Emperor Caracalla

Q: What military campaigns did Caracalla undertake, and how successful were they?

Emperor Caracalla campaigned against the Parthians in the east and the Germanic tribes in the north. His Parthian campaign was largely unsuccessful, but he did secure a peace treaty. In the north, he defeated the Alamanni and successfully defended against the Caledonians in Britain.

Q: How did Caracalla's reign impact the Roman Empire socially and politically?

Caracalla's reign was marked by significant social and political developments, including extending Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of the empire, increased militarization of the Roman government, and the expansion of the praetorian guard's power. These policies were aimed at consolidating imperial authority, but they also contributed to the erosion of traditional Roman institutions and the emergence of a more authoritarian regime.

Q: What were Caracalla's major artistic and architectural projects, and how did they reflect the cultural trends of his time?

Caracalla is known for commissioning several impressive artistic and architectural projects during his reign, including the massive Baths of Caracalla in Rome. These structures were not only engineering marvels, but they also reflected the cultural trends of the time, which valued spectacle and grandeur. Additionally, Caracalla was known for patronizing the arts, particularly literature, and was himself a gifted poet.

Q: How did Caracalla's mother influence his reign?

Caracalla's mother, Julia Domna, was a powerful and influential figure during his reign. She was a patron of the arts and a skilled diplomat who helped shape her son's policies and political agenda. In particular, she is believed to have encouraged Caracalla to extend Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of the empire, a move that helped to solidify his power and increase his popularity with the masses. Her influence over her son's reign was so significant that after Caracalla's death, she was granted the rare honor of being deified by the Roman Senate.

Q: How did Caracalla's reign contribute to the decline and fall of the Roman Empire?

Caracalla's reign is often seen as a turning point in the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. His policies, including the expansion of Roman citizenship and the militarization of the government, were aimed at consolidating imperial power, but they also contributed to the erosion of traditional Roman institutions and values. Additionally, his reign was marked by instability and violence, including the assassination of his brother and the massacre of thousands of citizens in Alexandria. These factors, combined with broader economic, military, and social challenges, helped to contribute to the eventual collapse of the Roman Empire.

Q: How did emperor Caracalla die?

Emperor Caracalla was assassinated in 217 AD while traveling in Mesopotamia, possibly by a member of his praetorian guard. The exact motives behind the assassination are unclear, but it is believed to have resulted from a conspiracy among members of the imperial court who were dissatisfied with Caracalla's rule.

Written by: Kate Zusmann

Caracalla, formally known as Antoninus, was a Roman emperor from 198 to 217 AD. He was a representative of the Severan dynasty, the son of Septimius Severus and Julia Domna. Caracalla was co-ruler with his father from 198, but later, he continued to rule with his brother Geta, emperor from 209, after the death of Septimius Severus in 211. Moreover, Caracalla killed Geta and reigned as the sole ruler of the ancient Roman Empire.

His reign is known for domestic instability and external invasions from the Germanic tribes.

Contents

Things to Know about Caracalla

What military campaigns did Caracalla undertake, and how successful were they?

How did Caracalla’s reign impact the Roman Empire socially and politically?

What were Caracalla’s major artistic and architectural projects, and how did they reflect the cultural trends of his time?

How did Caracalla’s mother influence his reign?

How did Caracalla’s reign contribute to the decline and fall of the Roman Empire?

How did emperor Caracalla die?

Early Life of Caracalla

From an early age, Caracalla was always in conflict with his brother, Geta, who was only 11 months younger than him. At the age of 14, Caracalla was married to the daughter of his father’s close friend Plautianus, Fulvia Plautilla, but this arranged marriage was not happy, and Caracalla despised his wife. Caracalla and Fulvia had a daughter in this marriage, which ended abruptly when in 205 Plautianus was accused, convicted of treason, and executed. Plautilla was expelled and then executed by Caracalla.

In 208, when he heard about the troubles in Britain, Septimius Severus thought that this was a good opportunity to campaign there and take both his sons with him. The campaign, thought Severus, would allow both sons to get acquainted with the realities of the government, thereby providing them with the experience they could use when succeeding their father. While in Britain, Geta was allegedly made responsible for civil administration there. At the same time, Caracalla and his father campaigned in Scotland. Although Caracalla did not gain some valuable experience in military matters, he tried to kill his father at least once to become emperor.

Although this attempt was unfortunate, Severus left the sword within reach of his son, challenging him to finish the plan he had ruined earlier. Caracalla backed down but, according to Herodian, constantly tried to convince the doctors of Severus to speed up the demise of the dying emperor. In any case, the emperor died at Ebaracum in 211. The last advice of Severus to Caracalla and Geta was “to be good to each other, enrich the army, and damn the rest” (Dio 77.15.2).

Murder of Geta

Caracalla’s father, Septimius Severus, died in 211 while on a campaign in Caledonia, north of Roman Britannia. Caracalla and Geta inherited the throne together. After concluding a peace with the Caledonians and on the way back to Rome with their father’s ashes, the brothers continuously argued with each other. Moreover, they considered dividing the empire in half along the Bosphorus to stop arguing. Caracalla was to rule in the west, and Geta was to rule in the east. However, their mother persuaded the brothers not to do this.

