After a moment, Caracalla turned on the two of them again.
“Can’t the people of the empire see what I am trying to do?” He pointed to the bust of Alexander. “I have brought his dream to fruition! I’ve turned our empire into a communis patria, a common homeland for all citizens. I’ve made the provincials equal to Italians! No longer are the Italians superior to the people of Africa Proconsularis, Syria, Iberia or Britannia in the eyes of the law. I have made them equal, given them rights! We now have a universal state! What have they to complain about?” he roared, his voice echoing off of the marble walls.
Ulpianus said nothing. He could not reason with Caracalla. He never could converse with him the way Papinianus used to with Severus.
As Caracalla seethed silently before them, Julia Do
