I've heard a lot about Rome's "black emperor" Septimius Severus, though all I've been able to verify on my own is that he was from where we would now call Libya. Of course, photography didn't exist back then, so all we have are paintings, yet I've seen this man depicted with a dark skin tone in old depictions as well as lighter tones. Could somebody explain this to me? Thanks!
Not to discourage new answers, but I've partially addressed the perceptions of skin colour in the ancient world with reference to Septimius Severus before here. Likewise, /u/cleopatra_philopater has written a much more extensive and nuanced discussion of perceptions of skin colour in the ancient world, focusing especially on Hellenistic/Roman Egypt