In 211, Julia Domna organized a reconciliation meeting where Caracalla had Geta assassinated by members of the Praetorian Guard. Geta died in his mother’s arms. Later, Caracalla executed most of Geta’s supporters and ordered a “damnatio memoriae” presented by the Senate against his brother’s memory.

Geta’s image was removed from all paintings; all coins were melted down; statues destroyed; name removed on papyrus from records

About 20.000 people were massacred after the “damnatio memoriae”. All these people were somehow related to Geta as his friends, guards, advisers, or military staff.

Emperor

Although Caracalla did not follow his father’s last words about being good to his brother, he made everything to make the empire’s military forces happy. Caracalla declared to his soldiers that:

I am one of you,” he said, “and it is because of you alone that I care to live, in order that I may confer upon you many favours; for all the treasuries are yours.” And he further said: “I pray to live with you, if possible, but if not, at any rate to die with you. For I do not fear death in any form, and it is my desire to end my days in warfare. There should a man die, or nowhere. (Dio 78.3.2)

Caracalla raised the annual army salary by 50%. In order to pay it, he debased the coinage from a silver content of about 58 to 50%. Also, the emperor created a new coin, “antoninianus,” which was supposed to be worth of 2 denarii. Caracalla tried to portray himself as a fellow soldier while on the campaign. He was very popular with the army.

Military Campaign

During the reign of Caracalla, military activity in Britain began to wind down. As the campaign in Britain came to a standstill towards the end of Severus’s reign, Caracalla found it necessary to take a saving maneuver and end the campaign there, but not before establishing a protectorate in southern Scotland to monitor the activities of the locals. This, in fact, not only secured the inheritance of his father as an imperial propagandist on the island, but also justified the adoption of the name Britannicus by Caracalla.

In 213, Caracalla decided to campaign in Raetia and Upper Germany against the Alamanni. However, there wasn’t any serious enemy activity until two decades later. During these campaigns, Caracalla adopted the title of Germanicus.

The Constitutio Antoniniana

One of the most important acts of Caracalla’s reign was his Edict of 212 AD, the “Constitutio Antoniniana.” This edict awarded Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of the empire. There were several reasons for its creation. First, the edict allowed Caracalla to portray himself as a more egalitarian emperor and widen the base of people from whom he could collect an increased inheritance tax. However, since he spent a lot of money on the army, there was financial instability in the empire, and this edict only cheapened Roman citizenship.

The edict created a new class division of upper and lower classes (honestiores and humiliores)

Emperor in the East

During the reign, Caracalla idolized Alexander the Great and tried to emulate him. He wanted to make a campaign in the east as a way to gain such emulation. Caracalla also visited Alexandria to pay respects to Alexander the Great at his tomb. Firstly, the emperor was very welcomed by the locals. However, when he recognized that they were making jokes about him and Geta, Caracalla massacred a large segment of the population.

Caracalla then moved east to the frontier in 216 AD and found that the situation was not as beneficial for Rome as it was before. Vologaeses’ brother Artabanus V replaced him and managed to restore the degree of stability in Parthia. In this case, the best option for Caracalla was a quick campaign to demonstrate the strength of the Romans, but instead, the emperor decided to marry one of the daughters of Artabanus. However, Artabanus refused, considering it a rather unsuccessful attempt by Caracalla to claim Parthia.

According to Herodian, Caracalla’s behavior was even more reprehensible: the emperor invited Artabanus and his family to meet to discuss peace. The Parthian king and his retinue laid down their weapons as a sign of goodwill, but Caracalla ordered his forces to massacre them. Most of the Parthians who presented there were killed, but Artabanus managed to escape with several comrades.

Interesting Facts about Emperor Caracalla

Construction on the Baths of Caracalla began in 211 at the start of Caracalla’s reign. The baths are named for Caracalla, but it is most probable that his father was responsible for their planning.
He was known as cruel, murderous and whimsical emperor.
He was a representative of the Severan dynasty, the son of Septimius Severus and Julia Domna.
His reign is known for domestic instability and external invasions from the Germanic tribes.
During the reign, Caracalla idolized Alexander the Great and tried to emulate him.
Caracalla raised the annual army salary by 50%.
In 211, Julia Domna organized a reconciliation meeting, where Caracalla had Geta assassinated by members of the Praetorian Guard.
From an early age, Caracalla was always in conflict with his brother, Geta, who was only 11 months younger than him.
His reign is known for domestic instability and external invasions from the Germanic tribes.
In 217, Caracalla was traveling to visit a temple near Carrhae (southern Turkey), and after stopping briefly to urinate, he was stabbed to death by a soldier, Justin Martialis.

Death of Caracalla

Emperor Caracalla was one of the less famous emperors of the ancient Roman Empire. He was known as a cruel, murderous, and whimsical emperor. At the beginning of 217, he was based in Edessa before renewing hostilities against Parthia.

Later, on April 217, Caracalla was traveling to visit a temple near Carrhae (southern Turkey), and after stopping briefly to urinate, he was stabbed to death by a soldier, Justin Martialis. Martialis was outraged by the refusal of Caracalla to give him the position of the centurion. However, the soldier was also killed right after the assassination of Caracalla.

Author: Kate Zusmann