During the civil war following the death of the emperor Commodus in 192 AD the Legio III Cyrenaica sided with the eastern pretender Pescennius Niger. Niger was defeated by Septimius Severus. Subsequently, Severus invaded Mesopotamia to fight against the Parthians and it is possible that the Legio III took part in these campaigns. It certainly participated in the Parthian war launched by Severus' son Caracalla in 216 AD. The legion may also have taken part in Severus Alexander's war against the Sasanian Empire from 231-233In 260 AD, the Sasanians took the Roman emperor Valerian captive, and several Roman provinces in the east became independent under Odaenathus of Palmyra. Odaenathus led Roman units against the Persians, one of which was the III Cyrenica. In 273 AD the legion helped build roads in Jordan. The later history of this unit is unclear, but the third Cyrenaican legion was still at Bosra at the beginning of the fifth century.