Caracalla - Roman Emperor : 198-217 A.D. - 
Bronze As 24mm (9.91 grams) Struck circa 214-215 A.D.
Reference: RIC 576; Sear 7009; BMC 274, Cohen 540.
ANTONINVS PIVS AVG GERM, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right
 PROVIDENTIA DEORVM S-C, Providentia standing left holding wand over globe
 at her feet and sceptre.

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In Roman mythology , Providentia was the goddess of forethought. Providentia.    (Providence).----With all their vices, follies, and gross superstitions (indeed, in spite of them), the Romans still appear to have cherished a belief in the perpetual and direct interposition of the gods with respect to human affairs.----Among the various monuments which attest this religious feeling, or at leas this profession of religion, on the part of both princes and people, none are more conspicuous than those to be found on their imperial coins, for it is to be observed that previous to the substitution of the monarchical for the republican form of government, that allegorical divinity whose name is derived from providere (to foresee) is not seen either on metal or on marble.In ancient Roman religion , Providentia is a divine personification of the ability to foresee and make provision. She was among the embodiments of virtues that were part of the Imperial cult of ancient Rome .Providentia thus figures in art , cult, and literature , but has little or no mythology as such.

Providentia was an important moral and philosophical abstraction in Roman discourse. Cicero says it is one of the three main components of prudentia, "the knowledge of things that are good or bad or neither," along with memoria, "memory," and intellegentia, "understanding." The Latin word is the origin of the Christian concept of divine providence .

Imperial cult

Upon the death of Augustus , the emperor Tiberius established an altar to Providentia Augusta in recognition of "the godhead manifested in his father's provisions for the Roman state ." The cult title Augusta was attached also to such goddesses as Pax , Justitia , and Concordia during the Imperial era . Traditional epithets invoked a deity within a specific functional sphere by declaring their power. The title Augusta thus fixed the divinity's force within the sphere of the emperor as Augustus.

In 28 AD, after Tiberius arrested and executed Sejanus for conspiracy, the Cult of Virtues played a role in the propaganda that presented the restoration of Imperial order as a return to constitutional government. Sacrifices were offered to Providentia along with Salus ("Security"), Libertas ("Liberty"), and the Genius . Providentia at this time also received a permanent full-time priest (sacerdos) devoted to her. In the wake of the Pisonian conspiracy against Nero , religious observances in 59 AD to repair the state included sacrifices by the Arval Brethren to various deities, among them Providentia.

Providentia appeared on Roman coins issued under Vespasian , Trajan , Hadrian , Antoninus Pius , Septimius Severus , Commodus and Diocletian . A coin issued by Titus depicted his deified father Vespasian handing a globe to his son as his successor, with the legend Providentia Augusta. Coins issued by Nerva depicted the Genius of the Senate handing the globe to the new emperor, with the legend Providentia Senatus, "the Providence of the Senate."

Providentia in numismatics

The figure of Providentia from a sculpture group in Vienna, as depicted on an Austrian 100-euro gold coin

Providentia has been the main motif for many collector coins and medals, the most recent one is the famous 100 euro Sculpture Gold coin issued on November 13, 2002. The reverse features the Providentia Fountain (“Provendentia Brunnen”) in central Vienna, work of one of the greatest baroque sculptor Georg Rafael Donner . In the centre of the coin, the allegorical figure of Providentia with a medallion of the Roman god, Janus , who had two faces, is displayed. Surrounding the fountain there are other symbolic figures representing tributary rivers of the Danube . Providentia is enthroned high above the figure of an old man representing the Enns River .

Caracalla (Latin: Marcus Aurelius Severus Antoninus Augustus;4 April 188 – 8 April 217) was Roman emperor from 198 to 217 The eldest son of Septimius Severus , for a short time he ruled jointly with his younger brother Geta until he had him murdered in 211. Caracalla is remembered as one of the most notorious and unpleasant of emperors because of the massacres and persecutions he authorized and instigated throughout the Empire.

Caracalla's reign was also notable for the Constitutio Antoniniana (also called the Edict of Caracalla), granting Roman citizenship to all freemen throughout the Roman Empire , which according to historian Cassius Dio , was done for the purposes of raising tax revenue. He is also one of the emperors who commissioned a large public bath-house (thermae) in Rome. The remains of the Baths of Caracalla are still one of the major tourist attractions of the Italian capital.

