280s

The 280's decade ran from January 1, 280, to December 31, 289.

280

This section is transcluded from AD 280. (edit | history)

By place

Roman Empire

• Roman usurper Proculus starts a rebellion at Lugdunum (Lyon, France), and proclaims himself emperor.^[1]
• Emperor Probus drives the Alans off to Asia Minor and suppresses the revolt in Gaul; Proculus is executed.^[1]
• The Germans destroy the Roman fleet on the Rhine; Bonosus is proclaimed emperor at Colonia Agrippina (Cologne).
• Probus defeats the army under Bonosus. Bonosus sees no way out and hangs himself. His family is treated with honours.^[2]
• Julius Saturninus, governor of Syria, is in Alexandria, charged with the defense of the East. He is declared emperor and withdraws to Apamea. Probus besieges the city and puts him to death.^[3]
• Roman territory is under constant threat of raids from Franks. The cities in Gaul are reinforced with defensive walls.^[4]

Europe

• The Thuringii, a Germanic tribe, appears in the Harz Mountains (Thuringia) of central Germania.

China

• Emperor Wu of the Jin dynasty completes the unification of China, which was previously divided between three contending powers during the Three Kingdoms period. The Jin dynasty's capital of Luoyang becomes a thriving centre of commerce as foreign diplomats and traders travel there.^[5]

Persia

• King Bahram II of the Sassanid Empire (Persia) sends envoys to seek peaceful relations with Rome.

India

• The Gupta Empire (India) is founded (approximate date).

Significant people

Births

Transcluding articles: 280, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288, and 289

280

• Saint George, Roman soldier and Christian martyr (approximate date)
• Yao Yizhong, Chinese general and warlord (d. 352)

281

• Cai Mo (or Daoming), Chinese official and politician (d. 356)
• Theodore Stratelates, Roman general and martyr (d. 319)

283

• Eusebius of Vercelli, Christian bishop and saint (d. 371)
• Ge Hong, Chinese scholar and philosopher (d. 343)

284

• Fu Hong (or Pu Hong), Chinese general and prince (d. 350)
• Huai of Jin, Chinese emperor of the Jin Dynasty (d. 313)

285

• St. Sylvester, Italian bishop (d. 335)

288

• Li Ban, Chinese emperor of Cheng Han (d. 334)
• Wen Jiao (or Taizhen), Chinese politician (d. 329)

289

• Flavia Maxima Fausta, Roman empress (d. 326)^[16]
• Yu Liang (or Yuangui), Chinese politician (d. 340)^[17]

Deaths

Transcluding articles: 280, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288, and 289

280

• Bonosus, Roman general and usurper^[2]
• Cen Hun, Chinese official and politician
• Julius Saturninus, Roman usurper
• Kang Senghui, Chinese monk and translator
• Lu Jing, Chinese general and writer (b. 250)
• Maharaja Sri-Gupta of the Gupta Empire
• Yu Zhong (or Shifang), Chinese general
• Zhang Ti (or Juxian), Chinese chancellor

281

• Proculus, Roman general and usurper

282

• Huangfu Mi (or Shi'an), Chinese historian (b. 215)
• Jia Chong, Chinese politician and statesman (b. 217)
• Marcus Aurelius Probus, Roman emperor (b. 232)
• Xue Ying (or Daoyan), Chinese politician and poet

283

• December 7 – Etychian, bishop of Rome
• Marcus Aurelius Carus, Roman emperor (b. 224)
• Shan Tao, Chinese scholar and politician (b. 205)
• Sima You (or Dayou), Chinese prince (b. 248)
• Sima Zhou (or Zijiang), Chinese prince (b. 227)

284

• November 20 – Numerian, Roman emperor (b. 254)
• Lucius Flavius Aper, Roman general and praetorian prefect
• Sun Hao, Chinese emperor of the Eastern Wu state (b. 243)

285

• Marcus Aurelius Carinus, Roman consul and emperor
• Du Yu (or Yuankai), Chinese general and politician (b. 222)
• Sabinus Julianus, Roman usurper (approximate date)

286

• Crispin and Crispinian, Roman cobblers and martyrs^[18]
• Domnina of Anazarbus, Christian martyr and saint
• Mark and Marcellian, Christian martyrs (approximate date)
• Tuoba Xilu, chieftain of the Tuoba clan (modern Mongolia)

287

• Justa and Rufina, Christian martyrs
• Maurice (or Mauritius), Christian martyr
• Quentin, Christian missionary and martyr
• Valerius and Rufinus, Christian martyrs
• Victoricus, Fuscian, and Gentian, Christian martyrs

288

• Maximilian of Lorch, Christian missionary and martyr
• Sebastian, Roman soldier and Christian martyr
• Teng Xiu, Chinese general and governor

289

• Alexander of Rome, Christian martyr^[19]
• Kyriaki the Great, Christian martyr ^[20]
• Xun Xu (or Gongzeng), Chinese official^[21]

References

1. Sellars, Ian J. (2013). The Monetary System of the Romans: A description of the Roman coinage from early times to the reform of Anastasius. Ian J. Sellars. p. 374.
2. Vulic, Vladimir (25 December 2021). "Emperor Probus". Roman Empire. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
3. Balty, Jean (1988). "Apamea in Syria in the Second and Third Centuries AD". Journal of Roman Studies. 78: 91–104. doi:10.2307/301452. JSTOR 301452.
4. Hornblower, Simon (9 November 2023). "Ancient Rome". Britannica. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
5. Lotha, Gloria (9 August 2020). "Wudi". Britannica. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
6. Jones, A.H.M; Martindale, J.R.; Morris, J. (March 2, 1971). The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire: Volume 1, AD 260-395. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. p. 977.
7. Yarshater, Ehsan; Fisher, William Bayne, eds. (1968). "Iran under the Sasanians". The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 128. ISBN 978-0-52106-935-9.
8. Thomas, P. C. (1992), A Compact History of the Popes, Mumbai: Bombay Society of St Paul, p. 19, ISBN 978-8-17109-142-3
9. Cousin, Jean. "Diocletian". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
10. "List of Rulers of Korea". www.metmuseum.org. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
11. "Carinus (283-285 A.D.) – Roman Emperors – An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and Their Families". Retrieved 2022-12-12.
12. "List of Rulers of Korea". www.metmuseum.org. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
13. Southern, Pt (December 16, 2003). The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis. p. 143. ISBN 9781134553815.
14. Charles Odahl, Constantine and the Christian Empire ISBN 0415174856 Archived
15. Panegyrici Latini 8(5)12.2; Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 7, 288
16. Flavia Maxima Fausta (289 - 326), Geni
17. According to Yu Liang's biography in Book of Jin, he was 52 (by East Asian reckoning) when he died. (咸康六年薨，时年五十二。) Jin Shu, vol.73. Thus by calculation, his birth year should be 289.
18. "Saints Crispin and Crispinian | Christian saint". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
19. https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/O/bo22340843.html. Eastern Christian Texts. University of Chicago Press. Retrieved 2020-07-07.
20. Megas, G.A. (1958). Greek Calendar Customs. Press and Information Department, Prime Minister's Office. p. 140.
21. (十一月，丙辰，尚書令濟北成侯荀勗卒。) Zizhi Tongjian vol. 82.