Murder of Geta and Caracalla’s Purge, 211–212

After Septimius Severus died in 211, his sons Caracalla and Geta inherited the empire jointly but could not cooperate. Caracalla had Geta killed in the presence of their mother Julia Domna and presented the act as self-defence against a conspiracy.

The murder was followed by damnatio memoriae and extensive reprisals against senators, officials, soldiers and household members associated with Geta. The purge made political survival dependent on rapid demonstrations of loyalty to the new sole emperor.

Emperor’s Knife and Emperor’s Axe place Silus inside this dynastic rupture, where intelligence work and personal rescue become inseparable from Caracalla’s attempt to eliminate every perceived rival.