Interrogating the African Roman Emperor Caracalla: Claiming and Reclaiming an African LeaderPosted in Africa, Articles, Biography, Europe, History, Media Archive on 2018-03-20 02:10Z by Steven |
Interrogating the African Roman Emperor Caracalla: Claiming and Reclaiming an African Leader
Journal of Black Studies
Volume 47, Issue 1, January 2016
pages 41–52
DOI: 10.1177/0021934715611376
Molefi Kete Asante, Professor of African American Studies
Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Shaza Ismail
Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt
This essay provides an interrogation into the historical and personal contradictions in the character of the Roman Emperor Caracalla. As an emperor of African origin who once ruled the world, the nature of his rule, in its political and social dimension, has not been adequately studied. In fact, the scholarly sources that focused on Caracalla as a powerful ruler hardly mention his African origin and in some cases outright deny the fact that he was African. On the other hand, many European writers who do understand his political significance refer to his military achievements ignoring his origin. This work seeks to place Caracalla in the historical setting that befits his adventure as emperor during the time of Rome’s incessant leadership crises. While we know that Caracalla’s life was a series of bold and cruel actions as well as creative achievements, this work discusses his life in the context of his humanity more than to itemize his imperial achievements. The idea is to reveal through the literature and history as much as we can of his complex character in amid the challenging circumstances that surrounded his life and career.
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