Septime Sévère et ses fils, Restitutores Vrbis : la personnalisation des mérites impériaux

Summary. — A new monetary legend, that of restitutor Vrbis, appeared under the joint reign of Septimius Severus and his sons Caracalla and Geta. This formula is to be found on several issues dating to the years AD 200-201, and again in 207. It was intended to convey the idea that the African emperor had restored order to the capital after the chaotic reign of Commodus. This restoration had double significance: Septimius Severus gave the impulse for numerous public works in order to restore ancient buildings and erect new monuments. He was also the emperor who restored Rome to the plenitude of its power and dominion. Septimius Severus associated his sons in this vast project, in particular the elder Caracalla. The legend restitutor Vrbis should be studied in the context of others which appeared during the same period: rector orbis, fundator, pacator orbis as well as propago imperii. This latter emphasised the continuity of power in the Seveřan family. The tendency to personalise imperial virtues, already noticeable from the reign of Hadrian, increased markedly in this period.