Editing Septimius Severus (section)

== Early life ==

=== Family and education ===

Born on 11 April 145 at [[Leptis Magna]] (in present-day Libya) as the son of [[Publius Septimius Geta (father of Septimius Severus)|Publius Septimius Geta]] and [[Fulvia Pia]],<ref name="Birley 1999, p. 1"/> Septimius Severus came from a wealthy and distinguished family of [[Equites|equestrian]] rank. On his mother's side, he descended from Roman immigrants (the Fulvii) who had intermarried with locals of [[Berbers|Libyan]] origin. His father, Publius Septimius Geta, hailed from a family of [[Berbers|Libyan]]-[[Punic people|Punic]] origin. Severus had thus [[Italia (Roman Empire)|Italic]], [[Libu|Libyan]] and [[Punic]] ancestry.<ref name="Birley 1999, pp. 212–213">Birley (1999), pp.&nbsp;212–213.</ref> He was described as "[[Libu|Libyan]] by race", by the Roman historian and senator [[Cassius Dio]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Birley |first=Anthony R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z8iEAgAAQBAJ&dq=Septimius+Severus+libyan+by+race&pg=PA50 |title=Septimius Severus: The African Emperor |date=1 June 2002 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-70745-4 |language=en}}</ref> Due to his family background he is considered the first provincial emperor, as he was the first emperor not only born in the provinces but also into a provincial family of non-Italian origin.<ref>{{cite web| title=Emperor Septimius Severus dies at York| url=https://www.historytoday.com/archive/emperor-septimius-severus-dies-york| work=History Today| access-date=1 December 2021}}</ref> Severus' father, an obscure provincial, held no major political status, but he had two cousins, Publius Septimius Aper and Gaius Septimius Severus, who served as consuls under the emperor [[Antoninus Pius]] {{reign|138|161}}. His mother's ancestors had moved from Italy to North Africa; they belonged to the [[Fulvia gens|''gens'' Fulvia]], an [[Italy (Roman Empire)|Italian]] [[Patrician (ancient Rome)|patrician family]] that originated in [[Tusculum]].<ref>Adam, Alexander, ''Classical biography'',[https://books.google.com/books?id=x2UBAAAAQAAJ&q=fulvius+gens&pg=PA182 Google eBook] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610001757/https://books.google.com/books?id=x2UBAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA182&dq=classical+biography+gens+fulvia+cicero+tusculum&hl=it&ei=U0ZYTseHGsmi-gbFrJSuDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=fulvius%20gens&f=false |date=10 June 2016}}, p.182: ''FULVIUS, the name of a "gens" which originally came from Tusculum (Cic. Planc. 8)''.</ref>

Septimius Severus had two siblings: an elder brother, [[Publius Septimius Geta (brother of Septimius Severus)|Publius Septimius Geta]]; and a younger sister, Septimia Octavilla. Severus' maternal cousin was the [[praetorian prefect]] and consul [[Gaius Fulvius Plautianus]].<ref name="Birley 1999, pp. 216–217">Birley (1999), pp.&nbsp;216–217.</ref> Septimius Severus grew up in Leptis Magna. He spoke the local [[Punic language]] fluently, but he was also educated in [[Latin]] and Greek, which he spoke with a slight accent. Little else is known of the young Severus' education but, according to [[Cassius Dio]], the boy had been eager for more education than he actually received. Presumably, Severus received lessons in [[Rhetoric|oratory]]: at the age of 17, he gave his first public speech.<ref>Birley (1999), pp.&nbsp;34–35.</ref>

=== Public service ===
[[File:Septimius Severus - Münzkabinett, Berlin - 5479502.jpg|alt=|left|thumb|350x350px|Dynastic [[aureus]] of Septimius Severus, minted in 202. The reverse feature the portraits of [[Geta (emperor)|Geta]] (right), [[Julia Domna]] (centre) and [[Caracalla]] (left).<ref>Mattingly & Sydenham, ''Roman Imperial Coinage, vol. IV, part I,'' p. 115.</ref> Inscription: SEVER[US] P[IUS] AVG[USTUS] P[ONTIFEX] M[AXIMUS], TR[IBUNUS] P[LEBIS] X, CO[N]S[UL] III / FELICITAS SAECVLI.]]
Severus sought a public career in [[Rome]] in around 162. At the recommendation of his relative Gaius Septimius Severus, the emperor [[Marcus Aurelius]] ({{reign|161|180}}) granted him entry into the senatorial ranks.<ref>Birley (1999), p.&nbsp;39.</ref> Membership in the senatorial order was a prerequisite to attain positions within the ''[[cursus honorum]]'' and to gain entry into the Roman Senate. Nevertheless, it appears that Severus' career during the 160s met with some difficulties.<ref name="birley-40">Birley (1999), p.&nbsp;40.</ref>

It is likely that he served as a ''[[vigintisexviri|vigintivir]]'' in Rome, overseeing road maintenance in or near the city, and he may have appeared in court as an advocate.<ref name=birley-40/> At the time of Marcus Aurelius, he was the State Attorney (''Advocatus fisci'').<ref>Smith, ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', London 1870, v. 3, p. 117.</ref> However, he omitted the [[Military tribune|military tribunate]] from the ''cursus honorum'' and had to delay his [[quaestor]]ship until he had reached the required minimum age of 25.<ref name=birley-40/> To make matters worse, the [[Antonine Plague]] swept through the capital in 166.<ref name="Birley 1999, p. 45">Birley (1999), p.&nbsp;45.</ref>