The Severan Tondo

Early life

O: laureate draped bust of young Caracalla ANTONINVS _AVGVSTVS	R: Felicitas holding caduceus and cornucopia FELICI_TAS AVGG
silver denarius struck in Rome 200; ref.: RIC 35

Caracalla, of mixed Punic –Roman and Syrian descent, was born Lucius Septimius Bassianus in Lugdunum , Gaul (now Lyon , France ), the son of the later Emperor Septimius Severus and Julia Domna . At the age of seven, his name was changed to Marcus Aurelius Septimius Bassianus Antoninus to create a connection to the family of the philosopher emperor Marcus Aurelius . He was later given the Caracallanickname , which referred to the Gallic hooded tunic he habitually wore and which he made fashionable.

Reign (211)

Murder of brother (211)

His father died in 211 at Eboracum (now York) while on campaign in northern Britain. Caracalla was present and was then proclaimed emperor by the troops along with his brother Publius Septimius Antoninus Geta . Caracalla suspended the campaign in Caledonia and soon ended all military activity, as both brothers wanted to be sole ruler thus making relations between them increasingly hostile. When they tried to rule the Empire jointly they actually considered dividing it in halves, but were persuaded not to do so by their mother.

Then in December 211 at a reconciliation meeting arranged by their mother Julia, Caracalla had Geta assassinated by members of the Praetorian Guard loyal to himself, Geta dying in his mother's arms. Caracalla then persecuted and executed most of Geta's supporters and ordered a damnatio memoriae pronounced by the Senate against his brother's memory.

Geta's image was simply removed from all coinage, paintings and statues, leaving a blank space next to Caracalla's. Among those executed were his former cousin-wife Fulvia Plautilla , his unnamed daughter with Plautilla along with her brother and other members of the family of his former father-in-law Gaius Fulvius Plautianus . Plautianus had already been executed for alleged treachery against emperor Severus in 205.

About the time of his accession he ordered the Roman currency devalued, the silver purity of the denarius was decreased from 56.5% to 51.5%, the actual silver weight dropping from 1.81 grams to 1.66 grams – though the overall weight slightly increased. In 215 he introduced the antoninianus , a "double denarius" weighing 5.1 grams and containing 2.6 grams of silver – a purity of 52%.

In the Roman provinces

In 213, Caracalla went north to the German frontier to deal with the Alamanni tribesmen who were raiding in the Agri Decumates . The Romans did defeat the Alamanni in battle near the river Main , but failed to win a decisive victory over them. After a peace agreement was brokered and a large bribe payment given to the invaders, the Senate conferred upon him the empty title of Germanicus Maximus. He also acquired the surname Alemannicus at this time. The following year the tyrant traveled to the East, to Syria and Egypt never to return to Rome.

Gibbon in his work describes Caracalla as "the common enemy of mankind". He left the capital in 213, about a year after the murder of Geta, and spent the rest of his reign in the provinces, particularly those of the East. He kept the Senate and other wealthy families in check by forcing them to construct, at their own expense, palaces, theaters, and places of entertainment throughout the periphery. New and heavy taxes were levied against the bulk of the population, with additional fees and confiscations targeted at the wealthiest families.

When the inhabitants of Alexandria heard Caracalla's claims that he had killed Geta in self-defense, they produced a satire mocking this as well as Caracalla's other pretensions. In 215, Caracalla savagely responded to this insult by slaughtering the deputation of leading citizens who had unsuspectingly assembled before the city to greet his arrival, and then unleashed his troops for several days of looting and plunder in Alexandria. According to historian Cassius Dio, over 20,000 people were killed.^{[citation needed]}

Domestic Roman policy

Affiliation with the army

During his reign as emperor, Caracalla raised the annual pay of an average legionary to 675 denarii and lavished many benefits on the army which he both feared and admired, as instructed by his father Septimius Severus who had told him on his deathbed to always mind the soldiers and ignore everyone else. Caracalla did manage to win the trust of the military with generous pay rises and popular gestures, like marching on foot among the ordinary soldiers, eating the same food, and even grinding his own flour with them.

