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Publius Septimius Geta

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  Publius Septimius Geta

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  Publius Septimius Geta

Publius Septimius Geta

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Geta
Emperor of the Roman Empire
Reign	209 - February 4, 211 (with Severus & Caracalla); February - December 211 (with Caracalla)
Full name	Publius Septimius Geta (from birth to 209); Caesar Publius Septimius Geta Augustus (from 209 to death)
Born	March 7, 189(189-03-07)
Birthplace	Rome
Died	December 26, 211 (age 22)
Predecessor	Septimius Severus (alone)
Successor	Caracalla (alone)
Dynasty	Severan
Father	Septimius Severus
Mother	Julia Domna

Roman imperial dynasties
Severan dynasty
The Severan Tondo
Chronology
Septimius Severus		193 – 198
-with Caracalla		198 – 209
-with Caracalla and Geta		209 – 211
Caracalla and Geta		211 – 211
Caracalla		211 – 217
Interlude: Macrinus		217 – 218
Elagabalus		218 – 222
Alexander Severus		222 – 235
Dynasty
Severan dynasty family tree Category:Severan Dynasty
Succession
Preceded by Year of the Five Emperors		Followed by Crisis of the Third Century

Publius Septimius Geta (March 7, 189–December 26, 211), was a Roman Emperor co-ruling with his father Septimius Severus and his older brother Caracalla from 209 to his death.

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Life

Geta was the younger son of Septimius Severus by his second wife Julia Domna. Geta was born in Rome, at a time when his father was only a provincial governor at the service of emperor Commodus.

Geta was always in a place secondary to his older brother Lucius, the heir known as Caracalla. Perhaps due to this, the relations between the two were difficult from their early years. Conflicts were constant and often required the mediation of their mother. To appease his youngest son, Septimius Severus gave Geta the title of Augustus in 209. During the campaign against the Britons of the early 3rd century, the imperial propaganda publicized a happy family that shared the responsibilities of rule. Caracalla was his father's second in command, Julia Domna the trusted counsellor and Geta had administrative and bureaucratic duties. Truth was that the rivalry and antipathy between the brothers was far from being improved.

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Joint emperor

When Septimius Severus died in York in the beginning of 211, Caracalla and Geta were proclaimed joint emperors and returned to Rome. Geoffrey of Monmouth (a highly unreliable medieval source for the history of Roman Britain) claims that Geta was raised to the kingship of the Britons by the Roman legions still occupying York. The Britons, however, raised Caracalla to the throne because Monmouth states Caracalla was the son of a Briton mother. This contradicts evidence that Geta and Caracalla had the same mother.

Regardless, the shared throne was not a success: the brothers argued about every decision, from law to political appointments. Later sources speculate about the desire of the two of splitting the empire in two halves. By the end of the year, the situation was unbearable. Caracalla tried to murder Geta during the festival of Saturnalia without success. Later in December he arranged a meeting with his brother in his mother's apartments, and had him murdered in her arms by centurions.

Following Geta's assassination, Caracalla damned his memory and ordered his name to be removed from all inscriptions. The now sole emperor also took the opportunity to get rid of his political enemies, on the grounds of conspiracy with the deceased. Contemporary sources^{[citation needed]} refer to numbers of about 20,000 persons of both sexes killed and/or proscribed during this time.

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See also

• Severan dynasty family tree

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References

• Dio Cassius lxxvii; Herodian iv. I.

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External links

• Media related to Publius Septimius Geta at Wikimedia Commons
• *Life of Geta (Historia Augusta at LacusCurtius: Latin text and English translation)