Roman Emperors Octavian Caesar Augustus 27 B.C. - 14 AD Tiberius 14 - 37 AD Gaius Caligula 37 - 41 AD Claudius 41 - 54 AD Nero 54 - 68 AD AD 69 - The Year of Four Emperors Vespasian 69 - 79 AD Titus 79 - 81 AD Domitian 81 - 96 AD Nerva 96 - 98 AD Trajan 98 - 117 AD Hadrian 117 - 138 AD Antoninus Pius 138 - 161 AD Marcus Aurelius 161 - 180 AD Commodus 180 - 192 AD Pertinax 192 AD Didius Julianus 192 AD Septimus Severus 193 - 211 AD Caracalla 211 - 217 AD Elagabalus 218 - 222 AD Severus Alexander 222 - 235 AD Anarchy and Chaos 235 - 284 AD Diocletian 284 - 305 AD Constantine 312 - 337 AD

Background:

In 208 AD, Emperor Severus went to England to quell a revolt (to prevent rebellion, to stop the fighting against Rome), and he took his two grown sons with him. He hoped that their experience as soldiers would strengthen their character and make them more popular with his troops (soldiers).

In 211, while still in England, Severus got sick. Caracalla -- short, husky and twenty-three-- asked the emperor's doctor to hasten (hurry) his father's death with poison, but the doctor refused. Severus finally died, and his two sons jointly (both together) succeeded him (followed him as emperor). Caracalla had his father's doctor executed (killed). Within a year, Caracalla stabbed his brother to death in the presence of their mother. Caracalla then told his army that he had been the target of a plot by his brother but had managed to save himself. To keep the soldiers quiet, he raised their pay.

Back in Rome he began a bloodbath in which he purged (got rid of, killed all) the army of his brother's supporters and executed others associated with his brother, including Senators and his brother's servants. He even killed his brother's wife.

Caracalla enjoyed being a soldier and he let his mother, Julia Domna rule in Rome. He made bodyguards of German soldiers, not Roman soldiers. Because he admired the Germans he sometimes wore a blond wig and a German cloak. He enjoyed showing off his strength -- to the delight of his soldiers. He believed in unity among peoples and increased trade. He gave citizenship to all free persons within the empire. The Roman Empire was no longer Roman. The empire, dominated (controlled) by men from outside of Rome, had swallowed Rome.

He was a cruel man. Once he heard people were making some jokes about him in Alexandria, Egypt. Caracalla was not amused (he didn't think it was funny). During a visit to Alexandria in 215, at an outdoor assembly in his honor, Caracalla had some of his troops make a surprise attack on the city's leading youths, butchering them (cutting them into pieces).

Caracalla was afraid of those around him. Indeed, he should be. When Caracalla tried to mount his horse, one of his soldiers stabbed Caracalla in the back. Caracalla died soon after.

The Senate was glad to be rid of Caracalla and began selecting (choosing, picking) the next emperor.

A marble bust of Caracalla

Learn More About Caracalla and his Famous Baths Caracalla is famous for making the Baths of Caracalla in Rome. We can visit the ruins today. (Images from Mary Ann Sullivan, Bluffton Edu. site.) Also see some images from UCSF. "Bathing" was a way of life. Everybody, even the slaves, had the right to go to the Baths, with room for 1,600 bathers at the same time. There were hot baths, warm baths, and an unheated swimming pool with a masseur standing by to rub your skin with essential oils. There were also two "palestrae", or gyms, where ball games and wrestling took place. There were venders of light snacks and drinks and two libraries, Greek and Latin, where one could study books written on scrolls. (Books as we know them were invented in the Renaissance.) You could stroll in the gardens or sit under a tree and gossip. All the arts were there: theater, sculpture, painting, music, and particularly mosaic (of which some examples are to be seen there today).