The Many Wives of Elagabalus

The emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Elagabalus, AD 218-222, was the son of Julia Soaemias Bassiana and took his name from the sun-god of Emesa in Syria, for whom he was the hereditary priest. Barely fourteen-years-old at the time, he was installed on the throne in a coup, when forces hired by his grandmother, Julia Maesa, overthrew Macrinus, who had overthrown the boy emperor's first cousin once-removed, Caracalla, the previous year.

He was married four times to three different women. He was widely despised by his subjects because of his decadence. During his rule, Elagabalus showed a disregard for Roman religious traditions and sexual taboos. He replaced the traditional head of the Roman pantheon, Jupiter, with a lesser god and forced leading members of the government to participate in religious rites he personally lead.


Elagabalus, AD 218-222
Roman AR Antoninianus; 5.17 g, 21.3 mm, 12 h
Rome, AD 219
Obv: IMP ANTONINVS AVG, radiate and draped bust, right
Rev: P M TR PII COSII P P, Fortuna enthroned left, holding rudder on globe and cornucopiae; wheel below seat
Refs: RIC 18; BMCRE 94; Cohen 148; RCV 7495.

Julia Cornelia Paula had the misfortune of becoming Elagabalus' first wife. She came from an aristocratic family in Rome and married the emperor probably in the summer of AD 219, when he was about 16. The marriage may well have been an effort to improve relations between the emperor and the Senate. The nuptials were accompanied by an expensive celebration with elaborate banquets, gladiatorial contests, and the slaughter of some 51 tigers.

Julia Paula was given the title Augusta, and her name appeared on coins. Elagabalus, whose behavior became increasingly bizarre, divorced her within a year, claiming that she had a blemish of some sort on her body. She returned to private life; her successor, Julia Aquilia Severa, would be hardly more successful as the emperor’s wife.


Julia Paula, AD 219-220
Roman AR denarius; 2.8 g, 19.0 mm, 6 h
Antioch, AD 220
Obv: IVLIA PAVLA AVG, bare-headed and draped bust, right
Rev: CONCORDIA, Concordia enthroned left, holding patera; star in left field
RIC 211; BMCRE 172 var.; Cohen 6; RCV 7655; CRE 449


Elagabalus' second and fourth wife, Julia Aquilia Severa, was a Vestal Virgin pressed into marriage by the increasingly unstable emperor in AD 219 or 220 after he divorced Julia Cornelia Paula. In a letter to the Senate, Elagabalus wrote that not only had he fallen in love with Julia #2, but it was fitting that he, the high priest, should marry a Vestal Virgin, a high priestess, to create godlike children. Subsequently, he divorced Julia Aquilia Severa, married and divorced Annia Faustina (and possibly other women), and then again married her in 221. Elagabalus was murdered the following year.



Julia Aquilia Severa, AD 220-222
Roman AR denarius; 3.18 gm, 19 mm, 6 h
Rome, AD 220-222
Obv: IVLIA AQVILIA SEVERA AVG, bare-headed and draped bust, right
Rev: CONCORDIA, Concordia standing left, sacrificing with patera over altar and holding double cornucopiae; star in left field
Refs: RIC 225; BMCRE 336; Cohen 2; Thirion 476; RCV --; CRE 458

In the year 221, Roman Emperor Elagabalus was induced to end his highly controversial and politically damaging marriage to the Vestal Virgin Aquilia Severa by his grandmother Julia Maesa in a desperate attempt to salvage the boy-emperor's faltering regime. In its place he was advised to marry Maesa's friend, Annia Aurelia Faustina, to form an alliance with the powerful Antonine clan because she was descended from Marcus Aurelius on both sides of her family. Annia Aurelia Faustina was recently widowed as her late husband, Pomponius Bassus, had been executed for subversion and treason. She was between 35 and 45 years old -- about twice the age of Elagabalus -- at the time of her marriage to him in June or July of AD 221.

Elagabalus, in his role as high-priest of Heliogabal, performed a parallel set of nuptuals, declaring Heliogabal divorced from Vesta when he himself divorced his Vestal Virgin second wife, Aquilia Severa, and then marrying the sun god Heliogabal to the lunar goddess Dea Caelestis.

However, despite the obvious merits of this third earthly and second celestial marriage, Elagabalus soon tired of her and divorced her after a few months, returning to his Vestal virgin second wife, Aquilia Severa. The couple were married a second time, late in AD 221, though the celestial marriage of Heliogabal to Dea Caelestis remained unbroken. Aquilia Severa remained his wife until his murder some six months later, March 11, AD 222.


