'{{Short description|Roman emperor from 193 to 211}} {{Good article}} {{EngvarB|date=May 2018}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}} {{Infobox royalty | name = Septimius Severus | image = Septimius Severus busto-Musei Capitolini.jpg | image_size = | alt = White bust of bearded man | caption = [[Roman portraiture|Roman]] [[alabaster]] and marble bust of Septimius Severus, [[Musei Capitolini]], Rome | succession = [[Roman emperor]] | reign = 9 April 193 – {{awrap|4 February 211}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kienast|first=Dietmar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rYRorgEACAAJ|title=Römische Kaisertabelle Grundzüge einer römischen Kaiserchronologie|publisher=Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft|year=2017|isbn=978-3-534-07532-4|edition=6th|location=Darmstadt|pages=149–159|chapter=Septimius Severus (9 Apr. 193–4 Febr. 211)|oclc=75671165|orig-year=1990}}</ref> | predecessor = [[Didius Julianus]] | successor = [[Caracalla]] and [[Geta (emperor)|Geta]] | regent = {{ubl|Caracalla (198–211)|Geta (209–211)}} | reg-type = {{nowrap|Co-emperors}} |suc-type=Successors| birth_name = Lucius Septimius Severus<ref name="Cooley 2012 495">{{cite book |last=Cooley |year=2012 |first=Alison E. |title=The Cambridge Manual of Latin Epigraphy |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=495|isbn=978-0-521-84026-2 |url={{googlebooks|VlghAwAAQBAJ|plainurl=y}} |author-link=Alison E. Cooley }}</ref> | birth_date = 11 April 145<ref name="Birley 1999, p. 1">Birley (1999), p.&nbsp;1.</ref> | birth_place = [[Leptis Magna]], [[Africa (Roman province)|Africa]] | death_date = 4 February 211 (aged 65)<ref name="Birley 1999, p. 187">Birley (1999), p.&nbsp;187.</ref> | death_place = [[Eboracum]], [[Roman Britain|Britain]] | burial_place = | spouses = {{ubl|item_style={{longitem}}|[[Paccia Marciana]] {{awrap|({{abbr|m.|married}} {{circa|175}}; died {{circa|186}})}}|[[Julia Domna]] ({{abbr|m.|married}} 187)}} | issue = {{ubl|[[Caracalla]]|[[Geta (emperor)|Geta]]}} | regnal name = Imperator Caesar Lucius Septimius Severus Pertinax Augustus<ref name="Cooley 2012 495">{{cite book |last=Cooley |year=2012 |first=Alison E. |title=The Cambridge Manual of Latin Epigraphy |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=495|isbn=978-0-521-84026-2 |url={{googlebooks|VlghAwAAQBAJ|plainurl=y}} |author-link=Alison E. Cooley }}</ref> | dynasty = [[Severan dynasty|Severan]] | father = [[Publius Septimius Geta (father of Septimius Severus)|Publius Septimius Geta]] | mother = Fulvia Pia }} {{Severan dynasty|image=[[File:INC-1568-a Ауреус Септимий Север ок. 196-197 (аверс).png|150px]]|caption=Aureus of Septimius Severus}} '''Lucius Septimius Severus''' ({{IPA-la|ˈluːkiʊs ˈsɛptɪmʊs sɛˈweːrʊs}}; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was a [[Roman people|Roman]] politician who served as [[Roman emperor|emperor]] from 193 to 211. He was born in [[Leptis Magna]] (present-day [[Al-Khums]], Libya) in the [[Roman province of Africa]].<ref>Anthony Richard Birley, ''Septimius Severus: the African emperor'', Yale University Press, 1988, pp2,18-32</ref><ref>Craig Simpson, "Roman emperor hailed as 'black Briton' – even though he wasn't black", ''Daily Telegraph'', 30 October 2023</ref> As a young man he advanced through [[cursus honorum|the customary succession of offices]] under the reigns of [[Marcus Aurelius]] and [[Commodus]]. Severus was the final contender to seize power after the death of the emperor [[Pertinax]] in 193 during the [[Year of the Five Emperors]]. After deposing and killing the incumbent emperor [[Didius Julianus]], Severus fought his rival claimants, the Roman generals [[Pescennius Niger]] and [[Clodius Albinus]]. Nigger was defeated in 194 at the [[Battle of Issus (194)|Battle of Issus]] in [[Cilicia (Roman province)|Cilicia]]. Later that year Severus waged a short punitive campaign beyond the eastern frontier, annexing the [[Osroene|Kingdom of Osroene]] as a new province. Severus defeated Albinus three years later at the [[Battle of Lugdunum]] in [[Roman Gaul|Gaul]]. Following the consolidation of his rule over the western provinces, Severus waged another brief, more successful war in the east against the [[Parthian Empire]], sacking their capital [[Ctesiphon]] in 197 and expanding the eastern frontier to the [[Tigris]]. He then enlarged and fortified the ''[[Limes Arabicus]]'' in [[Arabia Petraea]]. In 202, he campaigned in [[Africa (Roman province)|Africa]] and [[Mauretania]] against the [[Garamantes]], capturing their capital [[Germa|Garama]] and expanding the ''[[Limes Tripolitanus]]'' along the southern desert frontier of the empire. He proclaimed as ''[[augusti]]'' (co-emperors) his elder son [[Caracalla]] in 198 and his younger son [[Geta (emperor)|Geta]] in 209, both born of his second wife [[Julia Domna]]. Severus travelled to [[Roman Britain|Britain]] in 208, strengthening [[Hadrian's Wall]] and reoccupying the [[Antonine Wall]]. In 209 he invaded [[Caledonia]] (modern [[Scotland during the Roman Empire|Scotland]]) with an army of 50,000 men<ref>{{Cite book|last=Elliott|first=Simon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=och2swEACAAJ|title=Septimius Severus in Scotland: The Northern Campaigns of the First Hammer of the Scots|date=2018|publisher=Greenhill Books|isbn=978-1-78438-204-9|pages=147|language=en}}</ref> but his ambitions were cut short when he fell fatally ill of an infectious disease in late 210. He died in early 211 at [[Eboracum]] (today [[York]], England), and was succeeded by his sons, who were advised by their mother and his powerful widow, Julia Domna, thus founding the [[Severan dynasty]]. It was the last dynasty of the Roman Empire before the [[Crisis of the Third Century]]. == Early life == === Family and education === Born on 11 April 145 at [[Leptis Magna]] (in present-day Libya) as the son of [[Publius Septimius Geta (father of Septimius Severus)|Publius Septimius Geta]] and [[Fulvia Pia]],<ref name="Birley 1999, p. 1"/> Septimius Severus came from a wealthy and distinguished family of [[Equites|equestrian]] rank. Severus had [[Italia (Roman Empire)|Italic]] and [[Punic]] ancestry; the Roman ancestry came from his mother's side, while his Punic ancestry came from his father's side.<ref name="Birley 1999, pp. 212–213">Birley (1999), pp.&nbsp;212–213.</ref> Severus was described as 'Libyan by race', by the historian [[Cassius Dio]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Birley |first=Anthony R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z8iEAgAAQBAJ&dq=Septimius+Severus+libyan+by+race&pg=PA50 |title=Septimius Severus: The African Emperor |date=1 June 2002 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-70745-4 |language=en}}</ref> Due to his family background on his father's side he is considered the first provincial emperor as he was the first emperor not only born in the provinces but also into a provincial family of non-Italian origin.