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Years
Millennium
1st millennium
Centuries
Decades
Years
222 by topic
Leaders
Categories
222 in various calendars
Gregorian calendar222
CCXXII
Ab urbe condita975
Assyrian calendar4972
Balinese saka calendar143–144
Bengali calendar−372 – −371
Berber calendar1172
Buddhist calendar766
Burmese calendar−416
Byzantine calendar5730–5731
Chinese calendar辛丑年 (Metal Ox)
2919 or 2712
    — to —
壬寅年 (Water Tiger)
2920 or 2713
Coptic calendar−62 – −61
Discordian calendar1388
Ethiopian calendar214–215
Hebrew calendar3982–3983
Hindu calendars
 - Vikram Samvat278–279
 - Shaka Samvat143–144
 - Kali Yuga3322–3323
Holocene calendar10222
Iranian calendar400 BP – 399 BP
Islamic calendar412 BH – 411 BH
Javanese calendar100–101
Julian calendar222
CCXXII
Korean calendar2555
Minguo calendar1690 before ROC
民前1690年
Nanakshahi calendar−1246
Seleucid era533/534 AG
Thai solar calendar764–765
Tibetan calendarལྕགས་མོ་གླང་ལོ་
(female Iron-Ox)
348 or −33 or −805
    — to —
ཆུ་ཕོ་སྟག་ལོ་
(male Water-Tiger)
349 or −32 or −804
Emperor Alexander Severus

Year 222 (CCXXII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Antoninus and Severus (or, less frequently, year 975 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 222 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Events

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By place

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Roman Empire

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China

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By topic

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Commerce

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  • The silver content of the Roman denarius falls to 35 percent under emperor Alexander Severus, down from 43 percent under Elagabalus.[3]

Religion

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  • October 14 – Pope Callixtus I is killed by a mob in Rome's Trastevere after a 5-year reign in which he has stabilized the Saturday fast three times per year, with no food, oil, or wine to be consumed on those days. Callixtus is succeeded by Cardinal Urban I.


Births

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Deaths

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References

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222

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Year 222 (CCXXII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.[1] In the Roman Empire, the year marked a pivotal shift in imperial leadership, as the Praetorian Guard assassinated Emperor Elagabalus on March 11 amid widespread discontent with his religious reforms and personal conduct, leading to the immediate elevation of his 13-year-old cousin, Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander, as the new emperor on March 13.[2][3] This transition, orchestrated by the influential Julia Maesa—grandmother to both rulers and a key power broker in the Severan dynasty—restored a degree of senatorial favor and relative stability, though Severus Alexander's reign ultimately proved ineffective against mounting military and economic pressures.[4] Julia Maesa herself died later that month on March 11, having played a crucial role in engineering the coup to preserve her family's dominance.[5] Beyond Rome, the year saw no major recorded upheavals in other regions, underscoring the empire's centrality in contemporary historical documentation.

Events

Roman Empire

On March 11, 222, Emperor Elagabalus, born Varius Avitus Bassianus and ruling since 218, was assassinated in Rome along with his mother Julia Soaemias by members of the Praetorian Guard, amid widespread dissatisfaction with his promotion of the Syrian sun god Elagabal as supreme deity over traditional Roman gods and reports of extravagant and scandalous behavior.[6] The plot was orchestrated by Elagabalus's grandmother Julia Maesa, who favored her other grandson, the 14-year-old Severus Alexander (born Marcus Julius Geta Bassianus Alexianus), positioning him as a more conventional ruler to restore stability within the Severan dynasty.[7] Following the killings, the bodies of Elagabalus and Julia Soaemias were mutilated, dragged through the streets of Rome, and dumped into the Tiber River, reflecting the depth of elite and military contempt.[8] Severus Alexander was promptly hailed as emperor by the Praetorian Guard on March 13, 222, marking the end of Elagabalus's brief and tumultuous four-year reign.[9] Under the influence of his mother Julia Mamaea and grandmother Julia Maesa, Alexander's early rule emphasized reconciliation, including the restoration of traditional Roman religious practices and the demotion of Elagabal's cult, though Maesa retained significant advisory power until her death in 224.[10] This transition averted immediate civil war but highlighted ongoing tensions in imperial succession, reliant on familial intrigue and military loyalty rather than established republican mechanisms.[7] No major military campaigns or territorial changes occurred in 222, with the empire's frontiers remaining stable under the Severan administration's focus on internal consolidation.[9]

