__NOTOC__ Year 261 ( CCLXI) was a

common year starting on Tuesday A common year starting on Tuesday is any non-leap year (i.e. a year with 365 days) that begins on Tuesday, 1 January, and ends on Tuesday, 31 December. Its dominical letter hence is F. The most recent year of such kind was 2019, and the next one wi ...

of the

Julian calendar The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception). The Julian calendar is still used as a religious calendar in parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church and in parts ...

. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gallienus and Taurus (or, less frequently, year 1014 ''

Ab urbe condita ''Ab urbe condita'' (; 'from the founding of Rome, founding of the City'), or (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is ...

''). The denomination 261 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the

Anno Domini The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used when designating years in the Gregorian calendar, Gregorian and Julian calendar, Julian calendars. The term is Medieval Latin and means "in the year of the Lord" but is often presented using "o ...

calendar era A calendar era is the period of time elapsed since one '' epoch'' of a calendar and, if it exists, before the next one. For example, the current year is numbered in the Gregorian calendar, which numbers its years in the Western Christian era ...

became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Events

By place

Roman Empire

* Emperor

Gallienus Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus (; – September 268) was Roman emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260 and alone from 260 to 268. He ruled during the Crisis of the Third Century that nearly caused the collapse of the empire. He ...

crushes the

Alemanni The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of Germanic peoples, Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River during the first millennium. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Roman emperor Caracalla of 213 CE ...

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

(approximate date). * Gallienus repeals the

edict An edict is a decree or announcement of a law, often associated with monarchies, but it can be under any official authority. Synonyms include "dictum" and "pronouncement". ''Edict'' derives from the Latin edictum. Notable edicts * Telepinu ...

258 Year 258 ( CCLVIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Tuscus and Bassus (or, less frequently, year 1011 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 258 for this yea ...

, which led to the persecution of the Christians. *

Gallienus usurpers The Gallienus usurpers were the usurpers who claimed imperial power during the reign of Gallienus (253–268, the first part of which he shared with his father Valerian). The existence of usurpers during the Crisis of the Third Century was very ...

: The rebellion of

Macrianus Major Fulvius Macrianus (), also called Macrianus Major, was a Roman usurper. He was one of Valerian's fiscal officers.J. Bray (1997), p.95 More precisely, sources refer to him as being in charge of the whole state accounts ('' A rationibus'') or, in ...

Macrianus Minor Titus Fulvius Iunius Macrianus (died 261), also known as Macrianus Minor, was a Roman usurper. He was the son of Fulvius Macrianus, also known as Macrianus Major.Jones, pg. 528 Career Although his father was from an equestrian family, Macri ...

, and

Quietus Titus Fulvius Junius Quietus (died 261) was a Roman usurper against Roman Emperor Gallienus. History Quietus was the son of Fulvius Macrianus and a noblewoman, possibly named Junia. According to ''Historia Augusta'', he was a military trib ...

against Gallienus comes to an end. They march from

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

to Europe but they are defeated in

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

by Gallienus' general

Aureolus Aureolus was a Roman military commander during the reign of Emperor Gallienus before he attempted to usurp the Roman Empire. After turning against Gallienus, Aureolus was killed during the political turmoil that surrounded the Emperor's assass ...

, and both Macrianus Major and Macrianus Minor are killed. Quietus flees to

Emesa Homs ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is also the central link b ...

, where he is killed by

Odaenathus Septimius Odaenathus (Greek language, Greek: Ὀδαίναθος, Palmyrene Aramaic: 𐡠𐡣𐡩𐡮𐡶‎ (file:Dynt.png, 35px), ; ; 220 – 267) was the founder king (malik) of the List of Palmyrene monarchs, Palmyrene Kingdom who ruled fr ...

Palmyra Palmyra ( ; Palmyrene dialect, Palmyrene: (), romanized: ''Tadmor''; ) is an ancient city in central Syria. It is located in the eastern part of the Levant, and archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first menti ...

. * Roman–Persian Wars:

Balista Balista or Ballista (died ), also known in the sources with the name of "Callistus", was one of the Thirty Tyrants of the controversial ''Historia Augusta'', and supported the rebellion of the Macriani against Emperor Gallienus. History Bal ...

, Roman usurper, collects ships from

Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

n ports and defeats a Persian raiding force near

Pompeiopolis Pompeiopolis () was a Roman city in ancient Paphlagonia, identified in the early 19th century with the ruins of Zımbıllı Tepe, located near Taşköprü, Kastamonu Province in the Black Sea Region of Turkey. The exact location is 40 km ...

Asia

Michu of Silla Michu was the thirteenth ruler of the Korean state of Silla (r. 262–284). He was the first king of the Kim clan to sit on the Silla throne; this clan would hold the throne for most of Silla's later history. He was the son of Gudo, a lea ...

ascends to the Korean throne of

Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...

, becoming the first ruler of the Long Kim line.

Births

* Lu Ji (or Shiheng), Chinese general and politician (d.

303 __NOTOC__ Year 303 ( CCCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. It was known in the Roman Empire as the Year of the Consulship of Diocletian and Maximian (or, less frequently, year 1056 ''Ab urbe condita''). The deno ...

)

Deaths

June 9 Events Pre-1600 * 411 BC – The Athenian coup succeeds, forming a short-lived oligarchy. * 53 – The Roman emperor Nero marries Claudia Octavia. * 68 – Nero dies by suicide after quoting Vergil's ''Aeneid'', thus ending the J ...

– Wang Ji (or Boyu), Chinese general (b. 190) *

Lucius Mussius Aemilianus Lucius Mussius Aemilianus ''signo'' Aegippius (died 261 or 262) was a Roman who held a number of military and civilian positions during the middle of the third century. He is best known as a Roman usurper during the reign of Gallienus. Sources ...

, Roman

usurper A usurper is an illegitimate or controversial claimant to power, often but not always in a monarchy. In other words, one who takes the power of a country, city, or established region for oneself, without any formal or legal right to claim it a ...

, Roman general and usurper *

, Roman consul and usurper *

Valens Thessalonicus Valens Thessalonicus was a Roman usurper during the reign of Emperor Gallienus. Background In June 260, Persian king Shāpūr I defeated and took Emperor Valerian captive at Edessa in Roman Mesopotamia. Valerian's son, Gallienus who had ruled ...

, Roman usurper * Yang Xi (or Wenran), Chinese politician

References

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