Portraits Of Power - The Faces Of Imperial Rome

Geta
Caesar 198-208
Augustus 209-211

As Caesar, Child Portrait

AR Denarius
P SEPT GETA CAES PONT, Bare-headed, draped bust right, seen from behind
NOBILITAS, Nobilitas standing right, holding scepter and statuette of Minerva

As Caesar, Teenage Portrait

AR Denarius
P SEPTIMIVS GETA CAES, Bare-headed, draped bust right, seen from behind
VOTA PVBLICA, Geta, togate and veiled, sacrificing at altar

As Augustus

AR Denarius
P SEPT GETA PIVS AVG BRIT, Laureate head right
FORTVNAE TR P III COS II, Fortuna seated left, holding rudder and cornucopia

Not much survives of the life of Publius Septimius Geta, thanks to the attempts by his brother to erase him from history. Although only a year younger than his brother Caracalla, Geta seems to have lagged significantly behind in terms of public advancement. He held no office while his brother served as Caesar from 197-198, and was elevated to Caesar only when Caracalla was elevated to co-emperor in 198; he would not attain equal status until 11 years later, in 209. While contemporary histories are fragmentary or written after the fact, Geta was described as the pretty playboy brother; he looked more like Severus, and was better liked by the Senate. He does not seem to have ever married.

While outwardly a happy family, the Severan boys loathed each other and quarrelled often. On his deathbed, Severus begged the boys to cooperate as the joint rulers of Rome. Geta, however, would be dead by the conclusion of the year. Writing off their differences as irreconcilable, the two brothers divided up the imperial palace, forbade each other from crossing the boundary, and ultimately decided to divide the empire between themselves, to the great distress of their mother. These plans seem to have fallen through, for as 211 drew to an end, they seemed to content themselves with assassination attempts against each other. Sometime in November or early December, Geta began styling himself in the image of their dead father on his coinage. Finally, on Saturnalia (26 December 211) their mother arranged a peace meeting between her sons at her private apartments. Geta was then stabbed to death, either by his brother's centurions, or by Caracalla himself. He is said to have died in his mother's arms, his final words, "Mother which hath birthed me, help! I am being murdered!" He was 22 years old.

Finally rid of his brother, Caracalla issued a public statement that he had acted in self-defense against an assassination attempt, and thereafter proclaimed Damnatio Memoriae against his brother, ordering all statues torn down, portraits defaced, coins melted, and names erased from inscriptions and histories. It became a capital offence to even mention Geta in conversation, and thousands perished as a result. Geta's memory was reinstituted in 217 following the death of his brother, but the damage at that point was largely irreversible.

on that age series of Geta. These age progressions are one of my many fascinations in numismatics. Growing up in the U.S., we are so accustomed to those frozen-in-time images of Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson.
I have a partial series of Charles III of Lorraine (acceeded the throne age 2, then reigned 63 years).

Caracalla
Caesar 196-198
Augustus with Septimius Severus 198-211
Augustus with Geta 211
Sole Reign 211 - 217

As Caesar

AR Denarius
M AVR ANTON CAES PONTIF, Bare-headed draped bust right, seen from behind
IMPERII FELICITAS, Felicitas standing left, holding caduceus and child

As Augustus, Child portrait

AE, Antioch, Pisidia
IMP CAES M AVR ANTONINVS A, Laureate head right
ANTIOCH GEN CL CA, Genius standing left, holding branch and cornucopia

As Augustus, Teenage Portrait

AR Denarius
ANTONINVS PIVS AVG, Laureate head right
VIRTVS AVGVSTOR, Virtus seated left, holding small Victory and parazonium

As Augustus, Sole Rule

AR Denarius
ANTONINVS PIVS AVG GERM, Laureate head right (having a particularly bad day!)
LIBERAL AVG VIIII, Liberalitas standing left, holding coin-counter and cornucopia


AR Antoninianus
ANTONINVS PIVS AVG GERM, Radiate draped bust right
VENVS VICTRIX, Venus standing left, holding spear, shield, and statuette of Victoria


AE Sestertius
M AVR ANTONINVS PIVS FELIX AVG, Radiate draped bust right, seen from behind
PROVIDENTIAE DEORVM SC, Providentia standing left, holding wand over globe at feet
*Note: Probably moderately tooled, heavily smoothed, and re-patinated, but nevertheless genuine*

Born in 188, Lucius Septimius Bassianus was described by contemporaries as a mean child. He would go on to become one of the most bloodthirsty, tyrannical emperors of Rome. He was five years old when his father was made emperor, and elevated to the status of Caesar in 196 at age eight. To give an extra degree of apparent legitimacy to his dynasty, Severus renamed his son Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, and all coins give his name as Antoninus Pius. At nine he was elevated to co-emperor with his father, although he probably exercised very little real authority. He was married to Plautilla, the daughter of his father's praetorian prefect Plautianus, in 202, although he was deeply unhappy with the arrangement, apparently complaining that his wife was squabbling his fortune. Three years later, in 205, he had Plautianus executed for treason (it remains unclear if this charge was justified, or if the plot was fabricated to rid himself of his wife), and Plautilla was sent away. His brother Geta was finally elevated to co-Augustus in 209 (the first time the empire had three legitimate emperors) and whatever sibling rivalry existed then erupted into hatred. Despite his father's deathbed pleas that they set aside their differences, Caracalla and Geta spent most of 211 squabbling and attempting to murder one another. On 26 December, Caracalla succeeded, the act carried out in front of their mother Julia Domna. This act would continue to haunt the remainder of his sole reign.

