Character·Ancient Rome·Imperial Rome (early 3rd century CE)
Plautilla: Married to Rome’s Worst Son
On her wedding day, Julia Plautilla wept—her new husband, Caracalla, publicly hated her.
Panini — "Ancient Rome" (1757), public domain
A Crowned Stranger
Plautilla was forced into marriage with Caracalla, heir to the empire, by her ambitious father. Roman coins show her regal face, but the reality was grim: Caracalla despised her, refusing to live with her even as empress.
Palace Under Threat
Plautilla’s world was a web of intrigue—her father killed, her marriage weaponized, and whispers of divorce at every banquet. When Caracalla rose to power, he swiftly exiled her to a remote island. Ancient sources say she was later murdered on his orders.
Plautilla’s brief reign as empress reveals the perils of dynastic marriages in imperial Rome, where a wedding could be a death sentence.
