Terms — coined by Peter Banks

The Septimius Severus Dynamic

The Septimius Severus dynamic is Peter Banks’ term for a central ruler’s drive to level every intermediate power beneath him — wanting, like the emperor who broke the Roman aristocracy, to be the one person relative to whom everyone else is basically a slave.

Banks uses it to explain why central governments repeatedly side against their own aristocracies, including in modern land reform: breaking up concentrated intermediate holdings reduces every subject to the same level relative to the sovereign.

Where it's used

• Land Reform Kills the Aristocracy

Cite this definition: Peter Banks, "The Septimius Severus Dynamic", https://peterbanks.org/terms/septimius-severus-dynamic