SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS 207AD Rare Ancient Silver Roman Coin Africa with lion i46568

Item: i46568

 Authentic Ancient

Coin of:

Septimius Severus
–
Roman Emperor
: 193-211 A.D. –

Silver Denarius 20mm (2.38 grams) Rome mint: 207 A.D.
Reference: RIC 207a, BMC 531, C 493
SEVERVSPIVSAVG – Laureate head right.
 PMTRPXVCOSIIIPP – Africa standing right, resting hand on hip and holding

grain ears; lion to right.

You are bidding on the exact item pictured,

Authenticity.

The
Roman province
of Africa Proconsularis
was established after the Romans defeated
Carthage
in the
Third Punic War
. It roughly comprised the
territory of present-day northern
Tunisia
, the northeast of modern-day
Algeria
, and the small
Mediterranean Sea
coast of modern-day western
Libya
along the
Syrtis Minor
.

It was the richest province in the western part of the empire. The
Arabs
later named roughly the same region as
the original province
Ifriqiya
, a rendering of Africa, from
the Latin language.

 

The Roman empire in the time of
Hadrian
(ruled 117–138 AD),
showing, in northern Africa, the
senatorial province
of Africa
Proconsularis (E. Algeria/Tunisia/Tripolitania). 1
legion
deployed in 125.

 

Northern Africa under Roman rule.

History

The land acquired for the province of Africa was the site of the ancient city
of Carthage
. Other large cities in the region
included Hadrumetum
(modern
Sousse
,
Tunisia
), capital of
Byzacena
,
Hippo Regius
(modern
Annaba
,
Algeria
). The province was established by the
Roman Republic
in 146 BC, following the
Third Punic War
.

Rome established its first African colony, Africa Proconsularis or
Africa Vetus (Old Africa), governed by a
proconsul
, in the most fertile part of what was
formerly Carthaginian territory.
Utica
was formed as the administrative capital.
The remaining territory was left in the domain of the
Numidian

client king

Massinissa
. At this time, the Roman policy in
Africa was simply to prevent another great power from rising on the far side of
Sicily
.

In 118 BC, the Numidian prince
Jugurtha
attempted to reunify the smaller
kingdoms. However, upon his death, much of Jugurtha’s territory was placed in
the control of the Mauretanian client king
Bocchus
; and, by that time, the romanization of
Africa was firmly rooted. In 27 BC, when the
Republic
had transformed into an
Empire
, the province of Africa began its
Imperial
occupation under Roman rule.

 

Électrum tridrachme struck at Zeugitane in Carthage.

Several political and provincial reforms were implemented by
Augustus
and later by
Caligula
, but
Claudius
finalized the territorial divisions
into official Roman provinces. Africa was a senatorial province. After
Diocletian
‘s administrative reforms, it was
split into Africa Zeugitana (which retained the name Africa
Proconsularis, as it was governed by a
proconsul
) in the north and
Africa Byzacena
in the south, both of which
were part of the
Dioecesis Africae
.

The region remained a part of the Roman Empire until the Germanic migrations
of the 5th century. The
Vandals
crossed into North Africa from Spain in
429 and overran the area by 439 and founded their own kingdom, including
Sicily
,
Corsica
,
Sardinia
and the
Balearics
. The Vandals controlled the country
as a warrior-elite, enforcing a policy of strict separation and suppressing the
local Romano-African population.

They also persecuted the
Catholicism
, as the Vandals were adherents of
the Arianism
(the semi-trinitarian doctrines of
Arius, a priest of Egypt). In 476, when the
Western Roman Empire
, had finally
fallen
, it became a remnant of the
Empire
. Towards the end of the 5th century, the
Vandal state fell into decline, abandoning most of the interior territories to
the Mauri and other Berber tribes of the desert.

In AD 533, Emperor
Justinian
, using a Vandal dynastic dispute as
pretext, sent an army under the general
Belisarius
to recover Africa. In a
short campaign
, Belisarius defeated the
Vandals, entered
Carthage
in triumph and reestablished Roman
rule over the province. The restored Roman administration was successful in
fending off the attacks of the Amazigh desert tribes, and by means of an
extensive fortification network managed to extend its rule once again to the
interior.

