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Septimius Severus
–
Roman Emperor
: 193-211 A.D. –
Silver Denarius 18mm (3.52 grams) Emesa mint: 193-211 A.D.
Reference: Possibly Unpublished
Laureate head right.
MARTI VICTORI-
Mars
walking right, holding spear and trophy.
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Authenticity.
Mars (Latin:
Martis) was the
Roman
god of war
and also an
agricultural
guardian, a combination
characteristic of early
Rome
. He was second in importance only to
Jupiter
, and he was the most prominent of the
military gods in the
religion of the Roman army
. Most of his
festivals
were held in March, the month named
for him (MartiusLatin
), and in October, which
began and ended the season for military campaigning and farming.
Mars was
identified with
the
Greek god
Ares, whose
myths
were reinterpreted in
Roman literature
and
art
under the name of Mars. But the character
and dignity of Mars differed in fundamental ways from that of his Greek
counterpart, who is often treated with contempt and revulsion in
Greek literature
.Mars was a part of the
Archaic Triad
along with Jupiter and
Quirinus
, the latter of whom as a guardian of
the Roman people had no Greek equivalent. Mars’ altar in the
Campus Martius
, the area of Rome that took its
name from him, was supposed to have been dedicated by
Numa
, the peace-loving semi-legendary second
king of Rome
. Although the center of Mars’
worship was originally located outside the sacred boundary of Rome (pomerium),
Augustus
made the god a renewed focus of
Roman religion
by establishing the Temple of
Mars Ultor in
his new forum
.
Although Ares was viewed primarily as a destructive and destabilizing force,
Mars represented military power as a way
to secure peace
, and was a father (pater)
of the Roman people. In the mythic
genealogy
and
founding myths of Rome
, Mars was the father of
Romulus and Remus
with
Rhea Silvia
. His love affair with
Venus
symbolically reconciled the two different
traditions of Rome’s founding; Venus was the divine mother of the hero
Aeneas
, celebrated as the
Trojan refugee
who “founded” Rome several
generations before Romulus laid out the city walls.
The importance of Mars in establishing religious and cultural identity within
the Roman Empire
is indicated by the vast number of
inscriptions
identifying him with a local
deity, particularly in the
Western provinces
.
Venus and Mars
The union of Venus and Mars held greater appeal for poets and philosophers,
and the couple were a frequent subject of art. In Greek myth, the adultery of
Ares and Aphrodite
had been exposed to ridicule when her
husband Hephaestus
(whose Roman equivalent was
Vulcan
) caught them in the act by means of a
magical snare. Although not originally part of the Roman tradition, in 217 BC
Venus and Mars were presented as a complementary pair in the
lectisternium
, a public banquet at which
images of twelve major gods of the Roman state
were presented on couches as if present and participating.
Wall painting (mid-1st century AD) from which the House of Venus and
Mars at
Pompeii
takes its name
Scenes of Venus and Mars in
Roman art
often ignore the adulterous
implications of their union, and take pleasure in the good-looking couple
attended by Cupid
or multiple Loves (amores). Some
scenes may imply marriage, and the relationship was romanticized in funerary or
domestic art in which husbands and wives had themselves portrayed as the
passionate divine couple.
The uniting of deities representing Love and War lent itself to
allegory
, especially since the lovers were the
parents of
Harmonia
. The Renaissance philosopher
Marsilio Ficino
notes that “only Venus
dominates Mars, and he never dominates her”.In ancient Roman and Renaissance
art, Mars is often shown disarmed and relaxed, or even sleeping, but the
extramarital nature of their affair can also suggest that this peace is
impermanent.
Sacred animals
She-wolf and twins from an altar to Venus and Mars
Temples and topography
The earliest center in Rome for cultivating Mars as a deity was the Altar of
Mars (Ara
Martis) in the
Campus Martius
(“Field of Mars”) outside the
sacred boundary of Rome (pomerium).
The Romans thought that this altar had been established by the semi-legendary
Numa Pompilius
, the peace-loving successor of
Romulus. According to Roman tradition, the Campus Martius had been consecrated
to Mars by their ancestors to serve as horse pasturage and an equestrian
training ground for youths.[49]
During the
Roman Republic
(509–27 BC), the Campus was a
largely open expanse. No temple was built at the altar, but from 193 BC a
covered walkway connected it to the
Porta Fontinalis
, near the office and archives
of the Roman censors
. Newly elected censors placed
their
curule chairs
by the altar, and when they had
finished conducting the census, the citizens were collectively
purified
with a suovetaurilia there. A
frieze
from the so-called
“Altar” of Domitius Ahenobarbus
is thought to
depict the census, and may show Mars himself standing by the altar as the
procession of victims advances.
The main Temple of Mars (Aedes
Martis) in the Republican period also lay outside the sacred boundary and
was devoted to the god’s warrior aspect. It was built to fulfill a vow (votum)
made by a
Titus Quinctius
in 388 BC during the
Gallic siege of Rome
.[53]
The founding day (dies
natalis) was commemorated on June 1, and the temple is attested
by several inscriptions and literary sources. The sculpture group of Mars and
the wolves was displayed there.Soldiers sometimes assembled at the temple before
heading off to war, and it was the point of departure for a major parade of
Roman cavalry
held annually on July 15.