<ref>{{cite web| title=Emperor Septimius Severus dies at York| url=https://www.historytoday.com/archive/emperor-septimius-severus-dies-york| work=History Today| access-date=1 December 2021}}</ref> Severus' father, an obscure provincial, held no major political status, but he had two cousins, Publius Septimius Aper and Gaius Septimius Severus, who served as consuls under the emperor [[Antoninus Pius]] {{reign|138|161}}. His mother's ancestors had moved from Italy to North Africa; they belonged to the [[Fulvia gens|''gens'' Fulvia]], an [[Italy (Roman Empire)|Italian]] [[Patrician (ancient Rome)|patrician family]] that originated in [[Tusculum]].<ref>Adam, Alexander, ''Classical biography'',[https://books.google.com/books?id=x2UBAAAAQAAJ&q=fulvius+gens&pg=PA182 Google eBook] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610001757/https://books.google.com/books?id=x2UBAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA182&dq=classical+biography+gens+fulvia+cicero+tusculum&hl=it&ei=U0ZYTseHGsmi-gbFrJSuDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=fulvius%20gens&f=false |date=10 June 2016}}, p.182: ''FULVIUS, the name of a "gens" which originally came from Tusculum (Cic. Planc. 8)''.</ref> Septimius Severus had two siblings: an elder brother, [[Publius Septimius Geta (brother of Septimius Severus)|Publius Septimius Geta]]; and a younger sister, Septimia Octavilla. Severus' maternal cousin was the [[praetorian prefect]] and consul [[Gaius Fulvius Plautianus]].<ref name="Birley 1999, pp. 216–217">Birley (1999), pp.&nbsp;216–217.</ref> Septimius Severus grew up in Leptis Magna. He spoke the local [[Punic language]] fluently, but he was also educated in [[Latin]] and Greek, which he spoke with a slight accent. Little else is known of the young Severus' education but, according to [[Cassius Dio]], the boy had been eager for more education than he actually received. Presumably, Severus received lessons in [[Rhetoric|oratory]]: at the age of 17, he gave his first public speech.<ref>Birley (1999), pp.&nbsp;34–35.</ref> === Public service === [[File:Septimius Severus - Münzkabinett, Berlin - 5479502.jpg|alt=|left|thumb|300x300px|Dynastic [[aureus]] of Septimius Severus, minted in 202. The reverse feature the portraits of Geta (right), [[Julia Domna]] (centre) and Caracalla (left).<ref>Mattingly & Sydenham, ''Roman Imperial Coinage, vol. IV, part I,'' p. 115.</ref> Inscription: SEVER[US] P[IUS] AVG[USTUS] P[ONTIFEX] M[AXIMUS], TR[IBUNUS] P[LEBIS] X, CO[N]S[UL] III / FELICITAS SAECVLI.]] Severus sought a public career in [[Rome]] in around 162. At the recommendation of his relative Gaius Septimius Severus, the emperor [[Marcus Aurelius]] ({{reign|161|180}}) granted him entry into the senatorial ranks.<ref>Birley (1999), p.&nbsp;39.</ref> Membership in the senatorial order was a prerequisite to attain positions within the ''[[cursus honorum]]'' and to gain entry into the Roman Senate. Nevertheless, it appears that Severus' career during the 160s met with some difficulties.<ref name="birley-40">Birley (1999), p.&nbsp;40.</ref> It is likely that he served as a ''[[vigintisexviri|vigintivir]]'' in Rome, overseeing road maintenance in or near the city, and he may have appeared in court as an advocate.<ref name=birley-40/> At the time of Marcus Aurelius, he was the State Attorney (''Advocatus fisci'').<ref>Smith, ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', London 1870, v. 3, p. 117.</ref> However, he omitted the [[Military tribune|military tribunate]] from the ''cursus honorum'' and had to delay his [[quaestor]]ship until he had reached the required minimum age of 25.<ref name=birley-40/> To make matters worse, the [[Antonine Plague]] swept through the capital in 166.<ref name="Birley 1999, p. 45">Birley (1999), p.&nbsp;45.</ref> With his career at a halt, Severus decided to temporarily return to Leptis, where the climate was healthier.<ref name="Birley 1999, p. 45"/> According to the ''[[Historia Augusta]]'', a usually unreliable source, he was prosecuted for [[adultery]] during this time but the case was ultimately dismissed. At the end of 169, Severus was of the required age to become a quaestor and journeyed back to Rome. On 5{{spaces}}December, he took office and was officially enrolled in the [[Roman Senate]].<ref>Birley (1999), p.&nbsp;46.</ref> Between 170 and 180 his activities went largely unrecorded, in spite of the fact that he occupied an impressive number of posts in quick succession. The [[Antonine Plague]] had thinned the senatorial ranks and, with capable men now in short supply, Severus' career advanced more steadily than it otherwise might have.<ref>Birley (1999), p.&nbsp;49.</ref> The sudden death of his father necessitated another return to Leptis Magna to settle family affairs. Before he was able to leave Africa, [[Mauri]] tribesmen invaded southern Spain. Control of the province was handed over to the emperor, while the Senate gained temporary control of [[Sardinia]] [[Senatorial province|as compensation]]. Thus, Septimius Severus spent the remainder of his second term as quaestor on the island of [[Sardinia]].<ref>Birley (1999), p.&nbsp;50.</ref> In 173, Severus' cousin Gaius Septimius Severus was appointed [[proconsul]] of the province of [[Africa Proconsularis]] and chose Severus as one of his two ''[[legatus|legati pro praetore]]'', a senior military appointment.<ref>Birley (1999), p.&nbsp;51.</ref> Following the end of this term, Septimius Severus returned to Rome, taking up office as [[tribune of the plebs]], a senior legislative position, with the distinction of being the ''candidatus'' of the emperor.<ref name=birley-52>Birley (1999), p.&nbsp;52.</ref> === Marriages === [[File:Carole Raddato (13543792233).jpg|thumb| The [[Severan Tondo]], {{Circa|199}}, Severus, Julia Domna, Caracalla and Geta, whose face is erased ([[Antikensammlung Berlin]])]] About 175, Septimius Severus, in his early thirties at the time, contracted his first marriage, to [[Paccia Marciana]], a woman from Leptis Magna.<ref name="birley"/> He probably met her during his tenure as [[Legatus|legate]] under his uncle. Marciana's name suggests Punic or Libyan origin, but nothing else is known of her. Septimius Severus does not mention her in his autobiography, though he commemorated her with statues when he became emperor. The unreliable ''Historia Augusta'' claims that Marciana and Severus had two daughters, but no other attestation of them has survived. It appears that the marriage produced no surviving children, despite lasting for more than ten years.<ref name=birley-52/> Marciana died of natural causes around 186.<ref name=birley-75>Birley (1999), p.&nbsp;75.</ref> Septimius Severus, now in his forties, childless and eager to remarry, began enquiring into the horoscopes of prospective brides. The ''Historia Augusta'' relates that he heard of a woman in Syria of whom it had been foretold that she would marry a king, and so Severus sought her as his wife.