Carus
Augustus  AD 282 - 283

Marcus Aurelius Carus (ca AD 230 - 283):
Father of Carinus nad Numerian;
Father-in-low of Magnia Urbica;
Grandfather of Nigrinian.

AD 282 - 283 - Sole reign
AD 283 - with Carinus and Numerianus

It is unclear what prompted the troops led by Carus, then a praetorian prefect, to proclaim him emperor in the middle of a campaign that the titular ruler, Probus was waging in September 282. As it happened, the force sent by Probus to deal with the problem deserted and Probus was then murdered by his own soldiers. An ominous sign for the future was the fact that Carus did simply announce to the Senate his elevation by the army, without even requesting official recognition. He did not lack military capability and his first deed, even before setting out to Rome, was the repulsion of a combined attack by Sarmatians and Quadi, which reportedly cost the invaders sixty thousand men. His luck followed him on a subsequent expedition to Mesopotamia during which Carus was able crush the Persians and take the capital Ctesiphon almost without opposition. Then, in July 283, while preparing a further incursion east, he was found death in his tent, most probably by the hand of the praetorian prefect Arrius Aper.

Mints: Alexandria, Antioch, Cyzicus, Lugdunum, Rome, Siscia, Ticinum, Tripolis.

List all Carus coins in the Catalog.

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