The Roman Emperors of Britain, page 14
Clodius Albinus
Decimus Clodius Septimius Albinus was born c. 145 and came from a wealthy family in Hadrumetum in North Africa. He served with distinction in the Marcommanic Wars and was elevated to the senate by Marcus Aurelius. He fought in Dacia under Commodus went on to govern one of the German provinces before receiving a consulship c. 190. Caracalla was only 5 years old when his father promised Albinus the title Caesar. In 194 he was offered a second consulship alongside the emperor. This arrangement was not to last. Within a year Severus had declared his son as heir and Albinus duly proclaimed himself Augustus in Britain.
Dio tells us Albinus had ‘aspired even to the pre-eminence of emperor’.41 Herodian makes it clear Severus deceived him and Albinus was ‘conceited and somewhat naive in his judgment, really believed the many things which Severus swore on oath in his letters’.42 His reputation is tainted by his enemies such as Severus who called him ‘drunken, effeminate, crafty, shameless, dishonourable, greedy and extravagant, a man better suited to the stage... than for the battlefield’.43 Yet the sources also tell us the senate preferred him ‘because he belonged to a noble family and was reputed to have a mild nature’.44
The Historia Augusta states he was ‘greatly beloved by the senate’, more than any other emperor. Although this was in part because of ‘their hatred of Severus, who was greatly detested by the senate because of his cruelty’. It describes him as ‘tall of stature, with unkempt curly hair and a broad expanse of brow’. His skin was ‘wonderfully white’ and he ‘had a womanish voice, almost as shrill as a eunuch’s’. He had a terrible temper ‘easily roused’ and ‘relentless’.45 Marcus Aurelius described him as ‘a man of experience, strict in his mode of life, respected for his character’. He also commended him for his loyalty during the revolt of Avidius Cassius in 175.
Herodian places the blame for the next sequence of events on Severus. Albinus was in Britain, residing in the governor’s palace that likely lies today beneath Cannon Street railway station. No doubt he followed the footsteps of Pertinax the short distance to the forum and basilica and enjoyed the pleasures of the amphitheatre. Word reached Severus was ‘acting more and more like an emperor’ and worse still was reaching letters of support from ‘the most distinguished senators’.46 It would appear the senate preferred Albinus and some even urged him to come to Rome while Severus was still occupied in the east. The Augustus decided to use trickery first.
Figure 33. Bust of Clodius Albinus. (Wikimedia Commons)
The battle of Lugdunum
Severus sent messengers to Albinus on the pretext of secret orders. They were to request a meeting in private. If successful in seeing him without his body guards they were to cut him down like some mafioso hit from the film The Godfather. Plan B was to administer ‘deadly poisons’ to his food or drink.47 The Historia Augusta tells us ‘five sturdy fellows were to slay him with daggers hidden in their garments.’ However Albinus was already on his guard. Severus had behaved cruelly towards the supporters of the defeated Niger. Not only had he executed rank and file soldiers but he had slaughtered various governors. He even held their children to ensure good will and once achieved executed them anyway, even the children. Herodian describes the character of Severus as despicable. Dio Cassius states that he was ruthless in extracting huge sums from anyone who was perceived as supporting Niger whether they did so voluntarily or not.
Albinus was in no mood to trust such a man and so the messengers were seized and tortured revealing the plot. A cold-war situation now developed as both sides prepared for war. Herodian quotes a rousing speech given by Severus to his legions.48 Albinus, he claimed, had ‘violated his pledges and broken his oaths, and ... chosen to be hostile rather than friendly and belligerent instead of peaceful ... so let us now punish him with our arms for his treachery and cowardice.’ The legions of Britain are described as ‘small and island-bred, will not stand against your might’. He reminded them of their great victories, superior numbers and experience and, of course, they alone had a ‘brave and competent general’ to lead them. Albinus is lambasted as having an ‘effeminate nature’ more suited to ‘the chorus than for the battlefield’. Crucially, we also read of ‘generous gifts to the soldiers’ which may have played a bigger part than his words. Conflict was now inevitable and Severus publicly announced the expedition against Albinus and seized the Alpine passes.
