Julia Maesa
| Roman imperial dynasties | |||
| Severan dynasty | |||
 Julia Maesa on a coin from Sidon. On the reverse, Astarte. | |||
| Chronology | |||
| Septimius Severus | 193–198 | ||
| —with Caracalla | 198–209 | ||
| —with Caracalla and Geta | 209–211 | ||
| Caracalla and Geta | 211–211 | ||
| Caracalla | 211–217 | ||
| Interlude: Macrinus | 217–218 | ||
| Elagabalus | 218–222 | ||
| Alexander Severus | 222–235 | ||
| Dynasty | |||
| Severan dynasty family tree All biographies | |||
| Succession | |||
| Preceded by Year of the Five Emperors |
Followed by Crisis of the Third Century | ||
Julia Maesa (ca. 7 May 165 –ca. 3 August 224) was a Roman citizen[1] and daughter of Gaius Julius Bassianus, priest of the sun god Heliogabalus, the patron god of Emesa (modern Homs) in the Roman province of Syria. Grandmother of both the Roman emperors Elagabalus and Alexander Severus, she figured prominently in the ascension of each to the title at the age of fourteen. She was also the maternal aunt of the emperors Geta and Caracalla.
Restoration of Severan rule
Like her younger sister Julia Domna, she was among the most important women to exercise power behind the throne in the Roman empire. Following the death of Caracalla, Julia Maesa rescued the Severan dynasty from the usurper Macrinus.[2]
Julia Maesa was married to Syrian noble Gaius Julius Avitus Alexianus by whom had two daughters Julia Soaemias Bassiana and Julia Avita Mamaea each one mother of an emperor. Following the accession to the throne of her brother in law Lucius Septimius Severus, Julia Maesa moved to Rome to live with her sister. After the murder of her nephew, the emperor Caracalla and the suicide of Julia Domna, she was compelled to return to Syria. The new emperor Macrinus did not proscribe her and allowed her to keep her money.
Once back in Syria and possessed of ample funds, Maesa engaged in a plot to overthrow Macrinus and place one of her grandsons, Elagabalus son of Julia Soaemias, in his place. In order to legitimise this pretension, mother and daughter fomented the rumor that the 14-year-old boy was Caracalla's illegitimate son. The two Julias were successful, mainly because Macrinus was of an obscure origin without the proper political connections and Elagabalus became emperor.
Appointment of Alexander Severus
For her loyalty and support, Elagabalus honored Julia Maesa with the title Augusta avia Augusti (Augusta, grandmother of Augustus). The teenager proved to be a disaster as emperor, scorning Roman values with both religious and sexual scandals. He took the liberty in marrying a Vestal Virgin (she was one of a rumored five wives during his brief four years reign), Julia Maesa decided to promote instead her fourteen-year-old grandson Alexander Severus.
She convinced Elagabalus to adopt Alexander as his heir. Elagabulus was murdered shortly afterwards by the Praetorian Guard alongside his mother. Both were thrown into the Tiber river in contempt after being dragged from the palace through the streets. This event followed a rumor that Alexander had died.
Death & Reverence
Julia Maesa died on an uncertain date around 224. Like her sister Domna before her, she was deified.
See also
References
- ↑ Shahid, Irfan (1984). Rome and The Arabs: A Prolegomenon to the Study of Byzantium and the Arabs
- ↑ I, Claudia 2,Volume 2, Diana E.E. Kleiner and Susan B. Matheson, University of Texas Press, 2000, pg. 23
External links
Media related to Julia Maesa at Wikimedia Commons