<ref name="birley">Birley (1999), p.&nbsp;71.</ref> This woman was an Emesene [[Roman Syria|Syrian]] named [[Julia Domna]]. Her father, [[Julius Bassianus]], descended from the Arab [[Emesene dynasty]] and served as a [[high priest]] to the local cult of the sun god [[Elagabalus (deity)|Elagabal]].<ref name=birley-72>Birley (1999), p.&nbsp;72.</ref> Domna's older sister, [[Julia Maesa]], would become the grandmother of the future emperors [[Elagabalus]] and [[Alexander Severus]].<ref name="dio-history-lxxix-30">Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/79*.html#78-30 LXXIX.30] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120526042142/http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/79*.html#78-30 |date=26 May 2012 }}</ref> Bassianus accepted Severus' marriage proposal in early 187, and in the summer the couple married in [[Lugdunum]] (modern-day [[Lyon]], France), of which Severus was the governor.<ref>Birley (1999), pp.&nbsp;76–77; Fishwick (2005), p.&nbsp;347.</ref> The marriage proved happy, and Severus cherished Julia and her political opinions. Julia built "the most splendid reputation" by applying herself to letters and philosophy.<ref>Gibbon (1831), p.&nbsp;74.</ref> They had two sons, [[Lucius Septimius Bassianus]] (later nicknamed Caracalla, born 4{{spaces}}April 188 in Lugdunum) and [[Publius Septimius Geta]] (born 7{{spaces}}March 189 in Rome).<ref name=birley-76-77>Birley (1999), pp.&nbsp;76–77.</ref> {{Gallery | align = center | width = 160 | height = 200 | File:Septimius Severus Glyptothek Munich 357.jpg| | File:Julia Domna Glyptothek Munich 354.jpg| | footer=Busts of Septimius Severus (left) and Julia Domna (right), [[Munich Glyptotek]] }} == Rise to power == [[File:0205 Altes Museum Septimius Severus anagoria.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Roman sculpture|Roman marble bust]] of Septimius Severus, early 3rd century AD, [[Altes Museum]]]] In 191, on the advice of [[Quintus Aemilius Laetus]], [[Praetorian prefect|prefect]] of the [[Praetorian Guard]], [[Commodus|emperor Commodus]] appointed Severus as governor of [[Pannonia Superior]].<ref>{{cite book|first= Matthew|last= Bunson|location= Roma|isbn= 978-88-8289-627-0 |publisher= Newton & Compton|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=T5tic2VunRoC&q=commodus%20septimius%20severus%20191&pg=PA300|title= Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire|year= 2002|page= 300}}</ref> At around this time he is described by the classicist Kyle Harper as being "a middling senator of modest physical stature and unexceptional accomplishment".{{sfn|Harper|2017|p=123}} Commodus was assassinated the following year. [[Pertinax]] was acclaimed emperor, but he was then killed by the Praetorian Guard in early 193.{{sfn|Campbell|1994|pp= 40–41}} In response to the murder of Pertinax, Severus' legion [[Legio XIV Gemina|''XIV Gemina'']] acclaimed him emperor at [[Carnuntum]] on 9 April.{{sfn|Birley|1999|p=97}}{{sfn|Campbell|1994|pp= 40–41}} Nearby legions, such as [[Legio X Gemina|''X Gemina'']] at [[Vindobona]], soon followed suit. Having assembled an army, Severus hurried to Italy.{{sfn|Campbell|1994|pp= 40–41}} Pertinax's successor in Rome, [[Didius Julianus]], had bought the emperorship in an auction. Julianus was condemned to death by the Senate and killed.<ref>[[Cassius Dio]], ''[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/74*.html Roman History]'', LXXIV.17.4</ref> Severus took possession of Rome without opposition. He executed Pertinax's murderers and dismissed the rest of the [[Praetorian Guard]], filling its ranks with loyal troops from his own legions.<ref name=Dio75>[[Cassius Dio]], ''[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/75*.html Roman History]'', LXXV.1.1–2</ref><ref name="Birley 1999, p. 113">Birley (1999), p.&nbsp;113.</ref> The legions of [[Syria (Roman province)|Syria]] had proclaimed [[Pescennius Niger]] emperor. At the same time Severus felt it reasonable to offer [[Clodius Albinus]], the powerful governor of [[Britannia]], who had probably supported Didius against him, the rank of [[Caesar (title)|Caesar]], which implied some claim to the succession. With his rear safe, he moved to the East and crushed Niger's forces at the [[Battle of Issus (194)|Battle of Issus]] (194). <ref name="Birley 1999, p. 113"/> While campaigning against [[Byzantium]], he ordered that the tomb of his [[Ancient Carthage|fellow-Carthaginian]] [[Hannibal]] be covered with fine marble.<ref> Gabriel, Richard A. ''Hannibal: The Military Biography of Rome's Greatest Enemy'', Potomac Books, Inc., 2011 {{ISBN|978-1-59797-766-1}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=h-VlDC4Jt6gC&dq=severus+byzantium+hannibal&pg=PT265 Google books] </ref> He devoted the following year to suppressing [[Mesopotamia]] and other [[Parthian Empire|Parthian]] vassals who had backed Niger. Afterwards, Severus declared his son [[Caracalla]] as his successor, which caused Albinus to be hailed emperor by his troops and to invade Gaul. After a short stay in Rome, Severus moved north to meet him. On 19{{spaces}}February 197 at the [[Battle of Lugdunum]], with an army of about 75,000 men, mostly composed of [[Pannonia]]n, [[Moesia]]n and [[Dacia]]n legions and a large number of auxiliaries, Severus defeated and killed Clodius Albinus, securing his full control over the empire.<ref> [[Spartianus]], ''Severus'' 11 </ref><ref> {{Cite book|title= Roman Britain and the English settlements |last= Collingwood|first=R. G. |date= 1998|orig-year= 1936|publisher= Biblo and Tannen |others= Myres, J. N. L. (John Nowell Linton) |isbn= 978-0-8196-1160-4|location= New York, N.Y. |oclc= 36750306}}</ref><ref>Birley (1999), p.&nbsp;125. </ref> Upon returning to Rome, Septimus had 29 senators executed for treason over their support of Albinus, despite having previously taken an oath promising not to put any senators to death (a customary oath for emperors).<ref> {{cite book |last1=Tenney |first1=Frank |title=A History of Rome |date=1923 |publisher=Henry Holt and Company |pages=531–532 |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/FRAAHR/home.html}} </ref> == Emperor == [[File: 20130518 Septimius Severus Archeological Museum Komotini Thrace Greece.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Golden Bust of Septimius Severus]] found in 1965 at [[Didymoteicho]] in Northern [[Greece]], now at the [[Archaeological Museum of Komotini]].]] === War against Parthia === {{further|Roman–Parthian Wars}} [[File:Severus210AD.png|thumb|right|upright=1.2|The Roman Empire in 210 after the conquests of Severus, showing Roman territory (purple) and Roman dependencies (light purple)]] [[File:Aureus Septimius Severus-193-leg XIIII GMV.