Septimius Severus

Roman imperial dynasties
Aureus of Septimius Severus
Severan dynasty
Chronology
Septimius Severus 193–211
with Caracalla 198–211
with Geta 209–211
Caracalla 211–217
Geta 211
Macrinus' usurpation 217–218
with Diadumenian 218
Elagabalus 218–222
Severus Alexander 222–235
Dynasty
Severan dynasty family tree
All biographies
Succession
Preceded by Year of the Five Emperors Followed by Crisis of the Third Century
v t e

Lucius Septimius Severus (Latin pronunciation:

After deposing and killing the incumbent emperor Didius Julianus, Severus fought his rival claimants, the Roman generals Pescennius Niger and Clodius Albinus. Niger was defeated in 194 at the Battle of Issus in Cilicia. Later that year Severus waged a short punitive campaign beyond the eastern frontier, annexing the Kingdom of Osroene as a new province. Severus defeated Albinus three years later at the Battle of Lugdunum in Gaul. Following the consolidation of his rule over the western provinces, Severus waged another brief, more successful war in the east against the Parthian Empire, sacking their capital Ctesiphon in 197 and expanding the eastern frontier to the Tigris. He then enlarged and fortified the Limes Arabicus in Arabia Petraea. In 202, he campaigned in Africa and Mauretania against the Garamantes, capturing their capital Garama and expanding the Limes Tripolitanus along the southern desert frontier of the empire.

He proclaimed as

Septimius Severus had two siblings: an elder brother, Publius Septimius Geta; and a younger sister, Septimia Octavilla. Severus' maternal cousin was the praetorian prefect and consul Gaius Fulvius Plautianus.^[12] Septimius Severus grew up in Leptis Magna. He spoke the local Punic language fluently, but he was also educated in Latin and Greek, which he spoke with a slight accent. Little else is known of the young Severus' education but, according to Cassius Dio, the boy had been eager for more education than he actually received. Presumably, Severus received lessons in oratory: at the age of 17, he gave his first public speech.^[13]

Public service

Severus sought a public career in Rome in around 162. At the recommendation of his relative Gaius Septimius Severus, the emperor Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–180) granted him entry into the senatorial ranks.^[15] Membership in the senatorial order was a prerequisite to attain positions within the cursus honorum and to gain entry into the Roman Senate. Nevertheless, it appears that Severus' career during the 160s met with some difficulties.^[16]

It is likely that he served as a vigintivir in Rome, overseeing road maintenance in or near the city, and he may have appeared in court as an advocate.^[16] At the time of Marcus Aurelius, he was the State Attorney (Advocatus fisci).^[17] However, he omitted the military tribunate from the cursus honorum and had to delay his quaestorship until he had reached the required minimum age of 25.^[16] To make matters worse, the Antonine Plague swept through the capital in 166.^[18]

With his career at a halt, Severus decided to temporarily return to Leptis, where the climate was healthier.^[18] According to the Historia Augusta, a usually unreliable source, he was prosecuted for adultery during this time but the case was ultimately dismissed. At the end of 169, Severus was of the required age to become a quaestor and journeyed back to Rome. On 5 December, he took office and was officially enrolled in the Roman Senate.^[19] Between 170 and 180 his activities went largely unrecorded, in spite of the fact that he occupied an impressive number of posts in quick succession. The Antonine Plague had thinned the senatorial ranks and, with capable men now in short supply, Severus' career advanced more steadily than it otherwise might have.^[20]

The sudden death of his father necessitated another return to Leptis Magna to settle family affairs. Before he was able to leave Africa,

About 175, Septimius Severus, in his early thirties at the time, contracted his first marriage, to Paccia Marciana, a woman from Leptis Magna.^[24] He probably met her during his tenure as legate under his uncle. Marciana's name suggests Punic or Libyan origin, but nothing else is known of her. Septimius Severus does not mention her in his autobiography, though he commemorated her with statues when he became emperor. The unreliable Historia Augusta claims that Marciana and Severus had two daughters, but no other attestation of them has survived. It appears that the marriage produced no surviving children, despite lasting for more than ten years.^[23]

Marciana died of natural causes around 186.

