Caesar: 195-198 A.D. (under Septimius Severus)
Augustus: 198-217 A.D. (198-209 A.D. with Septimius Severus) (209-211 A.D. with Septimius Severus and Geta) (211 A.D. with Geta) (211-217 A.D. Sole Reign)
Son of Septimius Severus and Julia Domna | Brother of Geta | Husband of Plautilla | Nephew of Julia Maesa | Cousin of Julia Soaemias and Julia Mamaea |
Caracalla (4 April 188 - 8 April 217), formally Marcus Aurelius Severus Antoninus Augustus,
was Roman emperor from AD 198 to 217. A member of the Severan Dynasty,
he was the eldest son of Septimius Severus and Julia Domna. Caracalla
reigned jointly with his father from 198 until Severus' death in 211.
Caracalla then ruled jointly with his younger brother Geta, with whom he
had a fraught relationship, until he had Geta murdered later that year.
Caracalla's reign was marked by domestic instability and external
invasions from the Germanic people.
Caracalla's reign was notable for the Antonine Constitution (Latin: Constitutio Antoniniana), also known as the Edict of Caracalla,
which granted Roman citizenship to nearly all freemen throughout the
Roman Empire. The edict gave all the enfranchised men Caracalla's
adopted praenomen and nomen: "Marcus Aurelius". Domestically, Caracalla
was known for the construction of the Baths of Caracalla, which became
the second-largest baths in Rome, for the introduction of a new Roman
currency named the antoninianus, a sort of double denarius,
and for the massacres he enacted against the people of Rome and
elsewhere in the empire. Towards the end of his rule, Caracalla began a
campaign against the Parthian Empire. He did not see this campaign
through to completion due to his assassination by a disaffected soldier
in 217. He was succeeded as emperor by Macrinus after three days.
Caracalla
is presented in ancient sources as a tyrant and cruel leader, an image
that has survived into modernity. Dio Cassius and Herodian present
Caracalla as a soldier first and emperor second. In the 12th century,
Geoffrey of Monmouth started the legend of Caracalla's role as the king
of Britain. Later, in the 18th century, Caracalla's memory was revived
in the works of French artists due to the parallels between Caracalla's
apparent tyranny and that of King Louis XVI. Modern works continue to
portray Caracalla as a psychopathic and evil ruler. His rule is
remembered as being one of the most tyrannical of all Roman emperors.
Names
Caracalla
was born Lucius Septimius Bassianus. He was renamed Marcus Aurelius
Antoninus at the age of seven as part of his father's attempt at union
with the families of Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. According to
Aurelius Victor in his Epitome de Caesaribus, he became known by
the agnomen "Caracalla" after a Gallic hooded tunic that he habitually
wore and made fashionable. He may have begun wearing it during his
campaigns on the Rhine and Danube. Dio generally referred to him as
Tarautas, after a famously diminutive and violent gladiator of the time.
Life
Early life
Caracalla
was born in Lugdunum, Gaul (now Lyon, France), on 4 April 188 to
Septimius Severus and Julia Domna. He had a slightly younger brother,
Geta, who would briefly rule as co-emperor alongside him. Caracalla's
father, Septimius Severus, appointed Caracalla joint Augustus and full
emperor from the year 198 onwards. His brother Geta was granted the same
title in 210. In 202 Caracalla was forced to marry the daughter of
Gaius Fulvius Plautianus, Fulvia Plautilla, a woman whom he hated,
though for what reason is unknown. By 205 Caracalla had succeeded in
having Plautianus executed for treason, though he had probably
fabricated the evidence of the plot himself. It was then that he
banished his wife, whose later killing might have been carried out under
Caracalla's orders.
Reign
Brother's Murder
Caracalla's
father, Septimius Severus, died on 4 February 211 at Eboracum (now
York) while on campaign in Caledonia, north of the Roman Britannia.
