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A STORY OF A ROMAN FAMILY
( A tale of 9 disasters)
The Roman Empire in the first century AD mixed culture with violence. Its leaders, the emperors, had to keep a very tight and sometimes violent control of the reins of power.
Being at the head of such an organisation was a demanding and dangerous job that could bring vast rewards but Assassination was an occupational hazard.
This book recounts the story of the rise and fall of a powerful Roman family that was brought down by a series of disasters.
J Prior (Ed)
Lucius Septimius Severus (11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa.
Septimius Severus came from a wealthy and distinguished family of equestrian rank. Severus had Italic and Punic ancestry; the Roman ancestry came from his mother's side, while his Punic ancestry came from his father's side.
Due to his family background on his father's side he is considered the first provincial emperor as he was the first emperor not only born in the provinces but also into a provincial family of non-Italian origin..As a young man he advanced through the customary succession of offices under the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. After Commodus was assassinated Pertinax was acclaimed emperor, but he was then killed by the Praetorian Guard in early 193.
In response to the murder of Pertinax, Severus' legion acclaimed him emperor at Carnuntum on 9 April. Nearby legions, soon followed suit.
Having assembled an army, Severus hurried to Italy.
Pertinax's successor in Rome, Didius Julianus, had made himself unpopular by debasing the currency. The senate passed a motion proclaiming Severus as emperor, and sentenced Julianus to death. His last words were "But what evil have I done? Whom have I killed?“ His body was given to his wife and daughter.
Severus took possession of Rome without opposition. He executed Pertinax's murderers and dismissed the rest of the Praetorian Guard, filling its ranks with loyal troops from his own legions.
By 202 Severus was back in Rome, where he spent the next six years making major changes in the structure of the imperial government. Since his power rested on military might rather than constitutional sanction, he gave the army a dominant role in his state. He won the soldiers’ support by increasing their pay and permitting them to marry. To prevent the rise of a powerful military rival, he reduced the number of legions under each general’s control. At the same time Severus ignored the Senate, which declined rapidly in power, and he recruited his officials from the equestrian rather than the senatorial order. Many provincials and peasants received advancement, and the Italian aristocracy lost much of its former influence.
Septimus Severus fought his way to the top job in the Empire but was renowned for his cruelty and ruthlessness. He turned the Roman Empire into a military dictatorship, but he was popular with the people.
He was married to Julia Domna, a younger woman by 25 years. He was 42 and she 17 when they married. She was his second wife. became a powerful figure in the regime of his successor, her son , the emperor Caracalla.
Julia was a Syrian (Domna being her Syrian name) and was the daughter of the hereditary high priest Bassianus at Emesa (present-day Ḥimṣ) in Syria and elder sister of Julia Maesa.
He got on well with his wife who unusually for most Roman wives travelled with him on his expeditions .She was well read and she played an important role as centre of a circle of Roman and Greek philosophers. Julia had two sons (surprisingly because one might expect more children in those days) The first born when she was 18.
Caraculla is a nickname for the first of her sons. The other was called Geta
There was another side to the Family (Julia Domna’s sister, Julia Maesa
Septimus Severus --- Julia Domna Julia Maesa --- J Avitus
145-211 (imp191) 170-217 165-224
Caraculla Geta Julia Soaemias Julia Mamaea
188-217 (imp198.) 189-211 (Imp209) 180-222 180-235
Julia Domna had a sister, Julia Maesa, elder by 5 years. She was very rich, ambitious and manipulative. She married fellow Syrian Julius Avitus, who was of consular rank.
Julia Maesa had two daughters . Note that Julia Maesa had her first child at the age of 15.
Everybody is called Julia! This was a Clan name of some of the nobility. It originates from the Julii tribe that claimed to be descended from Romulus . The Julii thereafter claimed divine descent from Venus.
During their time in Rome, Maesa and her family amassed great wealth and fortune, and rose to high positions in the Roman government and court of Septimius Severus and later, his son and successor, Caracalla.
Her two daughters attained prominent positions in the court while their Syrian husbands held important posts as provincial governors and consuls
The picture also shows the dates that imperial power was gained by various men.
As the years moved on :-
1) Caraculla married Plautilla in 202 (She was 14 he was 16) ) She was the daughter of Septimus’s 2nd in command.
