Ancient Rome

===Severan dynasty===

Commodus was killed by a conspiracy involving [[Quintus Aemilius Laetus]] and his wife Marcia in late 192&nbsp;AD. The following year is known as the [[Year of the Five Emperors]], during which [[Helvius Pertinax]], [[Didius Julianus]], [[Pescennius Niger]], [[Clodius Albinus]] and [[Septimius Severus]] held the imperial dignity. Pertinax, a member of the senate who had been one of Marcus Aurelius's right-hand men, was the choice of Laetus, and he ruled vigorously and judiciously. Laetus soon became jealous and instigated Pertinax's murder by the Praetorian Guard, who then auctioned the empire to the highest bidder, Didius Julianus, for 25,000 sesterces per man.{{Sfn|Cary|1967|page=704}} The people of Rome were appalled and appealed to the frontier legions to save them. The legions of three frontier provinces—[[Roman Britain|Britannia]], [[Pannonia Superior]], and [[Roman Syria|Syria]]—resented being excluded from the "[[Donativum|donative]]" and replied by declaring their individual generals to be emperor. Lucius Septimius Severus Geta, the Pannonian commander, bribed the opposing forces, pardoned the Praetorian Guards and installed himself as emperor. He and his successors governed with the legions' support. The changes on [[coin]]age and military expenditures were the root of the financial crisis that marked the [[Crisis of the Third Century]].

[[File:Septimusseverustondo.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|The [[Severan Tondo]], c.&nbsp;199, Severus, Julia Domna, Caracalla and Geta, whose face is erased]]
Severus was enthroned after invading Rome and having [[Didius Julianus]] killed. Severus attempted to revive totalitarianism and, addressing the Roman people and Senate, praised the severity and cruelty of Marius and Sulla, which worried the senators.<ref>[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/76*.html] Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'', LXXVI, 7.</ref> When [[Parthia]] invaded Roman territory, Severus successfully waged war against that country. Notwithstanding this military success, Severus failed in invading [[Hatra]], a rich Arabian city. Severus killed his legate, who was gaining respect from the legions; and his soldiers fell victim to famine. After this disastrous campaign, he withdrew.<ref>[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/76*.html] Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'', LXXVI, 9–12.</ref> Severus also intended to vanquish the whole of Britannia. To achieve this, he [[Roman invasion of Caledonia 208–210|waged war]] against the [[Caledonians]]. After many casualties in the army due to the terrain and the barbarians' ambushes, Severus himself went to the field. However, he became ill and died in 211&nbsp;AD, at the age of 65.

[[File:Caracalla Musei Capitolini MC2310.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Bust of [[Caracalla]] from the [[Capitoline Museums]], Rome]]
Upon the death of Severus, his sons [[Caracalla]] and [[Publius Septimius Geta|Geta]] were made emperors. Caracalla had his brother, a youth, assassinated in his mother's arms, and may have murdered 20,000 of Geta's followers. Like his father, Caracalla was warlike. He continued Severus' policy and gained respect from the legions. Knowing that the citizens of [[Alexandria]] disliked him and were denigrating his character, Caracalla served a banquet for its notable citizens, after which his soldiers killed all the guests. From the security of the temple of Sarapis, he then directed an indiscriminate slaughter of Alexandria's people.<ref>[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/78*.html] Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'', LXXVIII, 22–23.; [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Historia_Augusta/Caracalla*.html#ref35] ''Historia Augusta'', ''The Life of Caracalla'', VI.</ref> In 212, he issued the [[Constitutio Antoniniana|Edict of Caracalla]], giving full Roman citizenship to all free men living in the Empire, with the exception of the ''dediticii'', people who had become subject to Rome through surrender in war, and freed slaves.<ref name="dediticii">Giessen Papyrus, 40, 7–9 "I grant to all the inhabitants of the Empire the Roman citizenship and no one remains outside a civitas, with the exception of the dediticii"</ref>

[[Mary Beard (classicist)|Mary Beard]] points to the edict as a fundamental turning point, after which ''Rome'' was "effectively a new state masquerading under an old name".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Beard |first=Mary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x795CgAAQBAJ |title=SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome |date=2015-10-20 |publisher=Profile |isbn=978-1-84765-441-0 |pages=529–530 |language=en}}</ref>

[[Macrinus]] conspired to have Caracalla assassinated by one of his soldiers during a pilgrimage to the Temple of the Moon in Carrhae, in 217&nbsp;AD. Macrinus assumed power, but soon removed himself from Rome to the east and Antioch. His brief reign ended in 218, when the youngster Bassianus, high priest of the temple of the Sun at Emesa, and supposedly illegitimate son of Caracalla, was declared Emperor by the disaffected soldiers of Macrinus. He adopted the name of Antoninus but history has named him after his Sun god [[Elagabalus]], represented on Earth in the form of a large black stone. An incompetent and lascivious ruler,{{Sfn|Haywood|1971|pages=[https://archive.org/details/ancientworld0000unse/page/376 376]–393}} Elagabalus offended all but his favourites. [[Cassius Dio]], [[Herodian]] and the ''[[Historia Augusta]]'' give many accounts of his notorious extravagance. Elagabalus adopted his cousin [[Severus Alexander]], as Caesar, but subsequently grew jealous and attempted to assassinate him. However, the Praetorian guard preferred Alexander, murdered Elagabalus, dragged his mutilated corpse through the streets of Rome, and threw it into the Tiber. Severus Alexander then succeeded him. Alexander waged war against many foes, including the revitalised [[Persia]] and also the [[Germanic peoples]], who invaded Gaul. His losses generated dissatisfaction among his soldiers, and some of them murdered him during his Germanic campaign in 235&nbsp;AD.<ref>[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Historia_Augusta/Severus_Alexander/3*.html#ref239] ''Historia Augusta'', ''The Life of Alexander Severus'', LIX.</ref>