Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;dougsmit, post: 1672783, member: 19463&quot;]When we figure the net worth to history of Marcus Aurelius, we must charge his account for failure to adopt a decent successor as had been the practice since Nerva.&nbsp; How would the Empire have benefited if Septimius Severus had not had Caracalla negating the need for Macrinus and then Maesa&#039;s family?&nbsp; As we go through Roman history it is hard to find an Emperor who was able to handle succession skillfully by keeping it in his family.&nbsp; Titus seems a good choice but Domitian - not so much!&nbsp; Did Septimius and Constantine really think that the boys would work together?&nbsp; Maybe they were not smart enough to be Emperor after all.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Who wants to write a historical fiction piece about what would happen if Aurelius had killed his son and installed a good man for the job?&nbsp; He might have adopted a young Septimius who then would have to face the problem he later failed to handle well.&nbsp; It is a good question whether bloodletting provides a better method of ruler selection than bloodlines.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in