Albinus responded by crossing to Gaul with much of the army from Britain. How much of a skeleton force was left to defend the province is unknown. However given the size of the armies at the final battle it is reasonable to suggest the bulk of the three legions and many of the auxiliary units were present. Cassius Dio tells us that there were 150,000.49 He must mean combined which would suggest Severus may have outnumbered his foe perhaps three to two. Whilst the emperor had not personally been present at a major battle Cassius Dio describes him as ‘superior in warfare and a skilful commander’.
We then read a curious tale of a certain Numerianus, ‘a schoolmaster’, who pretended to be a Roman senator. He set out from Rome to Gaul, collected a small force and preceded to attack Albinus’ troops. He killed a few of the enemy’s cavalry and ‘other daring exploits in Severus’ interest’. Albinus set up his headquarters in Gaul and requested aid from local governors in the form of supplies, food and money. This decision was to prove fatal for those who backed the wrong emperor. A few minor skirmishes occurred in late 196 and Albinus won an initial victory against the Severan general Lupus, killing many of his soldiers. The final battle occurred outside the city of Lugdunum in south east Gaul on 19th February 197.
The shortest route from Italy would be from the south east across the Alps. However it is possible Severus headed from the Rhine and Danube first before heading west and coming towards the city from the north. In fact an initial battle took place at Tinurtium, modern Tournous, sixty miles north of Lugdunum. The final engagement occurred outside the city which makes a northern route seem more likely. The conflict was evenly balanced and we get our first hint of the British legions being present from Herodian: ‘in courage and ruthlessness the soldiers from Britain were in no way inferior to the soldiers from Illyria’.50 The battle first swayed in the emperor’s favour when the left wing of Albinus was driven back. They fled to their camp, pursued by the Severan right, which suggests the camp was outside the city.
On the opposite flank the situation was the reverse. The British troops had dug trenches and pits covering them with branches and earth. Advancing to the edge of these hidden defences they hurled their javelins and other missiles luring the Severan army on to them. The Severans attacked and the defenders quickly retreated. Buoyed with the hope of a quick victory the front ranks of the Several army plunged into the traps. Those behind stumbled and fell over their comrades. The rear ranks panicked and a shower of missiles and arrows caused enormous losses in men and horses. Part of the army was pushed into a deep ravine, an example of which is indeed north of the city.
Figure 34. Battle of Lugdunum 197.
Severus saw the danger and rushed into the breach with his praetorian guards to stop the retreat turning into a rout. The empire hung in the balance: We read, ‘the emperor slipped from his horse and fled, managing to escape by throwing off the imperial cloak’.51 Shades of Richard III at Bosworth as we get an image of a desperate emperor trying too escape a confused melee surrounded by enemy. Cassius Dio gives a slightly more heroic narrative. Seeing his left wing disintegrate he tore off his riding cloak, draw his sword, and rushed in to shame his men or die in a valiant attempt to stem the tide.52 Whatever the case the Severan army turned and fought.
Meanwhile the Severan cavalry commander Laetus was waiting and watching. Sources were later to accuse Laetus of hedging his bets and waiting to see who was winning. Notably Severus was to reward all his generals except Laetus who was later executed. At Lugdunum he chose his moment well. The Severan left flank took heart, found a new horse for their emperor, wrapped him in his imperial cloak and charged. Then Laetus slammed into the flank with his cavalry. The Britons offered a brief resistance before breaking and fled towards the city. The fugitives were pursued and slaughtered and driven into Lugdunum.
Even the victors deplored the devastating aftermath. The plain was covered in the corpses of men and horses, mutilated by sword and spear. Bodies piled in heaps and weapons scattered across the fields. Blood flowed into streams and rivers. Albinus took refuge in a house in the city beside the River Rhone. Cassius Dio has him committing suicide whilst Herodian says the victorious army burned the city, found Albinus and beheaded him. The Historia Augusta has the more grisly tale. The attempted suicide failed and Severus had his rival beheaded. This wasn’t to be the last emperor of the western provinces to die at Lugdunum as we shall see.
