Emperor Caracalla Biography
Emperor Caracalla, birthname Lucius Septimius Bassianus, was born on the 4th of April 188 CE in Lugdunum (Lyon), where his father, emperor Septimius Severus, was serving as the governor of Gallia Lugdunensis under emperor Commodus. When he was seven years old, his father changed his name to Marcus Aurelius Antoninus as a way to connect the family of Severus to the Antonines. Caracalla is a nickname that referred to the type of cloak that the emperor wore but it was never used officially.
At age of ten from the time of his name change to Antoninus, he became the heir of his father and began co-ruling with Severus. At the age of 14, he was married to Fulvia Plautilla, the daughter of Severus’ close friend Plautianus. However, he despised his …show more content…
He also enacted a measure that offered full Roman citizenship to all freeborn inhabitants of the Roman empire. His most famous and practical motive, the so-called Constitutio Antoniniana de Civitate, was to increase the revenues of the state.
Another achievement was his colossal baths in Rome. The Baths of Caracalla, as known as Thermae Antoninianae which is named after the family name of Caracalla, remained as the long-lasting testament to his ruling and glory. The Baths of Caracalla were one of the largest public baths ever built in ancient Rome and was a complete leisure place for the people of Rome. It has a highly intricate water distribution system and the building itself was built on three levels.
On April 8, A.D. 217, he was assassinated by Julius Martialis, an officer in the imperial bodyguard. Before his death, Caracalla campaigned in Media and made sport of deriding his praetorian prefect Macrinus. Macrinus detested this, but Caracalla began to fear him after hearing of a prophecy that Macrinus will overthrow him and become emperor. To prevent that, he began to conspire against him. But Macrinus soon realizes and instigate the assassination of emperor Caracalla. His man, Martialis, annihilated the emperor in the midst of his
At age of ten from the time of his name change to Antoninus, he became the heir of his father and began co-ruling with Severus. At the age of 14, he was married to Fulvia Plautilla, the daughter of Severus’ close friend Plautianus. However, he despised his …show more content…
He also enacted a measure that offered full Roman citizenship to all freeborn inhabitants of the Roman empire. His most famous and practical motive, the so-called Constitutio Antoniniana de Civitate, was to increase the revenues of the state.
Another achievement was his colossal baths in Rome. The Baths of Caracalla, as known as Thermae Antoninianae which is named after the family name of Caracalla, remained as the long-lasting testament to his ruling and glory. The Baths of Caracalla were one of the largest public baths ever built in ancient Rome and was a complete leisure place for the people of Rome. It has a highly intricate water distribution system and the building itself was built on three levels.
On April 8, A.D. 217, he was assassinated by Julius Martialis, an officer in the imperial bodyguard. Before his death, Caracalla campaigned in Media and made sport of deriding his praetorian prefect Macrinus. Macrinus detested this, but Caracalla began to fear him after hearing of a prophecy that Macrinus will overthrow him and become emperor. To prevent that, he began to conspire against him. But Macrinus soon realizes and instigate the assassination of emperor Caracalla. His man, Martialis, annihilated the emperor in the midst of his