The North African provinces, together with the Roman possessions in Spain,
were grouped into the
Exarchate of Africa
by Emperor
Maurice
. The exarchate prospered, and from it
resulted the overthrow of the emperor
Phocas
by
Heraclius
in 610. Heraclius briefly considered
moving the imperial capital from
Constantinople
to Carthage.

After 640, the exarchate managed to stave off the Muslim Conquest, but in
698, a Muslim army from
Egypt
sacked Carthage and conquered the
exarchate, ending Roman and Christian rule in North Africa. The last provinces
of the Western Roman Empire ceased to exist, 222 years after the fall of Rome
and the
last Western Roman emperor
.

Timetable

Legend

Roman Africans

 

The amphitheatre of Thysdrus (modern
El Djem
).

The African provinces were amongst the wealthiest regions in the Empire
(rivaled only by Egypt, Syria and Italy itself) and as a consequence people from
all over the Empire migrated into the Roman Africa Province, most importantly
veterans
in early retirement who settled in
Africa on farming plots promised for their military service. Historian
Theodore Mommsen
estimated that under
Hadrian
nearly 1/3 of the eastern
Numidia
population (roughly modern
Tunisia
) was descended from Roman veterans.^[1]

Even so, the Roman military presence of North Africa was relatively small,
consisting of about 28,000 troops and auxiliaries in Numidia and the two
Mauretanian provinces. Starting in the 2nd century AD, these garrisons were
manned mostly by local inhabitants. A sizable
Latin
speaking population developed that was
multinational in background, sharing the north African region with those
speaking
Punic
and
Berber
languages.^[1][2]
Imperial security forces began to be drawn from the local population, including
the Berbers.

Abun-Nasr, in his A History of the Maghrib, said that “What made the
Berbers accept the Roman way of life all the more readily was that the Romans,
though a colonizing people who captured their lands by the might of their arms,
did not display any racial exclusiveness and were remarkably tolerant of
Berber religious cults
, be they indigenous or
borrowed from the Carthaginians
. However, the
Roman territory in Africa was unevenly penetrated by Roman culture. Pockets of
non-Romanized Berbers continued to exist throughout the Roman period, even in
such areas as eastern Tunisia and Numidia.”

By the end of the Western Roman Empire nearly all of the Maghreb was fully
romanized
, according to Mommsen in his The
Provinces of the Roman Empire and the Roman Africans enjoyed a high level of
prosperity. This prosperity (and romanization) touched partially even the
populations living outside the
Roman limes
(mainly the
Garamantes
and the
Getuli
), who were reached with
Roman expeditions to Sub-Saharan Africa
.

The willing acceptance of Roman citizenship by members of the ruling
class in African cities produced such Roman Africans as the comic poet
Terence, the rhetorician Fronto of Cirta, the jurist Salvius Julianus of
Hadrumetum, the novelis Apuleius of Madauros, the emperor Septimius Severus
of Lepcis Magna, the Christians Tertullian and Cyprian of Carthage, and
Arnobius of Sicca and his pupil Lactantius; the angelic doctor Augustine of
Thagaste, the epigrammatist Luxorius of Vandal Carthage, and perhaps the
biographer Suetonius, and the poet Dracontius.

—
Paul MacKendrick
, The North African
Stones Speak (1969), UNC Press, 2000, p.326

Economics

 

A
Roman coin
celebrating the
province of Africa, struck in AD 136 under the Emperor
Hadrian
. The personification of
Africa is shown wearing an elephant headdress.

The prosperity of most towns depended on agriculture. Called the “granary of
the empire”, North Africa, according to one estimate, produced one million tons
of cereals each year^{[citation
needed]}, one-quarter of which was exported.
Additional crops included beans, figs, grapes, and other fruits. By the 2nd
century, olive oil rivaled cereals as an export item^{[citation
needed]}. In addition to the cultivation of slaves,
and the capture and transporting of exotic wild animals, the principal
production and exports included the textiles, marble, wine, timber, livestock,
pottery such as
African Red Slip
, and wool.