Annia Faustina, AD 221
Roman provincial AE 25.0 mm, 8.55 gm
Pisidia, Isinda, AD 221
Obv: ANNIAN FAVCTEINAN, bare-headed and draped bust right
Rev: [ΙΣ] ΙΝ ΔΕΩΝ, Confronted heads of Serapis and Isis, in field, E-Delta (yr. 4 ).
Refs: Ex Lindgren I A1322A, ex von Aulock, Pisidia I 833 (Plate coin for both references).

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Nice write up and great coins @Roman Collector ! Nice job!


Grammy:

RI Julia Maesa AR Denarius Pudicitia 3.1g 19mm Sear 2183

MOMMY DEAREST:

RI Julia Soaemias 218-222 CE AR Den Venus Caelestis star RIC IV 241

THE LITTLE CREEP:

RI Elagabalus 218-222 CE AR Antoninianus Radiate Roma seated


RProv AE18mm 4.3g Elagabalus CE 218-222 Thrace Philippolis Moushmov 5423

WIVES of the CREEP:

Julia Paula Augusta AD 219-220 AR Denarius 18 mm 3.10g Antioch mint AD 219-220 - Venus Genetrix seated left holding apple scepter RIC IV 222 RSC 21


RI Julia Aquilia Severa 220-222 CE AE 4th Wife Elagabalus

Annia Faustina?
Nope... target.

 

Wow! Thanks for the write-up, thats one crazy story. None of this could have gone over well with the people. Seems really chaotic.

 

My favorite dysfunctional ancient family! That's a fantastic Annia Faustina-- very envious

Following @Alegandron's lead, here is the incomplete extended family:

Elagabalus:

Elagabalus denarius, transporting the sacred stone of Emesa

Great Aunt Julia Domna:

Julia Domna denarius, Fecunditas/Tellus and the Four Seasons

Grandmother Julia Maesa:

PHOENICIA, Tyre. Julia Maesa
CE 218-224/5
AE 27, 12.71g (11h)
Obv: IVLIA MAE - SA AV[G] Draped bust right, wearing stephane
Rev: TVRIORVM Dido (?) standing left on deck of galley sailing right, extending right hand and holding cornucopia in left; to left, helmsman bending left over rudder (?); to right, sailor extending right hand and holding curved staff in left; stern decorated with a shield and aphlaston, [two murex shells] in exergue
Ref: CNG e320, 12 Feb. 2014, lot 323 (same dies). Rouvier 2408

Aunt Julia Mamaea:

EGYPT, Alexandria. Julia Mamaea
year 13, CE 233/4
tetradrachm, 24 mm, 14.36 gm
Obv: IOVMAMAIACEBMHTECEKCTPA; Draped bust right, wearing stephane
Rev: Serapis enthroned left, holding scepter, extending his right hand toward Cerberus seated at his feet; on throneback, Nike standing right, holding wreath and palm frond; L IΓ (date) to left, palm frond to right
Ref: Emmett 3226.13 (R4); Köln 2540; Dattari (Savio) 4517; K&G 64.119

Wife #2 and 4, Aquilia Severa:

EGYPT, Alexandria. Aquilia Severa
year 5, CE 221/2
tetradrachm, 23.5 mm, 11.57 gm
Obv: draped bust right
Rev: head of Zeus Ammon right; L-E
Ref: Emmett 3025.5, R3; Geissen 2376; Dattari 4186

Someday I'll definitely add more people to this coin clan

 

Great write up! Always fun to learn more about the bad boys off Rome. I'd never heard he divorced Julia Paula because, "she had a blemish of some sort on her body." I wonder what the "blemish" was? Any hypothesis? Oh wait, I'll bet it was that she didn't carry around a stylus in her toga.

 

Yes, that's according to Dio Cassius. Roman History 80.9.1–4. He doesn't give any more details.

 

Oh! Thanks @TIF , I need to get Great Aunt Iulia Domna and Aunt Iulia Mamaea in there...

Lookey der... Great Aunt Dommy looks like she may be holding the Little Creep on the reverse...

RI AR Den Julia Domna 200 CE Felicitas Isis Horus RIC 577

Aunt Mammy

RI Julia Mamaea AR denarius Pietas incense altar perfume Seaby 48

The Guy who got KILLED so Elagablus could take his place...

RI Macrinus 217-218 AE25 CE Facing Quadriga

How about his adopted Son?