Caracalla and his brother, Publius Septimius Antoninus Geta, jointly
inherited the throne upon their father's death. Caracalla and Geta ended
the campaign in Caledonia after concluding a peace with the Caledonians
that returned the border of Roman Britain to the line demarcated by
Hadrian's Wall. During the journey back to Rome with their father's
ashes, Caracalla and his brother continuously argued with one another,
making relations between them increasingly hostile. Caracalla and Geta
considered dividing the empire in half along the Bosphorus to make their
co-rule less hostile. Caracalla was to rule in the west and Geta was to
rule in the east. They were persuaded not to do this by their mother.
On
26 December 211, at a reconciliation meeting arranged by their mother,
Caracalla had Geta assassinated by members of the Praetorian Guard loyal
to himself, Geta dying in his mother's arms. Caracalla then persecuted
and executed most of Geta's supporters and ordered a damnatio memoriae
pronounced by the Senate against his brother's memory. Geta's image was
removed from all paintings, coins were melted down, statues were
destroyed, his name was struck from papyrus records, and it became a
capital offence to speak or write Geta's name. In the aftermath of the damnatio memoriae,
an estimated 20,000 people were massacred. Those killed were Geta's
inner circle of guards and advisers, friends, and other military staff
under his employ.
Provincial tours
The Roman Empire during the reign of Caracalla
In
213, about a year after Geta's death, Caracalla left Rome never to
return. He went north to the German frontier to deal with the Alamanni
and Goths tribesmen, a confederation of migrating Germanic tribes who
had broken through the limes in Raetia. During the campaign of
213-214, Caracalla successfully defeated some of the Germanic tribes
while settling other difficulties through diplomacy, though precisely
with whom these treaties were made remains unknown. While there,
Caracalla strengthened the frontier fortifications of Raetia and
Germania Superior, collectively known as the Agri Decumates, so that it
was able to withstand any further barbarian invasions for another twenty
years. Historian Edward Gibbon compares Caracalla to emperors such as
Hadrian who spent their careers campaigning in the provinces and then to
tyrants such as Nero and Domitian whose entire reigns were confined to
Rome and whose actions only impacted upon the senatorial and equestrian
classes residing there. Gibbon then concludes that Caracalla was "the
common enemy of mankind", as both Romans and provincials alike were
subject to "his rapine and cruelty".
After Caracalla concluded his
campaign against the Alamanni, it became evident that he was
inordinately preoccupied with the Greek-Macedonian general and conqueror
Alexander the Great. He began openly mimicking Alexander in his
personal style. In planning his invasion of the Parthian Empire,
Caracalla decided to equip 16,000 of his men with Macedonian-style
phalanxes, despite the Roman army having made the phalanx an obsolete
tactical formation. The historian Christopher Matthew mentions that the
term Phalangarii has two possible meanings, both with military
connotations. The first refers merely to the Roman battle line and does
not specifically mean that the men were armed with pikes, and the second
bears similarity to the 'Marian Mules' of the late Roman Republic who
carried their equipment suspended from a long pole, which were in use
until at least the 2nd century AD. As a consequence, the Phalangarii of Legio II Parthica may not have been pikemen, but rather standard battle line troops or possibly Triarii.
Caracalla's mania for Alexander went so far that Caracalla visited
Alexandria while preparing for his Persian invasion and persecuted
philosophers of the Aristotelian school based on a legend that Aristotle
had poisoned Alexander. This was a sign of Caracalla's increasingly
erratic behaviour. But this mania for Alexander, strange as it was, was
overshadowed by subsequent events in Alexandria.
When the
inhabitants of Alexandria heard of Caracalla's claims that he had killed
his brother Geta in self-defence, they produced a satire mocking this
as well as Caracalla's other pretensions. In 215 Caracalla travelled to
Alexandria and responded to this insult by slaughtering the deputation
of leading citizens who had unsuspectingly assembled before the city to
greet his arrival, before setting his troops against Alexandria for
several days of looting and plunder. Following the massacre at
Alexandria, Caracalla moved east onto Armenia. By 216 he had pushed
through Armenia and south into Parthia.
Julia Domna
During
the reign of Septimius Severus, Julia Domna had played a prominent
public role, receiving titles of honor such as "Mother of the camp", but
she also played a role behind the scenes helping Septimius administer
the empire. Described as ambitious, Julia Domna surrounded herself with
thinkers and writers from all over the empire. While Caracalla was
mustering and training troops for his planned Persian invasion, Julia
remained in Rome, administering the empire. Julia's growing influence in
state affairs was the beginning of a trend of emperors' mothers having
influence, which continued throughout the Severan dynasty.
