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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 584 examples.

PAS record number: OXON-B3CEA2

Record: OXON-B3CEA2
Object type: COIN
Broadperiod: ROMAN
Description: A Roman silver denarius depicting Caracall…
Workflow: Awaiting validationFind awaiting validation

PAS record number: SUR-D7BD0E

Record: SUR-D7BD0E
Object type: COIN
Broadperiod: ROMAN
Description: An incomplete Roman plated silver denarius…
Workflow: Awaiting validationFind awaiting validation

PAS record number: GLO-A39061

Record: GLO-A39061
Object type: COIN
Broadperiod: ROMAN
Description: A heavily worn silver Denarius of Caracall…
Workflow: Awaiting validationFind awaiting validation

PAS record number: PUBLIC-10DD65

Record: PUBLIC-10DD65
Object type: COIN
Broadperiod: ROMAN
Description: A complete Roman silver denarius of Caraca…
Workflow: PublishedFind published

Other resources about Caracalla

View all coins recorded by the scheme attributed to Caracalla.

Information from Wikipedia

  • Preferred label: Caracalla
  • Full names:
    • Caracalla
  • Title: Consul of the Roman Empire
  • Predecessor: Septimius Severus
  • Successor: Macrinus
  • Definition: Caracalla ( KARR-ə-KAL-ə; 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), formally known as Antoninus (Marcus Aurelius Severus Antoninus), was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. His name at birth was Lucius Septimius Bassianus. He was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Septimius Severus and Julia Domna. Co-ruler with his father from 198, he continued to rule with his brother Geta, emperor from 209, after their father's death in 211. His brother was murdered by the Praetorian Guard later that year, supposedly under orders from Caracalla himself, who then reigned afterwards as sole ruler of the Roman Empire. 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 enacted against the people of 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. Dio Cassius (c. 155 – c. 235) and Herodian (c. 170 – c. 240) present Caracalla as a soldier first and an emperor second. In the 12th century, Geoffrey of Monmouth started the legend of Caracalla's role as the 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 Louis XVI of France (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):
    • Consul of the Roman Empire
    • List of Roman emperors
  • Came After:
    • Gaius Cassius Regallianus
    • Titus Murrenius Severus
    • Lucius Aurelius Commodus Pompeianus
    • Lucius Fulvius Gavius Numisius Petronius Aemilianus
    • Lucius Valerius Messalla (consul 214)
    • Marcus Nummius Umbrius Primus Senecio Albinus
    • Quintus Hedius Lollianus Plautius Avitus
    • Gaius Octavius Appius Suetrius Sabinus
  • Came before:
    • Lucius Fabius Cilo
    • Lucius Annius Fabianus
    • Marcus Nonius Arrius Mucianus
    • Lucius Annius Maximus
    • Gaius Septimius Severus Aper
    • Marcus Annius Flavius Libo
  • Subjects on wikipedia:

Types issued

Issuing mints

Adrian Murdoch's Emperor's of Rome

This video has been embedded from Adrian Murdoch's series of podcasts on the Emperors of Rome. Many thanks to him for allowing us to use these podcasts.

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