The state came into existence in early April of that year. After the news of the creation of a new republic in Rome and the surrounding areas reached Sardinia, populist uprisings against Julius Asclepiodotus — who had been recognized as the Roman Emperor in Sardinia at the time — broke out in the city of Caralis and several surrounding towns. During early April, the local imperial officials were run out of those towns. Provisional governments in each rebel city elected representatives to a Senate, which proclaimed the Sardinian Republic on April 15.