Caracalla

Caracalla (188–217), born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, was Roman emperor from 198, ruling alone from 211. By 205 he had executed Prefect Plautianus, whose daughter he was forced to marry. After Severus died in 211 he fell out with his brother Geta, and that December guardsmen killed Geta in their mother's arms. Caracalla had 20,000 of Geta's supporters massacred.

In 212 his Antonine Constitution gave Roman citizenship to nearly all free inhabitants of the empire. He lavished money on the army and raised its pay, debasing the coinage. He built the Baths of Caracalla and, obsessed with Alexander the Great, wintered at Alexandria before invading Parthia in 216.

In April 217 a soldier stabbed him, and the praetorian prefect Macrinus took the throne three days later. The Senate disliked him, but his army popularity protected his memory: Macrinus had him deified, while ancient writers portray him as a tyrant.