212
Year 212 was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Asper and Camilius. The denomination 212 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
- The edict of Emperor Caracalla extends Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of the Roman Empire, with the exception of a limited group that may include Egyptians. The Jewish people are among those who receive citizenship. All free women in the Empire are given the same rights as Roman women.
- Roman jurist Papinian, one of the famous jurists who flourished during the reign of the late emperor Septimius Severus, refuses to write a legal defence for the murder of Caracalla's brother, Publius Septimius Geta. He is beheaded in Rome, in Caracalla's presence.
- Caracalla quiets the objections of the Roman army to Geta's murder, by huge donations.
- Construction begins on the Baths of Caracalla in Rome.
- Edessa in Mesopotamia becomes a Roman province.
Deaths
- Ma Teng, Chinese general and warlord of the Eastern Han dynasty
- Papinianus, Roman jurist and Praetorian prefect under Septimius Severus
- Serenus Sammonicus, Roman poet and physician
- Xun Yu, Chinese statesman of the Eastern Han dynasty
