Français – عربي – ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ – English
Translation: Ibrahim Ait Dami
Caracalla was a Roman Emperor of Amazigh origin from North Africa on his father’s side, and Arab origin from Syria on his mother’s side. Born in Lugdunum (Lyon) in Gaul, he was proclaimed Emperor in Roman Britain. Just like its Emperor, the Roman Empire at that time was more multicultural than ever before. It is only natural then that Caracalla was the first to grant Roman citizenship to all free men in the Empire, regardless of their origin.
Origins and Accession to the Throne
Lucius Septimius Bassianus, known as Caracalla, was the eldest son of Septimius Severus, the first Roman Emperor of North African origin. His mother, Empress Julia Domna, was of Arab descent and came from the royal dynasty of Emesa (Homs) in Syria. He was born in 188 in Lugdunum, modern-day Lyon, while his father was governor of Gaul. His nickname, Caracalla, came from the Gallic hooded tunic he liked to wear and helped popularize. The diversity of his background reflected what the Roman Empire had become: a vast and cosmopolitan territory where peoples of many origins lived side by side.
Around the age of ten, Caracalla began ruling as co-Emperor alongside his father, along with his younger brother Geta.
Septimius Severus died in 211, in Roman Britain, during a military campaign to conquer Caledonia, which is now Scotland. His two sons, Caracalla and Geta, succeeded him. They began by negotiating peace with the Caledonians. Although their father wanted them to govern together, the brothers proved unable to share power. Eventually, Caracalla had Geta assassinated and ruled alone.
Citizenship for All
Before Caracalla’s reign, less than ten percent of the Empire’s population were Roman citizens. Citizenship was a privilege limited to Italians, Roman colonies, and local elites in the provinces. The overwhelming majority of provincials were excluded from civic life.
Caracalla, the son of two provincials, believed that Roman citizenship should not be based on origin or ethnicity. His father, the first Emperor of provincial background, had already started to include provincials in the imperial administration. Early in his reign, in 212, Caracalla passed a groundbreaking law that granted Roman citizenship to all free men throughout the Empire.
This reform was especially welcomed in North Africa, Syria, and Gaul, the regions of his parents and his own birthplace. These were among the most Romanized provinces of the Empire.
Some Roman historians, who belonged to the traditional Latin elite and were skeptical of this reform, claimed that Caracalla’s real goal was to increase state revenue by taxing the new citizens. In truth, he appears to have been genuinely convinced that provincials of different backgrounds deserved to be treated as equal partners within the Roman world.
A Universalist Emperor
Soon after his citizenship reform, Caracalla left Rome for a military campaign against the Germanic tribes. He would never return to the imperial capital.
After defeating the Germans, he began a grand tour of the provinces in his vast empire. In 215, he arrived in Alexandria, Egypt, where he paid homage to Serapis, the city’s guardian deity. Caracalla seems to have held a deep devotion to Serapis throughout his life. While he was still co-Emperor under his father, he had the Serapeum, the temple of Serapis in Alexandria, restored. Later, he had coins minted with his portrait on one side and the image of Serapis on the other.
Caracalla appears to have wanted to make Serapis the protector god of the Roman Empire. In ancient worldviews, a universal empire needed a universal god. This did not mean a single god in the monotheistic sense, but rather a deity that all peoples could share. Serapis, whose cult was a blend of Greek and Egyptian religious traditions, seemed to fit that role perfectly.
However, the people of Alexandria were not moved by his religious gestures. They blamed him for his brother’s murder and for other injustices. Caracalla responded by sending his army to plunder the city and massacre its inhabitants for several days.
He then traveled to Antioch in Syria, where he prepared a military expedition against the Persians. He asked for the Persian Emperor’s daughter in marriage, hoping to unite the two empires. When the Persian Emperor refused, Caracalla used the rejection as a pretext to launch an attack.
Death and succession
On April 8, 217, during the Persian campaign, Caracalla was stabbed by a soldier while urinating. His praetorian prefect Macrinus, who was also of North African origin, became Emperor in his place.
The former imperial family supported Elagabalus, the son of one of Caracalla’s cousins. His mother claimed he was Caracalla’s illegitimate child; though most modern historians doubt that. Macrinus was killed, and Elagabalus succeeded him.