With the soldiers, "He forgot even the proper dignity of his rank, encouraging their insolent familiarity," according to Gibbon. "The vigour of the army, instead of being confirmed by the severe discipline of the camps, melted away in the luxury of the cities."

O: laureate head of Caracalla ANTONINVS PIVS AVG GERM	R: Sol holding globe , rising hand P M TR P _XVIIII COS IIII P P
silver denarius struck in Rome 216; ref.: RIC 281b, C 359

His official portraiture marks a break with the detached images of the philosopher–emperors who preceded him: his close-cropped haircut is that of a soldier, his pugnacious scowl a realistic and threatening presence. This rugged soldier–emperor iconic archetype was adopted by most of the following emperors who depended on the support of the troops to rule, like his eventual successor Maximinus Thrax .

Seeking to secure his own legacy, Caracalla also commissioned one of Rome's last major architectural achievements, the Baths of Caracalla , the 2nd largest public baths ever built in ancient Rome. The main room of the baths was larger than St. Peter's Basilica , and could easily accommodate over 2,000 Roman citizens at one time. The bath house opened in 216, complete with libraries, private rooms and outdoor tracks. Internally it was lavishly decorated with gold-trimmed marble floors, columns, mosaics and colossal statuary.

Edict of Caracalla (212)

The Constitutio Antoniniana (Latin: "Constitution [or Edict] of Antoninus") (also called Edict of Caracalla) was an edict issued in 212 by Caracalla which declared that all free men in the Roman Empire were to be given full Roman citizenship and all free women in the Empire were given the same rights as Roman women.

Before 212, for the most part only inhabitants of Italia held full Roman citizenship. Colonies of Romans established in other provinces, Romans (or their descendants) living in provinces, the inhabitants of various cities throughout the Empire, and small numbers of local nobles (such as kings of client countries) held full citizenship also. Provincials, on the other hand, were usually non-citizens, although many held the Latin Right .

The Roman Historian Cassius Dio contended that the sole motivation for the edict was a desire to increase state revenue.At the time aliens did not have to pay most taxes that were required of citizens, so although nominally Caracalla was elevating their legal status, he was more importantly expanding the Roman tax base. The effect of this was to remove the distinction that citizenship had held since the foundation of Rome and as such the act had a profound effect upon the fabric of Roman society.^[16]

War with Parthia

According to the historian Herodian, in 216, Caracalla tricked the Parthians into believing that he accepted a marriage and peace proposal, but then had the bride and guests slaughtered after the wedding celebrations. The thereafter ongoing conflict and skirmishes became known as the Parthian war of Caracalla .

Assassination (217)

The Roman Empire during the reign of Caracalla.

While travelling from Edessa to continue the war with Parthia , he was assassinated while urinating at a roadside near Carrhae on 8 April 217 (4 days after his 29th birthday), by Julius Martialis, an officer of his personal bodyguard. Herodian says that Martialis' brother had been executed a few days earlier by Caracalla on an unproven charge; Cassius Dio, on the other hand, says that Martialis was resentful at not being promoted to the rank of centurion. The escort of the emperor gave him privacy to relieve himself, and Martialis then ran forward and killed Caracalla with a single sword stroke. While attempting to flee, the bold assassin was then quickly dispatched by a Scythian archer of the Imperial Guard.

Caracalla was succeeded by his Praetorian Guard Prefect , Macrinus , who (according to Herodian) was most probably responsible for having the emperor assassinated.

His nickname

According to Aurelius Victor in his Epitome de Caesaribus, the agnomen "Caracalla" refers to a Gallic cloak that Caracalla adopted as a personal fashion, which spread to his army and his court. Cassius Dio and the Historia Augusta agree that his nickname was derived from his cloak, but do not mention its country of origin.

Legendary king of Britain

Geoffrey of Monmouth 's legendary History of the Kings of Britain makes Caracalla a king of Britain, referring to him by his actual name "Bassianus", rather than the nickname Caracalla. In the story, after Severus's death the Romans wanted to make Geta king of Britain, but the Britons preferred Bassianus because he had a British mother. The two brothers fought a battle in which Geta was killed and Bassianus succeeded to the throne. He ruled until he was betrayed by his Pictish allies and overthrown by Carausius , who, according to Geoffrey, was a Briton, rather than the historically much later Menapian Gaul that he actually was.