Septimius Severus and his son Caracalla share some physiological and political traits.
Severus managed to bring some order to the period of anarchy that followed —or more likely predated – the demise of Commodus, of ‘Gladiator’ fame. He showed some talent at keeping at least some of the Roman aristocracy on side, while really establishing what was more or less a military dictatorship.
His son Lucius Septimius Bassianus, better known as Caracalla, didn’t hesitate in having his brother murdered upon co-inheriting power from his dad, and dispensed with the niceties of keeping part of the aristocracy on side. He had a most profound influence on the Roman world by extending citizenship to all of its freeborn denizens, but the lack of support for his autocracy outside the military led to his eventual assassination on a Syrian road, as well as an atrocious reputation that survives to this day.
Statuesque ... 