2) Julia Maesa’s daughters married and had children.
Septimus Severus --- Julia Domna Julia Maesa --- J Avitus
145-211 (imp191) 170-217 165-224
Caraculla Geta Julia Soaemias Julia Mamaea 88-217 (imp198.) 189-211 (Imp209) 180-222 180-235
Marrried in 202 Elagabalus Severus Alexander
Plautilla (Daughter of Plautinius) 203-222(imp218) 208-235(Imp222)
188-212 Married 220 Married 225 Julia Aquilla Severa Sallustia Orbiana Daughter of Salus Salustius
3) Caraculla and Geta gained Imperial power and served jointly with their father before his death.
4) Sons named Elagabalus and Severus Alexander were born to the two women.
( Elagabalus was a nickname given to him after his death due to his adherence to the Sun god Elagabul.) The sons married when they were 17.
So this is the family tree. Covering 42 years of Imperial power. 193-235. It looks good but it all went wrong!!
Disaster number 1.The marriage of Caraculla and Plautilla was under orders from Septimus Severus for political reasons. Caraculla despised her. This lead to a huge family row. Plautillas father was executed and Plautilla and her daughter were exiled to Sicily.
HAPPY FAMILY ? Wife Trouble
Septimus Severus --- Julia Domna Julia Maesa --- J Avitus
145-211 (imp191) 170-217 165-224
Caraculla Geta Julia Soaemias Julia Mamaea
88-217 (imp198.) 189-211 (Imp209) 180-222 180-235
Marrried in 202 Elagabalus Severus Alexander
Plautilla 203-222(imp218) 208-235(imp222)
(Daughter of Plautinius) Married 220 Married 225 188-212 Julia Aquilla Severa Sallustia Orbiana
Six years later Disaster number 2.
Severus travelled to Britain in 208, strengthening Hadrian's Wall and reoccupying the Antonine Wall. In 209 he invaded Caledonia (modern Scotland) with an army of 50,000 men but his ambitions were cut short when he fell fatally ill of an infectious disease in late 210 He is buried in York. His last advice to his sons was-
1 )Get on well together,
2) Pay the Army well,
3) To hell with the rest of them.
145-211 (imp191) 170-217 165-224 155-216
Caraculla Geta Julia Soaemias Julia Mamaea
88-217 (imp198.) 189-211 (Imp209) 180-222 180-235
Marrried in 202
Plautilla
(Daughter of Plautinius) Elagabalus Severus Alexander
188-212 203-222(imp218) 208-235 (imp222)
Septimus’s sons did not take his advice. They quarrelled over whether to share or divide the empire.
Caraculla became so annoyed that he sent the Praetorian guards to Geta’s room and he was killed.
Geta's image was removed from all paintings, coins were melted down, and statues were destroyed. His name was struck from papyrus records, and it became a capital offence to speak or write Geta's name.
In the aftermath an estimated 20,000 people were massacred. Those killed were Geta's inner circle of guards and advisers, friends, and other military staff under his employ.
In the words of George Orwell Geta then became a non person.
Natural Causes
145-211 (imp191) 170-217 165-224 155-216
Caraculla
88-217 (imp198.) 189-211 (Imp209) 180-222 180-235
Marrried in 202
(Daughter of Plautinius) Elagabalus Severus Alexander
188-212 203-222(imp218) 208-235 (imp222)
One year later Disaster number 3 .
Caraculla, now having supreme power, arranged for the death of his estranged wife . He sent some guards to Sicily and Plautilla was strangled.However he made himself popular with the people by proclaiming that “All free men are Romans”. This helped to unite the Roman empire within Europe.In 213 Caraculla left Rome to fight campaigns never to return . Julia Domna ran the Empire, he fought the wars.
Five years later Disaster number 4
At the beginning of 217, after 6 years in power Caracalla was preparing to start a new invasion of Parthia. On 8 April 217 Caracalla was travelling to visit a temple near in southern Turkey, After stopping briefly to urinate, Caracalla was approached by a soldier, Justin Martialis, who stabbed him to death. Martialis had been incensed by Caracalla's refusal to grant him the position of centurion. Macrinus, another General, took over as Emperor.
The modern portrayal of Caracalla is that of a psychopathic and evil ruler who was among the worst of the Roman emperors.