A temple to Mars in the
Circus Flaminius
was built around 133 BC,
funded by
Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus
from war booty.
It housed a colossal statue of Mars and a nude Venus.
The Campus Martius continued to provide venues for equestrian events such as
chariot racing
during the
Imperial period
, but under the first emperor
Augustus
it underwent a major program of urban
renewal, marked by monumental architecture. The Altar of Augustan Peace (Ara
Pacis Augustae) was located there, as was the
Obelisk of Montecitorio
, imported from
Egypt
to form the pointer (gnomon)
of the
Solarium Augusti
, a giant
sundial
. With its public gardens, the Campus
became one of the most attractive places in the city to visit.
Augustus chose the Campus Martius as the site of his new Temple to Mars Ultor,
a manifestation of Mars he cultivated as the avenger (ultor) of the
murder of Julius Caesar
and of the military
disaster suffered at the
Battle of Carrhae
. When the legionary standards
lost to the Parthians were recovered, they were housed in the new temple. The
date of the temple’s dedication on May 12 was aligned with the
heliacal setting
of the constellation
Scorpio
, the
house
of war. The date continued to be marked
with
circus games
as late as the mid-4th century AD.
A large statue of Mars was part of the short-lived
Arch of Nero
, which was built in 62 AD but
dismantled after Nero
‘s suicide and disgrace (damnatio
memoriae).
Mars Quirinus
Mars celebrated as peace-bringer on a Roman coin issued by
Aemilianus
Mars was the
Roman
god of war
, the son of
Juno
and
Jupiter
, husband of
Bellona
, and the lover of
Venus
. He was the most prominent of the
military
gods that were
 worshipped
by the
Roman legions
. The martial Romans considered him second in importance only
to Jupiter (their main god). His
festivals
were held in
March
(named for
him) and October. As the word Mars has no
Indo-European
derivation, it is most likely the
Latinised
form of the agricultural
Etruscan
god Maris
. Initially Mars was a Roman god of
fertility
and vegetation
and a protector of cattle, fields and boundaries and farmers. In
the second century BC, the conservative
Cato the Elder
advised “For your cattle, for them to be healthy, make this
sacrifice to Mars Silvanus you must make this sacrifice each year”.
Mars later became associated with battle as the growing
Roman
Empire
began to expand, and he came to be identified with the
Greek
god Ares
.
Unlike his Greek counterpart, Mars was generally revered and rivaled Jupiter as
the most honoured god. He was also the
tutelary
god of the city of Rome. As he was regarded as the legendary father
of Rome’s founder,
Romulus
, it was believed that all Romans were descendants of Mars.
L ucius Septimius Severus (or rarely Severus I) (April 11,
145/146-February 4, 211) was a
Roman
general, and
Roman
Emperor
from April 14, 193 to 211. He was born in what is now the
Berber
part of
Rome’s historic
Africa Province
.
Septimius Severus was born and raised at
Leptis
Magna
(modern Berber
, southeast of
Carthage
,
modern Tunisia
).
Severus came from a wealthy, distinguished family of
equestrian
rank. Severus was of
Italian
Roman ancestry on his mother’s side and of
Punic
or
Libyan
-Punic
ancestry on his father’s. Little is known of his father,
Publius Septimius Geta
, who held no major political status but had two
cousins who served as consuls under emperor
Antoninus Pius
. His mother, Fulvia Pia’s family moved from
Italy
to
North
Africa
and was of the
Fulvius
gens,
an ancient and politically influential clan, which was originally of
plebeian
status. His siblings were a younger
Publius Septimius Geta
and Septimia Octavilla. Severus’s maternal cousin was
Praetorian Guard
and consul
Gaius Fulvius Plautianus
.
In 172, Severus was made a
Senator
by the then emperor
Marcus Aurelius
. In 187 he married secondly
Julia
Domna
. In 190 Severus became
consul
, and in
the following year received from the emperor
Commodus
(successor to Marcus Aurelius) the command of the
legions
in Pannonia
.
On the murder of
Pertinax
by
the troops in 193, they proclaimed Severus Emperor at
Carnuntum
,
whereupon he hurried to Italy. The former emperor,
Didius Julianus
, was condemned to death by the Senate and killed, and
Severus took possession of Rome without opposition.
The legions of
Syria
, however, had proclaimed
Pescennius Niger
emperor. At the same time, Severus felt it was reasonable
to offer
Clodius Albinus
, the powerful governor of Britannia who had probably
supported Didius against him, the rank of Caesar, which implied some claim to
succession. With his rearguard safe, he moved to the East and crushed Niger’s
forces at the
Battle of Issus
. The following year was devoted to suppressing Mesopotamia
and other Parthian vassals who had backed Niger. When afterwards Severus
declared openly his son
Caracalla
as successor, Albinus was hailed emperor by his troops and moved to Gallia.
