Ah they and welcome to Empress of Rome, a Roman history podcast from Latrobe University.

I'm your host Matt Smith and with me today is Dr.

Cayland Davenport, lecturer in Roman history at Macquarie University.

This is episode L-X-X-V. Black and white. Septimia Severus is proclaimed the new Emperor of Rome,

but he doesn't have time to rest on his laurels. With rivals to the east and the west, not to mention the problematic Parthians, he is an empire

to consolidate, so he doesn't have time for sitting around with senators.

He's Colleen Davenport. He's managed to stall

Clotis albinus in Britain for a while by making him Caesar, but his next intention

is to fight Peskini Sniger in Syria and we might remember from an earlier

episode when we talked about in the reign of Didius Julianus, people calling out for

Peskinius Niger to come to their rescue. The Skinner Snyder also declared himself emperor in April of 193 in response to the murder of Pertinax.

He's governor of Syria, which is a major eastern province. It has three legions stationed there under his

immediate command. Baskinius Niger was another prominent general. He was

Italian. He was a member of the equestrian order, so part of that

second order beneath the Senate and then he was elevated into the senatorial order.

Dio says he was sent off to govern Syria by

Commodus because he was remarkable for nothing good or bad. That's what you want

in an emperor. Yeah, might be what you want in a safe pair of hands in Syria. You don't want someone who's going to cause you any trouble.

And Diyos certainly points out that once Baskinius Naga is proclaimed Emperor, he starts putting on airs and thinking himself as a second Alexander.

That's certainly what all Roman emperors want to be.

I mean, Alexander is the conqueror by excellence.

So all Roman emperors wanted to be Alexander.

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