The Baths of Caracalla were a vast public bathing complex in Rome, begun under Septimius Severus and completed under his son, the Emperor Caracalla. They contained hot, warm and cold rooms, exercise grounds, gardens, libraries and shops, and served as a social and leisure center for thousands of citizens. Water came by a branch of the Aqua Marcia, extended for the purpose, and was heated by furnaces and underground passages worked by slaves. The baths remained in use for over three centuries, until the Goths cut the aqueducts in the sixth century. Their huge brick ruins are still impressive, and in modern times they have been used as an open-air setting for opera and concerts. Many sculptures found there, such as the Farnese Hercules, entered Renaissance collections.
Before and after
- 2nd centuryPublication of Book of Han
- c. 200sTeotihuacan becomes the largest city in the Americas
- 203 CEOrigins of Arch of Septimius Severus (Roman Forum)
- 212 CEConstitutio Antoniniana
- 216 CEConstruction of Baths of Caracalla
- from 220 CE to 280 CEThree Kingdoms
- from 220 CE to 638 CEGhassanids
- from 220 CE to 589 CEWei, Jin, Southern and Northern dynasties
- from 224 CE to 651 CESasanian Empire
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- c. 1,274 BCEConstruction of Abu Simbel
- from 351 BCE to 1494Construction of Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
- from 323 BCE to 30 BCEHellenistic period
- 323 BCEConstruction of Temple of Ephesian Artemis
- 248 BCEConstruction of Terracotta Army
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 3rd century.