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The ancient World Bloodline

Episode B 32, the Fourth Caesar.

To Romans looking in from the outside it must have seen like a new golden age

or maybe just the continuation of the Antonine Golden Age.

If you skipped over the Civil Wars of the 190s and the fact that Severus wasn't really an Antonine. But regardless, one of the greatest emperors in Roman history

was returning to the capital to celebrate the marriage of his son. And if that wasn't

epic enough, Severus even threw in a topper.

Every single Roman citizen would be given ten gold coins,

one for each year of his golden reign.

The generous gesture was matched by the lavish wedding feast, and in particular

the enormous dowry paid to the Emperor by the bride's father.

But that part had a certain logic.

Gaiusphovius Plautianus wouldn't have airous to his name if not for Severus's steady and incredibly

indulgent patronage.

So it was really a repayment, more than a payment. And since the prefect was marrying his daughter

Plautilla to the future Emperor Karakala, any investment made now was likely to pay

huge dividends down the line. If the scene

looked fairy tale on the surface you didn't need to scratch too hard to see the flaws beneath.

Severus's bromance with Plautianus had only grown stronger with age,

but the prefix enemies had multiplied even faster.

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