The incorporation of colonial cities into the Roman Empire brought an
unparalleled degree of urbanization to vast areas of territory, particularly in
North Africa. This level of rapid urbanization had a structural impact on the
town economy, and artisan production in Roman cities became closely tied to the
agrarian spheres of production. As Rome’s population grew, so did her demand for
North African produce. This flourishing trade allowed the North African
provinces to increase artisan production in rapidly developing cities, making
them highly organized urban centers. Many Roman cities shared both consumer and
producer model city aspects, as artisanal activity was directly related to the
economic role cities played in long-distance trade networks.^[3]

The urban population became increasingly engaged in the craft and service
sectors and less in agrarian employment, until a significant portion of the
town’s vitality came from the sale or trade of products through middlemen to
markets in areas both rural and abroad. The changes that occurred in the
infrastructure for agricultural processing, like olive oil and wine production,
as trade continued to develop both cities and commerce directly influenced the
volume of artisan production. The scale, quality, and demand for these products
reached its acme in Roman North Africa.^[3]

Pottery production

 

African Red Slip flagons and vases, 2nd-4th centuries

 

A typical plain African Red Slip dish with simple rouletted
decoration. 4th century.

The North African provinces spanned across regions rich with olive
plantations and potters’ clay sources, which led to the early development of
fine
Ancient Roman pottery
, especially
African Red Slip

terra sigillata
tableware and clay
oil lamp
manufacture, as a crucial industry.
Lamps provided the most common form of illumination in Rome. They were used for
public and private lighting, as votive offerings in temples, lighting at
festivals, and as grave goods. As the craft developed and increased in quality
and craftsmanship, the North African creations began to rival their Italian and
Grecian models and eventually surpassed them in merit and in demand.^[4]

The innovative use of molds around the 1st century BC allowed for a much
greater variety of shapes and decorative style, and the skill of the lamp maker
was demonstrated by the quality of the decoration found typically on the flat
top of the lamp, or discus, and the outer rim, or shoulder. The production
process took several stages. The decorative motifs were created using small
individual molds, and were then added as appliqué to a plain archetype of the
lamp. The embellished lamp was then used to make two plaster half molds, one
lower half and one upper half mold, and multiple copies were then able to be
mass-produced. Decorative motifs ranged according to the lamp’s function and to
popular taste.^[4]

Ornate patterning of squares and circles were later added to the shoulder
with a stylus, as well as palm trees, small fish, animals, and flower patterns.
The discus was reserved for conventional scenes of gods, goddesses, mythological
subjects, scenes from daily life, erotic scenes, and natural images. The
strongly Christian identity of post-Roman society in North Africa is exemplified
in the later instances of North African lamps, on which scenes of Christian
images like saints, crosses, and biblical figures became commonly articulated
topics. Traditional mythological symbols had enduring popularity as well, which
can be traced back to North Africa’s Punic heritage. Many of the early North
African lamps that have been excavated, especially those of high quality, have
the name of the manufacturer inscribed on the base, which gives evidence of a
highly competitive and thriving local market that developed early and continued
to influence and bolster the colonial economy.^[4]

African Terra
Sigillata

After a period of artisanal, political, and social decline in the 3rd century
AD, lamp-making revived and accelerated artistry in the early Christian age to
new heights. The introduction of fine local red-fired clays in the late 4th
century triggered this revival.
African Red Slip
ware (ARS), or African Terra
Sigillata, revolutionized the pottery and lamp-making industry.^[5]

ARS ware was produced from the last third of the 1st century AD onwards, and
was of major importance in the mid-to-late Roman periods. Famous in antiquity as
“fine” or high-quality tableware, it was distributed both regionally and
throughout the Mediterranean basin along well-established and heavily trafficked
trade routes. North Africa’s economy flourished as its products were dispersed
and demand for its products dramatically increased.^[6]

Initially, the ARS lamp designs imitated the simple design of 3rd- to
4th-century courseware lamps, often with globules on the shoulder or with fluted
walls. But new, more ornate designs appeared before the early 5th century as
demand spurred on the creative process. The development and widespread
distribution of ARS finewares marks the most distinctive phase of North African
pottery-making.^[7]

These characteristic pottery lamps were produced in large quantities by
efficiently organized production centers with large-scale manufacturing
abilities, and can be attributed to specific pottery-making centers in northern
and central Tunisia by way of modern chemical analysis, which allows modern
archeologists to trace distribution patterns among trade routes both regional
and across the Mediterranean.^[6]
Some major ARS centers in central Tunisia are Sidi Marzouk Tounsi, Henchir
el-Guellal (Djilma), and Henchir es-Srira, all of which have ARS lamp artifacts
attributed to them by the microscopic chemical makeup of the clay fabric as well
as macroscopic style prevalent in that region.

