Septimius Severus 193 - 211  A.D.

By clicking on the pictures you'll be linked to a more complete description of the coin. At the bottom of this page there is a more elaborate biography of the emperor.

	Obverse: AV KA C CEVHPOC
	Reverse: ΦIΛIππOπOΛEITΩN
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	Obverse: AV kA CEVHPOC
	Reverse: NIKOπOΛIπPOCICT
	Fieldmarks: -
	Exergue: -

Septimius Severus  193 - 211  A.D.

      Civil war however wasn't over yet. Another provincial governor from Syria, Pescennius Niger, had also been declared Augustus by his troops. And the eastern provinces quickly went under his authority. Byzantium became Niger's base of operations as he prepared to fight the armies of the west loyal to Severus. Early January 194, Niger was defeated in a battle near Nicaea and fled south. Asia Minor and Bithynia (northern part of Turkey) fell under Severus' control, and soon after this Egypt recognized Severus' authority. By late spring, Niger was defeated again near Issus and the remainder of his support collapsed. Syria was quickly pacified and Niger was killed fleeing Antioch (more info on Antioch). Byzantium, however, refused to surrender to Severan forces. Niger's head was sent to the city to persuade the besieged citizens to give up, but to no avail. The Byzantines held out for another year before they surrendered, as punishment for their stubbornness, the walls of their city were destroyed. In the meanwhile Severus pursued and executed Niger's followers and used their wealth to strengthen his finances. Severus also took steps to cement his legitimacy as emperor, he shocked the Senate by proclaiming himself the son of Marcus Aurelius and by restoring the memory of Commodus, now his brother, which allowed him to trace his authority, through adoption, back to the emperor Nerva. Bassianus, the emperor's elder son, was renamed Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Caracalla). Severus is usually depicted with a long beard (see portrait on the coin) to resemble Marcus Aurelius. This was pure propaganda because ancient sources report he actually wore his beard neatly trimmed.

      In 195, Severus betrayed his ally Clodius Albinus he declared him a public enemy and appointed his eldest son Caesar instead of Albinus. During the struggles between Severus and Niger, Albinus had remained in Britain as governor. Although Albinus had not attempted open revolt against the emperor, he seems to have been in communication with senators about future moves (in other words plotting against Severus). Clodius Albinus responded to the actions of Severus by proclaiming himself emperor and invading Gaul. In 197 after a Severan victory at Tournus, Albinus found himself and his army trapped near Lugdunum (Lyon). A battle broke out on the 19th of February, in the initial fighting, Albinus' troops forced the Severans into retreat and during this retreat Severus fell off his horse and was almost killed. However the Severan cavalry appeared just in time and Albinus' army was routed. Lugdunum was sacked and Albinus, who was trapped in a house along the river Rhône, committed suicide. Severus ordered Albinus' head to be cut off and sent to Rome for display and many of Albinus' supporters were killed. Albinus' wife and children were killed, as were many of the wives of his supporters. Tradition also tells us of the mutilation of bodies and denial of proper burial. The emperor had revealed a tendency for cruelty that troubled even his most fervent supporters. A purge of the senate soon followed.

      After defeating Albinus Severus began a campaign to settle things on the eastern frontier (In 197 Nisibis had once again been under siege). Several victories in Mesopotamia were followed by tours of eastern provinces, including Egypt. Several years of celebrations and showing off followed. In Rome an arch, still standing today, was dedicated to the emperor at the western end of the Forum. Preparations were also being made for the Secular Games, which were thought to have originated in earliest Rome and which were to be held every 110 years. Augustus celebrated the Secular Games in 17 BC, and Domitian in AD 88, six years too early. (Claudius used the excuse of Rome's 800th year to hold the games in AD 47.) In 204 Severus would preside over ten days of ceremonies and spectacles.

      The order Severus was able to impose on the empire through both the force of arms and the force of law failed to extend to his own family. His now teenage sons, Caracalla and Geta, displayed a reckless sibling rivalry that sometimes resulted in physical injury. The emperor believed the lack of responsibilities and lazy life in Rome contributed to the ill-will between his sons and decided that the family would travel to Britain to oversee military operations there against the wild and unruly Scots who were harassing the civilized towns of Roman Britain. Caracalla was involved in directing the army's campaigns, while Geta was given civilian authority and a promotion to joint emperor with his father and brother. Severus was now well into his 60s and chronic gout limited his activities and sapped his strength. The emperor's health continued to deteriorate in Britain, and he became ever more intent on trying to improve the bitter relationship between his two sons. Shortly before his death on the 4th of February 211 at Eboracum (York), a Roman outpost far from the civilized center of the empire, Severus advised his sons, "Agree with each other, give money to the soldiers and scorn all other men." It was to no avail, upon his death, the rivalry between Caracalla and Geta became public, the two emperors lived in separate palaces and each had their own guard. Somewhere during December 211, Caracalla convinced their mother to call Geta for a reconciliation meeting in her residence. It was a trick, in his mother's house Caracalla's soldiers attacked Geta and he died in his mother's arms, she was not allowed to mourn for her killed son. A massacre of Geta's supporters followed, and Cassius Dio (a historian) tells us that some 20,000 people were killed.

      Severus died at the age of 65, his reign lasted nearly 18 years, a duration that would not be matched until Diocletian. The reforms he enacted would eventually alter the very character of Roman government. His pay increases to the army (nearly 50%) established a trend that placed a severe burden on the Roman state. Future emperor's were expected to follow suite and increase pay as well. The cost of these pay rises resulted in ever increasing taxation that damaged the economy. Some historians believe the high taxes, initiated by Severus' policies, played a significant role in Rome's long-term decline.

For this biography I've used the texts from the following websites:
http://www.imperiumromanum.com/
http://www.roman-emperors.org/
http://www.roman-empire.net/
And from: Gibbon's Decline and fall of the Roman empire.