When
Geta died in 211, her responsibilities increased because Caracalla found
administrative tasks to be mundane. She may have taken upon one of the
more important civil functions of the emperor; receiving petitions and
answering correspondence. The extent of her role in this position,
however, is probably overstated. She may have represented her son and
played a role in meetings and answering queries; however, the final
authority on legal matters was Caracalla. When Caracalla was murdered,
Julia was in Antioch sorting out correspondence, removing unimportant
messages from the bunch so that when Caracalla returned, he would not be
overburdened with duties. The emperor filled all of the roles in the
legal system as judge, legislator, and administrator.
Army policy
During his reign as emperor, Caracalla raised the annual pay of an average legionary from 2000 sesterces (500 denarii) to 2700-3000 sesterces (675-750 denarii).
He lavished many benefits on the army, which he both feared and
admired, in accordance with the advice given by his father on his
deathbed always to heed the welfare of the soldiers and ignore everyone
else. Caracalla needed to gain and keep the trust of the military, and
he did so with generous pay raises and popular gestures. He spent much
of his time with the soldiers, so much so that he began to imitate their
dress and adopt their manners.
Baths
The Baths of Caracalla
Construction
on the Baths of Caracalla began in 211 at the start of Caracalla's
rule. The baths are named for Caracalla, though it is most probable that
his father was responsible for their planning. In 216 a partial
inauguration of the baths took place, but the outer perimeter of the
baths was not completed until the reign of Severus Alexander. These
large baths were typical of the Roman practice of building complexes for
social and state activities in large densely populated cities. The
baths covered around 50 acres (or 202,000 square meters) of land and
could accommodate around 1,600 bathers at any one time. They were the
second largest public baths built in ancient Rome and were complete with
swimming pools, exercise yards, a stadium, steam rooms, libraries,
meeting rooms, fountains, and other amenities, all of which were
enclosed within formal gardens. The interior spaces were decorated with
colourful marble floors, columns, mosaics, and colossal statuary.
Caracalla and Serapis
At
the outset of his reign, Caracalla declared divine support for Egyptian
deity Serapis - a god of healing. The Iseum et Serapeum in Alexandria
was apparently renovated during Caracalla's co-rule with his father
Septimius Severus. The evidence for this exists in two inscriptions
found near the temple that appear to bear their names. Additional
archaeological evidence exists for this in the form of two papyrii that
have been dated to the Severan period and also two statues associated
with the temple that have been dated to around 200 AD. Upon Caracalla's
ascension to sole ruler in 212, the imperial mint began striking coins
bearing Serapis' image. This was a reflection of the god's central role
during Caracalla's reign. After Geta's death, the weapon that had killed
him was dedicated to Serapis by Caracalla. This was most likely done to
cast Serapis into the role of Caracalla's protector from treachery.
Caracalla
also erected a temple on the Quirinal Hill in 212, which he dedicated
to Serapis. A fragmented inscription found in the church of Sant' Agata
dei Goti in Rome records the construction, or possibly restoration, of a
temple dedicated to the god Serapis. The inscription bears the name
"Marcus Aurelius Antoninus", a reference to either Caracalla or
Elagabalus, but more likely to Caracalla due to his known strong
association with the god. Two other inscriptions dedicated to Serapis,
as well as a granite crocodile similar to one discovered at the Iseum et
Serapeum, were also found in the area around the Quirinal Hill.
Constitutio Antoniniana
The Constitutio Antoniniana
(lit. "Constitution of Antoninus", also called "Edict of Caracalla" or
"Antonine Constitution") was an edict issued in 212 by Caracalla
declaring that all free men in the Roman Empire were to be given full
Roman citizenship, with the exception of the dediticii, people who had become subject to Rome through surrender in war, and certain freed slaves. Whether the dediticii were excepted from the decree is a matter of debate.
