Septimius Severus

“ Practically the empire had been at peace within itself for two hundred years. Now for a hundred years the student of Roman history must master the various criminology of a number of inadequate emperors, while the frontier crumbled and receded under barbarian pressure. One or two names only seem to be the names of able men: such were Septimius Severus, Aurelian, and Probus. Septimius Severus was a Carthaginian, and his sister was never able to master Latin. She conducted her Roman household in the Punic language, which must have made Cato the elder turn in his grave. ”

“ His immense stature and enormous feats of strength attracted the attention of the emperor Septimius Severus. He entered the army, and under Caracalla rose to the rank of centurion. He carefully absented himself from court during the reign of Heliogabalus, but under his successor Alexander Severus, was appointed supreme commander of the Roman armies. After the murder of Alexander in Gaul, hastened, it is said, by his instigation, Maximinus was proclaimed emperor by the soldiers on the 19th of March 235. ”

“ No period in the history of Latin literature is so barren as the reign of Severus. Many later periods—the age of Stilicho, for example—shine brilliantly by comparison. The only great Latin writers are the Christians Tertullian and Cyprian. The Greek literature of the period is richer, but not owing to any patronage of the emperor, except perhaps in the case of Dio Cassius, who', though no admirer of Severus, attributes to encouragement received from him the execution of the great historical work which has come down to our time. ”

“ But at the end of two months both the Praetorians and their nominee were swept away by the real disposers of Roman rule, the provincial legions. Four groups of legions at the time were strong enough to aspire to determine the destiny of the empire—those quartered in Britain, in Germany, in Pannonia and in Syria. Three of the groups took the decisive step, and Severus in Pannonia, Pescennius Niger in Syria, Clodius Albinus in Britain, received from their troops the title of Augustus. Severus outdid his rivals in promptness and decision. ”

“ Septimius Severus died in A.D. 211, and the two Augusti mentioned in the testament were evidently Caracalla and Geta. Caracalla murdered his brother in 212, consequently the date of the testament is fixed between those two years, though the execution of the work may have been a little later. The east façade bears a dedication to Septimius Severus himself. It has a medallion similar to the W. front, of a warrior in armour, resting on a head of the Medusa, representing probably Septimius Severus himself, and the terror which his countenance was supposed to inspire. It runs as follows:—
DIVO . ”

“ Without doubt the family had lived securely and delicately in Rome through the reigns of Septimius Severus and his son, growing in wisdom, stature, and prosperity, and, as far as we know, in favour with God and man, until the tragic events of the year 217 made it appear that the fortunes of the family had come to a sudden and decided collapse. The circumstances of the death of Caracalla were typical of that age of sovereignty. ”

“ The only title he ever laid to the throne was the pronunciamiento of the legions, whose adherence to his cause he commemorated even on the coinage of the realm. The legions voted him the adopted son of Marcus Aurelius; the legions associated with him Caracalla in the government of the empire. Severus strove earnestly to wed the army as a whole to the support of his dynasty. He increased enormously the material gains and the honorary distinctions of the service, so that he was charged with corrupting the troops. ”

“ Severus, L. Septimius, a Roman emperor and a vigorous and courageous soldier, was born in Africa in 146 A. D. At the time of the murder of Pertinax (193) he was in command of an army in Pannonia and Illyria. At once proclaimed emperor, he marched on Rome, which was held by Julianus, who had obtained the throne by bribery. Julianus and the murderers of Pertinax were punished, one rival, Clodius Albinus, won by the gift of the title of Cæsar, the soldiers flattered by a rich largess, and a second rival conquered at Issus. ”

“ A new body of household troops was enrolled and organized on different principles from the old. In face of the senate, as Dio tells us, Severus acted for the moment like “one of the good emperors in the olden days.” After a magnificent entry into the city he joined the senate in execrating the memory of Commodus, and in punishing the murderers of Pertinax, whom he honoured with splendid funeral rites. He also encouraged the senate topass a decree directing that any emperor or subordinate of an emperor who should put a senator to death should be treated as a public enemy. ”

