Welcome to Accessible Art History! Here, we provide a space for art lovers, students, and anyone who is curious to explore all periods of art history and human creation.
welcome back to the accessible art
history YouTube channel this week
interest in the story of carala and Gada
has been reignited with the upcoming
release of Gladiator 2 directed by
brittley Scott the film a sequel to the
iconic Gladiator dels into a different
era of Roman history exploring new
characters and historical events I was
inspired to talk about the tumultuous
relationship between these brothers and
how we see it play out in art because of
this trailer so to learn more keep on
watching kacala and Gada were brothers
and were born into the Severn Dynasty
sons of Emperor Septimus everus and the
influential and Powerful Julia domna
kacala born in 188 CE and G born in in
189 CE were groomed from an early age
for leadership their parents understood
the importance of a strong Dynasty after
Septimus seus took power after the year
of five Emperors in 193 CE as Emperor
Septimus seus was shrewd and strategic
but his decision to make both of his
sons co-emperors later in his Reign
planted the seeds of Discord he believed
that by sharing power his sons would
continue his legacy together however
this plan sure did backfire even though
they were only a year apart in age the
two Royal Brothers could not have been
more different kacala the Elder of the
two was known for his Fierce and
aggressive nature he was ambitious
ruthless and had a militaristic Outlook
he was often eager to prove his strength
and dominance in stark contrast G was
more reserved intellectual and inclined
towards the administrative side of
ruling the country their differing
personalities and approaches to
leadership further fueled their
animosity they simply couldn't see eye
to eye on how to rule an Empire
Additionally the Imperial Court was
filled with advisers and officials who
took sides in their rivalry Cara and
Gada each had their factions each vying
for influence and control this created a
highly charged and divisive atmosphere
where each brother viewed the other as a
threat another Factor contributing to
their hatred was the Strategic
importance of the Roman Empire's
territories kacala and Gada each wanted
to control the most crucial and
prosperous regions the prospect of
dividing the Empire though briefly
considered was seen by both sides as a
sign of weakness and prot Taps the
downfall of the legacy of their family
just a century earlier the Roman Empire
had been at the height of its power now
it was on the verge of collapse because
neither was willing to concede any part
of their inheritance on his death P
Septimus seus is said to have advised
his sons to be harmonious enrich the
soldiers and Scorn all others yet his
words were just that words with their
father gone the fragile peace he had
maintained collapsed and the brothers
were at odds carola's ambition and
desire for soul power drove him to do
the unthinkable in 211 CE shortly after
their father death he lured Gada into a
meeting under the guise of
reconciliation once there caracola
soldiers ambushed and murdered Gada in
their mother's arms ending the B rivalry
in a most brutal F but kacala didn't
stop there to ensure that no one would
rally in his brother's name he sought to
obliterate any trace of his existence he
instituted what's called a damnatio
mamore a literal damnation of G's memory
and ordered that all references to him
be destroyed statues busts and images of
G were systematically defaced or
destroyed his name was chiseled out from
his inscriptions and official records
the purpose of damnatio mamore was to
ensure that The Condemned person's
Legacy would be forgotten effectively
and quite literally erasing him from the
historical record even in official
documents and legal text G's name was
erased it was a deliberate and
methodical attempt to remove him and it
was unprecedented at this time it was
not just an act of personal Vengeance by
caracola but a political maneuver to
consolidate his power and eliminate any
remaining loyalty to his brother Gada
one of the most famous surviving
examples of the St not to memori against
Gada is the seign tondo dating to around
200 CE it shows the first two
generations of the dynasty however one
of the faces is completely scratched out
to add insult to injury art historians
have discovered that the blank space
that used to be occupied by G's face was
smeared with excrement this shows that
the Act was not only a political move
but also a deeply personal one
reflecting the intense hatred and
rivalry between the brothers it's
remarkable how caracola literally erased
his brother from history but don't worry
caracola got his Comm upins in 27 while
on campaign he stopped to urinate on the
side of the road at this moment he was
attacked and stabbed to death by one of
his soldiers he was angry because
caracal refused to Grant him the
position of centurion and arrival to the
throne saw this as an opportunity to
take the emperor out and claim power for
himself what goes around comes around I
guess the tragic story of kakala and
Gada and the use of demattio mamore
serves as a PO example of the darker
aspects of Roman imperial history it
also serves as a powerful reminder of
how history can be manipulated and the
lengths to which an individual Joel will
go to maintain their own legacy I'm
curious to see how Gladiator 2 and
Ridley Scott handled the story
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