China

In 222, the southeastern territories under Sun Quan's control formalized their independence from the defunct Han dynasty by establishing the state of Wu, with Sun proclaiming himself emperor and setting the capital at Wuchang (modern Echeng, Hubei).[11][12] This act followed Cao Pi's usurpation in Wei (220) and Liu Bei's declaration in Shu Han (221), solidifying the tripartite division of China into the Three Kingdoms.[13] Liu Bei, seeking to reclaim Jing Province seized by Wu in 219 and avenge the execution of his sworn brother Guan Yu, mobilized forces for a punitive campaign against Wu.[14] Preparations were marred by the assassination of Shu general Zhang Fei in late 221 by subordinates Fan Qiang and Zhang Da, who resented his harsh discipline and defected to Wu with his head.[15] Despite this setback, Liu Bei advanced from Chengdu, crossing into Wu territory along the Yangtze River and capturing initial positions near Yiling (modern Yichang, Hubei). The ensuing Battle of Xiaoting (also known as Yiling), spanning from spring to autumn 222, pitted Shu's army of approximately 40,000–50,000 against Wu's defenses under general Lu Xun.[16] Liu Bei's forces initially held a line of connected camps in the rugged terrain, but Lu Xun, after enduring probing attacks, launched a decisive counteroffensive in August 222 using fire ships and incendiary assaults to ignite the dry summer forests and Shu encampments.[16] The blaze caused catastrophic losses, with estimates of over 70% of Shu's army killed, captured, or drowned in retreat; key commanders like Zhang Shao and Ma Liang perished.[16] Wu's victory secured its hold on Jing Province and halted Shu's southern expansion, though Liu Bei escaped to White Emperor City (Baidicheng), where illness from the defeat contributed to his death in 223.[14] Lu Xun's restraint in not pursuing the routed foe preserved Wu's resources amid ongoing threats from Wei, demonstrating strategic caution over aggressive conquest.[11] These events entrenched the Three Kingdoms' balance of power, with Wu consolidating control over the Yangtze basin against northern incursions.[13]

Religion and Culture

Roman Religious Policies

In 222, the Roman Empire's religious landscape was dominated by the policies of Emperor Elagabalus, who continued his efforts to elevate the Syrian sun god Elagabal as the supreme deity over traditional Roman gods like Jupiter. Elagabalus had constructed the Elagabalium temple on the Palatine Hill in Rome and mandated the integration of Eastern rituals into Roman festivals, requiring public officials and senators to participate in worship of his god.[17] These reforms, initiated earlier in his reign, aimed to unify the empire under a solar monotheism but provoked widespread resentment among the Roman elite and populace for subverting ancestral piety.[18] The culmination of these policies occurred amid escalating tensions, leading to Elagabalus's assassination on March 11, 222, by the Praetorian Guard, who viewed his religious innovations as scandalous and destabilizing.[17] His cousin, Severus Alexander, was immediately proclaimed emperor by the guard and senate, marking a swift reversal in religious direction. Alexander Severus dismantled the primacy of the Elagabal cult, restoring the traditional Roman pantheon and Jupiter's preeminence while minimizing forced Eastern impositions.[19] Under Alexander, religious policy shifted toward tolerance, allowing the coexistence of Roman state cults with provincial and foreign practices, including those of Jews and early Christians, without elevating any single non-Roman deity to supremacy.[20] This pragmatic approach contrasted sharply with Elagabalus's radical centralization, reflecting a return to the principate's foundational emphasis on mos maiorum while accommodating the empire's diverse subjects.[21] The transition in 222 thus preserved imperial stability by reaffirming established religious hierarchies rather than pursuing syncretic overhaul.

