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Caracalla

Reece Period attributed: Period 10

Obverse image of a coin of Caracalla

Member of the The Severans dynasty.

Coins for this issuer were issued from 198 until 217.

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was born in AD 188, the elder son of Septimius Severus and Julia Domna. He quarrelled bitterly with his younger brother, Geta, throughout his youth. In 198, Severus gave Caracalla the title of Augustus. As Severus ailed, Caracalla angled to succeed him. Julia Domna, however, thwarted his plans, and the brothers became dual emperors when Severus died.

Caracalla and Geta didn’t share the power well, and built up opposing factions. Both had a reputation for cruelty and lack of scruples. After ten months of co-rule, Caracalla murdered his brother, but told the Senate that he did it in self-defence because Geta was trying to poison him. The Senate didn’t really believe him, and when Caracalla began killing off Geta’s supporters, they were further estranged.

Caracalla got his nickname from his preference for a certain type of garment, the caracullus, of German or Celtic origin. This was a close-fitting hooded garment made of many small pieces of cloth. He is also remembered for his immense bathing complex, the remains of which still stand in Rome.

This emperor shed plenty of unnecessary blood, from Geta’s supporters to a massacre of Alexandrians and a surprise attack on the Parthians. While Caracalla was in the East, a plot for his assassination was hatched; the commander of troops in Rome tried to warn the emperor, but Julia Domna intercepted the letter. He was murdered while pulling down his trousers to relieve himself.

Latest examples recorded with images

We have recorded 664 examples.

PAS record number: OXON-EF35DC

Record: OXON-EF35DC
Object type: COIN
Broadperiod: ROMAN
Description: A silver Roman denarius of Caracalla …
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PAS record number: BH-716573

Record: BH-716573
Object type: COIN
Broadperiod: ROMAN
Description: A silver Roman denarius of Caracalla datin…
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PAS record number: SUR-A48056

Record: SUR-A48056
Object type: COIN
Broadperiod: ROMAN
Description: A fragment of a silver Roman denarius …
Workflow: Awaiting validationFind awaiting validation

PAS record number: BUC-998708

Record: BUC-998708
Object type: COIN
Broadperiod: ROMAN
Description: A silver denarius of Caracalla (AD 198-217…
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Other resources about Caracalla

View all coins recorded by the scheme attributed to Caracalla.

Information from Wikipedia

  • Preferred label: Caracalla
  • Full names:
    • Title:
    • Predecessor: Septimius Severus
    • Successor: Macrinus
    • Definition: Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname "Caracalla" (/ˌkærəˈkælə/) was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. He was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Emperor Septimius Severus and Empress Julia Domna. Proclaimed co-ruler by his father in 198, he reigned jointly with his brother Geta, co-emperor from 209, after their father's death in 211. His brother was murdered by the Praetorian Guard later that year, under orders from Caracalla himself, who then reigned afterwards as sole ruler of the Roman Empire. Caracalla found administration to be mundane, leaving those responsibilities to his mother. Caracalla's reign featured domestic instability and external invasions by the Germanic peoples. Caracalla's reign became notable for the Antonine Constitution (Latin: Constitutio Antoniniana), also known as the Edict of Caracalla, which granted Roman citizenship to all free men throughout the Roman Empire. The edict gave all the enfranchised men Caracalla's adopted praenomen and nomen: "Marcus Aurelius". Domestically, Caracalla became known for the construction of the Baths of Caracalla, which became the second-largest baths in Rome; for the introduction of a new Roman currency named the antoninianus, a sort of double denarius; and for 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 tyrant and as a cruel leader, an image that has survived into modernity. 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 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.
    • Parents:
    • Birth place: Lugdunum
    • Death place:
    • Spouse:
    • Other title(s):
      • List of Roman consuls
      • Roman consul
      • List of Roman emperors
    • Came After:
      • Marcus Nummius Umbrius Primus Senecio Albinus
      • Gaius Cassius Regallianus
      • Lucius Aurelius Commodus Pompeianus
      • Lucius Valerius Messalla (consul 214)
      • Gaius Octavius Appius Suetrius Sabinus
      • Lucius Fulvius Gavius Numisius Petronius Aemilianus
      • Titus Murrenius Severus
      • Quintus Hedius Lollianus Plautius Avitus
    • Came before:
      • Gaius Septimius Severus Aper
      • Lucius Annius Maximus
      • Marcus Nonius Arrius Mucianus
      • Lucius Annius Fabianus
      • Lucius Fabius Cilo
      • Marcus Annius Flavius Libo
    • Subjects on wikipedia:

    Types issued

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