Roman Emperor: Septimius Severus Quiz

Answer: Lepcis Magna

Born Lucius Septimius Severus in what is now Khoms, Libya, Africa, Septimius Severus had both Italian and Punic (whose ancestors were the Phoenicians) heritage. He was the first ever African Roman emperor. Although Punic cultural traditions were prevalent in his family (such as the language they spoke) Septimius' family, like other elite families residing in Lepcis Magna (also called "Leptis Magna"), spoke Latin and were also assimilated with Roman culture.

Answer: Fulvia Pia

Historians debate where her birthplace was, in either Rome or Leptis Magna between 120-125 AD, Fulvia Pia was the daughter of Fulvius Pius and Laelia I Pius. Her husband and his family, Publius Septimius Geta, were well established in both Leptis Magna and Rome. Very little is recorded of her life (110-171 AD). She had Punic roots. He was born into a rich and well-connected family with equestrian honors, and never lived to see his son become Roman emperor, dying after his son had been made a quaestor, and was about to achieve his rank as a consul in the Roman province of Baetica, Hispania (modern-day Spain).

Septimius Severus had a younger sister, Septimia Octavilla, and an elder brother named Publius Septimius Geta, the same name as his father.

Answer: Commodus

Septimius Severus first became established in the Roman senate in 173 AD, when Marcus Aurelius was emperor. He held some basic offices that were within the Roman government. When he was eventually given the title of consul, Commodus, Marcus Aurelius' son, was Roman emperor. Following his consulship he was then made governor of the Roman province, Pannonia Superior (or Upper Pannonia) which now makes up parts of the territory of modern-day Hungary, Croatia, Austria, Slovenia and Slovakia. He was in control of a large army, and this came at a time where the relative peace of Commodus' reign thus far, and the reign of his father before him was about to be disturbed.

Commodus became erratic and unpredictable. He was murdered in 192 AD. A year later his successor, Publius Helvius Pertinax (or simply just "Pertinax") was also murdered by the Praetorian Guard.

Answer: Didius Julianus

Septimius Severus predecessor was Didius Julianus, who was only Roman emperor for 9 weeks between March and June of 193 AD. He was from one of the wealthiest families of Mediolanum (modern-day Milan) and was made consul in 175 AD (Commodus did however remove this title when he was emperor, and Didius Julianus' quest for power was put on hold).

His buying of the throne of Rome had caused civil war, with demonstrations being held and the Danube division of the Roman army invading Italy to remove who they saw as an unworthy beneficiary of the Roman throne. Didius Julianus was killed by a Roman soldier, with Cassius Dio asserting that his last words were "But what evil have I done? Whom have I killed?" His body was given to his family, while the Roman senate opted to scrub his name from the records entirely, seeing fit to pretend he had never existed, let alone been Roman emperor, even briefly. Septimius Severus was then proclaimed Roman emperor. One of his first acts in power was to have the Roman soldiers who had murdered Pertinax executed, and to dismiss the Praetorian Guard and replace them with soldiers he saw as trustworthy.

Answer: Pescennius Niger

Born Gaius Pescennius Niger, Septimius Severus' rival for the Roman throne was an Italian army officer who had achieved consulship and was governor of Syria. His legions declared him Roman emperor upon the death of Commodus, to the displeasure of Pannonia Superior and its army. The legions of Septimius Severus decided to march east and eliminate the threat, and won the Battle of Issus, which occurred around south-east Anatolia in 194 AD. At an advantage, Septimius Severus' army was larger.

Pescennius Niger saw that the battle was lost and attempted to run for his life, but he was overpowered and killed, before he could escape by crossing the Euphrates. Cassius Dio asserts that over 20,000 were killed in the battle. Pescennius Niger's head was sent to Byzantium to encourage those who did not support Septimius Severus' claim to the throne, in order to frighten them into surrendering. Pescennius Niger's family were sent into exile, and his remaining supporters were persecuted.

Answer: Julia Domna

Paccia Marciana did not live to see her husband become Roman emperor. They married in around 175 AD, and she died of natural causes in 186 AD. They had no surviving children despite being married for over 10 years. She was from an established family. Her name "Marciana" is from the gens, Marcia, which connotes her blood links to Ulpia Marciana - the elder sister of Roman emperor Trajan.

As her husband was the first emperor of this type, Julia Domna was the first Roman empress of the Severan Dynasty. She was from Syria, and would later become a more important figure in the history of Rome, once her and Septimius Severus' son, Caracalla, was Roman emperor. She often mediated and influenced him, although there were certain acts of Caracalla that she could not control once she was in power.

Answer: Geta

Born Publius Septimius Geta, Geta was born in 189 AD and was the youngest son of Septimius Severus and Julia Domna. He had ruled the Roman throne jointly with his father and brother, Caracalla (born Marcus Aurelius Antoninus). This nature of sharing however, did not become a habit. When Septimius Severus died in 211 AD he had originally wished for his sons to rule jointly. They however proved to be incapable of this. Not even a year after their father had died, a power-hungry Caracalla had Geta murdered in December 211 AD.

Even though their mother was prominently an influence on both of her sons, she could not stop the murder of Geta. Whether she was resigned to the fate of the younger son, or genuinely believed the brothers were going to have a genuine peace talk, she had Geta meet Caracalla in her quarters, where his older brother knew he would be without his bodyguards. Geta reportedly died in her arms after Caracalla had him murdered by the Roman army.

