Fulvia Plautilla

Names
	Publia Fulvia Plautilla
Regnal name
	Publia Fulvia Plautilla Augusta

Fulvia Plautilla
Fulvia Plautilla
Augusta
	Fulvia Plautilla on a denarius.
Empress of the Roman Empire
Tenure	202–205 (alongside Julia Domna)
Born	c. 185; Rome
Died	211; Lipari
Spouse	Emperor Caracalla
Issue	a daughter
Names
Names
	Publia Fulvia Plautilla
Regnal name
	Publia Fulvia Plautilla Augusta
Father	Gaius Fulvius Plautianus
Mother	Hortensia

Publia Fulvia Plautilla (c. 185/around 188/189 – 211) was the wife of the Roman emperor Caracalla, her paternal second cousin. After her father was condemned for treason, she was exiled and eventually killed, possibly on Caracalla's orders. She was related to Julius Caesar's first wife Cornelia.

Birth and family[]

Plautilla was born and raised in Rome. She belonged to the gens Fulvia of ancient Rome. The Fulvius family was of plebeian origin, came from Tusculum, Italy and had been active in politics since the Roman Republic. Her mother was named Hortensia; her father was Gaius Fulvius Plautianus, the Commander of the Praetorian Guard, consul, paternal first cousin and close ally to Roman Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus (the father of Caracalla). She also had a brother, Gaius Fulvius Plautius Hortensianus.

Severus and Plautianus arranged for Plautilla and Caracalla to be married in a lavish ceremony in April 202. The forced marriage proved to be very unhappy; Caracalla despised her. According to Cassius Dio, Plautilla had a profligate character.

According to numismatic evidence, Plautilla and Caracalla had a daughter, whose name is unknown, in 204.^[1]^[2] In the same year, her father-in-law ordered the erection of the Arch of Septimius Severus, honoring him and his family, including his wife, Empress Julia Domna, Caracalla, Plautilla and her brother-in-law Publius Septimius Geta.

Head of Plautilla dated 200-205. Made of marble. Getty Villa.

Head of Plautilla. National Roman Museum - Palazzo Massimo alle Terme

Exile[]

On January 22, 205 Gaius Fulvius Plautianus was executed for treachery and his family properties were confiscated. Plautilla and her brother were exiled by Caracalla to Sicily and then to Lipari. They were treated very harshly and were eventually strangled, possibly on Caracalla's orders after the death of Septimius Severus on February 4, 211.

Contemporary depictions[]

Coins bearing her image that have survived are mainly from the reign of her father-in-law. They are inscribed Plautilla Augusta or Plautillae Augustae.

A marble bust of Fulvia Plautilla is in the Louvre.^[3]

The Solinjanka or Salonitanka, meaning "woman from the city of Solin (ancient Salona)", one of the most important Roman portraits found in Croatia, is believed to depict Plautilla at a young age.^[4] ^[5] Originally found in Salona, it is now kept in the Archaeological museum in Zagreb.

Severan dynasty family tree[]

Septimius Macer

Gaius Claudius Septimius Aper

Fulvius Pius

Lucius Septimius Severus

Publius Septimius Aper

Gaius Septimius Aper

Fulvia Pia

Publius Septimius Geta

Septimia Polla

Julius Bassianus

Septimius

Publius Septimius Geta

Septimia Octavilla

Paccia Marciana (1)

Septimius Severus
(r. 193–211)^[i]

Julia Domna (2)

Julia Maesa

Gaius Julius Avitus Alexianus

Gaius Septimius Severus Aper

Fulvia Plautilla

Caracalla
(r. 197–217)^[ii]

Geta
(r. 209–211)^[iii]

Julia Soaemias

Sextus Varius Marcellus

Julia Avita Mamaea

Marcus Julius Gessius Marcianus^[iv] (2)

Julia Cornelia Paula (1)

Aquilia Severa (2 and 4)

Elagabalus
(r. 218–222)^[v]

Annia Faustina (3)

Sallustia Orbiana

Severus Alexander
(r. 222–235)^[vi]

(1) = 1st spouse
(2) = 2nd spouse
(3) = 3rd spouse
(4) = 4th spouse
Dark green indicates an emperor of the Severan dynasty

Notes:

Except where otherwise noted, the notes below indicate that an individual's parentage is as shown in the above family tree.