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Aureus]] minted in 193 by Septimius Severus to celebrate [[Legio XIV Gemina|XIIII ''Gemina Martia Victrix'']], the legion that proclaimed him emperor. Inscription: IMP. CAE. L. SEP. SEV. PERT[INAX] AVG. / LEG. XIIII CEM. M. V. – TR. P., CO[N]S.]] In early 197 Severus left Rome and sailed to the east. He embarked at [[Brundisium]] and probably landed at the port of [[History of Yumurtalık|Aegeae]] in [[Cilicia]],<ref>Hasebroek (1921), p.&nbsp;111.</ref> travelling on to [[Syria (Roman province)|Syria]] by land. He immediately gathered his army and crossed the [[Euphrates]].<ref>"Life of Septimius Severus" in ''Historia Augusta'', 16.1.</ref> [[Abgar IX]], titular King of [[Osroene]] but essentially only the ruler of [[Edessa, Mesopotamia|Edessa]] since the annexation of his kingdom as a Roman province,<ref>Birley (1999), p.&nbsp;115.</ref> handed over his children as hostages and assisted Severus' expedition by providing archers.<ref>Birley (1999), p.&nbsp;129.</ref> King [[Khosrov I of Armenia]] also sent hostages, money and gifts.<ref>Hovannisian, ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times, Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiquity to the Fourteenth Century'', p. 71</ref> Severus travelled on to [[Nisibis]], which his general [[Julius Laetus]] had prevented from falling into [[Parthian Empire|Parthian]] hands. Afterwards Severus returned to Syria to plan a more ambitious campaign.<ref>''Prosopographia Imperii Romani'' L 69.</ref> The following year he led another, more successful campaign against the [[Parthian Empire]], reportedly in retaliation for the support it had given to [[Pescennius Niger]]. His legions sacked the Parthian royal city of [[Battle of Ctesiphon (198)|Ctesiphon]] and he annexed the northern half of [[Mesopotamia]] to the empire;<ref name="Birley 1999, p. 153">Birley (1999), p.&nbsp;153.</ref><ref>Birley (1999), p.&nbsp;130.</ref> Severus took the title ''{{lang|la| Parthicus Maximus}}'', following the example of [[Trajan]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | article = Ctesiphon | last = Kröger | first = Jens | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ctesiphon | encyclopedia = Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. IV, Fasc. 4 | pages = 446–448 | year = 1993 }} </ref> However, he was unable to capture the fortress of [[Hatra]], even after two lengthy sieges—just like Trajan, who had tried nearly a century before. During his time in the east, though, Severus also expanded the ''[[Limes Arabicus]]'', building new fortifications in the [[Arabian Desert]] from [[Qasr Azraq|Basie]] to [[Dumat Al-Jandal|Dumatha]].<ref name="Birley 1999, p. 134"> Birley (1999), p.&nbsp;134. </ref> ===Relations with the Senate and People=== Severus' relations with the [[Roman Senate|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 a large number of Senators on charges of corruption or [[Conspiracy (political)|conspiracy]] against him and replaced them with his favourites. Although his actions turned Rome more into a military dictatorship, he was popular with the citizens of Rome, having stamped out the rampant corruption of Commodus' reign. When he returned from his victory over the Parthians, he erected the [[Arch of Septimius Severus]] in Rome.<ref>Asante, Molefi Kete and Shanza Ismail, "Rediscovering the 'Lost' Roman Caesar: Septimius Severus the African and Eurocentric Historiography." ''[[Journal of Black Studies]]'' 40, no. 4 (March 2010): 606–618</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite journal|last1=Perkins|first1=J. B. Ward|title=The Arch of Septimius Severus at Lepcis Magna|journal=Archaeology|date=December 1951|volume= 4|issue= 4|pages=226–231}}</ref> According to Cassius Dio,<ref>Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'', Book 76, Sections 14 and 15.</ref> however, after 197 Severus fell heavily under the influence of his Praetorian prefect, [[Gaius Fulvius Plautianus]], who came to have almost total control of the imperial administration. At the same time, a bloody power crisis erupted between Plautianus and [[Julia Domna]], Severus' influential and powerful wife, which had a relatively destructive effect on the centre of power. Plautianus' daughter [[Fulvia Plautilla]] was married to Severus' son Caracalla. Plautianus' excessive power came to an end in 204, when he was denounced by the emperor's dying brother. In January 205 Julia Domna and [[Caracalla]] accused Plautianus of plotting to kill him and Severus. The powerful prefect was executed while he was trying to defend his case in front of the two emperors.<ref>Birley (1999), pp. 161–162.</ref> One of the two following ''praefecti'' was the famous jurist [[Papinian]]. Executions of senators did not stop: Cassius Dio records that many of them were put to death, some after being formally tried. After the assassination of Gaius Fulvius Plautianus in the rest of his reign, he relied more on the advice of his clever and educated wife, [[Julia Domna]], in the administration of the empire.<ref>Birley (1999), p. 165.</ref> ===Military reforms=== [[File:Bronze head of Septimius Severus, from Asia Minor, c. 195-211 AD, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen (13648215765).jpg|thumb|Bronze head of Septimius Severus, from Asia Minor, c. 195–211 AD, [[Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek]], Copenhagen. Inscription: IMP. CAE. L. SEP. SEV. PERT. AVG. / LEG. XIIII, CEM M V – TRP COS.]] Upon his arrival at Rome in 193, Severus discharged the [[Praetorian Guard]],<ref name=Dio75/> which had murdered Pertinax and had then auctioned the Roman Empire to Didius Julianus. Its members were stripped of their ceremonial armour and forbidden to come within {{convert|160|km|0}} miles of the city on pain of death.<ref>Birley (1999), p.&nbsp;103.</ref> Severus replaced the old guard with 10 new cohorts recruited from veterans of his Danubian legions.<ref name=Adkins>Lesley Adkins and Roy A. Adkins, Both Professional ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=zGY1Sqjwf8kC&dq=septimius%20severus%20praetorian%20guard&pg=PA68 Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome]'', p. 68</ref> Around 197 he increased the number of legions from 30 to 33, with the introduction of the three new legions: I, II and III ''Parthica''.<ref>George Ronald Watson, [https://books.google.com/books?id=PSEnmtuOh6K0C&dq=septimius%20severus%20number%20of%20legions&pg=PA23 The Roman Soldier]{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, p. 23</ref> He garrisoned [[Legio II Parthica]] at [[Albano Laziale|Albanum]], only {{convert|20|km}} from Rome.<ref name=Adkins/> He gave his soldiers a [[donativum|donative]] of a thousand ''[[sestertius|sesterces]]'' (250 ''[[denarii]]'') each,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/miscellanea/numismatics/severus.html|title=Septimius Severus: Legionary Denarius|website=penelope.uchicago.edu}}</ref> and raised the annual wage for a soldier in the legions from 300 to 400 ''denarii''.