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As Caracalla's centurions rushed forwards with steel drawn, Cassius Dio records that Domna held a terrified Geta in her arms, getting so thoroughly covered in her son's blood that she failed to notice the blow inflicted on her hand.

It seems that Caracalla had agreed to a meeting with Geta at Domna's behest, but it was just a ruse to eliminate his rival.

Meanwhile, it's difficult to know what Geta looked like because Caracalla killed him and then embarked on some historical erasure of his own.

During his six-year reign as sole emperor, Caracalla waged a pointless war against Parthia, viciously sacked a Roman city over an offensive play, largely ignored his administrative duties and aggravated an inflation crisis by paying the army with devalued coinage.

Instead of "Gladiator II" deconstructing the mythos of Rome, it's the real Caracalla who acts as a warning for what Scott seems to think Rome — and any of its modern reflections — needs in a leader.