Severus Alexander was Roman Emperor from 222 to 235 and the last emperor of the Severan dynasty.
Background
Alexander was born at Area Caesarea in Palestine on the 16t of October 208. His father, Gessius Marcianus, held office more than once as an imperial procurator; his mother, Julia Mamaea, was the daughter of Julia Maesa and the aunt of Heliogabalus. His original name was Bassianus, but he changed it in 221 when his grandmother, Maesa, persuaded the emperor Heliogabalus to adopt his cousin as successor and create him Caesar.
Alexander was the heir to his cousin, the 18-year-old Emperor who had been murdered along with his mother Julia Soaemias, by his own guards, who, as a mark of contempt, had their remains cast into the river Tiber. He and his cousin were both grandsons of the influential and powerful Julia Maesa, who had arranged for Elagabalus' acclamation as emperor by the famous Third Gallic Legion. It was the rumor of Alexander's death that triggered the assassination of Elagabalus and his mother.
Career
In 218 the legions in Syria proclaimed as emperor Alexander’s 14-year-old cousin, Elagabalus (Heliogabalus), who was persuaded (221) to adopt Alexander as his heir. In March 222 the Praetorian Guard probably prompted by Julia Maesa and Alexander’s mother, Julia Mamaea murdered Elagabalus. Alexander succeeded to power without incident. During his reign the real authority was held by his grandmother (until her death in 226) and his mother. The appointment of a regency council of 16 senators provided the Senate with nominal ruling power.
Under this regime large sections of the civilian and military populace lost faith in the government at Rome and lapsed into lawlessness. In 224 the Praetorian Guards went so far as to murder their commander, Domitius Ulpianus, the chief minister of state and a distinguished jurist, in the presence of the emperor and his mother. Another member of the council, the historian Cassius Dio, had to open the year of his second consulate (229) outside Rome to avoid being murdered by the guard.
But it was his incompetence as a military leader that was Alexander’s undoing. In 230 and 231 the Persian king Ardashīr I invaded the Roman province of Mesopotamia (in modern Iraq). Alexander launched a three-pronged counteroffensive (232) and was defeated when the force under his personal command failed to advance. But the heavy losses suffered by the Persians forced them to withdraw from Mesopotamia, thereby giving Alexander-because he had maintained control of Mesopotamia- an excuse to celebrate a triumph at Rome in 233. Shortly afterward the emperor was called to the Rhine (at Mainz in modern Germany) to fight the invading Germanic tribe of the Alemanni. When, on advice from his mother, he ended these operations by buying peace from the Germans, his army became indignant. Early in 235 the soldiers murdered Alexander and his mother and proclaimed Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus as emperor. Alexander was deified after Maximinus’s death in 238.
Alexander was assassinated on March 19, 235 together with his mother, in a mutiny of the Legio XXII Primigenia at Moguntiacum (Mainz) while at a meeting with his generals.
With the death of Alexander in the empire began a period of political chaos, which went down in history as the era of "soldiers' emperors. "
Achievements
Severus Alexander was a Roman emperor from ad 222 to 235, whose weak rule collapsed in the civil strife that engulfed the empire for the next 50 years.
Religion
In religious matters, Alexander preserved an open mind. It is said that he was desirous of erecting a temple to Jesus but was dissuaded by the pagan priests. He allowed a synagogue to be built in Rome, and he gave as a gift to this synagogue a scroll of the Torah known as the Severus Scroll.
Politics
Throughout his life, Alexander relied heavily on guidance from his grandmother, Maesa, and mother, Julia Mamaea. Maesa died in 223, leaving Mamaea as the sole influence upon Alexander's actions.
As a young, immature, and inexperienced 13-year-old, Alexander knew little about government, warcraft, or the role of ruling over an empire. Because of this, throughout his entire reign he was a puppet of his mother's advice and entirely under her jurisdiction, a prospect that was not popular among the soldiers.
In legal matters, Alexander did much to aid the rights of his soldiers. He confirmed that soldiers could name anyone as heirs in their will, whereas civilians had strict restrictions over who could become heirs or receive a legacy. Alexander also confirmed that soldiers could free their slaves in their wills. Additionally, he protected the rights of soldiers to their property when they were off on campaign and reasserted that a soldier's property acquired in or because of military service (his castrense peculium) could be claimed by no one else, not even the soldier's father.
Connections
Alexander was married three times. His most famous wife was Sallustia Orbiana, Augusta, whom he married in 225 when she was 16 years old. Their marriage was arranged by Alexander's mother, Mamaea. However, as soon as Orbiana received the title of Augusta, Mamaea became increasingly jealous and resentful of Alexander's wife due to Mamaea's excessive desire of all regal female titles. Alexander divorced and exiled Orbiana in 227, after her father, Seius Sallustius, was executed after being accused of attempting to assassinate the emperor.
Alexander's second wife was Sulpicia Memmia, a member of one of the most ancient Patrician families in Rome. Her father was a man of consular rank; her grandfather's name was Catulus.
The identity of Alexander's third wife is unknown. Alexander did not father children with any of his wives.
Father:
Marcus Julius Gessius Marcianus
He was a Syrian Roman Aristocrat.
Mother:
Julia Avita Mamaea
(14 or 29 August after 180–235)
Spouse:
Sallustia Orbiana
She was known for her beauty, which was captured in multiple works of art. Following the execution of her father Seius Sallustius, she was exiled to North Africa, after only two years as empress.