<ref>Kenneth W. Harl, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=5yPDL0EykeAC&dq=septimius%20severus%20legion%20pay&pg=PA216 Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 B.C. to A.D. 700, Part 700]'', p. 216</ref> Severus was the first Roman emperor to station some of the imperial army in Italy. He realized that Rome needed a military central reserve with the capability to be sent anywhere.<ref>Michael Grant (1978); ''History of Rome''; p. 358; Charles Scribner's Sons; NY {{ISBN?}}</ref> === Reputed persecution of Christians === At the beginning of Severus' reign, [[Trajan]]'s policy toward the Christians was still in force. That is, Christians were only to be punished if they refused to worship the emperor and the gods, but they were not to be sought out.{{sfn|González|2010|p=97}} Therefore, persecution was inconsistent, local and sporadic. Faced with internal dissidence and external threats, Severus felt the need to promote religious harmony by promoting [[syncretism]].{{sfn|González|2010|pp=97–98}} He possibly issued an edict<ref name=HA>''[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Historia_Augusta/Septimius_Severus*.html Historia Augusta]'', Septimius Severus, 17.1</ref> that punished conversion to Judaism and Christianity.{{sfn|Tabbernee|2007|pp=182–183}} A number of persecutions of Christians occurred in the Roman Empire during his reign and are traditionally attributed to Severus by the early Christian community.{{sfn|Tabbernee|2007|p=182}} This is based on the decree mentioned in the ''[[Historia Augusta]]'',<ref name=HA/> an unreliable mix of fact and fiction.{{sfn|Tabbernee|2007|p=184}} Early church historian [[Eusebius]] described Severus as a persecutor.<ref>[[Eusebius]], ''Historia Ecclesiastica'', VI.1.1</ref> The [[Christian apologist]] [[Tertullian]] stated that Severus was well disposed towards Christians,<ref>{{in lang|la}} [[Tertullian]], ''[http://www.tertullian.org/latin/ad_scapulam.htm Ad Scapulam] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151025174903/http://www.tertullian.org/latin/ad_scapulam.htm |date=25 October 2015 }}'', IV.5–6</ref> employed a Christian as his personal physician and had personally intervened to save several high-born Christians known to him from the mob.{{sfn|Tabbernee|2007|p=184}} Eusebius' description of Severus as a persecutor likely derives merely from the fact that numerous persecutions occurred during his reign, including those known in the ''[[Roman Martyrology]]'' as the martyrs of [[Madauros]], [[Charalambos]] and [[Perpetua and Felicity]] in [[Africa (Roman province)|Roman-ruled Africa]]. These were probably the result of local persecutions rather than empire-wide actions or decrees by Severus.{{sfn|Tabbernee|2007|p=185}} == Military activity == === Africa === In late 202 Severus launched a campaign in the province of Africa. The ''[[legatus legionis]]'' or commander of [[Legio III Augusta]], [[Quintus Anicius Faustus]], had been fighting against the [[Garamantes]] along the ''[[Limes Tripolitanus]]'' for five years. He captured several settlements such as [[Ghadames|Cydamus]], Gholaia, Garbia and their capital [[Germa|Garama]]—over {{convert|600|km}} south of [[Leptis Magna]].<ref>Birley (1999), p. 153.</ref> The province of [[Numidia]] was also enlarged: the empire annexed the settlements of [[Biskra|Vescera]], [[Messaad|Castellum Dimmidi]], [[M'Lili|Gemellae]], [[Thabudeos]] and [[Tubunae|Thubunae]]<!-- Zabi probably simply means "village" in local dialect -->.<ref>Birley (1999), p. 147.</ref> By 203 the entire southern frontier of Roman Africa had been dramatically expanded and re-fortified. Desert nomads could no longer safely raid the region's interior and escape back into the [[Sahara]].<ref name="Birley 1999, p. 153"/> [[File:Septimius Severus' African conquests1.jpg|thumb|center|450px|The expansion of the African frontier during the reign of Severus (medium tan). Severus even briefly held a military presence in Garama in 203 (light tan).]] === Britain === {{further|Roman invasion of Caledonia (208–210)}} [[File:Kushan ring with Septimus Severus and Julia Domna.jpg|thumb|[[Kushan Empire|Kushan]] ring with portraits of Septimius Severus and [[Julia Domna]], a testimony to [[Indo-Roman relations]] of the period]] In 208 Severus travelled to Britain with the intention of conquering [[Caledonia]]. Modern archaeological discoveries illuminate the scope and direction of his northern campaign.<ref name="Birley 1999 180">Birley, (1999) p. 180.</ref> Severus probably arrived in Britain with an army of over 40,000, considering some of the camps constructed during his campaign could house this number.<ref>W.S. Hanson [http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-352-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_109/109_140_150.pdf "Roman campaigns north of the Forth-Clyde isthmus: the evidence of the temporary camps"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107022132/http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-352-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_109/109_140_150.pdf |date=7 November 2012 }}</ref> He strengthened [[Hadrian's Wall]] and reconquered the [[Southern Uplands]] up to the [[Antonine Wall]], which was also enhanced. Supported and supplied by a strong naval force,<ref name="Scotland"/> Severus then thrust north with his army across the wall into Caledonian territory. Retracing the steps of [[Gnaeus Julius Agricola|Agricola]] of over a century before, Severus rebuilt and garrisoned many abandoned Roman forts along the east coast, such as [[Carpow Roman Fort|Carpow]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/30081/carpow|title=Carpow {{!}} Canmore|website=canmore.org.uk|language=en|access-date=15 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180516015140/https://canmore.org.uk/site/30081/carpow|archive-date=16 May 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Cassius Dio]]'s account of the invasion reads: {{blockquote|Severus, accordingly, desiring to subjugate the whole of it, invaded Caledonia. But as he advanced through the country he experienced countless hardships in cutting down the forests, levelling the heights, filling up the swamps, and bridging the rivers; but he fought no battle and beheld no enemy in battle array. The enemy purposely put sheep and cattle in front of the soldiers for them to seize, in order that they might be lured on still further until they were worn out; for in fact, the water caused great suffering to the Romans, and when they became scattered, they would be attacked. Then, unable to walk, they would be slain by their own men, in order to avoid capture, so that a full fifty thousand died. But Severus did not desist until he approached the extremity of the island. Here he observed most accurately the variation of the sun's motion and the length of the days and the nights in summer and winter, respectively. Having thus been conveyed through practically the whole of the hostile country (for he actually was conveyed in a covered litter most of the way, on account of his infirmity), he returned to the friendly portion, after he had forced the Britons to come to terms, on the condition that they should abandon a large part of their territory.