Van wie was Caracalla?

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname Caracalla (; Latin: [karaˈkalːa]), was Roman emperor from 198 to 217 AD, first serving as nominal co-emperor under his father and then ruling alone after 211 AD. He was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Emperor Septimius Severus and Empress Julia Domna. Severus proclaimed Caracalla co-ruler in 198, doing the same with his other son Geta in 209. The two brothers briefly shared power after their father's death in 211, but Caracalla soon had Geta murdered by the Praetorian Guard and became sole ruler of the Roman Empire. Julia Domna had a significant share in governance, since Caracalla found administration to be mundane. His reign featured domestic instability and external invasions by the Germanic peoples.

Caracalla issued the Antonine Constitution (Latin: Constitutio Antoniniana), also known as the Edict of Caracalla, which granted Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants (except the dediticii) throughout the Roman Empire. The edict gave all the enfranchised men Caracalla's adopted praenomen and nomen: "Marcus Aurelius". Other landmarks of his reign were the construction of the Baths of Caracalla, the second-largest bathing complex in the history of Rome, the introduction of a new Roman currency named the antoninianus, a sort of double denarius, and the massacres he ordered, both in Rome and elsewhere in the empire. In 216, Caracalla began a campaign against the Parthian Empire. He did not see this campaign through to completion due to his assassination by a disaffected soldier in 217. Macrinus succeeded him as emperor three days later.

The ancient sources portray Caracalla as a cruel tyrant; his contemporaries Cassius Dio (c. 155 – c. 235) and Herodian (c. 170 – c. 240) present him as a soldier first and an emperor second. In the 12th century, Geoffrey of Monmouth started the legend of Caracalla's role as king of Britain. Later, in the 18th century, the works of French painters revived images of Caracalla due to apparent parallels between Caracalla's tyranny and that ascribed to French King Louis XVI (r. 1774–1792). Modern works continue to portray Caracalla as an evil ruler, painting him as one of the most tyrannical of all Roman emperors.

Julia Avita Mamaea was Romeins keizerin van 222 tot 235. Zij was de moeder van Severus Alexander. In feite was zij degene die het keizerrijk bestuurde toen haar zoon aan de macht was.

Als weduwe hertrouwde Julia Mamaea met Marcus Julius Gessius Marcianus. Severus Alexander was een van de kinderen geboren uit dat huwelijk.

In 221, toen de jonge Elagabalus aan de macht was, stonden de zaken er slecht voor. Elagabalus was er openlijk op uit zijn neef Severus Alexander te vermoorden. In het begin van 222 zag Julia Mamaea kans om in een complot met haar moeder Julia Maesa Elagabalus en zijn moeder Julia Soaemias door de pretoriaanse garde te laten vermoorden.

Op 13 maart 222, de dag dat haar zoon keizer van Rome werd, kreeg zij de titel Augusta, en zij zou gedurende de daarop volgende dertien jaar de machtigste persoon zijn in het keizerrijk.

In 225 arrangeerde zij het huwelijk tussen haar zoon en Orbiana, die de titel Augusta erfde van Mamaea's moeder Maesa die kort daarvoor was overleden. Binnen twee jaar ontbond zij dit huwelijk weer, niet alleen omdat haar invloed op haar zoon erdoor verminderd werd, maar vooral omdat Orbiana's vader ervan werd verdacht tegen haar samen te zweren met de pretoriaanse garde. Orbiana leverde uiteraard haar titel weer in en werd verbannen naar Noord-Afrika en haar vader werd terechtgesteld.

Mamaea was vanaf dat moment niet alleen de enige Augusta in het keizerrijk, maar eiste ook allerlei extra titels: Mater Augusti et castrorum et senatus et patriae (moeder des keizers en der legerkampen en van de senaat en des vaderlands) en uiteindelijk zelfs Mater universi generis humani (moeder van het gehele menselijke geslacht).

De dominantie van een vrouw in combinatie met de zwakheid van de keizer werd vooral in militaire kringen niet gewaardeerd. Op de terugweg van een zwakke veldtocht tegen de Alemannen in het voorjaar van 235 kwamen soldaten in opstand en, terwijl Julia Mamaea haar 26-jarige zoon - die haar vervloekte voor alle ellende die hen overkwam - in haar armen klemde, werden zij beiden gedood.

Julia Soaemias Bassiana (180 – 11 March 222) was a Syrian noblewoman and the mother of Roman emperor Elagabalus, who ruled over the Roman Empire from 218 to 222. She was one of his chief advisors, initially with the support and accompaniment of her mother Julia Maesa. She and her mother guided the young emperor until growing unrest and a family division led to her son's replacement by her nephew Severus Alexander. Julia Soaemias was killed along with her son by the Praetorian Guard.

Julia Soaemias was born and raised in Emesa, Syria and through her mother was related to the Royal family of Emesa, and through marriage, to the Severan dynasty of Ancient Rome.