CARUS (Marcus Aurelius Carus)

• As Probus set off for the east to campaign against the Persians, he heard about the revolt of Marcus Aurelius Carus, commander of the praetorian guard at Sirmium.
• Probus marched to meet him. In late 282, Probus's army joined the revolt and they murdered him in a look-out tower where taken refuge, near Sirmium.
• Carus was born around 224, at Narbo on the Mediterranean coast of Gaul.
• Carus travelled to Rome wih his sons Marcus Aurelius Carinus and Marcus Aurelius Numerius Numerianus. Both sons were given the rank of Caesar. Carinus, the elder son, was entrusted with the western half of the Empire while Carus and his younger son, Numerian, took charge of the east.
• In the spring of 283 Carus and Numerian fought successfully against Sarmatians and Quadi on the Danube.
• They then set out for a war on Persia. They advanced through Mesopotamia, capturing Ctesiphon, the Persian capital.
• On the banks of the Tigris, in his tent, he was killed by a bolt of lightning. The 'lightning' may have come from Aper, the praetorian commander, or Diocletian, commander of the imperial bodyguard.