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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Sallent, post: 2647583, member: 76194&quot;]I got this coin in the mail today and I&#039;d like to write something about the person depicted on it. Please bear with me. I hope you find it at least mildly interesting.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]585087[/ATTACH] <b>Julia Domna as Empress under Septimius Severus</b></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>As far as Ancient Roman Empresses go, few match up to the amazing Julia Domna. Not content to be a passive player in the world of late 2nd and early 3rd century Imperial politics, Julia Domna was in many ways a feminist far ahead of her time.</p><p><br /></p><p>The union between the North African Septimius Severus and the Syrian-born Julia Domna, whose family came from an ancient line of priest kings, was a happy and prosperous one. Julia was highly literate, a shrewd political analyst, a scholar in her own right, and soon a valued advisor to her husband and future Emperor.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]585089[/ATTACH] <b>Septimius Severus</b></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>When Septimius Severus contested for the Imperial throne, Julia Domna was at his side and shared in all the hardships of military camp life. Other Empresses would have been content with waiting back in Rome, shopping, getting massages, and enjoying the social high life...but not Julia Domna. She donned a tunic and joined her husband on campaign, her counsel proving to be of immense value to her husband during the difficult and bloody civil war.</p><p><br /></p><p>Not resting on her laurels after the civil war, Julia Domna was a patron of philosophy and helped make Rome a safe heaven for philosophers. She also continued to get her hands dirty in Imperial politics, helping to ease her husband&#039;s burden. She was a feared and respected power-broker in early 3rd century Roman politics.</p><p><br /></p><p>When Septimius Severus went on campaign in Britain, he not only took his sons Geta and Caracalla, but also his trusted companion and advisor, Julia Domna. When Severus died, it was she who helped to temporarily reconcile the bickering Geta and Caracalla.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]585091[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>Geta</b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>[ATTACH=full]585090[/ATTACH] </b></p><p><b>Caracalla</b></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>However, here Julia Domna met her match. No matter how hard she tried, she could not get her sons to permanently reconcile, and Caracalla eventually murdered Geta in front of their mother. There is a story that Caracalla looked into his mother&#039;s eyes as she held the dying Geta to see whether she would shed any tears for him. She did not for had she shown any emotion, Caracalla would have killed her too on suspicion of being a co-conspirator with Geta. I don&#039;t know about you, but seeing a son murdered at the hands of another son, and not showing any emotion at that moment knowing that if you do you might also die, that takes a lot of strength!</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]585092[/ATTACH]<b>Julia Domna as Empress Mother under the Reign of Caracalla </b></p><p><br /></p><p>Although Caracalla disliked Julia Domna, when he went on campaign he requested that the old Empress be at his side in the same manner she had been there for Septimius Severus during times of war. However, Caracalla was soon murdered, and upon hearing the news Julia Domna took her own life. She was old, tired, suffering the effects of terminal cancer, and had seen far too much suffering during her life courtesy of her sons. And thus the life of an amazing and powerful woman was forever extinguished.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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