Portrait of Septimius Severus

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Septimius Severus, also known as Severus, ruled Rome from 193 to 211 AD. Born in Leptis Magna, Africa, he rose through the ranks under Marcus Aurelius and Commodus, eventually seizing power after Emperor Pertinax's death in 193 during the Year of the Five Emperors. Severus defeated rival claimant Pescennius Niger at the Battle of Issus in Cilicia in 194. He then launched a short campaign beyond the eastern frontier, annexing the Kingdom of Osroene as a new province. In 197, Severus defeated Clodius Albinus at the Battle of Lugdunum in Gaul. After consolidating control over the western provinces, Severus waged war against the Parthian Empire, sacking their capital Ctesiphon and expanding the eastern frontier to the Tigris River. He also fortified the Limes Arabicus in Arabia Petraea. In 202, Severus campaigned in Africa and Mauretania against the Garamantes, capturing their capital Garama and expanding the Limes Tripolitanus along the southern frontier of Rome. Late in his reign, Severus traveled to Britain, strengthening Hadrian's Wall and reoccupying the Antonine Wall. In 208, he invaded Caledonia, but his ambitions were cut short when he fell fatally ill in late 210. Severus died in early 211 AD at Eboracum (modern-day York, England), succeeded by his sons Caracalla and Geta. With their succession, Severus founded the Severan dynasty, the last to rule Rome before the Crisis of the Third Century.