__NOTOC__ Year 272 ( CCLXXII) was a

leap year starting on Monday A leap year starting on Monday is any year with 366 days (i.e. it includes February 29, 29 February) that begins on Monday, 1 January, and ends on Leap year starting on Tuesday, Tuesday, 31 December. Its dominical letters hence are GF. The most rec ...

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 Postumius and Veldumnianus (or, less frequently, year 1025 ''

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 272 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

Aurelian Aurelian (; ; 9 September ) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 270 to 275 AD during the Crisis of the Third Century. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited the Roman Empire after it had nearly disinte ...

launches a two-pronged invasion of the

Palmyrene Empire The Palmyrene Empire was a short-lived breakaway state from the Roman Empire resulting from the Crisis of the Third Century. Named after its capital city, Palmyra, it encompassed the Roman provinces of Syria Palaestina, Arabia Petraea, and Egypt ...

, sending his commander

Marcus Aurelius Probus Marcus Aurelius Probus (; 230–235 – September 282) was Roman emperor from 276 to 282. Probus was an active and successful general as well as a conscientious administrator, and in his reign of six years he secured prosperity for the inner p ...

to restore Roman rule in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

while he marches into Asia Minor. * As part of a strategy of clemency, Aurelian spares

Tyana Tyana, earlier known as Tuwana during the Iron Age, and Tūwanuwa during the Bronze Age, was an ancient city in the Anatolian region of Cappadocia, in modern Kemerhisar, Niğde Province, Central Anatolia, Turkey. It was the capital of a Luwia ...

after capturing the city. This strategy encourages units under Zenobia to defect to Aurelian. *

Battle of Immae The Battle of Immae was fought in 272 between the Roman army of Emperor Aurelian, and the armies of the Palmyrene Empire, whose leader, Empress Zenobia, had usurped Roman control over the eastern provinces. Background and prelude to war During t ...

: Aurelian defeats the Palmyrene heavy cavalry (''

clibanarii The Clibanarii or Klibanophoroi (, meaning "camp oven-bearers" from the Greek word meaning "camp oven" or "metallic furnace"), in Persian Grivpanvar, were a Sasanian Persian, late Roman and Byzantine military unit of armored heavy cavalry. De ...

'') near

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

. Queen

Zenobia Septimia Zenobia (Greek: Ζηνοβία, Palmyrene Aramaic: , ; 240 – c. 274) was a third-century queen of the Palmyrene Empire in Syria. Many legends surround her ancestry; she was probably not a commoner, and she married the ruler of the ...

flees under cover of darkness 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 ...

(

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

). * Aurelian supports the bishops of Italy in deposing the bishop of Antioch,

Paul of Samosata Paul of Samosata (, lived from 200 to 275) was patriarch of Antioch from 260 to 268 and the originator of the Paulianist heresy named after him. He was a believer in monarchianism, a nontrinitarian doctrine; his teachings reflect adoptionism ...

, who had been a supporter of Zenobia. This is the first recorded instance of an imperial intervention in an ecclesiastical dispute. *

Battle of Emesa The Battle of Emesa was fought in 272 between the Roman armies led by their emperor Aurelian and the Palmyrene forces led by their empress, Zenobia and general Zabdas. Background Aurelian had started a campaign to reconquer the secessioni ...

: Aurelian decisively defeats the Palmyrene army. * Aurelian besieges

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 ...

. Zenobia attempts to escape to

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

but is captured on the

Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

. Palmyra surrenders soon after. * Following a series of trials held in Emesa, Cassius Longinus and other advisors of Zenobia are executed for conspiring against Aurelian.

By topic

Religion

* Dometius succeeds Titus as

Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople () is the archbishop of Constantinople and (first among equals) among the heads of the several autocephalous churches that comprise the Eastern Orthodox Church. The ecumenical patriarch is regarded as ...

. * Saint Denis, first

Bishop of Paris The Archdiocese of Paris (; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is one of twenty-three archdioceses in France. The original diocese is traditionally thought to have been create ...

, and two of his

disciples A disciple is a follower and student of a mentor, teacher, or other figure. It can refer to: Religion * Disciple (Christianity), a student of Jesus Christ * Twelve Apostles of Jesus, sometimes called the Twelve Disciples * Seventy disciples in t ...

are beheaded on the road to the Temple of Mercury that stands atop a hill outside of the city. The hill will later be called

Montmartre Montmartre ( , , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement of Paris, 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Rive Droite, Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for its a ...

(Mountain of Martyrs) in

Lutetia Lutetia, ( , ; ) also known as and ( ; ; ), was a Gallo-Roman culture, Gallo–Roman town and the predecessor of modern-day Paris. Traces of an earlier Neolithic settlement () have been found nearby, and a larger settlement was established ...

(modern

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

). *

is deposed as

Patriarch of Antioch The Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the bishop of Antioch (modern-day Antakya, Turkey). As the traditional "overseer" (, , from which the word ''bishop'' is derived) of the first gentile Christian community, the position has ...

Births

February 27 Events Pre-1600 * 380 – Edict of Thessalonica: Emperor Theodosius I and his co-emperors Gratian and Valentinian II declare their wish that all Roman citizens convert to Nicene Christianity. * 425 – The University of Constantin ...

–

Constantine the Great Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...

, Roman emperor (d.

337 __NOTOC__ Year 337 (Roman numerals, CCCXXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Felicianus and Titianus (or, less frequently, year 1090 ''Ab urbe condita ...

) *

Wei Shuo Wei Shuo (, 272–349 CE), courtesy name Mouyi (茂猗), sobriquet He'nan (和南), commonly addressed just as Lady Wei (衛夫人), who lived during the Eastern Jin, was one of the most famous of all Chinese calligraphers in history. She was a ...

(or Mouyi), Chinese

calligrapher Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an exp ...

(d.

349 __NOTOC__ Year 349 (Roman numerals, CCCXLIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Limenius and Catullinus (or, less frequently, year 1102 ''Ab urbe condita''). T ...

)

Deaths

Shapur I Shapur I (also spelled Shabuhr I; ) was the second Sasanian Empire, Sasanian King of Kings of Iran. The precise dating of his reign is disputed, but it is generally agreed that he ruled from 240 to 270, with his father Ardashir I as co-regent u ...

(the Great), king of the

Sassanid Empire The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...

Sabbas Stratelates Saint Sabbas Stratelates (Sava Stratelat, Sabas Stratilat, Savva Stratilatus), also known as Sabbas the General of Rome (died 272, in Tiber River, Rome) was an early Christian warrior saint and martyr. He served as a Roman military general under Em ...

, Roman general and martyr *

Sima Fu Sima Fu () (180 – 3 April 272), courtesy name Shuda, posthumously known as Prince Xian of Anping, was an imperial prince and statesman of the Jin dynasty of China. He previously served as an official in the state of Cao Wei during the Three Ki ...

, Chinese prince and statesman (b. 180) *

Wan Yu Wan Yu (died September 272The ''Records of Jiankang'' indicated that Wan Yu died in the 8th month of the 1st year of the ''Fenghuang'' era. This corresponds to 10 Sep to 8 Oct 272 in the Julian calendar. (...改明年为凤皇元年。秋八月� ...

, Chinese chancellor and politician

References

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