Ulpianus corrected many of the irregular practices instituted by Sardanapalus; but, after putting to death Flavianus and Chrestus, that he might succeed them, he was himself before long slain by the Pretorians, who attacked him in the night; and it availed nothing that ran to the palace and took refuge with the emperor himself and the latter's mother.--Even during his lifetime a great dispute had arisen between the populace and the Pretorians, from some small cause, with the result that they fought each other for three days, and many were lost by both sides. The soldiers, on getting the worst of it, directed their efforts to firing the buildings, and so the populace, fearing that the whole city would be destroyed, reluctantly came to terms with them. Besides these occurrences, Epagathus, who was believed to have been chiefly [Footnote: Reading [Greek: to pleon] (Reimar, Bekker, Boissevain).] responsible for the death of Ulpianus, was sent into Egypt, supposedly to govern it, but really to prevent any disturbance taking place in Rome when he met with punishment. From there he was taken to Crete and executed. [Alexander's mother, being a slave to money, gathered funds from all sources. She also brought home for her son a spouse, whom she would not allow to be addressed as Augusta. After a time, however, she separated her from her son and drove her away to Libya, in spite of the woman's possessing his affections. Alexander, however, could not oppose his mother, for she ruled him absolutely.]