251
Year 251 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Traianus and Etruscus. The denomination 251 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.Events
By place
- July 1 - Battle of Abritus: The Goths defeat Emperor Decius and his son Herennius Etruscus, on swampy ground in the Dobruja.
- In Rome, Hostilian, son of Decius, succeeds his father, while Trebonianus Gallus is proclaimed Emperor by the troops. Gallus accepts him as co-emperor, but an outbreak of plague strikes the city, and kills the young Hostilian.
- The prosperity of Roman Britain declines during this period, as the Germanic tribes of the Franks and Saxons, whose homelands are in Friesland and the Low Countries, make raids around the southeast coast.
- Gallus makes peace with the Goths; he permits them to keep their plunder, and offers them a bribe not to return.
- A 15-year plague begins in the Roman Empire.
Persia
- Sassanid King Shapur I orders an invasion of the Roman East, with the intent of finally capturing the jewel of Syria, Antioch.
China
- Wang Ling's rebellion against the Wei regent Sima Yi is quelled.
- Sima Yi passes away in Luoyang.
- Sima Shi, Sima Yi's eldest son, inherits his father's authority.
By topic
Religion
Births
- January 12 - Anthony the Great, Christian saint
Deaths
- June - August
- * Decius, Roman emperor
- * Herennius Etruscus, Roman emperor
- June 15 - Wang Ling, Chinese general
- September 7 - Sima Yi, Chinese general, statesman and regent of the Cao Wei state
- August 22 - Empress Zhen, Chinese empress of the Cao Wei state
- November - Hostilian, Roman emperor
- Saint Agatha
- Deng Zhi, Chinese general, official and diplomat of the Shu Han state
- Origen