Rise to power

In 191, on the advice of Quintus Aemilius Laetus, prefect of the Praetorian Guard, emperor Commodus appointed Severus as governor of Pannonia Superior.^[31] At around this time he is described by the classicist Kyle Harper as being "a middling senator of modest physical stature and unexceptional accomplishment".^[32] Commodus was assassinated the following year. Pertinax was acclaimed emperor, but he was then killed by the Praetorian Guard in early 193.^[33] In response to the murder of Pertinax, Severus' legion XIV Gemina acclaimed him emperor at Carnuntum on 9 April.^[34][33] Nearby legions, such as X Gemina at Vindobona, soon followed suit. Having assembled an army, Severus hurried to Italy.^[33]

Pertinax's successor in Rome, Didius Julianus, had bought the emperorship in an auction. Julianus was condemned to death by the Senate and killed.^[35] Severus took possession of Rome without opposition. He executed Pertinax's murderers and dismissed the rest of the Praetorian Guard, filling its ranks with loyal troops from his own legions.^[36][37]

The legions of

He devoted the following year to suppressing Mesopotamia and other Parthian vassals who had backed Niger. Afterwards, Severus declared his son Caracalla as his successor, which caused Albinus to be hailed emperor by his troops and to invade Gaul. After a short stay in Rome, Severus moved north to meet him. On 19 February 197 at the Battle of Lugdunum, with an army of about 75,000 men, mostly composed of Pannonian, Moesian and Dacian legions and a large number of auxiliaries, Severus defeated and killed Clodius Albinus, securing his full control over the empire.^[39][40][41] Upon returning to Rome, Septimus had 29 senators executed for treason over their support of Albinus, despite having previously taken an oath promising not to put any senators to death (a customary oath for emperors).^[42]

Emperor

War against Parthia

In early 197 Severus left Rome and sailed to the east. He embarked at

According to Cassius Dio,[55] however, after 197 Severus fell heavily under the influence of his Praetorian prefect, Gaius Fulvius Plautianus, who came to have almost total control of the imperial administration. At the same time, a bloody power crisis erupted between Plautianus and Julia Domna, Severus' influential and powerful wife, which had a relatively destructive effect on the centre of power. Plautianus' daughter Fulvia Plautilla was married to Severus' son Caracalla. Plautianus' excessive power came to an end in 204, when he was denounced by the emperor's dying brother. In January 205 Julia Domna and Caracalla accused Plautianus of plotting to kill him and Severus. The powerful prefect was executed while he was trying to defend his case in front of the two emperors.^[56] One of the two following praefecti was the famous jurist Papinian. Executions of senators did not stop: Cassius Dio records that many of them were put to death, some after being formally tried. After the assassination of Gaius Fulvius Plautianus in the rest of his reign, he relied more on the advice of his clever and educated wife, Julia Domna, in the administration of the empire.^[57]

Military reforms

Upon his arrival at Rome in 193, Severus discharged the Praetorian Guard,^[36] which had murdered Pertinax and had then auctioned the Roman Empire to Didius Julianus. Its members were stripped of their ceremonial armour and forbidden to come within 160 kilometres (99 mi) miles of the city on pain of death.^[58] Severus replaced the old guard with 10 new cohorts recruited from veterans of his Danubian legions.^[59]

Around 197 he increased the number of legions from 30 to 33, with the introduction of the three new legions: I, II and III Parthica.

Severus was the first Roman emperor to station some of the imperial army in Italy. He realized that Rome needed a military central reserve with the capability to be sent anywhere.[63]

Reputed persecution of Christians

At the beginning of Severus' reign, Trajan's policy toward the Christians was still in force. That is, Christians were only to be punished if they refused to worship the emperor and the gods, but they were not to be sought out.^[64] Therefore, persecution was inconsistent, local and sporadic. Faced with internal dissidence and external threats, Severus felt the need to promote religious harmony by promoting syncretism.^[65] He possibly issued an edict^[66] that punished conversion to Judaism and Christianity.^[67]

A number of persecutions of Christians occurred in the Roman Empire during his reign and are traditionally attributed to Severus by the early Christian community.

