The Ascension of Pascanius Niger

Pascanius niger was born in the late one thirties a d round about the time that power was being transferred from hadrian to antoninus. Like saverus, he had come from an upper middle class ily of equites. He saw his career advance rapidly during that age of upward mobility made possible by the parthian war, the marcomanic wars and the antonine plague. When the deserters war broke out in one 86, it was niger who was ordered into gaul to put the rebel army down. The presumed successor to julianus never showed up for his coronation ceremony.