ally of Rome. although the bottom section looks like a battle, it is said to be instead a surrender by king Abgrus to the emperor who stands in front of the other Edessian figures, receiving their submission. The center section shows the king surrendering to the emperor. Another theory of this panel states that this scene shows an agreement made between emperor Severus and the city of Hatra. The way the emperor holds his spear downwards implies there is a lack of aggression on his behalf. The other figure, is not kneeling which contradicts the submissive theory. Relief three: This panel is on the capitol side and is a relief of the second Parthian campaign. Shown on the left of the relief are the Romans attacking the city of Seleucia. The figures fleeing on the left and right side are the Parthian soldiers, and the top of the relief shows the citizens who are surrendering to the Romans. Relief four: The relief on the right facing the capitol shows the Romans taking over the city of Ctesiphon, the final battle of the Parthian war. One of the indicators that this is a siege and sacking of the city, is the large siege engine shown in the bottom left section of the panel. To the right, the city is shown surrendering to the Romans. The upper right quadrant shows emperor Septimius Severus announcing Caracalla, his eldest son, as co-ruler and Geta his youngest son, as the crowned prince. History After the second century A.D., it was common for Roman emperors to use triumphal arches to announce their achievements in a way and a place that would allow for all Romans to see. The arch is significant because it was a purposeful tool of imperialistic propaganda, created during the forming of the Roman state. It was commissioned to celebrate the Parthian Victory, but also to boast about the Severan dynasty. His victory against the Parthian's started in 197 CE, when he traveled to Nisibis in Mesopotamia to take back the city that was besieged by the Parthian empire. Once he took back the Roman occupied city of Nisbis from the Parthians, he took his army to take over other Parthian cities such as Seleucia in Babylon and the capital city Ctesiphon. The wars created by Septimius Severus led to the Romans acquiring Northern Mesopotamia. Coins with images of the arch began to