Publius Septimius Geta (/ˈɡɛtə/GHET-ə; 7 March 189 – 26 December 211) wasRoman emperor with his fatherSeptimius Severus and older brotherCaracalla from 209 to 211. Severus died in February 211 and intended for his sons to rule together, but they proved incapable of sharing power, culminating with the murder of Geta in December of that year.
Geta was the younger son ofSeptimius Severus by his second wifeJulia Domna. He was born on 7 March 189[1][2] in eitherRome orMediolanum,[3][4] at a time when his father was only a provincial governor at the service of EmperorCommodus. On 28 January 198, Geta was raised tocaesar (heir).[1] Septimius Severus gave him the title ofaugustus (emperor) in late 209,[5] perhaps in September or October.[6]
Duringthe campaign against the Britons in the early 3rd century AD, imperial propaganda promoted the image of a happy family that shared the responsibilities of rule. Geta's brotherCaracalla acted as Severus' second-in-command, and administrative and bureaucratic duties were Geta's responsibility. In reality, however, the rivalry and antipathy between the brothers did not abate. With the death of Severus in 211, control of the empire passed to Geta and Caracalla jointly.[7]
When Septimius Severus died inEboracum on 4 February 211, Caracalla and Geta were proclaimed joint emperors and returned to Rome. Their mother,Julia Domna, who had served as a crucial advisor and confidante to her husband, was able to maintain her political influence over two co-emperors. It is said that on the journey from Britain to Rome the two brothers kept away from each other, not once lodging in the same house or sharing a common meal.[8]
Their joint rule was a failure. The Imperial Palace was divided into two separate sections, and neither allowed the servants of the other into his own. They only met in the presence of their mother, and with a strong military guard, being in constant fear of assassination.[9] The current stability of their joint government was only through the mediation and leadership of their mother, Julia Domna, accompanied by other senior courtiers and generals in the military. The historianHerodian asserted that the brothers decided to split the empire in two halves, but with the strong opposition of their mother, the idea was rejected, when, by the end of 211, the situation had become unbearable.[10] Caracalla tried unsuccessfully to murder Geta during the festival ofSaturnalia (17 December). Finally, the next week, Caracalla had his mother arrange a peace meeting with his brother in his mother's apartments, thus depriving Geta of his bodyguards, and then had him murdered in her arms bycenturions.[11][12][13]
Caracalla ordered thedamnatio memoriae, which was thoroughly carried out, as is clear from the archaeological record.[14][15] Reportedly, Caracalla was thereafter tormented by guilt over his deed, but sought to expiate it by adding to this crime the proscription of all his brother's former followers.[16]Cassius Dio stated that around 20,000 men and women were killed or proscribed on this charge during this time.[17]
Very few marble portraits attributable to Geta survive to date, presumably due to the very thoroughdamnatio memoriae which resulted in the erasing of his images. However Roman coins with his image are plentiful, and can reflect how his fatherSeptimius Severus and motherJulia Domna and later Geta himself wanted him to be seen by the Roman people (and especially the Roman military).
Images of Geta and his older brother Caracalla cannot be well distinguished until the death of the father. Both sons were supposed to be presented as equally suitable heirs to the throne, showing thus more "depth" to the dynasty.
On his coins, Caracalla, who becameAugustus in 198, was shown with a wreath of laurels, while Geta remained bareheaded until he himself becameAugustus in 209.[18] Between 209 and their father's death in February 211, both brothers were shown as equally mature young men with a short full beard, ready to take over the empire. Between the death of Septimus Severus and the assassination of Geta, Caracalla's portraits did not change, while Geta was depicted with a long beard with hanging hairs, much like his father, a strong indication of Geta's efforts to be seen as the "true" successor of his father.[18]
TheSeveran Tondo panel painting depicts Septimius Severus and his family with an obliterated face assumed to be Geta.{[cn}}
^Heffernan, Thomas J. (18 June 2012).The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 69.ISBN978-0-19-977757-0.Publius Septimius Geta was the younger son of Septimius Severus. He was likely born in Rome—Milan has also been proposed—in March of 189.
^According to Dio, "he was only twenty-two years and nine months old". Several other dates have been proposed:Zwei syrische Verwandte des severischen Kaiserhauses. In:Chiron 12, 1982, S. 217–235: 229f y 49 (19 December); Michael L. Meckler:Caracalla and his late-antique biographer, Ann Arbor 1994, S. 15, 109–112 (25 December); Anthony R. Birley:The African Emperor. Septimius Severus, Routledge, 1991, 189 (26 December); A. Mastino,Le titolature di Caracalla e Geta, 1981 (2 February 212, accepting theHA).
^Dunstan, William, E. (2011).Ancient Rome. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield. pp. 405–406.ISBN978-0-7425-6832-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ab(in German) Andreas Pangerl: Porträttypen des Caracalla und des Geta auf Römischen Reichsprägungen - Definition eines neuen Caesartyps des Caracalla und eines neuen Augustustyps des Geta; Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt des RGZM Mainz 43, 2013, 1, 99–116
^King, Charles William (1885).Handbook of Engraved Gems (2nd ed.). London: George Bell and Sons. p. 237.
_-_Museo_Archeologico%2c_Cagliari_-_Photo_by_Giovanni_Dall%2527Orto%2c_November_11_2016.jpg)
.png)
![Bust of a young Caesar, probably Geta, wielding Fortune's rudder, instead of a spear. After engraved sard.[19]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fwikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aUc2.ark_13960_t8rb76g72-seq_449_(cropped_Geta).jpg)
