Geta, as Caesar AD 198-209. Struck AD 200-202. Rome
Denarius AR

19 mm, 3,30 g

P SEPT GETA CAES PONT, bare-headed and draped bust right / SECVRIT IMPERII, Securitas seated left, holding globe, left arm on chair.

Very Fine

RIC 20a.

Geta, born Publius Septimius Geta on March 7, AD 189, was a Roman emperor who ruled jointly with his father, Septimius Severus, and his older brother, Caracalla. Geta's life and reign were deeply intertwined with the intense and often violent rivalries within the Severan dynasty. Geta was the younger son of Septimius Severus and Julia Domna, making him part of a prominent and powerful family. When Septimius Severus became emperor in AD 193, Geta and his brother Caracalla were elevated to prominent positions within the imperial court. To secure the succession, Severus made both sons co-emperors, with Caracalla receiving this title in AD 198 and Geta following in AD 209. The intention was for the brothers to rule the empire jointly after their father's death. Despite this arrangement, Geta and Caracalla had a deeply antagonistic relationship, marked by intense jealousy and competition. After the death of Septimius Severus in AD 211, the empire was divided between the two brothers, who each controlled different parts of the imperial palace and administration. Their rivalry grew to the point where they were essentially living in a state of civil war within Rome, unable to cooperate. The situation came to a tragic end in December AD 211, when Caracalla orchestrated Geta's assassination. Geta was murdered in his mother Julia Domna’s arms during a meeting arranged under the pretense of reconciliation. After his death, Caracalla ordered a *damnatio memoriae* against Geta, which meant that Geta’s name was erased from public records, his images were destroyed, and his memory was officially condemned. Geta’s brief and troubled reign, overshadowed by his brother’s ambitions and cruelty, is often seen as a tragic example of the brutal power struggles that could occur within the Roman imperial family. His death left Caracalla as the sole ruler of the Roman Empire, marking a dark chapter in the Severan dynasty.