Title: Septimius Severus | Roman emperor | Britannica
Headings: Septimius Severus
Septimius Severus
Roman emperor
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Content: By 202 Severus was back in Rome, where he spent the next six years making major changes in the structure of the imperial government. Since his power rested on military might rather than constitutional sanction, he gave the army a dominant role in his state. He won the soldiers’ support by increasing their pay and permitting them to marry. To prevent the rise of a powerful military rival, he reduced the number of legions under each general’s control. At the same time Severus ignored the Senate, which declined rapidly in power, and he recruited his officials from the equestrian rather than the senatorial order. Many provincials and peasants received advancement, and the Italian aristocracy lost much of its former influence. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Subscribe Now
Severus paid special attention to the administration of justice. The Italian courts outside Rome were removed from senatorial jurisdiction and put under the control of the praetorian prefect. After the fall (205) of the emperor’s favourite, the praetorian prefect Gaius Fulvius Plautianus, the distinguished jurist Papinian became prefect.