“ A fair proportion of the eminent men by whom the Latin half of the Empire was distinguished were Africans by birth, and, perhaps, by blood. Among the Pagans we find the incomparable dramatist Terence, who flourished during the time of the Republic; the last of the great soldiers who ruled the Empire integrally before it began to succumb to the barbarians, the Emperor Septimius Severus ”

“ The events of the reign were recorded by several contemporaries. The first place among- these must be given to Dio Cassius, who stands to the empire in much the same relation as Livy to the republic. He became a senator in the year when Marcus Aurelius died (180) and retained that dignity for more than fifty years. He was well acquainted with Severus, and was near enough the centre of affairs to know the real nature of events, without being great enough to have personal motives for warping the record. ”

“ The operations against Niger were carried out entirely by his officers. Dio even declares that the final battle with Albinus was the first at which Severus had ever been present. When a war was going on he was constantly travelling over the scene of it, planning it and instilling into the army his own pertinacious spirit, but the fighting was usually left to others. His treatment of the army is the most characteristic feature of his reign. ”

“ The head of Albinus he exhibited at Rome, but only as a warning to the capital to tamper no more with pretenders. The children of Niger were held as hostages and kindly treated so long as they might possibly afford a useful basis for negotiation with their father; when he was defeated they were killed, lest from among them should arise a claimant for the imperial power. Stern and barbarous punishment was always meted out by Severus to the conquered foe, but terror was deemed the best guarantee for peace. ”

“ Then, amid roars of cheers, came Severus himself, habited not in his general's regalia, but in the gorgeous Imperial robes, as if already in the Palace and about to give a public levee. Though thus clad as in time of peace and walking all the way on foot, he was hedged about by his faithful six hundred, every man stepping alertly, helmet-plumes waving, helmets glittering, shields gleaming, spear-points asparkle, kilt-straps flapping, scabbards clanking, a grim advertisement of irresistible power. ”

“ After this guard walked our entire Senate, and, as the Emperor and Senate acknowledged the acclamations of the onlookers, passing amid thunders of cheering, behind we saw a long serpent ribbon of Illyrian legionaries, every man fully armed and armored as for instant battle, their even tramp sounding grim and monotonous when the cheerers paused for breath, their resistless might manifest. Indubitably Rome belonged to Severus, he was our master. ”

“ A Christian thou? Then fear my wrath no more, Thy sect I cherish; this their awful cult Severus will protect, but ne'er insult. Keep thou thy power from Roman sword secure, So long as loyalty with faith endure; I swear it: ay, the Emperor shall learn The guiltless from the traitor to discern; His persecution baseless as his fear. FELIX. Severus—thou who hast the hearing ear,— Freeman of Rome—God's Spirit grant thee grace To be Christ's Freeman, and behold His face: To these—Christ's martyrs—earth's last rites be given, Earth, guard their ashes as a trust for Heaven! Earth hides their dust. ”

“ He told Severus that he needed either a stronger army for the defense of the province or the presence of the emperor himself. 2. Severus was delighted with this news: glory-loving by nature, he wished to win victories over the Britons to add to the victories and titles of honor he had won in the East and the West. But he wished even more to take his sons away from Rome so that they might settle down in the soldier's life under military discipline, far from the luxuries and pleasures in Rome. ”

“ DEATH OF HADRIAN AND SEVERUS. Severus’ restless pursuit after happiness was equally vain. His dying words are said to have been, 'Omnia fui et nihil expedit'—I have tried everything, and found nothing of any avail. What a contrast to the language addressed to him by the Ethiopian soldier—'Thou hast been everything—conquered everything: now, conqueror, be a god!'
393 The Roman Barrier of the Lower Isthmus. ”