All the sources tell of the emperor’s disrespect over his fallen enemy’s body. Severus verbally abused the corpse then the body was cast away and the head sent to Rome on a spike. Again the Historia Augusta is more vivid. The headless-body of Albinus was laid out so that Severus could ride his horse over the corpse and when it shied away calmed it down so it could trample the body even more. There it remained for some time before being cast into the Rhone along with the bodies of his wife and children.
This wasn’t the only sign of the emperor’s cruelty. He ordered the bodies of senators slain in the battle to be mutilated. Significant numbers of others were also executed, especially in Gaul and Spain. Unluckily for some, private letters offering support to Albinus were discovered. Some senators who had openly supported Albinus were spared although he confiscated huge sums to swell imperial coffers. But any who were now found to have tried to play both sides were killed. One notable death was Sulpicianus, father-in-law to Pertinax, who we recall lost the auction for the imperial throne to Didius Julianus just six years earlier.
The defeated legions returned to Britain no doubt under new leadership. Some appeared to have stayed loyal to Albinus even after his death but were defeated by Severus who went on to ‘settling affairs in Britain’. There’s no indication he came in person. However he is our next emperor to visit just over ten years later. In fact we have three current and future emperors coming at the same time. Britain received a new governor, Virius Lupus and we see an inscription at Corbridge dedicated to him: ‘A detachment of the Sixth Legion, Victorious, Dutiful and Faithful, [built this], under the charge of Virius Lupus, senator of consular rank.’53 Still ‘dutiful and faithful’ the legions were now Severus’ men.
Chapter Six
The Severans
Lucius Septimius Severus was born in 145 at Lepcis Magna in modern day Libya. His father, Publius Septimius Geta, was ‘obscure’ but he had two cousins who had risen to senatorial status.1 Severus followed them into the senate in 173 and governed Gallia Lugdunensis and Sicily. In the last years of Commodus he was governor of Upper Pannonia. The later Historia Augusta describes his ancestors as equestrians.
In 175 he married his first wife, Pacia Marciana. A year after her death in 186 Severus married the daughter of a Syrian high priest, Julius Bassianus. His daughter, Julia Domna, was to have two famous sons, Caracalla and Geta, both of who will be pivotal to our story. Julia’s older sister, Julia Maesa, was to be the grandmother of another two future emperors Elagabalus and Alexander Severus. The marriage took place in Lugdunum in 187 where Severus was governor. Little did Julia know that six years later she would be empress and four years after that the bloodiest battles in Roman history would be fought outside the very city in which they now celebrated their marriage.
Twenty years later Julia would find herself in northern Britain along with her two grown sons. Interestingly it is possible her nieces, Julia Soaemias and Julia Mamaea, may also have travelled with the court. If so then it’s very likely two further future emperors may have also visited Britain. For these were the mothers of Elagabalus and Alexander Severus respectively. The latter was born after the campaign started so this might be unlikely. However the father of Elagabalus was Sextus Varius Marcellus, who was made Procurator of Britain in 208. It is thus likely his four year old son accompanied him along with the boy’s mother and empress’s niece Julia Soaemias.
During the reign of Commodus, Severus came very close to being executed. The Historia tells us he was accused of ‘consulting about the imperial dignity with seers and astrologers’. Commodus had encouraged a culture of accusations as a means of extracting wealth allowing successful accusers to retain a proportion. This was not an entirely risk free means of taking down a rival as false accusations often resulted in the accuser being punished. A twist of fate would have ended the Severan dynasty before it began. But Severus was acquitted and his accuser was crucified.
Figure 35. The Severan family tree.
In the previous chapter we read how Severus was acclaimed emperor by the legions on the Danube when news of the murder of Pertinax reached them. As he marched on Rome the brief reign of Didus Julianus came to an equally murderous end. The praetorian guard who had behaved so disloyally towards Pertinax were disbanded and replaced by men from the new emperor’s own legions. The subsequent civil wars against Pescennius Niger and Clodius Albinus portrayed his brutal nature.
