roman Empire
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China
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278

By place

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Roman Empire
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279

By place

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Asia
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Significant people

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Births

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Deaths

270

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Notes

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  1. ^ The Zizhi Tongjian recorded that the Jin dynasty launched the invasion of Eastern Wu in the 11th month of the 5th year of the Xianning era of Sima Yan's reign.[5] This month corresponds to 21 December 279 to 18 January 280 in the Gregorian calendar.

References

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  1. ^ "List of Rulers of Korea". www.metmuseum.org. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  2. ^ Watson, Alaric. Aurelian and the Third Century. London, United Kingdom: Routledge, 1999, p. 50.
  3. ^ Clauss, Manfred (2001). Die römischen Kaiser - 55 historische Portraits von Caesar bis Iustinian. p. 250. ISBN 978-3-406-47288-6.
  4. ^ a b "Saint Felix I | pope". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  5. ^ Zizhi Tongjian 1084, vol. 80: "[咸寧五年]冬,十一月,大舉伐吳"
  6. ^ Knechtges, David R.; Chang, Taiping (2010). Ancient and Early Medieval Chinese Literature (vol.I): A Reference Guide, Part One. BRILL. p. 542. ISBN 9789004191273.
  7. ^ "Quintillus | Roman emperor". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  8. ^ "Aurelian | Roman emperor". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  9. ^ Cruz, Juana Inés de la (2016). Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz: Selected Works (International Student Edition) (Norton Critical Editions). W. W. Norton & Company. p. 112. ISBN 9780393623406.

Sources

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