Britain

Further information:

Roman invasion of Caledonia (208–210)

In 208 Severus travelled to Britain with the intention of conquering Caledonia. Modern archaeological discoveries illuminate the scope and direction of his northern campaign.^[75] Severus probably arrived in Britain with an army of over 40,000, considering some of the camps constructed during his campaign could house this number.^[76]

He strengthened Hadrian's Wall and reconquered the Southern Uplands up to the Antonine Wall, which was also enhanced. Supported and supplied by a strong naval force,^[77] Severus then thrust north with his army across the wall into Caledonian territory. Retracing the steps of Agricola of over a century before, Severus rebuilt and garrisoned many abandoned Roman forts along the east coast, such as Carpow.^[78]

Cassius Dio's account of the invasion reads:

Severus, accordingly, desiring to subjugate the whole of it, invaded Caledonia. But as he advanced through the country he experienced countless hardships in cutting down the forests, levelling the heights, filling up the swamps, and bridging the rivers; but he fought no battle and beheld no enemy in battle array. The enemy purposely put sheep and cattle in front of the soldiers for them to seize, in order that they might be lured on still further until they were worn out; for in fact, the water caused great suffering to the Romans, and when they became scattered, they would be attacked. Then, unable to walk, they would be slain by their own men, in order to avoid capture, so that a full fifty thousand died. But Severus did not desist until he approached the extremity of the island. Here he observed most accurately the variation of the sun's motion and the length of the days and the nights in summer and winter, respectively. Having thus been conveyed through practically the whole of the hostile country (for he actually was conveyed in a covered litter most of the way, on account of his infirmity), he returned to the friendly portion, after he had forced the Britons to come to terms, on the condition that they should abandon a large part of their territory.^[79]

By 210 Severus' campaigning had made significant gains, despite Caledonian guerrilla tactics and purportedly heavy Roman casualties.^[80] The Caledonians sued for peace, which Severus granted on condition they relinquish control of the Central Lowlands.^[75][81] This is evidenced by extensive Severan-era fortifications in the Central Lowlands.^[82] The Caledonians, short on supplies and feeling that their position was desperate, revolted later that year with the Maeatae.^[83] Severus prepared for another protracted campaign within Caledonia. He was now intent on exterminating the Caledonians, telling his soldiers: "Let no-one escape sheer destruction, no-one our hands, not even the babe in the womb of the mother, if it be male; let it nevertheless not escape sheer destruction."^[77][84]

Death

Severus' campaign was cut short when he fell ill.^[85][86] He withdrew to Eboracum (York) and died there in 211.^[4] Although his son Caracalla continued campaigning the following year, he soon settled for peace. The Romans never campaigned deep into Caledonia again. Shortly after this, the frontier was permanently withdrawn south to Hadrian's Wall.^[86]

Severus is famously said to have given the advice to his sons: "Be harmonious, enrich the soldiers, scorn all others" before he died on 4 February 211.

Geta, who were advised by his wife Julia Domna.^[88] Severus was buried in the Mausoleum of Hadrian

in Rome.

• 
  Large bronze statue of Septimius Severus depicted in heroic nudity, Cyprus Museum.
• 
  Septimius Severus on his deathbed next to his son Caracalla by Jean-Baptiste Greuze (c. 1769).

Assessment and legacy

By the close of his reign the Roman Empire reached an extent of over 5 million square kilometres, which scholars like David L. Kennedy, Lukas De Blois, and Derrick Riley state expanded the empire to its greatest physical extent.^{[89][90][91][92][93][94]}

Herodianus: in particular, they pointed out the increasing burden, in the form of taxes and services, the civilian population had to bear to maintain the new and better-paid army.^[98][99] The large and ongoing increase in military expenditure caused problems for all of his successors.^[90]

To maintain his enlarged military, he debased the Roman currency. Upon his accession he decreased the silver purity of the denarius from 81.5% to 78.5%, although the silver weight actually increased, rising from 2.40 grams to 2.46 grams. Nevertheless, the following year he debased the denarius again because of rising military expenditures. The silver purity decreased from 78.5% to 64.5%—the silver weight dropping from 2.46 grams to 1.98 grams. In 196 he reduced the purity and silver weight of the denarius again, to 54% and 1.82 grams, respectively.^[100] Severus' currency debasement was the largest since the reign of Nero, compromising the long-term strength of the economy.^[101]

