The Pax Romana ended in 180 with the death of Marcus Aurelius, the last of the Good Emperors. The next emperor was far from good. Commodus has a bad reputation among historians. The public knows he was a bad emperor because of the movie “Gladiator”. While not as dastardly as that film suggests, he did earn his villainy. He executed a number of aristocrats and his reign was noted for his claim that he was a god. He was assassinated in his bath on Dec. 31, 192. The Praetorian Guard appointed Pertinax the new emperor. Pertinax became the first emperor in the famous Year of the Five Emperors. He attempted reforms that were not popular with the public. And one of those reforms was to be stricter discipline for the Praetorian Guards. You did not want to anger your body guard. It got him assassinated on March 28, 193. The Praetorian Guard decided to auction off the throne. Who wanted it bad enough? The bidding began with a nobleman named Sulpicianus offering 20,000 sesterces for every guard. But he was outbid by Didius Julianus, who promised 25,000 per man (about $1,000 today) for a total of about 200 million sesterces.
Julianus was not without merit. He held a number of government positions on the political ladder. He then added to his resume by becoming a successful general (an attribute that became a prerequisite for future emperors). He defeated barbarian armies in two separate campaigns. In 175, he served as consul. His political career declined after that, but he was one of the richest men in Rome. Rich enough to buy the throne. His bribe might have set well with the Praetorian Guard, but the populace sensed a political change for the worse. He was very unpopular and was once pelted with stones while walking to the capitol. Word of his unpopularity spread through the empire and attracted the attention of several generals. Septimus Severus marched on Rome. The Praetorian Guard was not designed to protect the emperor from real soldiers, so it forgot the protecting part of its job. On June 2, 193, Julianus was killed in the palace. His last words were: “But what evil have I done? Whom have I killed?” He had been emperor only 66 days. I don’t think he had gotten his money’s worth. But he did become the poster boy for the decline of the Roman Empire. And he is the most famous of the five emperors because he literally bought the throne.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didius_Julianus
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Marcus-Didius-Severus-Julianus
https://www.unrv.com/decline-of-empire/didius-julianus.php
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