THE BARRACKS EMPERORS 1

The Fall of the Severan Dynasty

The Pretender  

The Dynasty began with the reign of Septimius Severus who was a member of a leading native family of Leptis Magna in North Africa who allied himself with a prominent Syrian family by his marriage to Julia Domna.

Julia Domna married Septimus on the strength of a reading from her horoscope when it indicated that she would be the wife of a "sovereign prince". When she became empress, she surrounded herself with an intellectual elite and she became known as "Julia the Philosopher". Her Life ended tragically after the death of her son Caracalla. But her sister Julia Maesa was to shortly rise to the occasion.

Caracalla (Emperor from AD 211 to 217)

The eldest son of  Emperor Septimius Severus and Julia Domna. 

He was born Lucius Septimius Bassianus in Lugdunum, Gaul. "Caracalla" was a nickname referring to the Gallic hooded tunic he habitually wore.

Here's a beautiful somewhat Romanticised painting depicting the Severan Boys at the Coliseum by Lawrence Alma-Tadema in 1907.  The two boys (Caracalla and his brother Geta) are shown with their mother enjoying the privileges of wealth and power, but we can see that trouble looms, with a portentous expression on the brooding face of Caracalla (leaning on a pillar wearing a white toga) looking malevolently at his brother.

The Murderous Brothers

After what appears to be the result of several attempts by each of these brothers to finish the other off and claim sole control of the Empire Caracalla emerges the victor. But it seems he was never able to enjoy his victory, since, it is so often when one is conniving and cruel, his reign was filled with paranoia and fear.  

Caracalla, according to Cassius Dio had already tried to murder his father whilst campaigning in Britain, there is a fascinating attempt to depict this by an ambitious french painter Jean-Baptiste Greuze (died 1805) who tried to gain the attention of the french art salon with a rather obscure story in the "history" tradition of classical painting, one of the academic themes in the 19th Century. 

This painting has problems but the story depicts Septimus Severus admonishing Caracalla for trying to kill him. I guess what's so odd about it is his strange reaction. 

Although it was unsuccessful, Severus admonished his son, leaving a sword within his son’s reach challenging him to finish the job that he botched earlier (Dio 77.14.1-7). Caracalla backed down, but according to Herodian, was constantly trying to convince Severus’ doctors to hasten the dying emperor’s demise (3.15.2). In any case, the emperor died at Ebaracum in February 211 CE. Severus’ last advice to both Caracalla and Geta was to ‘Be good to each other, enrich the army, and damn the rest’ (Dio 77.15.2).Taken from http://www.ancient.eu/Caracalla/ 

Jean-Baptiste Greuze, Septimius Severus and Caracalla, 1769 (Musee du Louvre, Paris)

The Citizenship is Granted to all Free Men

In 212 Caracalla granted roman citizenship to virtually all free men throughout the empire. According to Cassius Dio this was not so much a philanthropic move towards equal rights so much as a ploy to extend the tax rolls. It seems all considered, it was a smart move, since citizenship would have been a coveted title for any aspiring person in those times and not to be taken for granted. One is reminded of the story of Paul the Apostle in the Bible in Acts 22 the commander who arrested Paul informs him that he paid (a high price) for his citizenship and yet Paul informs him that he was "born a citizen", the change in the Commanders attitude is clearly indicative of the prestige that would accompany this status.

The famous Baths 

Seeking to secure his own legacy, Caracalla also commissioned one of Rome's last major architectural achievements, the Baths of Caracalla, the second largest public baths ever built in ancient Rome. The main room of the baths was larger than St. Peter's Basilica, and could easily accommodate over 2,000 Roman citizens at one time. The bath house opened in 216, complete with libraries, private rooms and outdoor tracks. Internally it was lavishly decorated with gold-trimmed marble floors, columns, mosaics and colossal statuary. Taken from Wikipedia

The New Alexander

He had developed an obsession with Alexander even using the outdated Macedonian Phalanx as an army tactic against the old foe the eastern Persians. He dreamed of an eastern conquest against Persia thereby uniting the two empires, but this never materialised. 

The Reality

The true character of Caracalla is clearly illustrated whilst he visited Alexandria in 215 to pay homage to his hero. He arranged a murderous massacre of the inhabitants because they had mocked him after his attempt to blame the death of his brother on 'self defence'. Also they had criticised his Alexander obsession and failure to live up to his boastful claims. He arrived at the tomb of Alexander where he left a votive offering, he then assembled the citizenry and ordered his soldiers to surround them and attack whilst watching from the safety of the temple of Serapis. 

Assassination 

In spite of this and other crimes he was still deified by the Senate after his assassination which took place in 217 when Caracalla was murdered by by Julius Martialis, a disgruntled officer of his personal bodyguard. It was perhaps a befitting end for an unscrupulous murderer but there is more to the story. . .

He was succeeded by the head of his Praetorian guard Macrinus who according to Herodian, was responsible for instigating the assassination.

Marcus Opellius Macrinus was born in AD 164 in Caesarea, a harbour town in Mauretania. 

pre-emptive strike?

There is reason to believe that the murder of Caracalla could have been a pre-emptive strike since, according to the Historian cassius Dio Macrinus had been given a prophecy that he would depose the emperor and take over the leadership. 

Caracalla may have gotten wind of this because there were rumours  of a "staff reshuffle". Given Caracalla’s murderous track record this did not bode well for Macrinus.  
So if we go along with this account Macrinus was possibly a somewhat reluctant usurper.


There were no obvious heirs to Caracalla and after three days Macrinus was offered the job. The senate did not object, only too pleased to see the demise of the unpredictable and violent Caracalla.

The Baths of Caracalla by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadeeqma.
The Severan Ladies: Julia Domna and her daughters Julia Soaemias Bassiana and Julia Avita Mamaea.

Lesson one for Usurpers - Kill everybody remotely connected to your predecessor 

The female survivors of the Severan dynasty were to become the downfall of Macrinus 

In hindsight Macrinus should have had them discretely disposed of but maybe he  thought women were harmless enough and he sent them far away to what he hoped was a safe distance.  He ordered to return to their  home near Emesa in Syria.

Never underestimate the fairer sex in the tough and  violent world of Roman politics.

Next 

A Woman Scorned . . .