This underscores the idea that these local markets fueled the economy of not
only the town itself, but the entire region and supported markets abroad.
Certain vessel forms, fabrics, and decorative techniques like rouletting,
appliqué, and stamped décor, are specific for a certain region and even for a
certain pottery center. If neither form nor decoration of the material to be
classified is identifiable, it is possible to trace its origins, not just to a
certain region but even to its place of production by comparing its chemical
analysis to important northeastern and central Tunisian potteries with good
representatives.

Governors of Roman
Africa

Republican era

Unless otherwise noted, names of governors in Africa and their dates are
taken from
T.R.S. Broughton
, The Magistrates of the
Roman Republic, (New York: American Philological Association, 1951, 1986),
vol. 1, and vol. 2 (1952).

146–100 BC

Inscriptional evidence is less common for this period than for the Imperial
era, and names of those who held a provincia are usually recorded by
historians only during wartime or by the
fastitriumphal
.
After the defeat of Carthage in 146 BC, no further assignments to Africa among
the senior magistrates or promagistrates are recorded until the
Jugurthine War
(112–105 BC), when the command
against Jugurtha
in
Numidia
became a consular province.

• P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus

  (146 BC)

• L. Calpurnius
  Bestia
  (111 BC)
• Sp. Postumius Albinus
  (110–109 BC)^[8]
• Q. Caecilius Metellus Numidicus
  (109–107
  BC)^[9]
• C. Marius
  (107–105 BC)
• L. Cornelius Sulla
  (105 BC)^[10]

90s–31 BC

During the
civil wars of the 80s and 40s BC
, legitimate
governors are difficult to distinguish from purely military commands, as rival
factions were vying for control of the province by means of force.

• None known with reasonable certainty for the 90s
• P. Sextilius
  (88–87 BC)
• Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius
  (86–84 BC)
• C. Fabius Hadrianus
  (84–82
  BC)
• Gn. Pompeius Magnus
  (82–79 BC)
• L. Licinius Lucullus
  (77–76/75 BC)
• A. Manlius Torquatus (69 BC or earlier)
• L. Sergius Catilina
  (67–66 BC)
• Q. Pompeius Rufus
  (62–60/59 BC)
• T. Vettius,
  cognomen
  possibly Sabinus (58–57 BC)
• Q. Valerius Orca
  (56 BC)
• P. Attius Varus
  (52 BC and probably
  earlier; see also below)
• C. Considius Longus
  (51–50 BC)
• L. Aelius Tubero (49 BC; may never have assumed the post)
• P. Attius Varus (seized control again in 49 and held Africa until 48)
• Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio Nasica

  (47 BC)

• M. Porcius Cato
  (jointly in 47 BC with
  special charge of
  Utica
  )
• C. Caninius Rebilus
  (46 BC)
• C. Calvisius Sabinus
  (45–early 44 BC,
  Africa Vetus
  )
• C. Sallustius Crispus, the historian usually known in English as
  Sallust
  (45 BC,
  Africa Nova
  )
• Q. Cornificius (44–42 BC, Africa Vetus)
• T. Sextius (44–40 BC, Africa Nova)
• C. Fuficius Fango (41 BC)
• M. Aemilius Lepidus
  (40–36 BC)
• T. Statilius Taurus
  (35 BC)
• L. Cornificius
  (34–32 BC)

Imperial era

Principate

Reign of
Augustus

• Lucius Autronius Paetus
  (29/28 BC)
• Marcus Acilius Glabrio
  (25 BC)
• Lucius Sempronius Atratinus
  (?c. 21/20 BC)
• Lucius Cornelius Balbus
  (20/19 BC)
• Gaius Sentius Saturninus
  (14/13 BC)
• Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus
  (13/12 BC)
• Publius Quinctilius Varus
  approx (9/8–4 BC)
• Lucius Passienus Rufus
  approx (c. AD 4/5)
• Cossus Cornelius Lentulus Gaetulicus
  (c. AD
  5/6)
• Lucius Caninius Gallus
  (c. AD 8)
• Lucius Nonius Asprenas
  ^[11]
  (14–15)