“ He was powerful and prosperous at home, but his life was embittered by one great calamity, the dissolute character and the perpetual quarrels of his sons. To remove them from Rome, where they disgraced both themselves and their father by their vicious lives, and the ferocious rivalry and hatred they bore to each other, Severus planned an excursion to Britain, taking them with him, in the hope of turning their minds into new channels of thought, and awakening in them some new and nobler ambition. ”

“ He next crushed his two rival competitors, and was then undisputed master of the empire. He put to death forty senators for having favored his late rivals, and completely destroyed the power of their body. Committing to the prefect of the new praetorian guard the management of affairs at the capital, Severus passed the greater part of his long and prosperous reign upon the frontiers. At one time he was chastising the Parthians beyond the Euphrates, and at another, pushing back the Caledonian tribes from the Hadrian wall in the opposite corner of his dominions. ”

“ In professing that he had assumed the purple only to revenge the death of the virtuous Pertinax, Severus gained many adherents, and was enabled not only to disarm, but to banish the pretorians, whose insolence and avarice were become alarming not only to the citizens, but to the emperor. But while he was victorious at Rome, Severus did not forget that there was another competitor for the imperial purple. Pescennius Niger was in the east at the head of a powerful army, and with the name and ensigns of Augustus. ”

“ But how shall we cease to tell men of Christ? How shall he cease to draw men to himself?"
"Severus hath not been always thus," answered another voice, faint with weakness. "Proculus, the Christian, once saved the life of either Severus or his child, and the emperor took Proculus into the palace and treated him kindly, and chose a Christian nurse for Severus' boy, Caracalla. When the Romans rose against the Christians, Severus shielded our brethren. Oh, that the priests of the false gods of Egypt had not enticed our emperor!" ”

“ Severus, pro-consul at Verulam, to my son Casca, greeting.
“My son,—News has reached me of your disasters by sea and land on your journey towards Rome. This will reach you by the hand of the noble Antonius, who will by his goodness receive you into his household, to prepare you to take office in that of the Emperor himself. You refused the study of arms, to my great disquiet, therefore you must now study diligently to shape your manners after those of the young nobles at Rome. You must learn to sing, game, and become an adept on some instrument of music. ”

“ Severus subdued the riches of the east, and the valour of the west. He vanquished two competitors of reputation and ability, and defeated numerous armies, provided with weapons and discipline equal to his own. In that age, the art of fortification and the principles of tactics, were well understood by all the Roman generals; and the constant superiority of Severus was that of an artist, who uses the same instruments with more skill and industry than his rivals. ”

“ Peace returned to the provinces, cities were repeopled, roads repaired, Rome abounded in provisions, and the people were satisfied. Severus changed the constitution of the Prætorian Guards, and filled up their ranks with the bravest soldiers of the legions of the frontier. These barbarians, he thought, would be able to suppress any rebellion that might arise; and he increased the number to fifty thousand men. The Præfect of the Prætorians, who had at first been a simple soldier, now became the chief minister of the emperor, and was at the head of the finances and even of the law. ”

“ But Julian, having passed his winter at Sens, amid continual disturbance, in the ninth consulship of the emperor, and his own second, while the threats of the Germans were raging on all sides, being roused by favourable omens, marched with speed to Rheims, with the greater alacrity and joy because Severus was in command of the army there; a man inclined to agree with him, void of arrogance, but of proved propriety of conduct and experience in war, and likely to follow his lawful authority, obeying his general like a well-disciplined soldier. ”

“ In his banishment, Plautianus formed an acquaintance with Severus, who, some years after, ascended the imperial throne. This was the beginning of his prosperity; Severus paid the greatest attention to him, and, if we believe some authors, their familiarity and intercourse were carried beyond the bounds of modesty and propriety. Plautianus shared the favours of Severus on the throne as well as in obscurity. He was invested with as much power as his patron at Rome, and in the provinces; and, indeed, he wanted but the name of emperor to be his equal. ”