Natural Causes
145-211 (imp191) 170-217 165-224 155-216
(Daughter of Plautinius) Elagabalus Severus Alexander
188-212 203-222(imp218) 208-235 (imp222)
Plautill strangled Julia Aquilla Severa Sallustia Orbiana
Soon afterwards Disaster number 5. Julia Domna is so depressed by the death of her second son that she committed suicide by starvation. A decision hastened by the fact that she was suffering from breast cancer.
Disaster number 6The grandmother and Mother of Elagabalus were desperate to get power for their son and grandson. They spread a rumour that he was the illegitimate son of Caraculla in order to justify his position as the new emperor.
His mother claimed he was Caracalla’s illegitimate child and Julia Maesa bribed Army and key Senators. Between them they were successful.
Elagabalus, barely 15 years old, became emperor.
At 17 he married a Vestal virgin (VERY FORBIDDEN!!).This marriage lasted just over a year, then in 221 Elagabulus divorced from Julia Aquilia to marry Annia Faustina, a descendant of Marcus Aurelius; the young emperor became tired of Faustina very soon and went back to Julia Aquilia again citing the excuse of a bad divorce. Julia Aquilia did not give children to Elagabulus
He tried to convert Rome to the Sun God.
He was sexually prolific.
The historian Cassius Dio claims that Elagabalus had a more stable relationship with his chariot driver, Hierocles,than with any of his wives.
His Grandmother and Aunt were dismayed because he was disgracing the family
145-211 (imp191) 170-217 165-224 155-216
Disaster number 7 Julia Maesa, the grandma was so disgusted that she decided to promote instead her other grandson, fourteen-year-old Alexander Severus.
She convinced Elagabalus to adopt Alexander as his heir.
This he did and it lead to his downfall. In a In a plot formulated by his grandmother, Julia Maesa, and Alexander’s mother and carried out by disaffected members of the Praetorian Guard, Elagabalus, just 18 years old, and his mother were assassinated.
Both were dragged from the palace through the streets., Murdered and thrown into the Tiber river in contempt. Did they really plan to kill Julia Soaemias as she was the daughter of one of the plotters.?
Julia was later declared a public enemy and her name erased from all records.
Severus Alexander became Emperor at the age of 14 to preserve the family name.
Alexander is remembered as an emperor who was "level headed, well meaning, and conscientious," but his fatal flaw was his domination by his mother, It is said that he was desirous of erecting a temple to Jesus but was dissuaded by the pagan priests
Natural Causes Suicide Natural causes
145-211 (imp191) 170-217 165-224 155-216
88-217 (imp198.) 189-211 (Imp209) 180-222 180-235
Disaster number 8Two years after the death of her daughter and grandson Julia Maesa died in Rome of Natural causes. Leaving just Julia Mamaea.
|Julia Mamaea selected her son’s wife, Sallustia, when he was 17 and she was 16 but then became jealous and took an intense dislike to her.
She treated Sallustia cruelly, forcing her to seek refuge with her father, Sallustius.
To defend his daughter, he made an attempt on the life of his son-in-law and as a result was executed two years later.
Sallustia was divorced and exiled to Libya in 227. Severus did not object!!
Alexander is remembered as an emperor who was "level headed, well meaning, and conscientious," but his fatal flaw was his domination by his mother.
Disaster number 9 After being in power for 13 years Alexander and his mother went to lead an expedition against German rebels . Alexander so alienated the Rhine legions by
his lack of military prowess and
1) his inflexibility towards pay and
2) On the advice of his mother Alexander attempted to bring peace by engaging in diplomacy and bribery.
The troops rebelled and led to a conspiracy to assassinate and replace him. Troops sent to kill Alexander found him clinging to his mother, Julia Mamaea, in a tent.
Mother and son were butchered together. Maximinus became emperor.
That ended the Family Imperial Dynasty that had lasted for 42years .
Natural Causes Suicide Natural causes
145-211 (imp191) 170-217 165-224 155-216
88-217 (imp198.) 189-211 (Imp209) 180-222 180-235
Time in Office
This history has drawn upon many sources on the internet. I am grateful to those sources. I believe these sources to be copyright free but should I be wrong please let me know. J Prior (Ed)
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