Reign of
Tiberius

• Lucius Aelius Lamia
  (15–16)
• Marcus Furius Camillus
  ^[12]
  (17–18)
• Lucius Apronius
  ^[13]
  (18–21)
• Quintus Junius Blaesus
  ^[14]
  (21–23)
• Publius Cornelius Dolabella
  ^[15]
  (23–24)
• Gaius Vibius Marsus
  (26–29)
• Marcus Junius Silanus
  (29–35)
• Gaius Rubellius Blandus
  (35–36)
• Servius Cornelius Cethegus
  (36–37)

Reign of
Gaius Caligula

• Lucius Calpurnius Piso (38–39)
• Lucius Salvius Otho
  (40–41)

Reign of
Claudius

• Quintus Marcius Barea Soranus (41–43)
• Servius Sulpicius Galba
  (44–46)
• Marcus Servilius Nonianus
  (46–47)
• Titus Statilius Taurus IV
  ^[16]
  (52–53)
• Marcus Pompeius Silvanus Staberius Flavianus

  (53–56)

Reign of

Nero

• Quintus Sulpicius Camerinus Peticus
  (56–57)
• Gnaeus Hosidius Geta
  (57–58)
• Quintus Curtius Rufus
  ^[17]
  (58–59)
• Aulus Vitellius
  (60–61)
• Lucius Vitellius
  (61–62)
• Servius Cornelius Scipio Salvidienus Orfitus

  (62–63)

• Titus Flavius Vespasianus
  (63–64)
• Gaius Vipstanus Apronianus
  (68)

Reign of
Hadrian

• Lucius Minicius Natalis
  (121)

Reign of
Antoninus Pius

• Minicius (139–140)
• Titus Prifernius Paetus Rosianus Geminus

  (140–141)

• Sextus Julius Major
  (141–142)
• Publius Tullius Varro
  (142–143)
• Lucius Minicius Natalis Quadronius Verus

  (153–154)

• Lucius Hedius Rufus Lollianus Avitus

  (157–158)

Reign of
Marcus Aurelius

• Sextus Cocceius Severianus
  (161–163)
• Servius Cornelius Scipio Salvidienus Orfitus (164)
• Marcus Antonius Zeno
  (164–165)
• Titus Sextius Lateranus
  (168/169)

Reign of
Commodus

• Gaius Vettius Sabinianus Julius Hospes
  (c.
  191)

Reign of
Septimius Severus

• Publius Cornelius Anullinus (193)^[18]
• Pollienus Auspex
  (Between 194 and 200)
• Marcus Claudius Macrinius Vindex Hermogenianus (Between 194 and 200)
• Sextus Cocceius Vibianus
  (Between 194 and
  200)
• Cingius Severus (Between 194 and 197)
• Lucius Cossonius Eggius Marullus (198–199)
• Marcus Ulpius Arabianus (c. 200)
• Gaius Julius Asper (Between 200 and 210)
• Marcus Umbrius Primus
  (c. 201/2)
• Minicius Opimianus (c. 203)
• Rufinus (c. 204)
• Marcus Valerius Bradua Mauricus (? c. 206)
• Titus Flavius Decimus (209)
• Gaius Valerius Pudens
  (Between 209 and 211)

Reign of
Caracalla

• Publius Julius Scapula Tertullus Priscus (212–213)
• Appius Claudius Julianus (Between 212 and 220)
• Gaius Caesonius Macer Rufinianus
  (Between
  213 and 215)
• Marius Maximus
  (Between 213 and 217)

Reign of
Elagabalus

• Lucius Marius Perpetuus (c. 220)
• Lucius Cassius Dio Cocceianus
  (c. 221)

Reign of
Alexander Severus

• Gaius Octavius Appius Suetrius Sabinus
  (c.
  230)

Reign of
Maximinus Thrax

• Marcus Antonius Gordianus Sempronianus Romanus
  Africanus
  (237)

Reign of
Gordian III

• Sabinianus
  (240)
• Lucius Caesonius Lucillus Macer Rufinianus

  (c. 240)

