Cassius Dio maintained that the Praetorian Guard tried to fight back, but were crushed, while modern historians believe that the Praetorian Guard simply abandoned Julianus, deserting "en masse". Julianus attempted to negotiate with Severus, offering to share the empire with his rival, but Severus ignored these overtures and pressed forward. As he marched, more and more cities in Italy supported his claim to the throne. The remnants of the Praetorian Guard received pardons from Severus in exchange for surrendering the actual murderers of Pertinax. After seizing the ringleaders and killing them, the soldiers reported what they had done to Marcus Silius Messala, the consul, who summoned the senate to inform them of the proceedings.