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/77*.html |title=Cassius Dio – Epitome of Book 77 |publisher=Penelope.uchicago.edu |access-date=2012-11-07}}</ref>}} By 210 Severus' campaigning had made significant gains, despite Caledonian guerrilla tactics and purportedly heavy Roman casualties.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Keys |first1=David |title=Ancient Roman 'hand of god' discovered near Hadrian's Wall sheds light on biggest combat operation ever in UK |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/hand-of-god-ancient-roman-hadrians-wall-sculpture-bronze-found-latest-a8419131.html |access-date=6 July 2018 |agency=Independent |date=27 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180707015802/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/hand-of-god-ancient-roman-hadrians-wall-sculpture-bronze-found-latest-a8419131.html |archive-date=7 July 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Caledonians sued for peace, which Severus granted on condition they relinquish control of the Central Lowlands.<ref name="Birley 1999 180"/><ref>Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'', Epitome of Book LXXVII.13.</ref> This is evidenced by extensive Severan-era fortifications in the Central Lowlands.<ref>Birley (1999), pp. 180–82.</ref> The Caledonians, short on supplies and feeling that their position was desperate, revolted later that year with the [[Maeatae]].<ref>Birley (1999), p. 186.</ref> Severus prepared for another protracted campaign within Caledonia. He was now intent on exterminating the Caledonians, telling his soldiers: "Let no-one escape sheer destruction, no-one our hands, not even the babe in the womb of the mother, if it be male; let it nevertheless not escape sheer destruction."<ref name="Scotland">{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Laura|title=The Honest Truth: How the Romans came close but ultimately failed to conquer Scotland under Septimius Severus|url=https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/the-honest-truth-how-the-romans-came-close-but-ultimately-failed-to-conquer-scotland-under-septimius-severus/|access-date=21 May 2018|publisher=The Sunday Post|date=16 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180521164647/https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/the-honest-truth-how-the-romans-came-close-but-ultimately-failed-to-conquer-scotland-under-septimius-severus/|archive-date=21 May 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Dio Cassius (Xiphilinus) 'Romaika' Epitome of Book LXXVI Chapter 15.</ref> == Death == Severus' campaign was cut short when he fell ill.<ref>Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'', Book 77, Sections 11–15.</ref><ref name=":0">Birley (1999), pp. 170–187.</ref> He withdrew to [[Eboracum]] (York) and died there in 211.<ref name="Birley 1999, p. 187"/> Although his son Caracalla continued campaigning the following year, he soon settled for peace. The Romans never campaigned deep into Caledonia again. Shortly after this, the frontier was permanently withdrawn south to Hadrian's Wall.<ref name=":0"/> Severus is famously said to have given the advice to his sons: "Be harmonious, enrich the soldiers, scorn all others" before he died on 4 February 211.<ref>Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'', Book 77, Section 15.</ref> On his death, Severus was [[Imperial cult (ancient Rome)|deified]] by the Senate and succeeded by his sons, [[Caracalla]] and [[Publius Septimius Geta|Geta]], who were advised by his wife [[Julia Domna]].<ref>"Life of Septimius Severus" in ''Historia Augusta'', Section 19.</ref> Severus was buried in the [[Castel Sant'Angelo|Mausoleum of Hadrian]] in Rome. <gallery widths="200px" heights="170px"> File:Larger than life-size bronze statue of Septimius Severus depicted in heroic nudity, discovered by chance in 1928 near the village of Kythrea in Cyprus, Cyprus Museum, Nicosia (22275287879).jpg|Large bronze statue of Septimius Severus depicted in heroic nudity, [[Cyprus Museum]]. File:Jean-Baptiste Greuze - Septimius Severus and Caracalla - WGA10673.jpg|Septimius Severus on his deathbed next to his son Caracalla by [[Jean-Baptiste Greuze]] (c. 1769). </gallery> == Assessment and legacy == [[File:Leptis Magna Arch of Septimius Severus.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Arch of Septimius Severus (Leptis Magna)|Arch of Septimius Severus at Leptis Magna]]]] By the close of his reign the Roman Empire reached an extent of over {{convert|2.0|mi2|0|disp=number}} million square kilometres, which scholars like [[David L. Kennedy]], Lukas De Blois, and Derrick Riley state expanded the empire to its greatest physical extent.<ref name="kennedy">[[David L. Kennedy]], Derrick Riley (2012), [https://books.google.com/books?id=g1eQAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA13 ''Rome's Desert Frontiers'', page 13] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730070357/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=g1eQAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA13 |date=30 July 2017 }}, [[Routledge]]</ref><ref name="spek">[[R.J. van der Spek]], Lukas De Blois (2008), [https://books.google.com/books?id=PDV8AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA272 ''An Introduction to the Ancient World'', page 272] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730064823/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=PDV8AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA272 |date=30 July 2017 }}, [[Routledge]]</ref><ref name="JBCampbell">J. B. Campbell (2012), [https://books.google.com/books?id=iznJ_d6mQagC&dq=roman+empire+%22greatest+extent%22+severus&pg=PA13 ''Rivers and the Power of Ancient Rome'', page 13], University of North Carolina Press</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Möller |first=Lenelotte |title=Cassius Dio: Römische Geschichte |publisher=marixverlag |year=2012 |language=de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ferrary |first=Jean-Louis |title=Eutrope: Abrégé d'histoire romaine |publisher=Les belles lettres |year=2003 |isbn=978-2251014142 |language=Fr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Dufraigne |first=Pierre |title=Aurélius Victor: Livre des Césars |publisher=Les belles lettres |year=2003 |isbn=978-2251010182 |language=Fr}}</ref> [[Edward Gibbon]] famously levelled a harsh indictment of Septimius Severus as a principal agent in the empire's decline. "The contemporaries of Severus, in the enjoyment of the peace and glory of his reign, forgave the cruelties by which it had been introduced. Posterity, who experienced the fatal effects of his maxims and example, justly considered him as the principal author of the decline of the Roman empire." According to Gibbon, "his daring ambition [...] was never diverted from its steady course by the allurements of pleasure, the apprehension of danger, or the feelings of humanity."