His physical appearance was ‘small of stature, but strong and energetic’ with a small nose, turned up at the tip.2 Later historians mistakenly described him being African and depicting him with black skin. In fact being North African he would have had a Mediterranean complexion. The Historia Augusta claims he retained a north African accent throughout his life. He increased the number of legions to thirty three and double the pay. His attitude to the army can be summed up by his alleged death bed last words to his sons: ‘Keep on good terms with each other.. be generous to the soldiers and take no heed of anyone else’.
Severus copied Pertinax in promising to never put a senator to death. He even swore an oath that if either he, or any working on his behalf, did so they and their children would become public enemies. This was to prove a false promise. He killed many of Niger’s men and extracted huge sums of cash from those senators who had supported him. When Byzantium fell after a long siege all the defending soldiers and magistrates were put to death. The Historia Augusta tells of ‘cruel punishments’ to Niger’s followers. He allowed senators who had sided with Niger to live but senatorial legates and tribunes who took an active part in military operations were put to death.
We have already noted how he allegedly rode over the corpse of Albinus at Lugdunum and executed his supporters. Perhaps more telling is his speech to the senate on his return: ‘he praised the severity and cruelty of Sulla, Marius and Augustus as the safer course and deprecated the mildness of Pompey and Caesar as having proved the ruin of those very men’.3 Herodian tells us he ‘put to death all the eminent senators of that day’ along with many others noted for their wealth. All ‘driven by an insatiable lust for money; no other emperor was ever so greedy for gold’.4 The Historia tells us ‘countless persons who had sided with Albinus were put to death’, men and women. The confiscated goods swelled the public coffers allowing him to leave a fortune to his sons ‘greater than any other emperor’.
Figure 36. Bust of Septimius Severus. (Wikimedia Commons)
Early in his reign we get reports of trouble from Britain. The Caledonians ‘broke their promises’ and aided the Meaetae, a tribe near the former Antonine Wall. Quite what this means we are not told. Its likely the removal of troops by Albinus created an opportunity exploited by northern tribes. The new governor, Virius Lupus, appointed by Severus, was forced to make peace for ‘a large sum’ and took captives. He served as governor from 197 to c. 201 so this appears to have occurred just a decade before the emperor himself came to Britain.
Described by the sources as cruel, after his death much was forgiven mainly due to the chaos that followed. He was frugal and wore plain clothes, rarely wore the imperial purple and often had a simple ‘shaggy cloak’. His eating habits were equally conservative and he often went without meat. His appearance was handsome with a long beard and curly hair that had greyed in old age.
The invasion of Caledonia 208–11
The campaign in Britain came towards the end of his reign. His first son, Lucius Septimius Bassianus, later known as Caracalla, was born in 188 at Lugdunum. His reign was to prove every bit as bloody as the battle fought outside the city between his father and Clodius Albinus, His second son, Publius Septimius Geta, was born less than a year later in Rome. The sources describe them growing in to rebellious and badly behaved teenagers. However the most serious problem was they had developed a deep hatred for each other. This was especially true of Caracalla who detested his younger brother. Severus tried to reconcile his sons and warned them of the dangers of division. This was to prove to be in vain. The emperor determined to remove them from Rome and a life of shows, games and debauchery.
Events were to give him the opportunity. Despatches reached the emperor’s hand from the governor of Britain, likely Alfenus Senecio.5 The Britons were in revolt ‘overrunning the country, looting and destroying virtually everything on the island’.6 He requested a larger army or even the presence of the emperor himself. Given there were three legions in Britain and a similar number of auxiliary troops the situation must have been serious. It is possible the emergency was exaggerated and this was a literary device used to justify the subsequent actions and praise the achievements of Severus.
Cassius Dio makes no mention of the revolt and makes the reason for the campaign more personal.7 Tired of his sons’ behaviour and not wishing the legions to become idle he decided to lead a campaign. It’s likely this may have been the main reason as Herodian also tells of him wishing to get his sons away from Rome and under some military discipline. Cassius Dio also claims Severus was frustrated that others were winning wars in Britain. This would suggest the situation wasn’t as dire as Herodian claimed.