Severus, after a short stay in Rome, moved northwards to meet him. On
February
19
, 197
,
in the
Battle of Lugdunum
, with an army of 100,000 men, mostly composed of
Illyrian
,
Moesian
and
Dacian
legions,
Severus defeated and killed Clodius Albinus, securing his full control over the
Empire.
Emperor
Severus was at heart a
soldier
, and
sought glory through military exploits. In 197 he waged a brief and successful
war against the
Parthian Empire
in retaliation for the support given to Pescennius Niger.
The Parthian capital
Ctesiphon
was sacked by the legions, and the northern half of
Mesopotamia
was restored to Rome.
His relations with the
Roman
Senate
were never good. He was unpopular with them from the outset, having
seized power with the help of the military, and he returned the sentiment.
Severus ordered the execution of dozens of Senators on charges of corruption and
conspiracy
against him, replacing them with his own favorites.
He also disbanded the
Praetorian Guard
and replaced it with one of his own, made up of 50,000
loyal soldiers mainly camped at
Albanum
, near Rome (also probably to grant the emperor a kind of centralized
reserve). During his reign the number of legions was also increased from 25/30
to 33. He also increased the number of auxiliary corps (numerii), many of
these troops coming from the Eastern borders. Additionally the annual wage for a
soldier was raised from 300 to 500
denarii
.
Although his actions turned Rome into a military
dictatorship
, he was popular with the citizens of Rome, having stamped out
the rampant corruption of Commodus’s reign. When he returned from his victory
over the Parthians, he erected the
Arch of Septimius Severus
in Rome.
According to Cassius Dio,
however, after 197 Severus fell heavily under the influence of his Praetorian
Prefect,
Gaius Fulvius Plautianus
, who came to have almost total control of most
branches of the imperial administration. Plautianus’s daughter,
Fulvia Plautilla
, was married to Severus’s son, Caracalla. Plautianus’s
excessive power came to an end in 205, when he was denounced by the Emperor’s
dying brother and killed.
The two following praefecti, including the jurist
Aemilius Papinianus
, received however even larger powers.
Campaigns in Caledonia (Scotland)
Starting from 208 Severus undertook a number of military actions in
Roman
Britain
, reconstructing
Hadrian’s Wall
and campaigning in
Scotland
.
He reached the area of the
Moray
Firth
in his last campaign in Caledonia, as was called Scotland by
the Romans..
In 210 obtained a peace with the
Picts
that lasted
practically until the final withdrawal of the Roman legions from Britain,
before falling severely ill in
Eboracum
(York).
Death
He is famously said to have given the advice to his sons: “Be harmonious,
enrich the soldiers, and scorn all other men” before he died at Eboracum on
February 4
,
211. Upon his death in 211, Severus was
deified
by the Senate and succeeded by his sons,
Caracalla
and
Geta
, who were advised by his wife
Julia
Domna
. The stability Severus provided the Empire was soon gone under their reign.
Accomplishments and Record
Though his military expenditure was costly to the empire, Severus was the
strong, able ruler that Rome needed at the time. He began a tradition of
effective emperors elevated solely by the military. His policy of an expanded
and better-rewarded army was criticized by his contemporary
Dio Cassius
and
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 army.
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 and enriched greatly his native city of
Leptis
Magna
(including another triumphal arch on the occasion of his visit of
203).
Severus and Christianity
Christians were
persecuted
during the reign of Septimus Severus. Severus allowed the
enforcement of policies already long-established, which meant that Roman
authorities did not intentionally seek out Christians, but when people were
accused of being Christians they could either curse
Jesus
and make an
offering to
Roman gods
, or be executed. Furthermore, wishing to strengthen the peace by
encouraging religious harmony through
syncretism
,
Severus tried to limit the spread of the two quarrelsome groups who refused to
yield to syncretism by outlawing
conversion
to Christianity or
Judaism
.
Individual officials availed themselves of the laws to proceed with rigor
against the Christians. Naturally the emperor, with his strict conception of
law, did not hinder such partial persecution, which took place in
Egypt
and the
Thebaid
, as
well as in
Africa proconsularis
and the East. Christian
martyrs
were
numerous in Alexandria
(cf.
Clement of Alexandria
, Stromata, ii. 20;
Eusebius
, Church History, V., xxvi., VI., i.). No less severe were
the persecutions in Africa, which seem to have begun in 197 or 198 (cf.
Tertullian’s
Ad martyres), and included the Christians known in the
Roman martyrology
as the martyrs of
Madaura
.
Probably in 202 or 203
Felicitas
and
Perpetua
suffered for their faith. Persecution again raged for a short time
under the proconsul
Scapula
in
211, especially in
Numidia
and
Mauritania
.
Later accounts of a Gallic
persecution, especially at
Lyon, are
legendary. In general it may thus be said that the position of the Christians
under Septimius Severus was the same as under the
Antonines
;
but the law of this Emperor at least shows clearly that the
rescript
of
Trajan
[
neededclarification] had failed to execute its purpose.
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