The Battle of Cyzicus was fought in 193 between the forces of Septimius Severus and his rival for the empire, Pescennius Niger. The battle took place in the context of the Year of the Five Emperors, a tumultuous period in the Roman Empire when Emperor Pertinax was assassinated by the Praetorian Guards. The Praetorian Guards then held an auction for the throne, which was won by Didius Julianus, who became emperor. The auction was unpopular, and Septimius Severus and Pescennius Niger, the governor of Syria (as well as Clodius Albinus, the governor of Britain) all claimed the Roman imperial throne after the auction.