Reigns of
Valerian
and
Gallienus

• Aspasius Paternus
  (257–258)
• Galerius Maximus
  (258–259)
• Lucius Messius […] (Between 259 and 261)
•  ? Vibius Passienus (Between 260 and 268)
• Lucius Naevius Aquilinus (Between 260 and 268)
• Sextus Cocceius Anicius Faustus
  (Between
  265 and 268)

Reign of
Aurelian

•  ? Firmus
  (273)
• Lucius Caesonius Ovinius Manlius Rufinianus Bassus

  (c. 275)

Reign of
Carinus

• Gaius Julius Paulinus (283)

Later Empire

Governors are directly chosen by the Emperors, without Roman
Senate
approval.

• Titus Claudius Aurelius Aristobulus

  (290–294)

• Cassius Dio
  (294–295)
• Titus Flavius Postumius Titianus
  (295–296)
• Lucius Aelius Helvius Dionysius
  (296–300)
• Iulianus, possibly
  Amnius Anicius Julianus
  (301–302)
• Gaius Annius Anullinus
  (302–305)
• Gaius Caeionius Rufius Volusianus
  (305–306)
• Petronius Probianus
  (315–317)
• Aconius Catullinus
  (317–318)
• Cezeus Largus Maternianus (333-336)^[19]
• Quintus Flavius Maesius Egnatius Lollianus

  (336-337)^[19]

• Antonius Marcellinus (337-338)^[19]
• Aurelius Celsinus (338-339)^[19]
  • Fabius Aconius Catullinus Philomathius

    (vicarius,
    338–339)

• Proculus (340-341)^[19]
• -lius Flavianus (357-358)^[19]
• Sextus Claudius Petronius Probus
  (358-359)^[19]
• Proclianus (359-361)^[19]
• Quintus Clodius Hermogenianus Olybrius

  (361-362)^[19]

• Clodius Octavianus (363-364)^[19]
• P. Ampelius (364-365)^[19]
•  ?Claudius Hermogenianus Caesarius (365-366)^[19]
• Julius Festus Hymetius
  (366-368)^[20]
• Petronius Claudius (368-371)^[20]
• Sextius Rusticus Julianus (371-373)^[20]
• Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
  (373-374)^[19]
• Paulus Constantius (374-375)^[19]
• Chilo (375-376)^[19]
• Decimius Hilarianus Hesperius
  (April
  376-October 377)^[19]
• Thalassius
  (October 377-April 379)^[19]
• Flavius Afranius Syagrius
  (379-380)^[19]
• Helvius Vindicianus (380-381; possibly 382-383)^[19]
• Herasius (381-382)^[19]
• Virius Audentius Aemilianus (382-383; possibly 381-382)^[19]
• Flavius Eusignius (383-384)^[19]
• Messianus (385-386)^[19]
• Felix Juniorinus Polemius (388-389)^[19]
• Latinius Pacatus Drepanius (389-390)^[19]
• Flavius Rhodinus Primus (391-392)^[19]
• Aemilius Florus Paternus
  (392-393)^[21]
• Flaccianus
  (393-393)^[21]
• Marcianus
  (394)^[21]
• Flavius Herodes
  (394-395)^[21]
• Ennodius
  (395-396)^[21]
• Theodorus (396-397)^[21]
• Anicius Probinus
  (397)^[22]
• Seranus (397-398)^[21]
• Victorinus (398-399)^[21]
• Apollodorus (399-400)^[21]
• Gabinius Barbarus Pompeianus
  (400–401)^[21]
• Helpidius (401-402 ?)^[21]
• Septiminus (402-404)^[21]
• Rufius Antonius Agrypnius Volusianus

  (404-405)^[21]

• Flavius Pionius Diotimus
  (405-406)^[21]
• C. Aelius Pompeius Porphyrius Proculus

  (407-408)^[21]

• Donatus (408-409)^[21]
• Macrobius Palladius
  (409-410)^[21]
• Apringius (410-411)^[21]
• Eucharius (411-412)^[21]
• Q. Sentius Fabricius Iulianus
  (412-414)^[21]
• Aurelius Anicius Symmachus
  (415)^[23]

Lucius 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

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.