Caracalla
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- This article is about the Roman Emperor; for the Lebanese dance company, see Caracalla Dance Theatre.
| Caracalla | |
|---|---|
| Emperor of the Roman Empire | |
 |
|
| Reign | 198 - 209 (with Severus); 209 - February 4, 211 (with Severus & Geta); February - December 211 (with Geta); December 211 - 8 April 217 (alone) |
| Full name | Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Caracalla |
| Born | April 4, 186 |
| Lugdunum | |
| Died | April 8, 217 (aged 31) |
| Near Harran | |
| Predecessor | Septimius Severus (alone) |
| Successor | Macrinus |
| Wife/wives | Fulvia Plautilla |
| Dynasty | Severan |
| Father | Septimius Severus |
| Mother | Julia Domna |
Caracalla (April 4, 186 – April 8, 217), born Septimius Bassanius and later called Marcus Aurelius Severus Antoninus Augustus, was the eldest son of Septimius Severus and Roman Emperor from 211 – 217.[1] He was one of the most psychotic of Roman emperors.[2][3] Caracalla's reign was notable for
- the Constitutio Antoniniana, granting Roman citizenship to freemen throughout the Roman Empire in order to increase taxation;
- debasing the silver content in Roman coinage by 25% in order to pay the legions; and
- the construction of a large thermae outside Rome, the remains of which, known as the Baths of Caracalla, can still be seen today.
Contents |
[edit] Rise to power
Caracalla, of Berber[4][5] and Arabic descent, was born Lucius Septimius Bassianus in Lugdunum, Gaul (now Lyon, France), the son of the later Emperor Septimius Severus and Julia Domna. At the age of seven, his name was changed to Marcus Aurelius Antoninus to solidify connection to the family of Marcus Aurelius. He was later given the nickname Caracalla, which referred to the Gallic hooded tunic he habitually wore and which he made fashionable.
 The Severan Tondo |
|
| Septimius Severus alone | |
|---|---|
| Children | |
| Geta | |
| Caracalla | |
| Septimius Severus, with Geta and Caracalla | |
| Geta and Caracalla | |
| Caracalla alone | |
| Interlude, Macrinus | |
| Elagabalus | |
| Children | |
| Alexander Severus, adoptive | |
| Alexander Severus | |
His father, who had taken the imperial throne in 193, died in 211 while touring the northern marches at Eboracum (York), and Caracalla was proclaimed co-emperor with his brother Publius Septimius Antoninius Geta. However since the both of them wanted to be the sole ruler, tensions between the brothers were evident in the few months they ruled the empire together (they even considered dividing the empire in two, but were persuaded not to do so by their mother). In December 211, Caracalla had Geta, his father-in-law Gaius Fulvius Plautianus and wife Fulvia Plautilla (also his paternal second cousin) assassinated. He persecuted Geta's supporters and ordered a damnatio memoriae by the Senate against his brother.
When the inhabitants of Alexandria heard Caracalla's claims that he had killed Geta in self-defense, they produced a satire mocking this claim, as well as Caracalla's other pretensions. Caracalla responded to this insult savagely in 215 by slaughtering the deputation of leading citizens who had unsuspectingly assembled before the city to greet his arrival, then unleashed his troops for several days of looting and plunder of Alexandria. According to historian Cassius Dio[citation needed], over 20,000 people were killed.
During his reign as emperor, Caracalla raised the pay of an average legionnaire to 675 denarii and lavished many benefits on the army which he both feared and admired, as instructed by his father Septimius Severus who had told him[1] to always mind the soldiers and ignore everyone else.
Seeking to secure his own legacy, Caracalla also commissioned one of Rome's last major architectural achievements, the Baths of Caracalla, the largest public bath 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, and was complete with private rooms, outdoor tracks, and lined with golden trim and mosaics.
[edit] Fall
Caracalla was in essence a military dictator, and was consequently very unpopular except with the soldiers. Ironically while travelling from Edessa to begin a war with Parthia, he was assassinated while urinating at a roadside near Harran on April 8, 217 by Julius Martialis, an officer in the imperial bodyguard. Herodian says that Martialis' brother had been executed a few days earlier by Caracalla on an unproven charge; Cassius Dio, on the other hand, says that Martialis was resentful at not being promoted to the rank of centurion. The escort of the emperor gave him privacy to relieve himself, and Martialis ran forward and killed Caracalla with a single sword stroke. He immediately fled on horseback, but was killed by a bodyguard archer.
Caracalla was succeeded by the Praetorian Prefect of the Guard, Macrinus, who almost certainly was part of the conspiracy against the emperor.
[edit] His nickname
According to Aurelius Victor in his Epitome de Caesaribus, the cognomen Caracalla refers to a Gallic cloak that Caracalla adopted as a personal fashion, which spread to his army and his court.[6] Cassius Dio[7] and the Historia Augusta[8] agree that his nickname derived from his cloak, but do not mention its country of origin.
[edit] Legendary king of Britain
Geoffrey of Monmouth's legendary History of the Kings of Britain makes Caracalla, under the name Bassianus, a king of Britain. After Severus's death the Romans want to make Geta king of Britain, but the Britons prefer Bassianus because he had a British mother. The two brothers fight a battle in which Geta is killed, and Bassianus succeeds to the throne. He rules until he is betrayed by his Pictish allies and overthrown by Carausius, who according to Geoffrey is a Briton, rather than a Menapian Gaul as in reality.[9]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Caracalla" The New Zealand Oxford Dictionary. Tony Deverson. Oxford University Press 2004. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.
- ^ "Caracalla" A Dictionary of British History. Ed. John Cannon. Oxford University Press, 2001. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.
- ^ "Caracalla" World Encyclopedia. Philip's, 2005. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.
- ^ Marcel Le Glay. Rome : T2, Grandeur et chute de l'Empire p336. Librairie Académique Perrin, 2005. ISBN 978-2262018986
- ^ Gilbert Meynier. L’Algérie des origines :De la préhistoire à l’avènement de l’Islam p74. La découverte, 2007. ISBN 978-2707150882
- ^ Aurelius Victor, Epitome de Caesaribus 21 (translation). For information on the caracallus garment, see William Smith Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities: "Caracalla"
- ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History 79.3
- ^ Historia Augusta: Caracalla 9.7, Septimius Severus 21.11
- ^ Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia Regum Britanniae 5.2-3
[edit] External links
- Life of Caracalla (Historia Augusta at LacusCurtius: Latin text and English translation)
| Preceded by Septimius Severus |
Roman Emperor 198 – 217 with Septimius Severus (198 – 211) and Geta (209 – 211) |
Succeeded by Macrinus |
| Preceded by Septimius Severus |
Severan Dynasty 198 – 209 with Septimius Severus 209 – 211 with Septimius Severus and Geta Feb – December 211 with Geta December 211 – 217 alone |
Succeeded by Elagabalus |
| Preceded by Geta |
Legendary kings of Britain | Succeeded by Interregnum - Carausius |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Caracalla |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Lucius Septimius Bassianus; Marcus Aurelius Antoninus |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Roman emperor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 4 April 186 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Lugdunum, Gaul |
| DATE OF DEATH | near Harran |
| PLACE OF DEATH | 8 April 217 |
