Caracalla
A brutal and paranoid emperor whose reign is defined by fratricide and the construction of Rome's most breathtaking public bath complex.
Born 188 (age 1838)·Roman emperor from 198 to 217·Birthday: April 4
Biography
Born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, the son of Emperor Septimius Severus, his life was shaped by dynastic ambition and the battlefields of the empire's frontiers. His father renamed him Marcus Aurelius Antoninus to link him to a revered dynasty, but history remembers him by the Gallic hooded cloak he popularized: the Caracalla. His rule began in a tense joint administration with his younger brother Geta, a partnership that collapsed into mutual hatred within months of their father's death. In a shocking act of domestic tyranny, Caracalla orchestrated Geta's murder in their mother's arms, then purged thousands of his brother's supporters. His reign was one of military focus and populist gestures; he raised soldiers' pay and, in a move of profound historical consequence, granted Roman citizenship to nearly every free inhabitant of the empire with the Constitutio Antoniniana. This universal citizenship was less about benevolence than expanding the tax base. His most enduring physical legacy is the Baths of Caracalla, a staggering complex of pools, libraries, and gymnasiums whose ruins still awe visitors. He was assassinated on a roadside in Mesopotamia, cut down by a disgruntled soldier during a campaign, ending a rule steeped in blood and grandiosity.
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Caracalla's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
188Born
193Started school
201Became a teenager
204Could drive
206Could vote
209Turned 21
218Turned 30
228Turned 40
238Turned 50
248Turned 60
258Turned 70
268Turned 80
2026Age 1838 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Issued the Constitutio Antoniniana in 212 AD, extending Roman citizenship to all free-born men in the empire.
- Commissioned the massive Baths of Caracalla, one of the largest and most luxurious public bathhouses ever built.
- Successfully campaigned along the Germanic frontier and in the East against the Parthian Empire.
- Increased the pay of Roman legionaries significantly, binding the army's loyalty at great fiscal cost.
Did You Know?
His nickname 'Caracalla' comes from a type of Gallic hooded tunic he frequently wore and made fashionable.
He was a great admirer of Alexander the Great and even raised a phalanx of soldiers in the Macedonian style.
He ordered the construction of a vast racetrack in Rome, the Circus Varianus, whose location is now lost.
A 3rd-century portrait sculpture of him, the 'Farnese Bust,' is considered a masterpiece of Roman art.
“Let there be no enemies among the Romans.”
