(Thanks to Wikipedia for the image of Caracalla and Geta 1907 by  Lawrence Alma-Tadema) Mothers like their children to do well, and jobs don’t come much better than being emperor of Rome. Both Julia Damna’s sons became emperor.  It would have been perfect if only they hadn’t been emperor at the same time.   Or if

Severus had two sons, Caracalla and Geta.  Their mother was his second wife, Julia Domna. She was a great beauty and also a friend and patron of artists and writers.  She wasn’t the kind of woman I would have picked out for the soul mate of a dour professional soldier.   And maybe she wasn’t. 

Right click on the link to download Severus Podcast (Control Click on the Mac) or just click it to listen now.   Sending a severed head is rarely a sign of affection.  Severus did not hold much truck with the Senate, or anyone else who might get in his way either.  He brought to his

Right click on the link to download Civil War Podcast (Control Click on the Mac) or just click it to listen now.   Augustus had discovered that you could get away with murder so long as you dressed it up in the right way. And when I say murder I mean that quite literally –

If you want to be an emperor, the easiest way is to be born into it.

Augustus Returns Gossip must have been at fever pitch in Rome in 27BC, the year Augustus’ reign is generally held to have started. Whenever somebody new takes over, there is always a lot of speculation ahead of their arrival. But there can’t have been many situations where quite so many people had quite so little