4 February AD 211
Severus dead, Caracalla emperor

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The rule of Septimius Severus ends with the emperor dying in York, aged 65. He has spent the past two years in a campaign against the 'barbarians' north of Hadrian's Wall, but his planned conquest of Scotland is called off by his son, Caracalla, after his death. Severus's reign has seen two expeditions against the ever-troublesome Parthians as well as civil war against his internal rivals. Severus has also been responsible for the rebuilding of Rome after a fire in AD 191 and leaves the imperial treasury in good shape, despite securing the support of the army by increasing a legionary's wages from 375 to 500 denarii a month. Memories of Severus's own propensity for cruelty and violence fade rapidly in the face of his son's, who murders his brother and co-emperor Geta within a year of becoming emperor.

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