Before
212 the majority of Roman citizens had been inhabitants of Roman
Italia, with about 4-7% of all peoples in the Roman empire being Roman
citizens at the time of the death of Augustus in 14 AD. Outside Rome,
citizenship was restricted to Roman coloniae - Romans, or
their descendants, living in the provinces, the inhabitants of various
cities throughout the Empire - and small numbers of local nobles such as
kings of client countries. Provincials, on the other hand, were usually
non-citizens, although some Magistrates and their families and
relatives held the Latin Right.
Dio maintains that one purpose for
Caracalla issuing the edict was the desire to increase state revenue;
at the time, Rome was in a difficult financial situation and needed to
pay for the new pay raises and benefits that were being conferred on the
military. The edict widened the obligation for public service and gave
increased revenue through the inheritance and emancipation taxes that
only had to be paid by Roman citizens. The provincials also benefited
from this edict because they were now able to think of themselves as
equal partners to the Romans in the empire. However, few of those that
gained citizenship were wealthy, and while it is true that Rome was in a
difficult financial situation, it is thought that this could not have
been the sole purpose of the edict.
Another purpose for issuing
the edict, as described within the papyrus upon which part of the edict
was inscribed, was to appease the gods who had delivered Caracalla from
conspiracy. The conspiracy in question was in response to Caracalla's
murder of Geta and the subsequent slaughter of his followers; fratricide
would only have been condoned if his brother had been a tyrant. The damnatio memoriae
against Geta and the large payments Caracalla had made to his own
supporters were designed to protect himself from possible repercussions.
After this had succeeded, Caracalla felt the need to repay the gods of
Rome by returning the favour to the people of Rome through a similarly
grand gesture. This was done through the granting of citizenship.
Another
purpose for issuing the edict might have been related to the fact that
the periphery of the empire was now becoming central to its existence,
and the granting of citizenship may have been simply a logical outcome
of Rome's continued expansion of citizenship rights.
Monetary policy
The
expenditures that Caracalla made with the large bonuses he gave to
soldiers prompted him to debase the coinage soon after his ascension. At
the end of Severus' reign, and early into Caracalla's, the Roman denarius had an approximate silver purity of around 55%, but by the end of his reign the purity had been reduced to about 51%.
In 215 Caracalla introduced the antoninianus, a coin intended to serve as a double denarius. This new currency, however, had a silver purity of about 52% for the period between 215 and 217 and an actual size ratio of 1 antoninianus to 1.5 denarii. This in effect made the antoninianus equal to about 1.5 denarii.
The reduced silver purity of the coins caused people to hoard the old
coins that had higher silver content, making the inflation problem
caused by the earlier devaluation of the denarii worse than it had been before.
Parthian war In
216 Caracalla pursued a series of aggressive campaigns in the east
against the Parthians, intended to bring more territory under direct
Roman control. He offered the king of Parthia, Artabanus V of Parthia, a
marriage proposal between himself and the king's daughter. Artabanus
refused the offer, realizing that the proposal was merely an attempt to
unite the kingdom of Parthia under the control of Rome. In response,
Caracalla used the opportunity to start a campaign against the
Parthians. That summer Caracalla began to attack the countryside east of
the Tigris in the Parthian war of Caracalla. In the following winter,
Caracalla retired to Edessa, modern Şanlıurfa in south-east Turkey, and
began making preparations to renew the campaign by spring.
Death
At
the beginning of 217, Caracalla was at Edessa with a large army
preparing to start a new invasion of Parthia. On 8 April 217 Caracalla
was travelling to visit a temple near Carrhae, now Harran in southern
Turkey, where in 53 BC the Romans had suffered a defeat at the hands of
the Parthians. After stopping briefly to urinate, Caracalla was
approached by a soldier, Justin Martialis, and stabbed to death.
Martialis had been incensed by Caracalla's refusal to grant him the
position of centurion, and the Praetorian Guard Prefect Macrinus,
Caracalla's successor, saw the opportunity to use Martialis to end
Caracalla's reign. In the immediate aftermath of Caracalla's death, his
murderer, Martialis, was killed as well. Three days later, Macrinus
declared himself emperor with the support of the Roman army.