This silver Denarius was minted during the reign of emperor Caracalla, who ruled from 198 to 217 AD.

Caracalla was the son of emperor Septimius Severus and the brother of Geta. In 211 AD, emperor Severus fell deathly ill. Before he died, emperor Severus made Caracalla and Geta his successors to the throne. Thus, the brothers Caracalla and Geta ruled as co-emperors.

However, Caracalla and Geta were unwilling to share power. Both brothers shared a mutual hatred and mistrust of one another. Caracalla and Geta wouldn’t approach each other without their retinues of bodyguards nearby.

Their mother, empress Julia Domna, arranged for a peaceful mediation between the two brothers. Caracalla used this meeting as an opportunity to personally murder Geta in front of their mother.

After killing Geta, Caracalla became the sole emperor. Caracalla had the Roman Senate erase Geta’s memory from all public records. In addition, he had all statues and portraits of Geta destroyed. Emperor Caracalla also ordered the execution of 20,000 of Geta’s supporters.

Emperor Caracalla gained a reputation for cruelty. This was evident when Caracalla visited the city of Alexandria in Egypt. The Alexandrian people mocked Caracalla because of his fratricide of Geta. This angered emperor Caracalla, who ordered his army to slaughter the Alexandrian people.

In 212 AD, emperor Caracalla signed a law known as the “Antonine Constitution.” This law granted citizenship to all residents of the Roman Empire. By increasing the number of citizens, Caracalla was able to legally tax more people. Caracalla used this tax revenue to pay the Roman legions.

In 216 AD, Caracalla offered to marry the princess of the Parthian Empire. However, the Parthian king refused Caracalla’s marriage proposal. Caracalla used this as a pretext to declare war on the Parthian Empire.

While on campaign against Parthia, Caracalla visited the city of Edessa in 217 AD. This city would be his final resting place. Emperor Caracalla was murdered by his own soldiers while urinating.

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