The African Emperor

The Life of Septimius Severus

By: Simon Elliott

Narrated by: John Sackville

Septimius Severus was Rome's black emperor. Born in the blistering heat of a North African spring in Leptis Magna AD 145, he died in the freezing cold of a northern British winter in York in AD 211. A giant of an emperor, whose career can be counted in superlatives, Severus was in power at the height of Rome's might. He led the largest army to ever campaign in Britain, comprising 50,000 men, part of a Roman military establishment which peaked at 33 legions under his rule.

Born into the richest family, in the richest part of the Roman Empire, Severus monumentalised his rule across the empire. He visited – and often fought in – every region. Where he did, he left a mighty legacy in the built environment.

Septimius Severus was one of the greatest warrior emperors, a hard man who almost died in battle several times and whose attitude is reflected in his deathbed advice to two sons: 'Be of one mind with your family, enrich the soldiers and despise the rest'.

©2025 Simon Elliott (P)2025 Bolinda Publishing

Good overall Biography of Septimus Serverus

If you want to get into this period then this is a great book for that.

THE BIGGEST PROBLEM: Use of the historia augusta. The same history that limited Gibbons work. It was genuinely unnerving to hear it used over and over again. It is one of the worst histories in the ancient world. It's so bad that we Dont know for sure if it was meant to be taken literally.

The use of this genuinely derails the narrative at some points buuut other than that it's a fine book.

(to give some credence to the author he is working with very limited sources)