Septimius Severus was the first Roman emperor born in Africa. He siezed power with the support of the army after the brief civil war that followed the fall of Commodus. He increased the power of the military in Rome, creating a militaristic government and more autocratic power, which would change the nature of Rome forever. He built a palace over substructures apparently dating from the time of Domitian on the southern side of the Palatine Hill overlooking the Circus Maximus which can still be seen today from the Circus. After several failed coup attempts, he went on military campaigns in the East and then Britain, where he died from complications of gout, leaving his two sons, Geta and Caracalla as joint emperors. Of course, the Arch of Septimius Severus in the Roman Forum is a memorial to him (and an interesting tidbit about how Caracalla felt about his brother).

    

Septimius Severus, in the Capitoline Museum's Hall of the Emperors
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Septimius Severus, in museum at Ostia Antica
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Septimius Severus, near the Hall of the Pediment in the Capitoline Museum
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Septimius Severus, in the Gallery of the Palazzo Nuovo of the Capitoline Museum
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• The Arch of Septimius Severus in the Roman Forum
• Moved the Umbilicus Urbis in the Roman Forum to make room for his arch.
• Modified the Rostra of Augustus so the Arch of Septimius Severus would fit in the Roman Forum
• Built the palace on the Palatine Hill which is now called the Severan Arcades.
• Reconstructed the Temple of Peace after a fire in 192 AD.
• Restored the Pantheon
• Began construction of the Baths of Caracalla in 212 AD.
• Was emperor when the Forum Urbis was created; I don't know whether or not he ordered it to be created.

• My Septimius Severus photos