Answer: Clodius Albinus

Born Decimus Clodius Albinus, Clodius Albinus was a Roman general, who according to Cassius Dio, had an office in Dacia (modern-day Romania). By the demise of Commodus in 192 AD, Clodius Albinus was governing Britannia (modern-day Britain) which held at least 3 legions. After the murder of Pertinax, Britannia and its legions supported Clodius Albinus as the next Roman emperor. Septimius Severus had marched on Rome and gained the support from units in Upper Germania (modern-day Germany) - support that Clodius Albinus needed. When he received a letter from Septimius Severus purporting that he would adopt him as successor should he support his claim to the Roman throne, Clodius Albinus acquiesced.

His rear now secure against attacks from Britannia, Septimius Severus moved east to depose of Pescennius Niger, and after he was defeated, Clodius Albinus was made a consul again. Coins in Rome were minted in his name, depicting Clodius Albinus on one side and the Roman goddess Minerva featuring on the other.

However, this veneration did not last. Septimius Severus declared his son, Caracalla, caesar (crown prince) instead. An enraged Clodius Albinus declared himself the true Roman emperor, providing Septimius Severus all the excuse he needed to depose of him. Clodius Albinus also invaded Gaul in 196 AD in order to propel his cause. Septimius and his army defeated Clodius Albinus at the Battle of Lugdunum (modern-day Lyon, France). Trapped in a house with an army encircling him, Clodius Albinus committed suicide.

Answer: False

Septimius Severus had his provincial governors in Britannia undertake a huge renovation scheme, particularly the preservation and improvement of Hadrian's Wall. New granaries were established, as well as defenses refurbished in Birdoswald Fort along the wall, as well as other buildings and fortifications that ran along it.

Answer: Gaius Fulvius Plautianus

Gaius Fulvius Plautianus was born in Leptis Magna and likely knew Septimius Severus when they were young. Septimius Severus had made him consul in 203 AD. A year before, Plautianus had had his daughter, Publia Fulvia Plautilla, married to Caracalla. The marriage was not a happy one, with Caracalla reportedly detesting both his with and father-in-law with a passion, regularly threatening to kill them. Plautianus' behaviour did not help. His friendship with the emperor and connections to power appeared to cloud his judgement, having anyone who disagreed with him or challenged him executed. This greatly worried Julia Domna and Caracalla, who plotted the downfall of Plautianus, who learned of their plans and decided to attempt to oust the Septimius Severus and his family from power.

Gaius Fulvius Plautianus' plans of treason were discovered and he was summoned to the Imperial Palace where he was executed. His name was scrubbed from Roman history and monuments, his property seized and his family were exiled until they were also executed (under Caracalla's orders) in 212 AD.

Answer: Marriage of soldiers

Roman soldiers had maintained unrecognised marriages during their time in service, but Septimius Severus made these marriages legal and recognised. This meant that the children of Roman soldiers were now legally recognised as citizens. He also gave the soldiers a pay rise.

This combined with their new marriage rights was undoubtedly expensive, but it also provided a bigger incentive to join the Roman army and recruitment increased.

Answer: Caledonia

Caledonia was the northern region of Britain now encompassing most parts of modern-day Scotland. The advances of the Romans were successful at first, but like other Roman military campaigns north of Hadrian's Wall, this success was brief. Septimius Severus never fully gained control of Caledonia, and he was suffering from gout at the time, which hindered his ability to command an army.

Answer: Leptis Magna

The Arch of Septimius Severus in Leptis Magna cannot be precisely dated as to when it was constructed. The central design features Septimius Severus and his family, where he is depicted shaking hands with his two sons. Julia Domna features as well as the Roman goddess, Roma. Plautianus also features (headless) therefore it must have been constructed before he fell out of favour with the emperor, as does Septimius Severus brother, Publius Septimius Geta. Caracalla is depicted as a tall young man, but more so a teenager than an adult, giving further clues as to when it was constructed.

By the 20th century it had fallen into ruin, but was pieced back together upon its discovery in 1928. Built in 203 AD, the Arch of Septimius Severus of Rome is a triple triumph arch and stands in the Forum Romanum.

Answer: Eboracum

Eboracum was a fort that later evolved into the English city of York. His campaign of Caledonia had to be called to an end when he became ill. Rome would never again campaign so deep into Caledonia. Septimius Severus was 65 when he died. He knew his time was coming, ordering a cremation urn and proclaiming "You will hold a man that the world could not hold" when he saw it. There were rumours that Caracalla had bribed a doctor to hasten his father's demise, hoping to claim the throne of Rome quickly.

Cassius Dio asserts that Septimius Severus instructed his sons to "Be harmonious, enrich the soldiers, scorn everybody else." before he passed. Caracalla would later prove he was not in agreement with his father.

Answer: Mausoleum of Hadrian

Until the reign of Nerva, the ashes of Roman emperors were placed in the Mausoleum of Augustus (although Trajan's remains were stored in the Forum of Trajan). Hadrian had the Mausoleum of Hadrian constructed, but his adopted son and heir, Antoninus Pius, was who had it completed by 139 AD. Septimius Severus' ashes were stored there, and later so was Carcacalla's, Geta's and Julia Domna's.