The year started with a decisive Roman victory over the Parthians. Their capital Ctesiphon was taken around 28 January after a short siege. The victorious Roman soldiers looted the entire city and took away thousands of women and children as slaves. Herodianus claims the Romans also captured the Parthian king’s…
Now chronology becomes a little hazy, so I may be somewhat off, but my assumption is that Septimius Severus attempted to take Hatra again early this year, when the weather in this part of the world is still mild. The emperor brought with him large stores of food and plenty…
Again, chronology is hazy. It is my take that Severus toured Egypt in 200. Since Egypt was an extremely important province, with extended territories, a long and rich history and much to see, I assume the emperor took his time. The Historia Augusta makes it clear that Severus thoroughly enjoyed…
Now chronology becomes so confused and uncertain that I will discuss multiple years at once. My reconstruction is in large part based on speculation and there are only a few dates that we know for certain. We know that Septimius Severus became consul for the second time on 1 January…
Back in Rome from his African expedition, Severus probably saw the completion of his Triumphal Arch on the Forum Romanum. He may also around this time have ordered the construction of the Domus Severiana on the Palatine Hill, the remains of which can still be seen today. It was an…
In 208, Septimius Severus launched a large military campaign against the Caledonians in Britannia. Cassius Dio writes that the reason for the invasion was that “his sons were changing their mode of life and that the legions were becoming enervated by idleness”. Herodianus’ explanation is a bit more convincing: the…
Septimius Severus died in Eburacum on 4 February. It had been clear for a while that the emperor had been living with one foot in the grave. Herodianus claims that Caracalla tried to persuade the medical staff to be negligent in treating his father, so that he could get rid…
Now that he was sole emperor, Caracalla removed his brother’s name (and face) from all monuments – including the Arch of Septimius Severus on the Forum – and went on a killing spree, having all of Geta’s friends and supporters murdered. Caracalla killed anyone who had ever even remotely sympathised…
In 213, Caracalla was consul for the fourth time. He left Rome for the northern border provinces, and for the next two years he would fight to keep these safe and even strengthen them against Germanic incursions. Again, as with Severus’ Caledonian campaign, very few details have survived. It seems…
Caracalla left Nicomedia in April, after having held gladiatorial games in honour of his birthday (which was 4 April). He moved on to Antiochia, where according to Cassius Dio he indulged in luxurious living. At the end of the summer the emperor reached Alexandria, probably the second or third city…
Caracalla considered himself to be Alexander the Great, and since Alexander the Great had conquered Persia, Caracalla would conquer Persia’s successor: the Parthian Arsacid Empire. There were good strategic reasons to attack now. In 208, the Parthian king Vologases (Walagash) V had died, leaving the throne to his son, Vologases…
At the beginning of the year, a large Roman army was camped near Edessa in Mesopotamia for a new invasion of the Parthian Empire. The Parthians themselves had not sat still. Artabanus had gathered his forces, and so a violent confrontation seemed imminent. It was not to be so. Before…
On 1 January, Macrinus and Marcus Oclatinius Adventus began their respective consulships. Macrinus now made a series of mistakes which cost him his popularity and ultimately his head. First, after many diplomatic attempts, he managed to make peace with the Parthians. This was not a bad move as such, but…
After his victory over Macrinus at Immae on 8 June 218, Elagabalus stayed in Antiochia for months. He had to promise his soldiers 2.000 sesterces each to prevent them from sacking the city and it took him some time before his authority in the East had been firmly established. He…
Julia Maesa, Elagabalus’ grandmother, persuaded her grandson to adopt his cousin Alexianus (born 1 October 208), who was just 12 years old at the time. She also convinced him that it would be wise to make him a Caesar, so that Elagabalus could focus on his religious duties, while Alexianus…
Thanks in large part to his capable advisors, Severus Alexander’s reign was exemplary and benevolent. As Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander Augustus, he held his second consulship in 226 and his third in 229, together with the noted historian Cassius Dio. Of his principal advisors, his grandmother Julia Maesa…
In 230, Ardashir (Artaxerxes) felt confident enough to invade Roman Mesopotamia. He laid waste to the country and threatened Syria, though he failed to take Nisibis. The Persian invasion may have been just a probing attack instead of a full-scale assault, but it was serious enough to draw the emperor…
Now that Ardashir had moved away his forces from the Roman border, Alexander returned to Rome to celebrate a triumph for a victory that he had not won. It did not stop him from claiming one and styling himself Persicus Maximus. His triumph in September of 233 was extravagant even…
Maximinus Thrax – also known as Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus – was a military man all his life and is considered the first barracks emperor (or soldier emperor). He spent most of the rest of his career as emperor campaigning along the Rhine and Danube, protecting the northern border of…
Maximinus Thrax was a harsh and unpopular ruler. Sources hostile to him claim he embezzled state funds and even plundered temples just to be able to pay his army, the base of all his power. Hatred against him grew ever greater, not just in Rome, but also in the provinces.…