With his career at a halt, Severus decided to temporarily return to Leptis, where the climate was healthier.<ref name="Birley 1999, p. 45"/> According to the ''[[Historia Augusta]]'', a usually unreliable source, he was prosecuted for [[adultery]] during this time but the case was ultimately dismissed. At the end of 169, Severus was of the required age to become a quaestor and journeyed back to Rome. On 5{{spaces}}December, he took office and was officially enrolled in the [[Roman Senate]].<ref>Birley (1999), p.&nbsp;46.</ref> Between 170 and 180 his activities went largely unrecorded, in spite of the fact that he occupied an impressive number of posts in quick succession. The Antonine Plague had thinned the senatorial ranks and, with capable men now in short supply, Severus' career advanced more steadily than it otherwise might have.<ref>Birley (1999), p.&nbsp;49.</ref>

The sudden death of his father necessitated another return to Leptis Magna to settle family affairs. Before he was able to leave Africa, [[Mauri]] tribesmen invaded southern Spain. Control of the province was handed over to the emperor, while the Senate gained temporary control of [[Sardinia]] [[Senatorial province|as compensation]]. Thus, Septimius Severus spent the remainder of his second term as quaestor on the island of Sardinia.<ref>Birley (1999), p.&nbsp;50.</ref>

In 173, Severus' cousin Gaius Septimius Severus was appointed [[proconsul]] of the province of [[Africa Proconsularis]] and chose Severus as one of his two ''[[legatus|legati pro praetore]]'', a senior military appointment.<ref>Birley (1999), p.&nbsp;51.</ref> Following the end of this term, Septimius Severus returned to Rome, taking up office as [[tribune of the plebs]], a senior legislative position, with the distinction of being the ''candidatus'' of the emperor.<ref name=birley-52>Birley (1999), p.&nbsp;52.</ref>

=== Marriages ===
[[File:Carole Raddato (13543792233).jpg|thumb| The [[Severan Tondo]], {{Circa|199}}, Severus, Julia Domna, Caracalla and Geta, whose face is erased ([[Antikensammlung Berlin]])]]

About 175, Septimius Severus, in his early thirties at the time, contracted his first marriage, to [[Paccia Marciana]], a woman from Leptis Magna.<ref name="birley"/> He probably met her during his tenure as [[Legatus|legate]] under his uncle. Marciana's name suggests Punic or Libyan origin, but nothing else is known of her. Septimius Severus does not mention her in his autobiography, though he commemorated her with statues when he became emperor. The unreliable ''Historia Augusta'' claims that Marciana and Severus had two daughters, but no other attestation of them has survived. It appears that the marriage produced no surviving children, despite lasting for more than ten years.<ref name=birley-52/>

Marciana died of natural causes around 186.<ref name=birley-75>Birley (1999), p.&nbsp;75.</ref> Septimius Severus, now in his forties, childless and eager to remarry, began enquiring into the horoscopes of prospective brides. The ''Historia Augusta'' relates that he heard of a woman in Syria of whom it had been foretold that she would marry a king, and so Severus sought her as his wife.<ref name="birley">Birley (1999), p.&nbsp;71.</ref> This woman was an Emesene [[Roman Syria|Syrian]] named [[Julia Domna]]. Her father, [[Julius Bassianus]], descended from the Arab [[Emesene dynasty]] and served as a [[high priest]] to the local cult of the sun god [[Elagabalus (deity)|Elagabal]].<ref name=birley-72>Birley (1999), p.&nbsp;72.</ref> Domna's older sister, [[Julia Maesa]], would become the grandmother of the future emperors [[Elagabalus]] and [[Alexander Severus]].<ref name="dio-history-lxxix-30">Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/79*.html#78-30 LXXIX.30] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120526042142/http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/79*.html#78-30 |date=26 May 2012 }}</ref>

Bassianus accepted Severus' marriage proposal in early 187, and in the summer the couple married in [[Lugdunum]] (modern-day [[Lyon]], France), of which Severus was the governor.<ref>Birley (1999), pp.&nbsp;76–77; Fishwick (2005), p.&nbsp;347.</ref> The marriage proved happy, and Severus cherished Julia and her political opinions. Julia built "the most splendid reputation" by applying herself to letters and philosophy.<ref>Gibbon (1831), p.&nbsp;74.</ref> They had two sons, [[Lucius Septimius Bassianus]] (later nicknamed Caracalla, born 4{{spaces}}April 188 in Lugdunum) and [[Publius Septimius Geta]] (born 7{{spaces}}March 189 in Rome).<ref name=birley-76-77>Birley (1999), pp.&nbsp;76–77.</ref>

{{Gallery
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| File:Septimius Severus Glyptothek Munich 357.jpg|
| File:Julia Domna Glyptothek Munich 354.jpg|
| footer=Busts of Septimius Severus (left) and Julia Domna (right), [[Munich Glyptotek]]
}}