Publius Septimius Geta (c. 143 - c. 203/c. 204) was the second son to the elder

Publius Septimius Geta Publius Septimius Geta ( ; 7 March 189 – 19/26 December 211) was Roman emperor with his father Septimius Severus and older brother Caracalla from 209, when he was named ''Augustus'' like his brother, who had held the title from 198. Severus d ...

and brother of the emperor

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary suc ...

. His mother was Fulvia Pia. He was born and raised in

Leptis Magna Leptis or Lepcis Magna, also known by other names in antiquity, was a prominent city of the Carthaginian Empire and Roman Libya at the mouth of the Wadi Lebda in the Mediterranean. Originally a 7th-centuryBC Phoenician foundation, it was great ...

(southeast of

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the cla ...

, modern

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

). He had

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Roman ancestry on his mother's side, and was descended from

Punic The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of t ...

forebears on his father's side. This Geta was more politically active than his father. Geta was appointed one of the ''

decemviri stlitibus judicandis The ''decemviri stlitibus judicandis'' was a civil court of ancient origin, traditionally attributed to Servius Tullius, which originally dealt with cases concerning whether an individual was free. History Originally these decemvirs were a jury of ...

'', which in part involved judging lawsuits. These ten men were one of the four boards that form the ''

vigintiviri __NOTOC__The ''vigintisexviri'' ( ''vigintisexvir''; ) were a college ( ''collegium'') of minor magistrates (''magistratus minores'') in the Roman Republic. The college consisted of six boards: * the ''decemviri stlitibus judicandis'' – 1 ...

''; membership in one of these four boards was a preliminary and required first step toward a gaining entry into the Roman Senate. After this Geta was commissioned a ''

tribunus laticlavius In the Roman army of the late Republic and the Principate, the ("broad-striped tribune") was one of the six military tribunes in a legion. Usually, they were a young man around the age of 20 that belonged to a wealthy family. Or they were friend ...

'' with the ''

Legio II Augusta Legio II Augusta ( Second Legion "Augustus'") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army that was founded during the late Roman republic. Its emblems were the Capricornus, Pegasus, and Mars. It may have taken the name "''Augusta''" from a victory ...

'', at the time stationed in

Roman Britain Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered wa ...

. This was followed by the office of

aedile ''Aedile'' ( ; la, aedīlis , from , "temple edifice") was an elected office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings () and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to ...

cerealis, a ''

Curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

rei pub. Anconitanorum'' and a ''Praet. hastarius et tutel''. Geta in 185 became ''

legatus legionis A ''legatus'' (; anglicised as legate) was a high-ranking Roman military officer in the Roman Army, equivalent to a modern high-ranking general officer. Initially used to delegate power, the term became formalised under Augustus as the office ...

'' or commander of

Legio I Italica Legio I Italica ("First Italian Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army founded by emperor Nero on September 22, 66 (the date is attested by an inscription). The epithet ''Italica'' is a reference to the Italian origin of its first r ...

and afterwards a

Proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

around 187/8. Between circa 188 and circa 190, he became

legatus A ''legatus'' (; anglicised as legate) was a high-ranking Roman military officer in the Roman Army, equivalent to a modern high-ranking general officer. Initially used to delegate power, the term became formalised under Augustus as the officer ...

of Lusitania. He was suffect consul in or around 191. After his suffect consulship, between 193 and 194, he became Legatus of Moesia Inferior. When Severus was proclaimed emperor in 193, Geta led the legions to

Carnuntum Carnuntum ( according to Ptolemy) was a Roman legionary fortress ( la, castra legionis) and headquarters of the Pannonian fleet from 50 AD. After the 1st century, it was capital of the Pannonia Superior province. It also became a large ...

, where his brother was, to show his support. He is attested as being the Legatus for

Tres Daciae Roman Dacia ( ; also known as Dacia Traiana, ; or Dacia Felix, 'Fertile/Happy Dacia') was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire from 106 to 271–275 AD. Its territory consisted of what are now the regions of Oltenia, Transylvania a ...

in 195. Geta was appointed as Quaestor and

Praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vari ...

Crete and Cyrenaica Crete and Cyrenaica ( la, Provincia Creta et Cyrenaica, Ancient Greek ) was a senatorial province of the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire, established in 67 BC. It comprised the island of Crete and the region of Cyrenaica in present-day L ...

and became one of the

Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

s in 203. Geta died around 203 or 204. On his deathbed, Geta stated to Severus that he hated the Praetorian Prefect,

Gaius Fulvius Plautianus Gaius or Lucius Fulvius Plautianus (c. 150 – 22 January 205) was a member of the Roman ''gens'' Fulvia. Like Sejanus, Perennis and Cleander, as head of the Praetorian Guard, he was formally extraordinarily powerful and influential in the adm ...

, and warned him of Plautianus' treachery.Anthony Birley, ''Septimius Severus: The African Emperor'', revised edition (New Haven: Yale University, 1988), p. 161

Severan family tree

References

* https://web.archive.org/web/20070908142242/http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/1375.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Septimius Geta, Publius Geta, Publius Septimius Imperial Roman consuls Roman governors of Sicily Roman governors of Lusitania Roman governors of Lower Moesia Roman governors of Dacia 2nd-century Romans 3rd-century Romans 2nd-century Punic people 3rd-century Punic people 140s births 200s deaths Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain Family of Septimius Severus