Septimius Severus Father
Septimius Severus was born on 11th April 145 CE at Leptis Magna (in present-day Libya).
He was the son of Publius Septimius Geta. Publius Septimius Geta came from a wealthy and distinguished family of equestrian rank.
He had a Punic (North African) ancestry.
Due to his family background on his father’s side he is considered the first provincial emperor as he was the first emperor not only born in the provinces but also into a provincial family of non-Italian origin.
His father was wealthy and a distinguished local of Leptis Magna, a prominent city of the Carthaginian Empire.
His grandfather, Lucius Septimius Severus (110 CE) was prefectus of Leptis Magna when Leptis Magna was made a roman colony and its inhabitants were granted citizenship under Trajan.
His grandfather was also the first magistrates of the new colony.
Unlike his grandfather his father seems to have held no political offices, either local or imperial, though other members of his family distinguished themselves.
His two uncles served as Consuls under Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius in 153 & 160 CE.
His father also had a sister named Septimia Polla, who apparently never married. His father honoured her memory with a silver statue.
Septimius Severus Mother
His mother Fulvia Pia had Roman ancestry. His mother belonged to the gens Fulvia, an Italian patrician family that originated in Tusculum.
The gens Fulvia, originally Foulvia, was one of the most illustrious plebeian families in ancient Rome.
Members of this gens Fulvia first came to prominence during the middle Republic.
Members of this family first attained the consulship in 322 BCE.
From that time onward, the Fulvii were active in the politics of the Roman state, and gained a reputation for excellent military leaders.
Later his mother’s ancestors had moved from Italy to North Africa.