....although Seleucia had opened its gates to the Romans, Lucius destroys it as well, leaving a blot on reputation.

Excuses are sought, or invented: the official version (promulgated, according to the Historia Augusta, by Asinius Quadratus) has it that the Seleuceni broke faith first.

Whatever the case, the sacking marks a particularly destructive chapter in Seleucia's long decline.

During the sacking, Roman troops steal the statue of Apollo Comaeus from its temple; they eventually bring it back to Rome, where it is installed at the temple of the Palatine Apollo.

This blasphemy may have been on Marcus' mind when he called a lectisternium, a great meal offered to the gods, at the beginning of the Marcomannic Wars in 167, to ward off the evils then being visited on the state.

In dire need of supplies, and with his soldiers showing the first signs of having contracted the plague at Seleucia, ...