In a public statement, Caracalla claimed that Geta was the aggressor; that he had been forced to kill his brother in self-defense. Then, to stifle any dissent or investigation, Caracalla issued a Damnatio Memoriae against his brother, ordering the destruction of Geta's name and image across the empire, and forbidding anyone to even mention Geta on pain of death. The death toll from enforcement of this edict is said to be well in the thousands; most infamously this included the last surviving child of Marcus Aurelius. In 215 he had an entire crowd slaughtered outside of Alexandria upon hearing that a playwright had written a satirical play about the murder of Geta.

While Septimius Severus was a politician with military experience, Caracalla made no pretense about placing the Roman army above all else. He was the first emperor to deviate from the fashionable philosopher's beard instated into Roman fashion by Marcus Aurelius, preferring a more closely trimmed look. He preferred military dress to the formal aristocratic toga, and his nickname Caracalla comes from a Germanic cloak he often wore. Finances within the empire were stretched thin by his overly-generous pay raises to the army, so Caracalla debased the denarius, issued a new double-denarius denomination today called the Antoninianus (which was unpopular for having only about 50% more silver weight than a single denarius), and in a scheme to collect more taxes, he granted sweeping citizenship to all free adults within the empire, and compelled them all to both adopt his name Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, and pay taxes like a citizen. This edict would have significant consequences for the remainder of the third century.

Caracalla's reign was marked by near-constant warfare. He and Geta concluded a peace treaty with the Caledonians in early 211, writing the campaign off as a loss, and retreating their forces back to Hadrian's Wall. Caracalla remained in Rome only until 213, and thereafter never set foot in the city again. He spent 213-214 putting down border raids from the Germanic tribes, after which he switched his honorific on coinage from Britannicus to Germanicus. During this time, it is said that he became infected with a serious case of Alexander Mania, studying the ancient Macedonian king to the point of obsession, and converted at least one legion to "phalangari" after the by then obsolete battle formation. During his obsession, Caracalla eventually resolved to push his father's conquests of Parthia further, determined to reclaim the former empire of Alexander the Great all the way to India. He moved his army to Edessa in 216, and began preparing to invade and hopefully conquer Rome's greatest foe. This was cut short, however, in April 217 when Caracalla was murdered by one of his disgruntled soldiers when he had stopped to urinate. It is said that the soldier's brother had been executed on orders of Caracalla, and the disgruntled troop was moved into action by Caracalla's praetorian prefect, Macrinus, who was acting out of fear when a soothsayer told the emperor that Macrinus would one day usurp him. Caracalla was 29 years old.

Nice additions and continuation....
Really like the Plautilla Pietas coin!...Interesting
Here's my humble offering..
Caracalla RIC IV#224 AND Plautilla RIC#369

Thanks Bob!

Nice selections, Paul. I've noticed that on those Plautilla denarii with Venus reverse, she often looks less like the goddess of beauty and love, and more like an absolutely jacked male bodybuilder. Just look at those big, square pecs!

Diadumenian
Caesar under Macrinus, 217-218
Augustus, ca. May-June 218

As Caesar

AE tetrassarion, Moesia, Nikopolis ad Istrum, Magistrate Statius Longinus
Κ Μ ΟΠΠΕΛ ΑΝΤΩΝ ΔΙΑΔΟΥΜΕΝΙΑΝΟΣ Κ, bare-headed, draped bust right
ΥΠ ΣΤΑΤΙΟΥ ΛΟΝ-ΓΙ-ΝΟΥ ΝΙΚΟΠΟΛΙΤΩΝ ΠΡΟΣ Ι/ΣΤ-ΡΩ, Hera standing left, holding scepter and patera


Diadumenian was the young son of Macrinus, and was appointed Caesar in an effort to consolidate support and establish a dynasty. His father raised him to co-Augustus in May 218 when Elagabalus was declared emperor by the troops, and was sent with some loyal soldiers to seek refuge in Parthia. They were however captured and Diadumenian was executed. He was about 9 years old. Diadumenian was technically the first emperor who lived entirely within the Severan period, although his legal status as Augustus is questionable.

Coins of Diadumenian are generally quite scarce, although provincial bronzes are much more available and affordable than imperial coins of any metal. Several provincial cities and at least one Imperial mint produced coins for Diadumenian as Augustus, which are extremely rare.

Thank you so much for taking the time to share this beautiful pieces and detailed information,
Best,