Births

Notable Individuals

Marcus Aurelius Carus (c. 222 – c. July/August 283) was a Roman emperor who reigned from September 282 until his death during a campaign against the Sasanian Empire. A native of Narbo in Gaul, he advanced through senatorial ranks, serving as praetorian prefect under Probus before troops proclaimed him emperor following Probus's assassination in 282. Carus elevated his sons Carinus and Numerian as co-rulers and launched an invasion of Persia, capturing several cities and reaching Ctesiphon, where he perished—ancient sources attribute his death to lightning, disease, or assassination.[22] Du Yu (222–284) was a Jin dynasty scholar-official, general, and commentator on Confucian classics. Born in Duling, he held key administrative posts under the Wei and Jin regimes, leading military efforts in the conquest of Eastern Wu in 280 that unified China under Jin. His Zuo shi zhuan zhu provides a comprehensive, historically grounded exegesis of the Zuo zhuan, emphasizing factual analysis over moral allegory, and continues to shape interpretations of Spring and Autumn period annals.[23][24]

Deaths

Prominent Figures

Elagabalus (c. 204 – March 11, 222), born Sextus Varius Avitus Bassianus, ruled as Roman emperor from 218 until his murder by members of the Praetorian Guard in Rome.[25] Installed by legionaries in Syria as a purported son of Caracalla to legitimize their revolt against Macrinus, his four-year reign involved attempts to impose the Syrian sun god Elagabal as supreme deity, supplanting traditional Roman cults, alongside reports of extravagant banquets and marital irregularities that eroded support among the Senate, equestrians, and military.[17] Ancient historians such as Cassius Dio and Herodian, writing under subsequent regimes, detailed these excesses, though their senatorial perspectives likely amplified criticisms to justify the coup.[26] In February 222, Elagabalus elevated his younger cousin Severus Alexander as Caesar and joint consul to placate unrest, but growing favoritism toward Alexander prompted Elagabalus to order his execution on March 11.[27] The Praetorians, loyal to Alexander, instead revolted, slaying Elagabalus and his mother Julia Soaemias—who had wielded significant influence as Augusta and de facto co-ruler—within the imperial palace.[8] The corpses were decapitated, stripped, dragged through the streets on hooks amid public jeers, and cast into the Tiber River, denying them customary burial.[28] This event paved the way for Severus Alexander's uncontested accession on March 13, ending the short-lived elevation of Elagabalus's preferred religious and familial faction.[17] In China, during the Battle of Xiaoting (August 222), Shu Han general Fu Rong perished while defending against Eastern Wu forces, contributing to Shu's retreat after initial advances by Liu Bei. Fu Rong, a veteran officer under Liu Zhang before defecting to Liu Bei, commanded rearguard actions but succumbed to encirclement by Wu commander Zhu Ran, marking a tactical loss amid the broader Three Kingdoms conflicts.[29]

References

  1. 222 Julian calendar / Old style - New style synoptical reference
  2. Alexander Severus (AD 208-235) Emperor with a terrible fate
  3. Roman Timeline of the 3rd Century AD - UNRV.com
  4. Severus Alexander - Livius.org
  5. On this day in 222AD Severus Alexander became emperor of Rome
  6. On 11 March 222, the teenage Roman Emperor Elagabalus was ...
  7. Scope of chapter 6 of 'The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire ...
  8. Roman Emperor Elagabalus was assassinated, March 11, 222.
  9. Severus Alexander - Roman Emperor - UNRV.com
  10. The Severan Dynasty (193–235 A.D.)
  11. Empire of Wu 吳 (222/229-280) - Chinaknowledge
  12. Wu Dadi 吳大帝 Sun Quan 孫權 (www.chinaknowledge.de)
  13. Three Empires 三國, 220~280 CE (www.chinaknowledge.de)
  14. Empire of Shu-Han 蜀漢 (221-263) - Chinaknowledge
  15. Zhang Fei 張飛(www.chinaknowledge.de)
  16. Battle of Xiaoting - History Maps
  17. Elagabalus: The Infamous Roman Emperor - Fact vs. Fiction
  18. Cult of Elagabal in Ancient Rome – Rise, Fall, and Civic Reactions
  19. Roman Emperor Severus Alexander (222-235 CE)
  20. The Severan emperors and their policies | Intro to Ancient Rome ...
  21. Religion and coinage. Heliogabalus and Alexander Severus: two ...
  22. Carus - Livius.org
  23. Images of the Temple of Culture - Academics - Hamilton College
  24. [PDF] Reexamining the Rejected Pre-Du Yu Commentaries on the ...
  25. Year 222 AD - Historical Events and Notable People - On This Day
  26. Elagabalus: The Hated Roman Emperor Who Was Killed And ...
  27. People & Personalities | Emperor Elagabalus - Ancient Rome Live
  28. Elagabalus: Rome's Craziest Emperor You've Never Heard Of
  29. Three Kingdoms people killed in battle - FamousFix.com list
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