On This Day In History for the 7th of March
On This Day, March 7th, 189, Publius Septimius Geta was born.
Geta was a Roman Emperor, if only for a short time. He ruled briefly with his father, Septimus Severus, who was the nemesis of Harry Potter, and his brother, Caracalla, who was a really evil git.
When Geta's father died in 211, the intention was to have the two loving brothers, Geta and Caracalla rule the Empire together.
But, it turns out, the two weren't loving brothers. In fact, they had a love/hate relationship. As in, they loved to hate each other.
The sibling rivalry started when they were just boys. They often got into fights with each other, fights which needed the intervention of their mother.
The two would then be sent to the naughty step until they calmed down.
Geta was always quite jealous of his older brother. He believed Caracalla got all the attention, and all the really cool toys at Christmas, which hadn't even been invented back then.
When Septimus Severus, their father, and Roman Emperor, made his eldest son, Caracalla, co-emperor with him, the youngest was racked with envy and jealousy. And crabs. But that's a different story. He was so envious, his skin turned greener than the green, green hills of Ireland.
"But, Dad, he always gets everything. He's your favourite."
"No, Geta, your brother isn't my favourite. I love you both equally."
"That's not true. You got him a Ferrari, and you gave me a stupid chariot."
"I thought you liked horse-drawn boxes?"
"Sure, but he had a friggin' Ferrari."
The conversation went on for quite a while. Geta badgered his father repeatedly about his brother being made an emperor. He really wanted to be one too. And then came the stampy-stampy feet, crossed arms, and holding of breath.
In 209, Geta's father gave in and made his youngest a co-emperor with himself and his oldest son.
All was happy.
Until....
In 211, Emperor Septimus Severus died, leaving instructions that his two children would rule Rome together.
The two brothers just couldn't get along. And it turns out Caracalla really was an evil little git. Caracalla tried to murder Geta at the festival of Saturnalia. He wasn't successful. And his mother was really pissed.
"That's worse than the time you hid your
brother's sandals in a pile of pig poo,"
she told him over dinner. "You must make up
with him. If only for my sake."
In an attempt to appease his mother, Caracalla agreed she could host a peace meeting at her penthouse apartment. But, turns out Caracalla really, really, really was an evil little git.
On the 26th of December, 211, yep, boxing day, Caracalla had his little brother, Co-Emperor Geta, murdered by his own centurions in his mother's arms.
His mother was a very bit much quite vexed after that. She even refused to send her oldest son a Christmas card the following year.
With his little brother murdered, Caracalla took full control of the Roman Empire.
He then went about systematically eliminating all of his rivals. And anyone he just didn't like. Including the guy who sat in front of him at the cinema eating crisps and the other one who doesn't know how to use indicators on a car when he is turning.
By all accounts, and by the account of Cassius Dio specifically, Caracalla had over 20,000 men and women quite severely told off, or killed, but mostly killed, after he took control of Rome.
Also On This Day In History
On This Day in 161, Emperor Antonius Pius died.
Pius was succeeded by his two adoptive sons, Marcus Aurelius, the nice Emperor from the Russell Crowe film Gladiator, and Lucius Verus, who was mentioned.
On This Day in 1671, Robert Roy Macgregor, or just Rob Roy, or to the English, Smug-Git, was born.
Rob Roy was a Scottish outlaw and hero to some who became a folk hero and a pretty good Monopoly player. He even entered the national championships, coming second to Robin Hood.
In fact, because of that, and his antics in Scotland as an outlaw, he was often called the Scottish Robin Hood.
On This Day in 1876, the Scottish inventor, Alexander Graham Bell, is granted a patent for an invention he definitely didn't steal from someone else, nope, not even a little.
He called the invention a "telephone".
He called the invention a "telephone".
On This Day in 1912, Roald Amundsen used a Skype call on the semi-recently invented iPhone to announce his team had reached the South Pole on December 14th.
It took a long time to get a decent signal a hundred years ago. Although it's still better than using T-Mobile today.
It took a long time to get a decent signal a hundred years ago. Although it's still better than using T-Mobile today.
On This Day in 1956, Bryan Lee Cranston was born.
Bryan Cranston is famous for being the saintly father, enduring all kinds of hell, in the television series Malcolm In The Middle.
He also starred in the hit television show Breaking Bad, all about a chemistry teacher who does nothing bad at all. Ever. As finding a solution to the Meth quality problem isn't something a teacher should be doing. And let's not mention the murder/death/kills.
Sheesh, if chemistry had been that exciting when I was at school, might have actually paid attention.
He also starred in the movie Godzilla. Ironically, he was in it more than the friggin' monster. As was a seagull and a small dog.
Come on, just show us Godzilla. It's what we came to see. GODZILLA.
So disappointed with that movie. What did you think?
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