^ Birley, Anthony R. (1999). Septimius Severus: The African Emperor. London: Routledge. p. i.
^ Burrell, Barbara (2004). Neokoroi: Greek Cities and Roman Emperors. p. 216.
^ Burrell, Barbara (2004). Neokoroi: Greek Cities and Roman Emperors. p. 247.
^ Birley, Anthony R. (1999). Septimius Severus: The African Emperor. London: Routledge. p. 217.
^ Gibbon, Edward; Smith, William (1889). The Student's Gibbon: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. p. 45.
^ Gibbon, Edward; Smith, William (1889). The Student's Gibbon: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. p. 47.

Bibliography:

Birley, Anthony R. (1999). Septimius Severus: The African Emperor. London: Routledge. ISBN 0415165911.
Gibbon, Edward; Smith, William (1889). The Student's Gibbon: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. London: Murray. OCLC 993285639.

References[]

^ Townsend, Prescott W. (1938). "The Significance of the Arch of the Severi at Lepcis". American Journal of Archaeology. 42 (4): 512–524. doi:10.2307/499184. JSTOR 499184.
^ Mattingly, Harold (1936). The Roman Imperial Coinage: pt. 1. Pertinax to Geta, by H. Mattingly and E. A. Sydenham. pt. 2. Macrinus to Pupienus, by H. Mattingly, E. A. Sydenham, and C. H. V. Sutherland. pt. 3. Gordian III-Uranius Antonius, by H. Mattingly. Spink. p. 78.
^ History of Rome and of the Roman people (from its origin to the invasion of the barbarians), Victor Duruy and John Pentland Mahaffey, C.F. Jewett Publishing Company, 1883, pg. 535.
^ The Greek and Roman Collection Archived 2013-02-14 at the Wayback Machine, Web page of Archaeological museum in Zagreb.
^ Plautilla and the Fate of a Princess, Archaeologia Adriatica 11 (2008), 473-488 (Article in Croatian; showing portrait).

External links[]

Royal titles
Preceded by Julia Domna	Empress of Rome 202–205 with Julia Domna (202–205)	Succeeded by Julia Domna

[6] Birley, Anthony R. (1999). Septimius Severus: The African Emperor. London: Routledge. p. i.

[7] Burrell, Barbara (2004). Neokoroi: Greek Cities and Roman Emperors. p. 216.

[8] Burrell, Barbara (2004). Neokoroi: Greek Cities and Roman Emperors. p. 247.

[9] Birley, Anthony R. (1999). Septimius Severus: The African Emperor. London: Routledge. p. 217.

[10] Gibbon, Edward; Smith, William (1889). The Student's Gibbon: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. p. 45.

[11] Gibbon, Edward; Smith, William (1889). The Student's Gibbon: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. p. 47.

[1] Townsend, Prescott W. (1938). "The Significance of the Arch of the Severi at Lepcis". American Journal of Archaeology. 42 (4): 512–524. doi:10.2307/499184. JSTOR 499184.

[2] Mattingly, Harold (1936). The Roman Imperial Coinage: pt. 1. Pertinax to Geta, by H. Mattingly and E. A. Sydenham. pt. 2. Macrinus to Pupienus, by H. Mattingly, E. A. Sydenham, and C. H. V. Sutherland. pt. 3. Gordian III-Uranius Antonius, by H. Mattingly. Spink. p. 78.

[3] History of Rome and of the Roman people (from its origin to the invasion of the barbarians), Victor Duruy and John Pentland Mahaffey, C.F. Jewett Publishing Company, 1883, pg. 535.

[4] The Greek and Roman Collection Archived 2013-02-14 at the Wayback Machine, Web page of Archaeological museum in Zagreb.

[5] Plautilla and the Fate of a Princess, Archaeologia Adriatica 11 (2008), 473-488 (Article in Croatian; showing portrait).

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