NIGER, C. PESCENNIUS, a Roman general, was born at Aquinum in Italy in the former half of the second century, and rose from a low rank in the army to be governor of Syria. In this office his graceful and athletic frame, his soldier-like accomplishments, and his rigid enforcement of discipline, secured the esteem of the soldiers; while his mild but impartial rule rendered him a favourite among the provincials. Accordingly, on the assassination of Pertinax in 193, he was proclaimed emperor by the united voices of the people of Asia and his own army. The intelligence that Septimius Severus was also up in arms for the crown soon hurried him into action. He marched westward from Antioch, securing the most important Asiatic cities, and despatching troops to occupy Thrace and Northern Greece. But the chivalrous unsophisticated soldier of Syria was no match for the wily and rapid Severus. His troops were finally routed at the Gulf of Issus, near the Cilician gates, and he himself was sacrificed to the revenge of his victorious rival A.D. 194. (See ROMAN HISTORY.)