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Septimius Severus was born in, Leptis Magna, Tripolitania (now in Libya). He was the son of a knight or a member of the equestrian order and he was of Punic or Carthaginian descent. Severus first language was Punic, and he remained proud of his Carthaginian heritage<ref>Birley, Anthony R. Septimius Severus: The African Emperor (London: Routledge, 1999), p. 15</ref>. He entered the Senate about 173 AD, he was very young to become a senator but his way was eased because so many members of the elite had died in a great plague the previous year. Severus was a senator at a very difficult time as Commodus the unstable son of Marcus Aurelius was embarking on a reign of terror in Rome and he had many Roman aristocrats murdered. The African senator managed to stay alive and even to flourish during these dark days and was made governor of a key province and the command of three legions. When the mad Emperor Commodus was assassinated there was turmoil in Rome. His successor was murdered by the Praetorian Guards and the next Emperor (Marcus Didius Julianus) purchased the Imperial diadem or crown. Severus on the Danube was the commander of the largest army in the Empire<ref>Birley, p. 56</ref>. He ordered his army to march on Rome and he entered the city without resistance and he became Emperor. However, he was not unchallenged. Severus had to agree to recognize Clodius Albinus as the de-factor ruler of the western part of the Empire. While in the East, Gaius Pescennius Niger held several provinces. After a series of civil wars, Septimius Severus emerged victoriously and he became the unchallenged ruler of the Roman World. First, he defeated Niger in the east before he vanquished Clodius Albinus in a close fought battle. After this, he was the absolute ruler of the Roman Empire. Severus was the first African native to be Emperor of Rome. He used his power to reform the system and made sweeping changes to the army. For example, he replaced the Praetorian Guard with a large Imperial bodyguard, that was drawn from the legions. In 197 AD Septimius Severus turned to Rome’s old enemy Parthia and he invaded the large province of Mesopotamia (now in Iraq). He was successful and even attacked the Parthian capital, Ctesiphon and he permanently annexed Mesopotamia for the Empire<ref>.Grant, Michael. The Severans: The Changed Roman Empire (Routledge, London, 1996), p. 17</ref>. In late 2001 he traveled to his native Africa and campaigned against the Garamantes, these were an African people who had developed a sophisticated kingdom in what is now Libya. Severus army overwhelmed the Garamantes and even occupied their capital. He also campaigned in Numidia and defeated a local confederation of tribes and added more territory to the Empire. From 202 to 208 AD he overhauled the Imperial administration and government<ref>Birley, p. 17</ref>. A provincial himself he helped many provincials and those from poor backgrounds to rise in the Roman government. Severus devoted himself to the reform of the law, something which had not been done in over a century. As he grew older he raised his sons Geta and Caracalla to positions of power. They were both elevated to the status of Caesars and the co-rulers of the Empire. Severus was keen to secure the support of the people and he made himself popular with his lavish donations and by staging games. However, the elite hated him, and he reciprocated this, and he had poor relations with the aristocracy in Italy. In 2008 Severus journeyed to Britain with a larger army to conquer the Picts (in modern Scotland). Severus campaigned successfully against the Picts and occupied much of Scotland, the first Roman to do so for over a century. He extended the Roman frontier and added southern Scotland to the Empire. Severus succumbed to the disease at Eboracum, now the city of York. His sons succeeded him as co-Emperors. Apart from the rule of the usurper Macrinus (218 AD), Severus’s descendants remained in power until 235 and the start of the Third Century Crisis, when the Empire almost imploded under the pressure of economic problems, military mutinies, and barbarian invasions.