Septimius Severus with Dr Simon Elliott

Septimius Severus with Dr Simon Elliott

From The Partial Historians by The Partial Historians

April 30, 2026 · 52 min

About this episode

This episode features Dr Simon Elliott discussing his book on Septimius Severus and his significance in Roman history.

We were very fortunate to be joined by the delightful Dr Simon Elliot in this special episode about his latest book, The African Emperor: The Life of Septimius Severus . Dr Elliott (now forever known as Dr E) is a historian, archaeologist and broadcaster. His PhD is in Classics and Archaeology from the University of Kent. Dr E is the author of nineteen books (yes, nineteen!) on the ancient world, including Early Imperial Romans , Pertinax: The Son of a Slave Who Became Roman Emperor , and Roman Britain’s Missing Legion . To find a full list of his many endeavours, check out his website . However, it is Septimius Severus, ruler of the Roman Empire from 193 to 211 CE, who we want to focus on today. You may not be particularly familiar with this emperor, but if you have seen Gladiator 2, you have met his children. Severus was the father of Caracalla and Geta who do not have the best reputation. But there is much more to his story than his disappointing children. Dr Elliott takes us through the remarkable rise of this man: from Leptis Magna to the imperial purple. In this interview, we tackle the following questions:  ·        How did…

People in this episode

Host: The Partial Historians

Guest: Dr Simon Elliott

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Kent

Books & works: The African Emperor: The Life of Septimius Severus, Early Imperial Romans, Pertinax: The Son of a Slave Who Became Roman Emperor, Roman Britain’s Missing Legion

Places: Britain, Leptis Magna

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