Numerianus

the younger of the two sons of the emperor Carus, and his companion in the expedition against the Persians, undertaken in A. D. 283. After the death of his father, which happened in the following year, he was, without opposition, acknowledged as joint emperor with his brother Carinus. The idle fears of the army compelled him to abandon all hopes of prosecuting a campaign commenced with so much glory, and of extending the conquests already achieved. For terrified by the mysterious fate of Carus [Carus], which they regarded as a direct manifestation of the wrath of heaven, and an evident fulfilment of the ancient prophecy which fixed the river Tigris as the limit of the Roman sways the soldiers refused to advance. Yielding to their superstitious terrors, Numerianus commenced a retreat in the very hour of victory, and slowly retraced his steps towards the Thracian Bosporus. During the greater part of the march, which lasted for eight months, he was duly confined to his litter by an affection of the eyes, induced, it is said, by excessive weeping. After this seclusion had continued for a considerable period, dark reports began to circulate, and the excitement increasing by degrees, at length became so fierce that the soldiers forced their way into the Imperial tent, and discovered the dead body of their prince. The concealment practised by Arrius Aper, praefect of the praetorians, father-in-law of the deceased, and who had lately acted as his representative, gave rise to the worst suspicions. He was publicly arraigned of the murder in a military council, held at Chalcedon, and, without being permitted to speak in his own defence, was stabbed to the heart by Diocletian, whom the troops had already proclaimued emperor, and whe on this occasion acted with a degree of hasty violence strangely at variance with the calmness of his well-regulated mind. [Diocletianus.]

The Augustan historian represents Numerianus as a prince remarkable alike for moral and intellectual excellence. He gained universal love and admiration by gentleness of temper, affability of address, and purity of life, while at the same time he bore away the palm in eloquence and poetry from all his contemporaries-virtues and accomplishments which shone the more conspicuous and bright when contrasted with the brutal profligacy and savage cruelty of his brother and colleague Carinus [Carinus]. (Vopisc. Nunerian. ; Aur. Vict. Epit. 38, de Caes. 38; Eutrop. 9.12; Zonar. 12.30.)

[W.R]

Marcus Aurelius. A Roman who succeeded to the imperial throne conjointly with his elder brother Carinus, after the death of their father Carus, at the beginning of A.D. 284. Numerianus was with the army in Mesopotamia at the death of Probus; but, instead of following up the advantage which his father had gained over the Persians, he was compelled by the army to abandon the conquests which had been already made, and to retreat to Syria. During the retreat, a weakness of the eyes obliged him to confine himself to a litter, which was guarded by the praetorians. The administration of all affairs, civil as well as military, devolved on Arrius Aper, the praetorian prefect, his father-in-law. The army was eight months on its march from the banks of the Tigris to the Thracian Bosporus, and during all that time the imperial authority was exercised in the name of the emperor, who never appeared to his soldiers. Reports at length spread among them that their emperor was no longer living; and when they had reached the city of Chalcedon they could not be prevented from breaking into the imperial tent, where they found only his corpse. Suspicion naturally fell upon Arrius; and an assembly of the army was accordingly held, for the purpose of avenging the death of Numerianus and electing a new emperor. Their choice fell upon Diocletian, who, immediately after his election, put Arrius to death with his own hands, without giving him an opportunity of justifying himself, which might, perhaps, have proved dangerous to the new emperor. The virtues of Numerianus are mentioned by most of his biographers. His manners were mild and affable; and he was celebrated among his contemporaries for eloquence and poetic talent. The Senate voted him a statue, with the inscription, “To Numerianus Caesar, the most powerful orator of his times” (Vopisc. Numerian.; Aurel. Vict. De Caes. 38; Eutrop. ix. 12).