Tacitus                275 - 276 A.D.

After the assassination of Aurelian who had left no heir, the Praetorian Guard took the unusual step of asking the Senate to nominate their next leader. Several months passed without an Augustus and then they chose fellow Senator Tacitus who was advanced in age. He died soon after before making many headlines for himself. However, in his brief tenure he set in motion important events that were to follow for the next couple of years. First, he named his half-brother Florian Praetorian Prefect and next-in-line to Tacitus. He was then sent off to fight barbarian invaders. Secondly, he appointed another relative, Maximinus, to the post of Governor in Syria. Maximinus proved to be wildly unpopular and was murdered. There are two theories on as to what happened next. The first holds that those who murdered Maximinus arranged for Tacitus's own murder for fear of retaliation and the second, more plausible, that he simply died of old age.

Obv-IMP CM CL TACITVS AVG Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right. Rev-SALVS AVG Salus standing left and feeding a serpent.	Obv-IMP CM CL TACITVS AVG Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right. Rev-SALVS AVG Salus standing right and feeding a serpent.