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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;zumbly, post: 1900899, member: 57495&quot;]Happy Birthday, <b>Lucius Septimius Severus</b>!!</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Lived : </b>11 April 145 - 4 February 211</p><p><b>Reigned : </b>14 April 193 - 4 February 211</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]324985[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Instead of rehashing his wikipedia entry, I thought I would put up 10 totally random bits of trivia about our birthday boy.&nbsp; Enjoy! </p><p><br /></p><p>1) There is some disagreement as to Septimius Severus&#039;s appearance.&nbsp; Cassius Dio describes him as a small man, while the <i>Historia Augusta </i>says he was of huge size.&nbsp; Most sources however will agree that he had a very nice beard.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>2) He is said to have been a small eater, and often went without meat in his meal, though once in Nicaea he craved for mullet.&nbsp; He was also very fond of his &quot;native beans&quot;.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>3) During the course of his reign, he heavily debased the fineness of the denarius, from 81.5% to 56.5%.&nbsp; I suppose something had to pay for all those beans.</p><p><br /></p><p>4) He was one of the most militarily vigorous emperors, crushing the rebellious Byzantians, the Parthian empire, various Arab tribes, the Assyrians at Adiabene, the Caledonians in Britain, as well as the Roman Senate for good measure.&nbsp; Admittedly, his campaign-related expenses are the more likely reason for his debasement of the denarius.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>5) RIC notes that his coins prior to 200 AD were struck on &quot;singularly small, thickish flans&quot;.&nbsp; Accordingly, this should be known as his Dumpy Flan period.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>6) Several authors claim Septimius Severus spoke Latin with an African accent.&nbsp; Anthony Birley in his book <b>Septimius Severus: The African Emperor </b>suggests that &#039;<i>Sheptimiush Sheverush&#039;</i> is how he may have pronounced his name.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>7) He visited the famous Colossi of Memnon in Egypt to hear the &#039;singing&#039; of the oracular &quot;Vocal Memnon&quot;.&nbsp; The massive stone statue was reputed to produce a whistling song at various times of the day.&nbsp; Severus heard nothing.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>8) Cassius Dio records that shortly before his death, Severus sent for the urn that would contain his ashes and remarked, “Thou shalt hold a man that the world could not hold.”&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>9) Muammar Gaddafi apparently did not like his fellow Libyan.&nbsp; He had a bronze statue of Septimius Severus which had stood in Tripoli&#039;s main square since 1933 pulled down and dumped into a rubbbish heap.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>10) The most expensive Septimius Severus coin in acsearch records is this &#039;Ship in Circus&#039; aureus which sold for EUR 240,000 (approx USD 333,000) : </p><p><a href="http://www.acsearch.info/record.html?id=706045" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.acsearch.info/record.html?id=706045" rel="nofollow">http://www.acsearch.info/record.html?id=706045</a></p><p>I&#039;m not sure if this is THE most expensive Septimius Severus coin, but if you have one that&#039;s pricier, this is the thread to post it.&nbsp; <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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