Septimius Severus

The Ancients

History Hit

History

4.7 • 4.5K Ratings

🗓️ 9 March 2023

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Given his incredible career, you'd perhaps expect the name of Roman Emperor Septimius Severus to be better known. Born in North Africa in 145AD, he rose to power after distinguishing himself as a military commander at a time of great instability in the Roman Empire. Finally bringing the Year of the Five Emperors to an end, Severus was in power for nearly two decades - so how did he end up perishing in York?

In this episode, Tristan welcomes back author (and Severus' unofficial 21st Century biographer) Dr Simon Elliot. Together, they explore the life and legacy of Septimius Severus - looking at his impact on the history of Ancient Rome, as well as the bloody events surrounding his campaign in Scotland, and asking how one of the most powerful men in the world was eventually bought down.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	It's the Ancients on History Hit.
0:11.0	I'm Tristan Hughes, your host, and in today's episode, while we're talking about an absolutely
0:16.1	brutal, terrible figure, a warrior emperor of ancient Rome, a man who reigned in the
0:24.9	late second and early third centuries AD, who also proved one of the most significant
0:31.6	Roman emperors to, who also originated from North Africa and died in New York. His name
0:38.4	was Septimius Severus. And in today's episode, we've got a fan favorite of the ancients returning
0:46.4	to tell Severus' story. He is Septimius Severus' 21st century biographer. It's none other than
0:54.7	Dr Simon Elliott. Simon's been on the pod before, as I've mentioned, he's talked through
0:59.9	topics on Roman history varying from Carousius, the pirate king to the mystery, and the many theories
1:07.3	behind what happened to Legion IX, hispanon, to Rome's ninth legion. But now Simon is back
1:13.6	to talk through the story of Septimius Severus, one of his favorite figures from ancient Roman
1:19.7	history. And as you're going to hear, the story of Severus, while it very much is an ancient
1:24.7	game of thrones, it is brutal, it is bloody, but it is also really extraordinary, and no doubt
1:32.8	you're going to love it. So without further ado, to talk through the story of Septimius Severus,
1:38.2	here's Simon.
1:43.4	Simon, good to have you back on the podcast, my friend. Tristan, it only seems like yesterday when I was
1:47.2	recording another podcast with you, so it's fantastic to be back on. I love working with you,
1:50.4	guys, at History here, as you know. I know, we get you back on, and it's easy for me, because I can
1:54.2	just sit back and enjoy as you talk, my friend, and this one, well, Septimius Severus, it's about time
2:00.9	we focused on a Roman Emperor on the ancient's podcast, it's been some time, and Septimius Severus
2:06.4	Simon, this seems to be the story of one of the most important warrior empires of ancient Rome.
2:12.0	It's probably actually Tristan, the story of one of the most important human beings who's ever lived.
	...

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