The Roman Succession War: Victory Was Decided Not by Blood, but by Proximity to Rome
Among the five claimants to the Roman throne in 193, the true deciding factor was the speed of information transmission—Severus learned of the emperor's assassination seven days before his rivals, allowing him to mobilize first and seize the throne.
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Commodus Strangled by His Own Wrestling Coach
A palace conspiracy planned to poison the emperor Commodus, but after drinking all day on New Year's Eve, the poison didn't take effect—he merely sweated in the bath. The conspirators' Plan B was to have his wrestling coach Narcissus hide behind a curtain and strangle him. It worked, but two weeks later Narcissus himself was eaten by lions in the arena. The succession of the empire's supreme power rested on a near-failed poisoning and a makeshift strangler.
— Simon ElliottA Schoolteacher Became Roman Emperor Midway Through Life
Pertinax's father was a freed slave who built a timber business and paid for his son's education—the finest available. Pertinax spent half his life as a grammar teacher until his early thirties, when he suddenly decided to join the military and eventually became governor of Britain. Within one minute of Commodus's death, praetorian prefect Laetus and chamberlain Eclectus burst into his bedroom and proclaimed him emperor on the spot. The son of a slave had become the ruler of the Roman Empire.
— Simon ElliottNo Bonus Payment, No Reign: The Praetorian Guard Murdered Him in Three Months
When Pertinax took the throne, the treasury had been depleted by Commodus's spending. He had to auction off Commodus's slaves and chariot collection just to raise funds. The praetorian guard expected a bonus when a new emperor arrived, but Pertinax had no money to give in the first month, still none in the second, and in the third month the guard simply killed him. He reigned for only three months; his downfall was not political failure but an unpaid bonus.
— Simon ElliottThe Praetorian Guard Put the Throne Up for Auction
After Pertinax's murder, the praetorian guard brought a senator named Didius Julianus to their camp and had him bid against Pertinax's father-in-law for the throne across a wall—word spread by mouth, and his higher bid made him emperor on the spot. The evidence for the ‘empire auction’ is actually weak; the truer picture is that the praetorian guard rushed to install a puppet they could control, and he happened to be wealthy and willing to spend.
— Simon ElliottInformation Speed, Not Inheritance, Determined Who Would Be Emperor
News of Pertinax's assassination reached London in two weeks and Antioch in two weeks, but reached Severus on the Danube at Carnuntum in just seven days. That seven-day head start let Severus learn first, mobilize first, and march toward Italy before Albinus in London and Niger in Antioch even knew. The succession to the empire was determined in large part by how close you were to Rome.
— Simon ElliottSeverus Humiliated and Disbanded the Entire Praetorian Guard
After Severus entered Rome, he ordered the roughly three thousand praetorians to the plaza, commanded them to strip naked, and announced their banishment—anyone within a hundred Roman miles of Rome would be executed or fed to beasts. He then rebuilt the praetorian guard with veterans from the Danube, doubling its size. From that moment, the praetorians ceased to be the idle bureaucrats of Commodus's era and became true professional soldiers.
— Simon ElliottSeverus Fell Twice and Nearly Died at Lugdunum
Albinus saw through Severus's offer to make him ‘Caesar,’ a mere stalling tactic, and marched on him at Lugdunum (Lyon)—the birthplace of Severus's second wife and eldest son, which Severus could not abandon. The two-day battle was mostly infantry with few cavalry, and the British legion used obstacles to lure and defeat the enemy. Severus himself fell from his horse twice; the second time, only his praetorians and cavalry reserves rescued him. Victory hung by a thread.
— Simon ElliottThe Severan Dynasty Shifted the Empire's Power Center to North Africa
After defeating Albinus, Severus executed all senators who had supported his opponent and confiscated their property—far more harshly than ever before. By his death, over half of the empire's provincial governors, financial officers, and administrators were North Africans; the age of Italian dominance of Roman politics was over. Severus came from the North African city of Leptis Magna, and even his rival Albinus was North African. This civil war fundamentally reshaped the empire's power structure.
— Simon ElliottIn their own words · checked verbatim
the son of a slave who became roman emperor
Simon Elliott6:11
if you don't give us any money we're going to kill you okay he says all right so at the end of month three they kill him
Simon Elliott11:27
he's standing on a box standing on a box going i'll bid you this i'll bid you this
Simon Elliott16:39
over 200 senators over the next decade are killed largely without trial by him he's a tough guy and the senate know this
Simon Elliott20:50
he decides he's going to turn them into war elephants but they haven't been trained to be war elephants so when they put fighting towers on on the top they fall off and they kill the soldiers on the back of them
Simon Elliott22:52
he makes them all strip naked well and then he says i should kill you but actually i'm too busy so i'm going to banish each individual one of you to live 100 miles away roman miles from rome for the rest of your life
Simon Elliott25:59
he dies thinking he was the greatest roman emperor even better than augustus
Simon Elliott41:30
Figures
| Praetorian Guard size before dissolution | ~3,000 | 25:59 |
| Praetorian Guard size after rebuilding | 6,000 | 25:59 |
| Pertinax's reign length | ~3 months | 24:55 |
| Didius Julianus's reign length | 66 days | 24:55 |
| Senators executed by Severus | Over 200 | 20:50 |
| Severus's age at death | 65 | 41:30 |
Glossary
- donative
- A cash bonus from a new emperor to the praetorian guard; essential to imperial survival.
- Caesar
- A vice-imperial title in the Roman Empire, often used to designate a successor.
How to listen
Historians and history enthusiasts interested in Roman imperial succession, ancient political violence, and power structures.
The sponsorships and other show recommendations at the beginning and end can be skipped.