<ref>{{cite book|first=Edward|last=Gibbon|author-link=Edward Gibbon|location=London|publisher=Cadell|oclc=840075577|url=http://www.ccel.org/g/gibbon/decline/volume1/chap5.htm|title=The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire|year=1776|page=96|access-date=25 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160219010818/http://www.ccel.org/g/gibbon/decline/volume1/chap5.htm|archive-date=19 February 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> His enlargement of the [[Limes Tripolitanus]] secured [[Africa (Roman province)|Africa]], the agricultural base of the empire where he was born.<ref>Kenneth D. Matthews, Jr., ''Cities in the Sand''. [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Africa/Libya/_Texts/MATCIS/Background*.html The Roman Background of Tripolitania], 1957</ref> His victory over the [[Parthian Empire]] was for a time decisive, securing [[Nisibis]] and [[Singara]] for the empire and establishing a ''status quo'' of Roman dominance in the region until 251.<ref>{{cite book|first=Paul|last=Erdkamp|isbn=978-1-4443-3921-5|publisher=Blackwell |location= Malden (Massachusetts)|title=A Companion to the Roman Army|year=2011|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1D612o_X2VYC&q=septimius%20severus%20nisibis&pg=PA251|page=251}}</ref> His policy of an expanded and better-rewarded army was criticised by his contemporaries [[Cassius Dio]] 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 and better-paid army.<ref>[[Cassius Dio]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/75*.html ''Roman History''] LXXV.2.3</ref><ref>[[Herodianus]], ''[http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/herodian_03_book3.htm History of the Roman Empire]'' {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091124024755/http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/herodian_03_book3.htm |date=24 November 2009 }} III.9.2–3</ref> The large and ongoing increase in military expenditure caused problems for all of his successors.<ref name="spek"/> To maintain his enlarged military, he debased the [[Roman currency]]. Upon his accession he decreased the silver purity of the [[denarius]] from 81.5% to 78.5%, although the silver weight actually increased, rising from 2.40&nbsp;grams to 2.46&nbsp;grams. Nevertheless, the following year he debased the denarius again because of rising military expenditures. The silver purity decreased from 78.5% to 64.5%—the silver weight dropping from 2.46&nbsp;grams to 1.98&nbsp;grams. In 196 he reduced the purity and silver weight of the denarius again, to 54% and 1.82&nbsp;grams, respectively.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tulane.edu/~august/handouts/601cprin.htm |title=Tulane University "Roman Currency of the Principate" |access-date=3 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010210220413/http://www.tulane.edu/~august/handouts/601cprin.htm |archive-date=10 February 2001 |url-status=live }}</ref> Severus' currency [[debasement]] was the largest since the reign of [[Nero]], compromising the long-term strength of the economy.<ref>Kenneth W. Harl, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=5yPDL0EykeAC&pg=PA126 Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 B.C. to A.D. 700, Part 700]'', p. 126</ref> Severus was also distinguished for his buildings. Apart from the [[Arch of Septimius Severus|triumphal arch]] in the Roman Forum carrying his full name, he also built the [[Septizodium]] in Rome. He enriched his native city of [[Leptis Magna]], including commissioning [[Arch of Septimius Severus (Leptis Magna)|a triumphal arch]] on the occasion of his visit of 203.<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref>{{cite book|last=Gregorovius|first=Ferdinand|title=History of the city of Rome in the Middle Ages|volume=3|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year= 1895|oclc=57224029|page=541}}</ref> Due to Severus being born in North Africa, recent years have occasionally seen him mischaracterised as racially African, despite the Carthaginian and Italian antecedents of his parents. The [[Historia Augustus]] actually records him when on campaign ordering an Ethiopian soldier who attempted to bestow him a garland removed from his presence, believing the man's dark skin a bad omen.<ref>Anthony Richard Birley, ''Septimius Severus: The African emperor'', Yale University Press, 1988, p. 184</ref> [[File:Roman Empire with provinces in 210 AD.png|thumb|center|300px|The Provinces of the Roman Empire in 210 AD]] ==Severan dynasty family tree== {{Severan dynasty family tree}} == See also == * [[Arcus Argentariorum]]—dedicated by the money changers of Rome to the Severan family * [[Bulla Felix]] * [[Septimia gens]] == References == === Citations === {{Reflist}} ===Bibliography=== {{Refbegin}} * {{cite book |last= Birley |first= Anthony R. |author-link= Anthony Birley |title= Septimius Severus: The African Emperor |orig-year= 1971 |year= 1999| publisher= [[Routledge]] |location= London |isbn= 978-0-415-16591-4 }} * {{cite book |last=Campbell |first=Brian |title=The Roman Army, 31 BC - AD 337: A Sourcebook|year=1994| publisher= [[Routledge]] |location= London|isbn=978-0-415-07172-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RUN-TGktYLYC&q=carnuntum+septimius+severus&pg=PA142}} * {{cite book |last= Cooley |first= Alison |author-link= Alison E. Cooley |chapter= Septimius Severus: The Augustan Emperor |editor1-first= Simon |editor1-last= Swain |editor2-first= Stephen |editor2-last= Harrison |editor3-first= Jas |editor3-last= Elsner |editor3-link= Jas Elsner |title= Severan Culture |location= Cambridge |publisher= [[Cambridge University Press]] |year= 2007 |isbn= 978-0-521-85982-0 }} * {{cite book |last= Daguet-Gagey |first= Anne |title= Septime Sévère: Rome, l'Afrique et l'Orient |location= Paris |publisher= Payot |year= 2000 |series= Biographie Payot |isbn= 978-2-228-89336-7 |language= FR }} * {{cite book |last= Elliott |first= Simon |title= Septimius Severus in Scotland: The Northern Campaigns of the First Hammer of the Scots |year= 2018 |location= London |publisher= Greenhill Books |isbn= 978-1-78438-204-9 }} * {{cite book |last=Fishwick |first=Duncan|title=The Imperial Cult in the Latin West: Studies in the Ruler Cult of the Western Provinces of the Roman Empire|publisher=E.J. Brill|year=2005|isbn=978-90-04-07179-7|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=lGRRAAAAYAAJ}} * {{cite book |last=Gibbon |first=Edward|title=The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire|year=1831|location=New York|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9CwMAAAAYAAJ}} * {{cite book |last= González |first= Justo L.