SEVERUS, LUCIUS SEPTIMIUS (A.D. 146-211), Roman emperor, was born of an equestrian family, on April i 1, 146, at Leptis Magna on the coast of Africa. He had to learn Latin as a foreign language, and kept an African pronunciation all his life. Some time between 164 and 170 he came to Rome and studied law under Q. Cervidius Scaevola; he had Papinian as a fellow-pupil. Marcus Aurelius gave him the latus clavus, and at the age of 26 he went as quaestor militaris to Baetica, in Spain. While he was away in Africa, in consequence of his father's death, the emperor took over Baetica from the Senate, and gave them Sardinia, of which Severus became quaestor. In 174 or 175 he was legate to the proconsul of Africa, and then was tribune of the plebs, an office of dignity rather than importance. In that year he married Marcia, his first wife. In 178 or 179 he was praetor, and went to Hispania Citerior as legatus iuridicus; after that he commanded a legion in Syria. After the death of Marcus Aurelius he was unemployed for some time, and studied at Athens. He was governor of Gallia Lugdunensis in 186, and during his governor ship occurred the revolt of Maternus. Niger, with whom he was afterwards to dispute the succession, was sent by Commodus to deal with it, and a letter from Severus to Commodus records his admiration for his future rival. At this period also, probably in 187, he married Iulia Domna, daughter of a priest of Baal at Emesa, and his son Caracalla was probably born on April 4, 188. He was proconsul of Sicily in 189, and consul suffectus in 19o. Next year he went to Pannonia as governor. Here, in a province recently upset by the wars of the Antonines, he was in command of three legions, with his headquarters at Carnuntum. On the last day of 192 Commodus was murdered; Septimius' complicity is doubtful. His successor Pertinax, appointed by the senate, was murdered on March 28, 193, and another senator, Iulianus, bought the support of the praetorians. But it was not the guard but the legions that had the disposal of the throne. As soon as the news of the death of Pertinax reached him Severus gathered his troops, received their acclamation as emperor, and set out at once for Rome, having already indicated his role of avenger of Pertinax by adopting his name. Meanwhile two other governors had taken the same steps, but they were not his equals in speed, in strength, or in the important factor of proximity to Rome. Roughly, the
continent of Europe was his, the legions of Britain had proclaimed for Albinus, and Syria for Niger. Albinus for the moment ac cepted the offer of the title of Caesar, which made him heir apparent. Severus' march on Rome was desperately swift; no soldier took off his breastplate between Carnuntum and Rome, according to Dio, and his first success was the surrender of the fleet and town of Ravenna. Iulianus was quite inadequate, and when the praetorians deserted the Senate went over too.
Iulianus was murdered and Severus was immediately pro claimed emperor. Before entering the city he disbanded the guard and exiled them ioo miles from Rome; the new guard he formed was open to soldiers from all provinces of the empire. He then made a magnificent entry, performed funeral and deificatory rites over Pertinax, and before the end of July left for the East. The contest between Severus and Niger was practically decided by two or three engagements fought by Severus' officers. The last battle, at Issus, ended in the defeat and death of Niger (194). After this the emperor spent two years in successful attacks on the peoples bordering on Syria, particularly in Adiabene and Osrhoene. Byzan tium, the first to be attacked, was the last to fall, after a glorious defence.
Late in 196 Severus turned westward, to reckon with Albinus, leaving affairs in the East by no means settled. As Severus was nearing Italy he received the news that Albinus had been declared emperor by his soldiers. The first counter-stroke of Severus was to affiliate himself and his elder son to the Antonines by a spurious and posthumous adoption. Bassianus, the elder son of Severus, thereafter known as Aurelius Antoninus, was named Caesar in place of Albinus, and was thus marked out as successor to his father. Without interrupting the march of his forces, Severus contrived to make an excursion to Rome. Here he availed himself with much subtlety of the sympathy many senators were known to have felt for Niger. Though he was so far faithful to the decree passed by his own advice that he put no senator to death, yet he banished and impoverished many whose presence or influence seemed dangerous or inconvenient to his prospects.