DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.18096#0277
africa under alexander severus
A.D. 222-235
^Hen Caracalla, the legitimate son of Septimius Severus,
Succeeded his father as joint Emperor with his brother Geta,
*here was every prospect of a continuance of an African
dynasty bearing the title of Bassianus, and of giving increased
Notoriety to the name of an obscure priest of a Syrian temple
the Sun, as father and grandfather of two generations of
^^perors. The Julian and Flavian dynasties had passed away
^ith the efflux of time ; the Ulpian family, so called, which had
e*hausted its energies under the magnificent reign of Trajan,
had contributed so largely to the extension and consoli-
dation of the Empire, had almost been lost sight of; and the
^ttiilies which, for the sake of abbreviation, are commonly
^nown as the Antonines, came to an end when the wretched
Ornmodus fell by the hands of an assassin. Hereditary
^cession had long since been disregarded. For more than
. o centuries Rome had looked to Italy and Spain to fill the
^perial throne, and the approval of the subjects of the Empire
followed the will of the Senate in Rome. But with the
^ of the last of the Antonines a new order of things had
established. The will of the people was no longer to be
§arded as a factor in political life, but the will of the army
as to be paramount, and the Caesar of the future was to be
1 y Ambitious adventurer who bid high for their services. The
^er of the soldiery openly asserted itself when Pertinax fell
lctim to the greed of the Praetorian guards, followed a few
g ars later by their deliberate murder of the Emperor Julianus.
ut their assumption of supreme power reached its climax when
gelded to the death-roll the name of so estimable a ruler as
;0r Xander Severus. The fall of Caracalla was an opportunity
Military adventurers. Wherever the Roman legions were
A.D. 222-235
^Hen Caracalla, the legitimate son of Septimius Severus,
Succeeded his father as joint Emperor with his brother Geta,
*here was every prospect of a continuance of an African
dynasty bearing the title of Bassianus, and of giving increased
Notoriety to the name of an obscure priest of a Syrian temple
the Sun, as father and grandfather of two generations of
^^perors. The Julian and Flavian dynasties had passed away
^ith the efflux of time ; the Ulpian family, so called, which had
e*hausted its energies under the magnificent reign of Trajan,
had contributed so largely to the extension and consoli-
dation of the Empire, had almost been lost sight of; and the
^ttiilies which, for the sake of abbreviation, are commonly
^nown as the Antonines, came to an end when the wretched
Ornmodus fell by the hands of an assassin. Hereditary
^cession had long since been disregarded. For more than
. o centuries Rome had looked to Italy and Spain to fill the
^perial throne, and the approval of the subjects of the Empire
followed the will of the Senate in Rome. But with the
^ of the last of the Antonines a new order of things had
established. The will of the people was no longer to be
§arded as a factor in political life, but the will of the army
as to be paramount, and the Caesar of the future was to be
1 y Ambitious adventurer who bid high for their services. The
^er of the soldiery openly asserted itself when Pertinax fell
lctim to the greed of the Praetorian guards, followed a few
g ars later by their deliberate murder of the Emperor Julianus.
ut their assumption of supreme power reached its climax when
gelded to the death-roll the name of so estimable a ruler as
;0r Xander Severus. The fall of Caracalla was an opportunity
Military adventurers. Wherever the Roman legions were