Official Name: IMPERATOR CAESAR LUCIUS SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS PERTINAX AUGUSTUS
Birthdate: April 11, 145 CE.
(Historia Augusta, Life of Septimius Severus, 1)
Birthplace: Leptis Magna, Libya.
(Historia Augusta, Life of Septimius Severus, 1)
Reign: Declared emperor by his troops in Carnuntum (city in modern-day Austria) in April 193 CE.
(Herodian 2.10) (Historia Augusta, Life of Septimius Severus, 5)
Marriages:
Paccia Marciana (175-186 CE)
(Historia Augusta, Life of Septimius Severus, 3)
Julia Domna (187-211 CE)
(Historia Augusta, Life of Septimius Severus, 3)
While she was living in Emesa, Syria, an astrologer predicted that Julia Domna would marry a king. After hearing this prophecy, Septimius Severus sought her out and they married in 187 CE. Their marriage was a happy one, lasting over twenty years. During his life, Septimius Severus gave Julia Domna several prestigious titles such as Augusta, Mater Augustus (Mother of Augustus), and Mater Castrorum (Mother of the Camp).
(Historia Augusta, Life of Septimius Severus, 3)
(RIC IV Septimius Severus 161B)
Children:
Death: Septimius Severus died of natural causes in Eboracum (modern-day York, England). He died on February 4, 211 CE.
(Cassius Dio, Roman History, 77.15) (Historia Augusta, Life of Septimius Severus, 18)
Bust of Septimius Severus, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, October 2019
Bust of Septimius Severus, Roma Universalis Exhibition, Rome, February 2019
Bust of Septimius Severus, NY Carlsberg Glyptothek, Copenhagen, September 2018
193
(Historia Augusta, Life of Septimius Severus, 5-10)
197
(Historia Augusta, Life of Septimius Severus, 16)
208
(Herodian 3.14) (Cassius Dio, Roman History, 77.15) (Historia Augusta, Life of Septimius Severus, 18)
211
(Cassius Dio, Roman History, Book 77.15)
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Cite this page as: Darius Arya, The American Institute for Roman Culture, “Septimius Severus,” Ancient Rome Live. Last modified 1/6/2023. https://ancientromelive.org/SeptimiusSeverus/
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