|title=The Story of Christianity: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation |year=2010 |volume= 1|location=New York|publisher=HarperCollins|oclc=905489146|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cQW0ACdLn6kC&q=septimius%20severus%20persecution&pg=PP1|isbn= 978-0-06-185588-7 }} * {{cite book |last= Grant |first= Michael |author-link= Michael Grant (author) |location= London|publisher =Weidenfeld & Nicolson |title= The Roman Emperors |year= 1985 |isbn= 978-0-7607-0091-4 }} * {{cite book |last= Grant |first= Michael |author-link= Michael Grant (author) |title= The Severans: The Changed Roman Empire | publisher= [[Routledge]] |location= London |year= 1996 |isbn= 978-0-415-12772-1 }} * {{cite book |last=Harper|first=Kyle |date=2017 |title=The Fate of Rome: Climate, Disease, and the End of an Empire |url= |location=Princeton; Oxford |publisher=Princeton University Press |page= |isbn=978-0-691-19206-2 |author-link= }} * {{cite book |last= Hasebroek |first= Johannes |title= Untersuchungen zur Geschichte des Kaisers Septimius Severus |url= https://archive.org/details/untersuchungenzu00haseuoft |location= Heidelberg |publisher= C Winter |oclc= 4153259 |year= 1921 }} * {{cite book |last= Hovannisian |first= R. G. |title= The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times |volume= 1: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiquity to the Fourteenth Century |publisher= [[Palgrave Macmillan]]|location=New York |year= 2004 |orig-year= 1997 |isbn= 978-1-4039-6421-2 }} * {{cite book |last= Lichtenberger |first= Achim |title= Severus Pius Augustus: Studien zur sakralen Repräsentation und Rezeption der Herrschaft des Septimius Severus und seiner Familie (193–211 n. chr.) |location= Leiden; Boston |publisher= [[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |year= 2011 |series= Impact of Empire |volume= 14 |isbn= 978-90-04-20192-7 }} * [[Harold Mattingly|Mattingly, Harold]] & Edward A. Sydenham (1936). ''The [[Roman Imperial Coinage]], vol. IV, part I, Pertinax to Geta'', London, Spink & Son. * {{cite book |last= Settipani |first= Christian |title= Continuité Gentilice et Continuité Familiale dans les Familles Sénatoriales Romaines à l'Époque Impériale: Mythe et Réalité |year= 2000 |location= Oxford |publisher= Unit for Prosographical Research, Linacre College, University of Oxford |isbn= 978-1-900934-02-2 }} * {{cite book |last=Tabbernee |first=William |title=Fake Prophecy and Polluted Sacraments: Ecclesiastical and Imperial Reactions to Montanism (Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae) |date=2007 |publisher=Brill|location= Leiden |isbn=978-90-04-15819-1 }} {{Refend}} == External links == {{Wikiquote}} {{Commons|Septimius Severus}} * [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Historia_Augusta/Septimius_Severus*.html Life of Septimius Severus] (''Historia Augusta'' at LacusCurtius: Latin text and English translation) * [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/74*.html Books 74], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/75*.html 75], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/76*.html 76] and [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/77*.html 77] of [[Dio Cassius]], covering the rise to power and reign of Septimius Severus * [http://www.ancientopedia.com/Septimius_Severus/ Septimius Severus on Ancient History Encyclopedia] * [http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/herodian_03_book3.htm Book 3 of Herodian] * [http://www.roman-emperors.org/sepsev.htm De Imperatoribus Romanis] Online encyclopaedia of Roman emperors * [https://www.livius.org/a/italy/rome/arch_severus/arch_severus1.html Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081025100233/http://www.livius.org/a/italy/rome/arch_severus/arch_severus1.html |date=25 October 2008 }} * [http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_107/107_092_102.pdf Septimius Severus in Scotland] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070611162140/http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_107/107_092_102.pdf |date=11 June 2007 }} * [https://www.livius.org/a/libya/lepcis_magna/arch_severus/lepcis_magna-arch_severus.html Arch of Septimius Severus in Lepcis Magna] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071228223148/http://www.livius.org/a/libya/lepcis_magna/arch_severus/lepcis_magna-arch_severus.html |date=28 December 2007 }} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060528175255/http://www.numismatics.org/exhibits/DrachmasDoubloonsDollars/cases/case02.G.html Coins issued by Septimius Severus] * {{CathEncy|wstitle=Septimius Severus}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20130502235723/http://cristoraul.com/ENGLISH/readinghall/GalleryofHistory/Roman_People/LUCIUS-SEPTIMIUS-SEVERUS.html THE LIFE AND REIGN OF THE EMPEROR LUCIUS SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS, in BTM Format] {{s-start}} {{s-hou|[[Severan dynasty]]|11 April|146|4 February|211|}} {{s-reg}} {{s-bef | before= [[Didius Julianus]]}} {{s-ttl | title= [[List of Roman Emperors|Roman Emperor]]|years=193–211|regent1= [[Pescennius Niger]] (rival 193–194),<br />[[Clodius Albinus]] (rival 193–197),<br />[[Caracalla]] (198–211),<br />[[Publius Septimius Geta]] (209–211)}} {{s-aft | after= [[Caracalla]],<br /> [[Publius Septimius Geta]]}} {{s-off}} {{s-bef | before= [[Lucius Fabius Cilo]], and<br />[[Marcus Silius Messala]]}} {{s-ttl | title=[[List of late imperial Roman consuls|Consul]] of the [[Roman Empire]]|years=194|regent1= [[Clodius Albinus]]}} {{s-aft | after= [[Publius Julius Scapula Tertullus Priscus]],<br />and [[Quintus Tineius Clemens]]}} {{s-bef | before= [[Annius Fabianus]],<br />and [[Marcus Nonius Arrius Mucianus]]}} {{s-ttl | title=[[List of late imperial Roman consuls|Consul]] of the [[Roman Empire]]|years=202|regent1= [[Caracalla]]}} {{s-aft | after= [[Titus Murrenius Severus]],<br />and [[Gaius Cassius Regallianus]]|as=Suffect consuls}} {{s-end}} {{Roman Emperors}} {{Pharaohs}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Severus, Septimius}} [[Category:Septimius Severus| ]] [[Category:145 births]] [[Category:211 deaths]] [[Category:2nd-century Punic people]] [[Category:2nd-century Roman emperors]] [[Category:3rd-century Punic people]] [[Category:3rd-century Roman emperors]] [[Category:Ancient Libyans]] [[Category:Ancient Romans in Britain]] [[Category:Burials at the Castel Sant'Angelo]] [[Category:Deified Roman emperors]] [[Category:Imperial Roman consuls]] [[Category:People of the Roman–Parthian Wars]] [[Category:Roman governors of Gallia Lugdunensis]] [[Category:Roman pharaohs]] [[Category:Romans from Africa]] [[Category:Septimii]] [[Category:Severan dynasty]]'