RI Severus Alexander 222-235 CE AR Denarius laureate Victory stndg

 

Amazing coins and informative write up!

Thanks,
Jacob

 

I have not found this one yet but I'm pretty sure it's Julia Paula, first wife of Elagabalus.


Julia Paula AE16
Obv: PAY..... / Empress facing r.
Rev: Athena standing left, wearing Corinthian helm, holding spear and resting hand on shield.

 

..these are very nice and sought after coins peeps.. it is quite a large and varied subset to seek and have.. i've just him and his auntie luLia thus far. Here's the denarius edition of him

 

I have never understood why HBO has not made a sword and toga series about Julia Maesa and her family. It would begin with her watching he sister Julia Domna through her time as wife and mother of emperors followed by her time as grandmother of Elagabalus and Severus Alexander. Even if they stuck to historical fact, a movie about the period would be a hard R rating suitable for later evening but sooner or later they will run out of fictional lands and discover that truth is quite strange enough.
Maesa with Fecunditas - She ruled through daughters and grandsons.


Elagabalus - no winner this one despite what the reverse of this coin says


Severus Alexander - proving you can change horses in the middle of the stream


The three coins above are all Eastern mint examples.

 

This is a fantastic idea.

 

Here is a digital tray of my "wives of Elagabalus" collection. It includes a complete set of major types of Julia Paula denarii, the only collection of ancients I can say I've ever finished. There's an Aquilia and Annia, too. All are labeled according to RSC numbers, with the exception of the Annia, which is numbered according to Dattari. Clicking the image will enlarge.

 

very nice!

 

Here's my Elagabalus denarius. I'd also recommend the book The Crimes of Elagabalus by Martjn Icks, which despite it's rather sensational title is a thorough work of history and historiography. He does a great job of trying to reconstruct the reality of his reign, without merely taking the ancient historians (with their propagandistic and political motivations) at their word.




@TIF incredibly jealous of the Baetyl in the chariot coin

 

ELAGABALUS
AR Denarius
OBVERSE: IMP CAES ANTONINVS AVG, radiate draped bust right
REVERSE: SALVS ANTONINI AVG, Salus standing right, feeding serpent from patera
Struck at Rome, 219 AD
3.28g, 18mm
RIC 137

ELAGABALUS
AR Denarius
OBVERSE: IMP ANTONINVS PIVS AVG, laureate & draped bust right
REVERSE: LIBERTAS AVG, Libertas standing left, holding pileus & scepter, star in left or right field
Struck at Rome, 220-21 AD
2.35g, 19mm
RIC IV 107

ELAGABALUS
AR Denarius
OBVERSE: IMP ANTONINVS PIVS AVG - Laureate, draped bust right
REVERSE: P M TR P IIII COS III P P - Sol standing left, raising hand and holding whip; star in either field
Struck at Rome, 221 AD
2.9g, 19mm
RIC 40b, C 184

ELAGABALUS
AR Denarius
OBVERSE: IMP ANTONINVS AVG - Laureate, draped bust right
REVERSE: P M TR P III COS III P P - Jupiter seated left, holding Victory and scepter; eagle to left
Struck at Rome, 220 AD
3.2g, 18mm
RIC 27, S 7532

 

Great write up and nice coins @Roman Collector .

Here is my Elagabalus denarius (newly re-photographed)

 

Nice collection @Roman Collector - I enjoyed the read. Sorry I don't have any of the wives yet, but here are a couple of the relevant ones:

JULIA MAESA, grandmother of Elagabalus

Æ Denarius.
Obv: IVLIA MAESA AVG - Draped bust right.
Rev: IV_NO - Juno standing with patera and sceptre.
2.92g, 16mm. Toned aXF.
AE version of RIC IV, Part II, 254 (Elagabalus)

--

Elagabalus (218-222)

AR Antoninianus. Rome, AD 218/19.
Obv: IMP CAES ANTONINVS AVG - radiate draped bust right.
Rev: MARS VICTOR - Mars walking right, holding spear and trophy.
21.3mm, 4.0g. aXF. Scarce.
RIC IV, Part II, 120
ex. Forman collection

 

Cool coins, here is my Elagabalus Antoninianus.
Elagabalus AR Antoninianus 219 CE
Obv: IMP CAES M AVR ANTONINVS AVG
Rev: VICTOR ANTONINI AVG
5.2 grams, 24mm
Ric 155, rsc 291, BMC 35