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The Image of an Emperor in Trouble (Legimitation and Representation of Power by Caracalla)

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The Image of an Emperor in Trouble (Legimitation and Representation of Power by Caracalla) THE IMAGE OF AN EMPEROR IN TROUBLE (LEGIMITATION AND REPRESENTATION OF POWER BY CARACALLA) INGE MENNEN Introduction After their father Septimius Severus died in AD 211, Caracalla and Geta became emperors of the Roman Empire. It is no secret that the brothers could not get along and their discord resulted in Caracalla murdering Geta in AD 212. From that moment, Caracalla was sole emperor of the Empire and in search for a good image to legitimize his position and to shed the image of a brother killer. Nowadays, Caracalla is being looked upon as a true soldier emperor. Many modern scholars still assume that the emperor, in legitimizing his position, focused solely on military aspects. In this article I will discuss whether this assumption is correct. I will examine various expressions of imperial representation by Cara- calla to see to what extent they contain military, dynastic and religious aspects. Before I move on to this examination, I will say something about legitimation and representation of power by Roman emperors in general. Why was legitimation so important and in what kind of sources can we find representation of imperial power? I will also briefly deal with the way Septimius Severus legitimized his position, in order to compare the imperial representation of father and son. Every new Roman emperor had to convince three groups that his claim for power was appropriate and obvious: the senate, the army and the people. If the newcomer could not convince those groups, he ran the risk of being dethroned, which only too often resulted in his death. One way to ‘convince’ them was by handing out money (donativa) to the soldiers, medallions to the elite, or food to the people of Rome, or by organizing games for them, yet these gifts only had a short-term effect. As soon as the emperor stopped han- ding out gifts, he was no longer assured of the loyalty of his subjects. Another way to legitimize his position, one that was directed more at long-term loyalty, was more personal. Emperors addressed different messa- ges to the various groups to create a certain image of themselves. This image 253 had to appeal to at least one, and preferably more, of the groups and consti- tuted the representation of the power of the emperor. Within this image, the emperor could emphasize three aspects: military aspects (the emperor showed that he was a good general, who could lead the army to victory), dynastic aspects (the emperor emphasized that he des- cended from a respected dynasty or that his predecessor chose him as suc- cessor by adopting him) and religious aspects (the emperor claimed that he ruled under the auspices of one or more gods or heroes. This could even lead to an emperor identifying himself with a certain god or hero).1 Usually, all these aspects appear in the representation of power of an emperor, yet some- times an emperor emphasized one aspect more than the others, by choice or out of necessity to compensate for certain deficiencies. These messages of emperors can be found in numismatic sources (coin portraits, themes on reverses, edge inscriptions), archaeological material (appearance and location of imperial buildings) and inscriptions and papyri (particularly in the choice of titles in salutations). Historiographical sources can tell us something about how the emperor was looked upon by contem- poraries, but one must keep in mind that these authors had an elite point of view and were often not very objective, because they knew the emperor, which influenced their view in a positive or negative way. On the other hand, these sources can be very useful to supplement the other sources. Septimius Severus Before I will discuss the legitimation of Caracalla during his sole reign, it is necessary to take a brief look at how his father Septimius Severus legiti- mized his position.2 Septimius Severus was one of four men who seized imperial power after Pertinax’ death in AD 193 and he was not the most likely candidate to end up as sole ruler of the Roman Empire. He was not related to Pertinax or his Antonine predecessors and was not favoured by the senate. But against all expectations, he managed to defeat each of his rivals by means of military successes and crafty political games. Even during these civil wars, Septimius Severus realized that he needed a more solid basis for his emperorship. He created the impression that he was not so much eager to 1 A well-known example is Commodus, who identified himself with Hercules. For a recent study on this subject see: O.J. Hekster, Commodus. An emperor at the crossroads (Amsterdam 2002). 2 In the discussion I will deal with the sources that appeared during Caracalla’s sole reign only. Sour- ces that date from his joint rule with Septimius Severus are so closely connected to the image of his father that they probably tell us more about Septimius Severus than about Caracalla. 254.
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