Fulvia Plautilla

Publia Fulvia Plautilla, Fulvia Plautilla or Plautilla (c. 185/around 188/189 - early 212) was a Roman Princess, briefly Roman Empress and the only wife to Roman Emperor Caracalla. Caracalla was her paternal second cousin.

Birth and family

Plautilla was born and raised in Rome. She belonged to the gens Fulvius of ancient Rome. The Fulvius family was of plebs 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, maternal first cousin and close ally to Roman Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus (the father of Caracalla). She also had a brother, Gaius Fulvius Plautius Hortensianus.

Marriage and child

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 bore Caracalla a daughter (whose name is unknown) in 204. In the same year, her father-in-law ordered the erection of the Arch of Septimius Severus, which honors Septimius Severus, Severus’ wife, Empress Julia Domna, Caracalla, Plautilla and her brother-in-law Publius Septimius Geta.

Exile

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

Image on coins and museum bust

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

There is a marble bust of Fulvia Plautilla in the Louvre.^[1]

References

^ 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.

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

[1] 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.

[1]