This life-sized marble bust of Roman Emperor Caracalla is located in the British Museum which does not charge an admission fee...and does allow non-flash photography.
The placard accompanying this sculpture reads:
"Marble head of emperor
Caracalla (211-217)
Roman, 215-217 AD
From Rome Italy.
Caracalla was the son of
Septimus Severus. He began
ruling with his brother Geta but
murdered him after a year. In 212
Caracalla granted citizenship to
all freeborn people in the Empire.
In 217 he was murdered (whilst
relieving himself,) during a
campaign in the East, by an officer
whose brother he had executed."
Wikipedia (
visit link) further informs us:
"Gibbon in his work describes Caracalla as "the common enemy of mankind". He left the capital in AD 213, about a year after the murder of Geta, and spent the rest of his reign in the provinces, particularly those of the East. He kept the Senate and other wealthy families in check by forcing them to construct, at their own expense, palaces, theaters, and places of entertainment throughout the periphery. New and heavy taxes were levied against the bulk of the population, with additional fees and confiscations targeted at the wealthiest families.
When the inhabitants of Alexandria heard Caracalla's claims that he had killed Geta in self-defense, they produced a satire mocking this as well as Caracalla's other pretensions. In AD 215 Caracalla savagely responded to this insult by slaughtering the deputation of leading citizens who had unsuspectingly assembled before the city to greet his arrival, and then unleashed his troops for several days of looting and plunder in Alexandria. According to historian Cassius Dio, over 20,000 people were killed.
During his reign as emperor, Caracalla raised the annual pay of an average legionary to 675 denarii and lavished many benefits on the army which he both feared and admired, as instructed by his father Septimius Severus who had told him on his deathbed to always mind the soldiers and ignore everyone else. Caracalla did manage to win the trust of the military with generous pay rises and popular gestures, like marching on foot among the ordinary soldiers, eating the same food, and even grinding his own flour with them. With the soldiers, "He forgot even the proper dignity of his rank, encouraging their insolent familiarity," according to Gibbon. "The vigour of the army, instead of being confirmed by the severe discipline of the camps, melted away in the luxury of the cities.'"