Carinus

the elder of the two sons of Carus. Upon the departure of his father for the Persian war (A. D. 282), he was appointed supreme governor of all the Western provinces, and received the titles of Caesar and Imperator. After the death of Carus in 283, he assumed the purple conjointly with his brother, and upon receiving intelligence of the untimely fate of Numerianus and the elevation of Diocletian to the throne by the army of Asia, he set forth in all haste from Gaul to encounter his rival. The opposing hosts met in Maesia, several engagements followed, and at length a decisive battle was fought near Margum, in which Carinus gained the victory, but, in the moment of triumph, was slain by some of his own officers, whose honour he had wounded in the course of his profligate indulgences. Historians agree in painting the character of this emperor in the darkest colours. When roused he was unquestionably not deficient in valour and military skill, as was proved by the vigour with which he repressed certain seditious movements in Gaul, and by the successful conduct of his last campaign. But during the greater part of his short career he abandoned himself to the gratification of the most brutal passions, and never scrupled at any act of oppression or cruelty. State affairs were totally neglected--the most upright of those by whom he was surrounded were banished or put to death, and the highest offices bestowed upon degraded ministers of his pleasures. Nine wives were wedded and repudiated in quick succession, and the palace, filled with a throng of players, dancers, harlots, and panders, presented a constant scene of riot and intemperance. It was bitterly observed, that in this prince the sensual enormities of Elagabalus were seen combined with the cold ferocity of Domitian. His only claims upon the affection of the populace consisted in the prodigal magnificence displayed in the celebration of games in honour of his brother and himself. These appear to have transcended in fantastic splendour all previous exhibitions, and the details transmitted to us by Vopiscus are of a most strange and marvellous description.

Chronologers are at variance with regard to the precise date of the death of Carinus. Eckhel seems inclined to fix it at the close of the year 284, but it is generally referred to the May following. (Vopisc. Carin.; Aurel. Vict. Caes. xxxviii., Epit. xxxviii.; Zonar. 12.30; Eutrop. 9.12.)

[W.R]

The eldest son of the emperor Carus, who gave him the title of Caesar and the rank of Augustus, together with the government of Italy, Illyricum, Africa, and the West, when he himself was setting out, with his second son Numerianus, to make war against the Persians. Carus, knowing the evil qualities of Carinus, gave him this charge with great reluctance; but he had no alternative, as Numerianus, though superior in every respect to his elder brother, was too young to hold so important a command. As soon as Carinus entered Gaul, which his father had particularly charged him to defend against the barbarians, who menaced an irruption, he gave himself up to the most degrading excesses, discharged the most competent men from public employment, and substituted the vile companions of his debaucheries. On hearing of the death of his father, he indulged in new excesses and new crimes. Still, however, his courage and his victories merit praise. He defeated the barbarians who had begun to attack the Empire, among others the Sarmatae, and he afterwards overthrew Sabinus Inlianus, who had assumed the purple in Venetia. He then marched against Diocletian, who had proclaimed himself emperor after the death of Numerian. The two armies met in Moesia, and several engagements took place, in which success seemed balanced. At last a decisive battle was fought near Margum, and Carinus was on the point of gaining a complete victory, when he was slain by a tribune of his own army, who had received an outrage at his hands. This event took place A.D. 285, so that the reign of Carinus, computing it from his father's death, was a little more than one year. His life was written by Vopiscus.