Illyrian emperors


The Illyrian emperors were a group of Roman emperors during the Crisis of the Third Century who were of Illyrian origin and hailed from the region of Illyria, and were raised chiefly from the ranks of the Roman army. In the empire the Illyrian generals had established a powerful military caste.
In the 2nd and 3rd centuries, the Illyricum, which included the provinces on the Lower Danube, held the largest concentration of Roman forces, and were a major recruiting ground. The advance of these low-born provincials was facilitated by a major shift in imperial policy from the time of Gallienus on, when higher military appointments ceased to be exclusively filled by senators. Instead, professional soldiers of humble origin who had risen through the ranks to the post of primus pilus were placed as heads of the legions and filled the army's command structure.
Decius was born in Illyricum, but he hailed from the senatorial background, for this reason the historical period of the Illyrian emperors proper begins with Claudius Gothicus in 268 and continues in 284 with the rise of Diocletian and the institution of the Tetrarchy. This period was very important in the history of the Empire, since it represents the recovery from the Crisis of the Third Century, a long period of usurpations and military difficulties.
The later Valentinians also hailed from the Pannonia region.

List

The following emperors are counted as Illyriciani:
See also List of Roman emperors for more details.