Are they and welcome to Emperor's of Rome, a Roman history podcast from Latrobe University.

I'm your host Matt Smith and with me today is Dr. Kalin Davenport, senior lecturer in

Roman history at Macquarie University. This is episode CX IV, mutilating Rome. Now that Caracalla is the sole emperor of the Roman

Empire, he's able to act as he wishes. While he does little to please anyone outside the military, it's his economic and

social reforms that will affect the empire for decades to come. Here's Caitlin Davenport.

Caracalla tries to consolidate his position by removing senators that he

perceives to be threats to his rule. Firstly he puts to death Helvius Pertanax, who was the son of the short-lived

emperor of 193. And after Getta had been murdered by Karakala, he joked that Caracalla had now earned the title of

Geticus Maximus or Greatest Conqueror of Getter. This was a pun because Gettai is the Greek word for the

dacians. So it could mean the greatest conquer of the Dacians as well as the

greatest conqueror of Gerta.

Yeah, not a smart joke to make.

No.

Son of Pertanax.

He didn't last very long after that.

So Caracala also killed his own cousin, Gaius Septimius Severus Aaper, who had been a console,

probably because his name included Septimius Severus, which is Caracalla's father's name.

So just something as simple as art.

Yes, so.

But he actually looks for young men who are related to the Imperial House in some way.

So he also kills the grandson of Marcus Aurelius,

Lucius Aurelius Commodus Pompeius,

...