Today in 145: Septimius Severus Born

He was born in North Africa, but to a Roman family that had settled there - this has led to him being labelled an African emperor, and discussion of his race. I've discussed the only surviving painted portrait of him here: PhDiva: Ancient Painted Portraits 101. Whether his skin was depicted darker because of his race or because it was the convention to depict men as darker than women I will leave up to the reader.




If you enjoyed this video by Adrian Murdoch, check out his book on The Emperors of Rome; Kindle UK, Kindle US, etc