266
JULIA DOMNA.
supposed that he intended to deceive anybody by this ficti-
tious adoption, except perhaps the common people; but he
probably assumed that name merely to intimate, that he was
the legitimate sovereign of the empire. For the same reason
he called his elder son M-Antoninus, his real name being
M. Bassianus, which he took from his maternal grandfather.13
He, as well as Geta, was the son of Julia Domna, a Syrian
woman, whom Severus is said to have married on the recom-
mendation of astrologers, who declared that her horoscope
announced that she would become the mother of princes.14
She was a person of great intellect, but of very loose conduct,
for which, however, she afterwards did penance by what her
maternal heart had to suffer from her own sons, who were
anything but noble or praiseworthy. Geta excites our sympathy
chiefly because he fell a victim to his brother; but it is by no
means clear whether he was at all better than Caracalla, for
the stories related about these two brothers prove very little.
They hated each other from their childhood ; but their hostility
began to assume a fearful character soon after the death of their
father, in A.D. 211, when they succeeded him in such a manner,
that Geta, as the younger, was made in every respect inferior
to his brother. Their natural hostility was thus fostered by their
position, and increased by the evil disposition of Caracalla.
The attempts of their mother to bring about a reconciliation,
led to no results. The natural tendency of the Romans at that
time was to a division of the empire, an idea to which Caracalla
was quite alive. But as the eastern portion, which was to be
given to Geta, was too small, the plan was abandoned on the
13 In the Pandects he is called throughout Antoninus Magnus, Dims Anto-
ninus, or Imperator noster Antoninus. He is also mentioned under the name of
Imperator Magnus. Our historians state that the name of Caracallus (not
Caracalla) was a nickname given to him by the people. Modern writers
generally call him Caracalla ; but in the Historia Augusta this name occurs only
once, and that in the form Caracallus. I dislike it as much as the name Caligula;
but to call him Antonimis would be a profanation of that name.—N.
u There has been discovered at Kome an amulet of finely wrought silver,
with magic inscriptions, the seven-branched candlestick of Jerusalem, and the
usual Christian monogram. The inscription is Greek mixed with barbarous
and unintelligible forms. It contains, however, express allusions to Christianity,
and states that whoever wore the amulet would be sure to please gods and men.
It is an example of that curions mixture of Judaism5 Christianity, and Paganism,
which we so frequently meet with about the beginning of the third century.
This amulet has not yet been described.—N.
CABACALLA AND GETA.
267
advice of Julia15, who now made other endeavours to establish
peace between them. Caracalla agreed to her proposals, and
the two brothers were to meet in their mother’s room ; but
Caracalla’s only object was to get his brother into a place where
he could murder him. The unhappy young prince was accord-
ingly assassinated in the arms of his mother, A.D. 212. From
this time, Caracalla ruled alone, under the name of M. Antoni-
nus, in accordance with his fictitious adoption. The disposition
of the minds of persons at that time corresponded to the despot-
ism under which they were suffering ∙ it was of a quite oriental
nature. People were not much affected by the murder of Geta :
even Julia Domna, although Geta had been her favourite, did
not change her conduct towards her elder son who had mur-
dered him; and she appears to have looked upon Geta’s death
as an unavoidable stroke of fate.
It is to be regretted that we know so little of the political
regulations introduced by Severus, for it is evident that he must
have made great changes, especially in regard to Italy. I myself
have no doubt that it was he who appointed a corrector for each
region of Italy, although this office is not mentioned till after
his time. I do not mean to say that in his reign each region
actually had its corrector1, several regions may have had one
corrector in common, but the regulation was that each should
have one. The nature of the office of these Correctores is very
obscure ; but it is probable that they had or were to have legal
jurisdiction in their respective districts. The manner in which
justice was administered in Italy after the Julian law, is little
known; it must have been attended with such practical incon-
veniences, that some remedy was absolutely necessary. This is
a subject which still requires a thorough investigation, and a
rich harvest is yet to be made. It will require much combina-
tion, but there are various things in the collections of laws as
well as in inscriptions, which will be of great assistance. Traces
of the fact, that the jurisdiction in the various districts of Italy
was given as a commission to persons of rank and distinction,
occur even before the time of Hadrian. This emperor himself
divided Italy, with the exception of Kome, among four consu-
lar1®, and it is my belief that he gave to the praefectus urbi
15 Herodian1 iv. 3.
16 Spartianus1 Hadrian, 22; J. CapitoIin. Antonin. Pius, 2; Appian1 De BeU.
Civil, i. 38.