Caracalla Antoninus
188 – 217 · Generation XII · Roman emperor (r. AD 198–217) · Severan
Caracalla (AD 188 – AD 217). Roman emperor (r. AD 198–217). Murdered his brother Geta in their mother’s arms; his edict of 212 made every free man in the empire a citizen. The elder son of Septimius Severus and Julia Domna, he had little patience for the routine of government and left much of it to his mother, who wielded a genuine share of power. His years in power brought instability at home and Germanic invasions from without. He gave Rome the enormous baths that bear his name — the city had only ever seen one bathing complex larger — and introduced the antoninianus, a coin meant to pass for two denarii; he also ordered massacres in the capital and in the provinces alike. In 216 he opened a campaign against Parthia he would never finish: a disaffected soldier killed him on the march, and Macrinus took the throne three days later. To contemporaries he seemed more soldier than emperor, and he is still ranked among the most tyrannical of Rome’s rulers.
One of 9 people of Severan (145–235) in this archive. Septimius Severus’s line, held together by the Syrian priestly family of his empress Julia Domna.
Parents
- Septimius Severus (145 – 211)
- Julia Domna (160 – 217)
Siblings
- Geta Antoninus (189 – 211)