Editing 217 (section)

== Events ==

=== By place ===

==== Roman Empire ====
* [[April 8]] &ndash; [[Caracalla]] is [[assassinated]] by his soldiers near [[Osroene|Edessa]]. [[Marcus Opellius Macrinus]], head of the [[Praetorian Guard]], declares himself [[Roman emperor]]. 
* Summer &ndash; [[Battle of Nisibis (217)|Battle of Nisibis]]: A Roman army, under the command of Macrinus, is defeated in a three days' battle by the Parthians at [[Nusaybin|Nisibis]], in the province of Mesopotamia.
* King [[Artabanus V of Parthia|Artabanus V]] signs a [[peace treaty]] with [[Ancient Rome|Rome]] after he receives 200 million [[sestertius|sesterces]], for the rebuilding of towns destroyed during the war in [[Parthia]].  
* Macrinus, of [[Mauritania]], becomes the first [[Equestrian (Roman)|equestrian]] Roman emperor. 
* Empress [[Julia Domna|Julia]], wife of [[Septimius Severus]] and mother of [[Caracalla]] and [[Publius Septimius Geta|Geta]], commits [[suicide]]. 
* The [[Colosseum]] is badly damaged by [[fire]] ([[lightning]]) which destroys the wooden upper levels of the [[amphitheater]].

==== China ====
* [[Battle of Ruxu (217)|Battle of Ruxu]]: Warlord [[Cao Cao]] once again clashes with his rival [[Sun Quan]] in [[Yang Province]].

=== By topic ===

==== Religion ====
* [[December 20]] &ndash; The [[papacy]] of [[Pope Zephyrinus|Zephyrinus]] ends. [[Pope Callixtus I|Callixtus I]] is elected as the  sixteenth [[pope]], but is opposed by the [[theology|theologian]] [[Hippolytus (writer)|Hippolytus]] who accuses him of laxity and of being a [[Sabellianism|Modalist]], one who denies any distinction between the three persons of the [[Trinity]].
* Hippolytus begins his "[[pontificate]]" as [[antipope]] and sets up a breakaway [[church (building)|church]] for [[Christians|Christian]] followers.

==== Sports ====
*According to a tradition noted by 19th-century historian [[Stephen Glover (antiquary)|Stephen Glover]], the earliest recorded game of [[association football]] (soccer) took place in [[Derby]], [[England]] as a celebration on [[Shrove Tuesday]], the day before commencement of the Lent season on [[Ash Wednesday]], and 47 days before [[Easter Sunday]]<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Ls8DAAAAQAAJ&dq=%22shrove+tuesday%22+217+football&pg=PA41 p41 ''Foot-Ball: Its History for Five Centuries''], by Montague Shearman and James E. Vincent (Field & Tuer, 1885) p41</ref><ref>Marion von Adlerstein, ''The Penguin Book Of Etiquette'' (Penguin UK, 2007)</ref>
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