Severus was also distinguished for his buildings. Apart from the triumphal arch in the Roman Forum carrying his full name, he also built the Septizodium in Rome. He enriched his native city of Leptis Magna, including commissioning a triumphal arch on the occasion of his visit of 203.^[54][102]

Due to Severus being born in North Africa, recent years have occasionally seen him mischaracterised as racially African, despite the Carthaginian and Italian antecedents of his parents. The

Historia Augustus actually records him when on campaign ordering an Ethiopian soldier who attempted to bestow him a garland removed from his presence, believing the man's dark skin a bad omen.^[103]

Severan dynasty family tree

v t e Severan family tree
Septimius Macer Gaius Claudius Septimius Aper Fulvius Pius Lucius Septimius Severus Publius Septimius Aper Gaius Septimius Aper Fulvia Pia Publius Septimius Geta Septimia Polla Julius Bassianus Septimius Publius Septimius Geta Septimia Octavilla Paccia Marciana (1) Septimius Severus (r. 193–211)[i] Julia Domna (2) Julia Maesa Gaius Julius Avitus Alexianus Gaius Septimius Severus Aper Fulvia Plautilla Caracalla (r. 197–217)[ii] Geta (r. 209–211)[iii] Julia Soaemias Sextus Varius Marcellus Julia Avita Mamaea Unknown[iv] (2) Julia Cornelia Paula (1) Aquilia Severa (2 and 4) Elagabalus (r. 218–222)[v] Annia Faustina (3) Sallustia Orbiana Severus Alexander (r. 222–235)[v]
(1) = 1st spouse (2) = 2nd spouse (3) = 3rd spouse (4) = 4th spouse Dark green indicates an emperor of the Severan dynasty Notes: Except where otherwise noted, the notes below indicate that an individual's parentage is as shown in the above family tree. ^ Birley, Anthony R. (1999). Septimius Severus: The African Emperor. London: Routledge. p. i. ^ Burrell, Barbara (2004). Neokoroi: Greek Cities and Roman Emperors. p. 216. ^ Burrell, Barbara (2004). Neokoroi: Greek Cities and Roman Emperors. p. 247. ISBN 978-1-84885-362-1 . ^ a b Gibbon, Edward; Smith, William (1889). The Student's Gibbon: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. pp. 45–47. Bibliography: Birley, Anthony R. (1999). Septimius Severus: The African Emperor. London: Routledge. ISBN 0415165911 . Gibbon, Edward; Smith, William (1889). The Student's Gibbon: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. London: Murray. OCLC 993285639 .

See also

• Arcus Argentariorum—dedicated by the money changers of Rome to the Severan family
• Bulla Felix
• Septimia gens

References

Citations

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External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Septimius Severus.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Septimius Severus.

• Life of Septimius Severus (Historia Augusta at LacusCurtius: Latin text and English translation)
• Books 74, 75, 76 and 77 of
  Dio Cassius
  , covering the rise to power and reign of Septimius Severus
• Septimius Severus on Ancient History Encyclopedia
• Book 3 of Herodian
• De Imperatoribus Romanis Online encyclopaedia of Roman emperors
• Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome Archived 25 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
• Septimius Severus in Scotland Archived 11 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine
• Arch of Septimius Severus in Lepcis Magna Archived 28 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine
• Coins issued by Septimius Severus
• Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Septimius Severus" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
• THE LIFE AND REIGN OF THE EMPEROR LUCIUS SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS, in BTM Format

Septimius Severus Severan dynasty Born: 11 April 146 Died: 4 February 211
Regnal titles
Preceded by Didius Julianus	Publius Septimius Geta (209–211)	Succeeded by Publius Septimius Geta
Political offices
Preceded by Lucius Fabius Cilo, and Marcus Silius Messala	Consul of the Roman Empire 194 with Clodius Albinus	Succeeded by Publius Julius Scapula Tertullus Priscus, and Quintus Tineius Clemens
Preceded by Annius Fabianus, and Marcus Nonius Arrius Mucianus	Consul of the Roman Empire 202 with Caracalla	Succeeded by Titus Murrenius Severus, and Gaius Cassius Regallianus as Suffect consuls