On this day in history, March 28, 193 AD, the Roman Emperor Pertinax was assassinated by Praetorian Guards in Rome. Pertinax had ascended to the throne after the murder of Emperor Commodus, but his attempts to reform the Praetorian Guard and the Roman bureaucracy made him unpopular with the soldiers. The Praetorians eventually turned against him and auctioned off the throne to the highest bidder, Didius Julianus. This triggered a civil war, as other generals and governors vied for the throne. The resulting chaos and bloodshed would last for several years, known as the Year of the Five Emperors. The Praetorian Guard would be disbanded by the new emperor, Septimius Severus, and replaced with a new guard loyal to the emperor. The events surrounding Pertinax's death are seen as a turning point in Roman history, marking the beginning of the Crisis of the Third Century.
