Severus, << suh VIHR uhs, >> Alexander (A.D. 208 or 209-235) was emperor of Rome from A.D. 222 to 235. His grandmother and his mother dominated his rule. At that time, it was highly unusual for women to hold such power.
Severus Alexander was born on Oct. 1, 208 or 209, in Arca Caesarea (present-day Arqa, Lebanon). He was the son of Julia Mamaea and the grandson of Julia Maesa, sister-in-law to the emperor Septimius Severus. In 218, during a time of political instability, Julia Maesa schemed to make her young grandson Elagabalus emperor. Elagabalus was Severus Alexander’s cousin. Elagabalus’s temperament and upbringing proved ill suited for the post of emperor. In 221, Julia Maesa forced Elagabalus to adopt Severus Alexander. Then, in 222, she arranged for Elagabalus to be murdered and for Severus Alexander to replace him as emperor.
Because of Severus’s youth, Julia Maesa took the lead as ruler. After she died in 224, Julia Mamaea dominated Severus’s rule. As Severus grew older, he was unable or unwilling to remove his mother from her powerful role, which was advertised quite openly.
Under Julia Mamaea’s capable guidance, the empire experienced a welcome return to some peace and stability. Severus tried to administer justice fairly. He earned the praise of the Senate and leading citizens because he consulted and respected them. But the Senate did not regain the authority it had held when Rome was a republic. During Severus’s rule, his discipline of the army was weak.
Severus, accompanied by his mother, led two military campaigns against major threats to the Roman Empire in the 230’s. In the East, he had some success blocking attacks on the empire by the Persians. In 234, he proceeded to Germany to combat Germanic peoples threatening to invade the empire from east of the Rhine River. Severus tried using diplomacy before ordering an advance on the Germanic aggressors. Some Roman troops viewed such negotiations as cowardice on the part of a weak emperor. They murdered Severus and Julia Mamaea and hailed Maximinus Thrax, an aggressive, experienced officer, as their new emperor.
