{"id":1512,"date":"2023-05-20T00:49:29","date_gmt":"2023-05-20T00:49:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/feelnubia.org.uk\/?p=1512"},"modified":"2025-06-18T21:22:18","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T21:22:18","slug":"the-african-emperor-septimius-severus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/feelnubiatest.com\/index.php\/2023\/sage\/the-african-emperor-septimius-severus\/","title":{"rendered":"Famous Persons of African Heritage: Emperor Septimius Severus, Rome"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

\"\"<\/p>\r\n

Roman Emperor Septimius Severus is believed to be the most powerful black ruler in all history (Imagined by AI)<\/p>\r\n

\u00a0<\/h5>\r\n
\r\n\r\n<\/h5>\r\n

Septimius Severus: Africa\u2019s Roman Emperor<\/h1>\r\n

Septimius Severus stands as a monumental figure in Roman history. Born in 146 to a Numidian (north-west African) father and an Italian mother, Severus was the first Roman Emperor who was not born and raised in Rome. Historical records refer to Severus\u2019 dark skin without revealing his mixed racial background. Severus became the first Roman emperor of African origin. His reign lasted from 193 to 211 CE, marked by military ambition and robust reforms that reshaped the empire.<\/p>\r\n

African Roots and Family Legacy<\/h2>\r\n

Severus’ paternal grandfather was a Moorish knight and Roman citizen long before Roman citizenship was made universal, \u00a0probably on account of military service. Although two of Severus\u2019 uncles served as consuls and his Father Geta owned land near Rome, Severus was raised by his Father in Libya in North Africa.<\/p>\r\n

Early Career in Rome<\/h2>\r\n

When he turned 18, Severus went to Rome to study Law. He became a State Attorney and was named Tribune. At the age of 26, he was appointed Quaetor by Emperor Marcus Aurelius and made Praetor by the mandatory age of 39, serving in Spain.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

He climbed the ranks of the Roman Senate through military and legal service. In 169 CE, he served as quaestor in Sardinia. Important family ties aided his progress: his cousin was Praetorian Prefect Gaius Fulvius Plautianus\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Severus was married twice. First to Marcia by whom he had no child and who died a few years afterwards. Later on he married Julia and had two sons with her. Severus became proconsul and after Commodus succeeded his Father as Emperor, he was appointed Consul, serving in Germany.<\/p>\r\n

From General to Emperor<\/h2>\r\n

Severus gained valuable administrative and military experience as tribune of the plebs and later held senior military offices in Roman Africa, reinforcing his leadership credentials. Upon the overthrow and killing of the much detested Commodus in 192 AD, Severus was proclaimed Emperor by the German legions. Severus was stationed at Noricum, a region of Europe north of what is now Italy, roughly comprising modern central Austria and parts of Bavaria, Germany.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n

A man of significant means, he was said to have presented each legionnaire with a cash gift of a thousand sesterces each \u2013 a figure previously unmatched. On the pretext of avenging Commodus\u2019 death, Severus prepared to march on Rome. Juliannus, who was holding the throne on behalf of the coup plotters sent an army to arrest Severus and to kill his rival Pescennius Niger. Severus learned of the plot and turned around to offer the soldiers a bribe to either defect or kill Juliannus, which they did. Upon the death of Juliannus, Severus was invited to Rome to become the Emperor, thus becoming the first Man to attain the position of Emperor in this manner.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

He marched to Rome<\/a>, claimed power, then decisively defeated rivals Pescennius Niger and Clodius Albinus by 197 CE. At 52, he became sole emperor and founded the Severan dynasty. He centralized military and imperial power, doubling legion pay and diminishing senatorial influence, shifting Rome toward a more autocratic and militarized governance.<\/p>\r\n

In 208 Severus, accompanied by Caracalla and his younger son, Geta, led an army to Britain to subdue the parts of the island not under Roman rule. Severus succumbed<\/a> to disease at Eboracum in 211.<\/p>\r\n

Reform, War, and Empire Strength<\/h2>\r\n