25/2 138 AD Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius. Antoninus Pius had acquired a great reputation as proconsul of Asia when Hadrian decided to adopt him as an heir and successor. This happened on 26 February, 138 after the death of his first adopted son, Lucius Aelius. But he set one condition: Antoninus had to adopt Hadrian’s nephew, Marcus Annius Versus, and Lucius, son of Aelius Versus. Antoninus Pius reigned for almost twenty-three years, between 138 and 161, when he died of fever. [HR][/HR]26/2 364 AD Valentinian I proclaimed emperor at Nicaea. Before being proclaimed emperor, Valentinian had been exiled to Gaul for refusing to honor idols. But since his predecessor, Jovian, had restored Christianity to its previous status, this was no longer a problem. At the death of Jovian on 364, he was proclaimed emperor at Nicaea by a group of civil and military officers. [HR][/HR]1/3 293 AD First Tetrarchy begins; Maximianus adopts Constantius; Diocletian adopts Galerius. During the year 293, Diocletian and Maximian determined, as Augustii, to name two Caesars to rule with them. Their territory was too vast to be governed by only two people, so they decided to create the tetrarchy: four rulers, one empire. Maximianus adopted Consantius, with whom he ruled the Western empire, and Diocletian adopted Galerius, with whom he ruled in the East.
