Emperor Caracalla AD 196-217

Silver Denarius, "The state is overjoyed with the coming of Caracalla"

Obv: IMP CAE M AVR ANT AVG P TR P - Laureate bust right, draped and cuirassed.

Rev: MINER VICTRIX - Minerva standing left, holding Victory and spear, Roman
trophy in background.

David R. Sear, Roman Coins & Their Values (1981) – pg. 200, #1924:

“Obv. As 1917 [IMP . CAE . M . AVR . ANT . AVG . P . TR . P .] Rev. MINERV . VICTRIX. Minerva stf. 1. beside trophy, holding Victory and spear. C. 159. R.I.C. 25a B.M.C. 107.”

Laodicea ad Mar mint AD 198 = RIC 336b (s) Scarce - Cohen 159/ 2.85 g.

I - Historical & Biographical Background

While there is dispute as to the exact day of his birth, most historical sources agree that Caracalla was born in April of 188 AD in Lugdunum, and was named Lucius Septimus Bassianus (Vagi 276). Bassianus received the nickname “Caracalla” as a result of his affinity for the long overcoat used by Roman soldiers stationed in the north, and based on a Gallic tunic design (Boatwright 410).

His father Septimus Severus seized power in 193 AD as a result of the assassination of Commodus on December 31, 192 AD. Severus was promoted to Emperor by the troops in his faction of the army stationed in the Danube during the struggle for power that followed the assassination of the Emperor Commodus. After a fight between the Senate, Praetorians, and three divisions of the army, Severus was the only one able to maintain control and power and became the victor of the Imperial throne. Severus had two sons, Bassianus and Geta. Bassianus is characterized by some historians as a “docile, affable youth who changed over time (Vagi 276).”

After his father had quelled the chaos in Asia Minor in 195 AD, Bassinius was re-named as Marcus Aurelius Antonius Pius Augustus and was hailed as “Caesar” at the age of about seven. This new name indicates the family’s efforts at connecting their heritage with that of the last of the “good emperors” of Rome, Marcus Aurelius, in order to cement and secure their position as the Imperial line.

In 197 Severus took his family along on his campaign into Parthia, and in 197 AD M. Aurelius Antoninus was named “Pontifex” and “Destinatus Imperator”, or “Emperor Designate” (Vagi 276; Oxford 333, 542). Following the success of the Parthian campaign in 198 AD, on January 28 Antoninus was raised from “Caesar” to “Augustus” at ten years old.

David Sear denotes on his Chart of Titles and Powers of Caracalla, pg. 197, that it was in the year 198 that Caracalla was bestowed the Imperatorial Acclamation of “Imperator” and was bestowed the political title of “Augustus”. Therefore, it can be concluded that it was during this period that this coin, Exhibit A-13, was minted, as evidenced by the obverse characters listing both his new titles of “Imperator” for his family’s military victory in Parthia, and “Augustus” for his new political rank.

After the successful conquest in Syria, the family remained in the territory for about a year according to Vagi, and it is likely this victory that warranted the placement of the Triumphal Trophy on the reverse of Caracalla’s coin. The Severi – the dynasty of Severus - victory in Syria was widely “heralded as glorious triumphs, and were celebrated on the Arch of Septimius Severus … in the Roman Forum… (Boatwright 410).” Given the fact that Caracalla was already installed as “Caesar” and as “Destinatus Imperator”, and had just recently been named “Augustus”, it would not seem out of the ordinary that this victory would be celebrated with a commemorative coin for the young “Imperator”.

Caracalla eventually came to power with the death of Severus in 211 AD, and ruled jointly with his brother Geta for a year, later killing him to cement his hold on power. The Emperor Caracalla ruled until the year 217 AD, when he was murder by the Prefect of the Praetorian Guard, Macrinus, while traveling from Edessa to Carrhae (Sear 197). The Emperor Caracalla is most noted among Classical scholars and historians for his grant of citizenship to all people throughout the Roman empire:

“The Emperor Caesar Marcus Aurelius Severus Antoninus Augustus [Caracalla] decrees… I grant the Roman citizenship to all my subjects throughout the world…” – Giessen Papyrus, no. 40, column 1 [ca. 212 AD] (Champion 143).

II – Bibliography

Boatwright, Mary T., et al. The Romans: From Village to Empire. New York: Oxford
University Press, 2004.

Champion, Craige B. ed. Roman Imperialism: Readings and Sources. Malden: Blackwell
Publishing, 2004.

Hammond, N. G. L. and H.H. Scullard ed. “Triumph”, “Imperator”, “Destinatio.” The
Oxford Classical Dictionary. 1970

Sear, David R. Roman Coins & Their Values. London: Seaby, 1981.

Vagi, David L. Coinage & The History of the Roman Empire, Vol 1. Hong Kong: Fitzroy
& Dearborn, 2000.