Pescennius Niger was the Roman governor of Syria who had been acclaimed Emperor by his troops, like Severus, following the death of Pertinax. Following its successive defeats at Cyzicus and Battle of Nicaea in 193, Niger's army successfully withdrew to the Taurus mountains, where it fiercely defended the Cilician pass. At this time the commander of the Severan troops, Tiberius Claudius Candidus, was replaced by Publius Cornelius Anullinus, perhaps due to the failure of the former to prevent the withdrawal of the rival army.