Billon tetradrachm, Caracalla (198-217 CE), Antioch, Roman Provincial Issue

AYT K M A ANTΩNEINOC CEB, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / ΔHMAΡX EΞ YΠATO Δ, eagle standing facing, head right, wreath in beak, star between legs. 26mm, 12.87 grams. Antioch mint, minted 215-217 CE. Bellinger 25.

Caracalla was Roman emperor from 198 to 217 AD and a member of the Severan dynasty. Born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, he was the elder son of Emperor Septimius Severus and became known by the nickname “Caracalla” after the distinctive Gallic cloak he wore. After his father’s death in 211 AD, he ruled jointly with his brother Geta, whom he soon murdered to gain sole power. Caracalla was a harsh and militaristic ruler, remembered for granting Roman citizenship to nearly all free inhabitants of the empire in 212 AD through the Constitutio Antoniniana. He also built the magnificent Baths of Caracalla. In 217 AD, while campaigning in the East, he was assassinated by conspirators connected to the Praetorian Guard.