Julia Domna - Roman Empress -
Silver Denarius 20mm (2.2 grams) Laodicea ad Mare mint: 196-202 A.D.
Reference: RIC 644 (Septimius Severus), S 6602, C 168
IVLIAAVGVSTA - Draped bust right.
PVDICITIA - Pudicitia seated left, touching breast.
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In
Roman mythology, Pudicitia ("modesty" or “sexual virtue”) was the
personification of modesty and chastity. Her Greek equivalent was
Aidôs.
Romans, both men and women, were expected to uphold the
virtue of pudicitia, a complex ideal that was explored by many ancient writers,
including Livy,
Valerius Maximus,
Cicero and
Tacitus. Livy
describes the legendary figure of
Lucretia as
the epitome of pudicitia. She is loyal to her husband and is modest, despite her
incredible beauty. The story of Lucretia shows that the more virtuous a woman
was, the more appealing she was to potential adulterers. Pudicitia was not only
a mental attribute but also physical; a person’s appearance was seen as an
indicator of their morality. The way a man or woman presented him or herself in
public, and the persons they interacted with caused others to pass judgment on
their pudicitia. For example, if a woman was seen associating with men other
than her husband people would make a negative judgment on her pudicitia. It was
important that a woman be univira, or a “once-married woman.” Modest
self-presentation indicated pudicitia. The opposite of pudicitia was impudicitia
or “sexual vice.” Stuprum was the loss of one’s pudicitia, even if it was
unwilling. Romans associated the loss of pudicitia with chaos and loss of
control, so they wanted their religious and political officials to uphold
pudicitia. In Cicero’s oration against
Verres, he
discusses many of the governor’s transgressions including sexual misconduct with
both men and women. This is one of the many reasons Cicero argues Verres is a
bad governor. In the Imperial age,
Augustus
attempted to enact a program of moral reform to encourage pudicitia in Roman
citizens.
Julia
Domna (unknown date[1]–217)
was a member of the
Severan dynasty of the
Roman
Empire. Empress and wife of
Roman
Emperor Lucius
Septimius Severus and mother of Emperors
Geta and
Caracalla, Julia was among the most important women ever to exercise power
behind the throne in the Roman Empire.
Family
background
Julia was of Syrian origin from the ancient city of
Emesa. Her
ancestors were Kings Priest of the famous temple of
Baal. The family
lost its kingdom to Rome but continued domination of the temple of Baal. The
family had an enormous wealth and was promoted to Roman senatorial aristocracy.
She was the youngest daughter of high-priest Gaius
Julius Bassianus and her eldest sister was
Julia
Maesa.
Reign
In the late 180s, Julia married future Emperor
Septimius Severus who himself was in part of
Punic background. The marriage proved to be a happy one and Severus
cherished his wife and her political opinions, since she was very well read and
keen on philosophy. Together, they had two sons, Lucius Septimius Bassianus (Caracalla)
in 186 and
Publius Septimius Geta in 189.
Civil
War
When Severus became emperor in 193 he had a civil war waiting
for him, against rivals such as
Pescennius Niger and
Clodius Albinus. Julia accompanied him in his campaigns in the East, an
uncommon event in a time when women were expected to wait in Rome for their
husbands. Nevertheless, she remained with the emperor and among the several
proofs of affection and favour are the minting of coins with her portrait and
the title mater castrorum (mother of the camp).
Julia now had complete power and ruled behind the Roman
Empire. Many early Romans disliked the fact of her ruling over the throne when
Septimius Severus was at war.
Controversy
and transition of power
As empress, Julia was often involved in intrigues and had
plenty of political enemies who accused her of treason and adultery. None of
these accusations were proven, Severus continued to favour his wife and insisted
on her company in the campaign against the
Britons that started in 208. When Severus died, in 211 in
York, Julia became
the mediator between their two sons.
Caracalla
and
Geta who were to rule as joint emperors, according to their father's wishes
expressed on his will. But the two young men were never fond of each other and
quarrelled frequently. Geta was murdered by Caracalla's soldiers in the same
year.
Caracalla was now sole emperor, but his relations with his
mother were difficult, as attested by several sources, probably due to his
involvement in Geta's murder. Nevertheless, Julia accompanied Caracalla in his
campaign against the
Parthian empire in 217. During this trip, Caracalla was assassinated and
succeeded (briefly) by
Macrinus.
On hearing about the rebellion, Julia chose to commit suicide. Her body was
brought to Rome and placed in the Sepulcrum C. et L. Caesaris (perhaps a
separate chamber in the
Mausoleum of Augustus). Later, however, both her bones and those of Geta
were transferred by her sister
Julia
Maesa to the
Mausoleum of Hadrian.[2]
She was later deified.
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