GETA, PUBLIUS SEPTIMIUS

born , 189, Mediolanum [now Milan, Italy] died February 212, Rome Roman emperor from 209 to 212, jointly with his father, Septimius Severus (reigned 193211), and his brother, Caracalla (reigned 198217). The younger son of Septimius Severus and Julia Domna, he was given the title caesar in 198, when his elder brother Caracalla became joint emperor (as augustus) with their father. In 209 Geta was himself made an augustus. The furious rivalry that developed between the brothers remained concealed from public view as long as their father lived, but, after Severus' death at Eboracum (modern York, Eng.) in February 211, the brothers formed separate military factions. Civil war threatened until February 212, when Caracalla had Geta murdered in their mother's arms in her apartment in the imperial palace.