Dr. Alex Imrie

So Caracalla is made Augustus at that point, and it's only then that Geta's brought in and given anything, and he's made Caesar at that point. So although there's only 11 months separating the brothers, Caracalla is far more senior in the line of succession than Geta is at this point.

So Caracalla is made Augustus at that point, and it's only then that Geta's brought in and given anything, and he's made Caesar at that point. So although there's only 11 months separating the brothers, Caracalla is far more senior in the line of succession than Geta is at this point.

So Caracalla is made Augustus at that point, and it's only then that Geta's brought in and given anything, and he's made Caesar at that point. So although there's only 11 months separating the brothers, Caracalla is far more senior in the line of succession than Geta is at this point.

So yeah, so on the point of terminology, yes. Caesar and Augustus begin as names from within that Julian family line, so Julius Caesar and Octavian Augustus. They take on relatively rapidly. official titles, or they become rather, relatively rapidly, official titles. Augustus just refers to the emperor and Caesar refers to the heir.

So yeah, so on the point of terminology, yes. Caesar and Augustus begin as names from within that Julian family line, so Julius Caesar and Octavian Augustus. They take on relatively rapidly. official titles, or they become rather, relatively rapidly, official titles. Augustus just refers to the emperor and Caesar refers to the heir.

So yeah, so on the point of terminology, yes. Caesar and Augustus begin as names from within that Julian family line, so Julius Caesar and Octavian Augustus. They take on relatively rapidly. official titles, or they become rather, relatively rapidly, official titles. Augustus just refers to the emperor and Caesar refers to the heir.

And you're right, when Caracalla is made an Augustus in 188, that is a shared position now with his father. And this evokes, it seems, the shared empire of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus.

And you're right, when Caracalla is made an Augustus in 188, that is a shared position now with his father. And this evokes, it seems, the shared empire of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus.

And you're right, when Caracalla is made an Augustus in 188, that is a shared position now with his father. And this evokes, it seems, the shared empire of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus.

This is something that I think, again, Severus is well aware of the visual language of this kind of move and is exploiting that to elevate this idea of an Antonine link between his family and that of Marcus Aurelius.

This is something that I think, again, Severus is well aware of the visual language of this kind of move and is exploiting that to elevate this idea of an Antonine link between his family and that of Marcus Aurelius.

This is something that I think, again, Severus is well aware of the visual language of this kind of move and is exploiting that to elevate this idea of an Antonine link between his family and that of Marcus Aurelius.

Oh, absolutely. I mean, I've seen Severus called the master of the arts of revolution. He is just somebody who, if he's not incredibly skilled personally with PR, he certainly has somebody within his court that knows what they're doing because he is really terribly good at it. And this whole Antonine association isn't just a kind of passing reference.

Oh, absolutely. I mean, I've seen Severus called the master of the arts of revolution. He is just somebody who, if he's not incredibly skilled personally with PR, he certainly has somebody within his court that knows what they're doing because he is really terribly good at it. And this whole Antonine association isn't just a kind of passing reference.

Oh, absolutely. I mean, I've seen Severus called the master of the arts of revolution. He is just somebody who, if he's not incredibly skilled personally with PR, he certainly has somebody within his court that knows what they're doing because he is really terribly good at it. And this whole Antonine association isn't just a kind of passing reference.

It becomes a core pillar of the visual language of this regime as a whole. And that's something that really comes to characterize Caracalla and Geta in the late 190s into the early 200s, we have Caracalla and Geta appear on coins, appear in statuary, and they are presented as young Antonine children. They have this kind of cherubic facial feature going on.

It becomes a core pillar of the visual language of this regime as a whole. And that's something that really comes to characterize Caracalla and Geta in the late 190s into the early 200s, we have Caracalla and Geta appear on coins, appear in statuary, and they are presented as young Antonine children. They have this kind of cherubic facial feature going on.

It becomes a core pillar of the visual language of this regime as a whole. And that's something that really comes to characterize Caracalla and Geta in the late 190s into the early 200s, we have Caracalla and Geta appear on coins, appear in statuary, and they are presented as young Antonine children. They have this kind of cherubic facial feature going on.

They have this lovely, soft, fluffy hair style kind of thing happening. And importantly, on coins, if it weren't for the titles... I think many people would struggle to distinguish between the two. So, I mean, that's another interesting facet of this in as much as while Karakal is definitely given more constitutional authority, nominally, I mean, he's a child, how much is he actually doing?

They have this lovely, soft, fluffy hair style kind of thing happening. And importantly, on coins, if it weren't for the titles... I think many people would struggle to distinguish between the two. So, I mean, that's another interesting facet of this in as much as while Karakal is definitely given more constitutional authority, nominally, I mean, he's a child, how much is he actually doing?