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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Ocatarinetabellatchitchix, post: 4900183, member: 99554&quot;]<b>Severus Alexander</b>, born <span style="color: #ff0000"><b>OCTOBER 1st </b></span> 208 AD in Phenicia and died in 235 near Mainz (present-day Germany), was Roman Emperor from 222 AD to 235. His complete name is Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander. He is the cousin of Emperor Elagabalus, whom he succeeded at the age of 13. He leaves the management of the business to his grandmother Julia Maesa and her advisers. Alexander is the last of the Severan dynasty. He is named Alexander because he was born in a temple dedicated to Alexander the Great. It was the army that would give him the name Severus. On the day he&#039;s born, let&#039;s examine the good and bad sides of his reign :</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1182411[/ATTACH] </p><p>Musée Le Louvre, Paris.</p><p><br /></p><p>Good points :</p><p><br /></p><ul> <li>the first nine years of Alexander’s reign were peaceful and free from foreign wars.</li> <li>His advisers were men like the senator and historian Cassius Dio and it is believed that he initiated a select board of sixteen senators. He also created a municipal council of fourteen who assisted the urban prefect in administering the affairs of the fourteen districts of Rome.</li> <li>Alexander did much to aid the right of his soldiers. He confirmed that soldiers could name anyone as heirs in their testament, whereas civilians had strict restrictions over who could become heirs or receive a legacy.</li> <li>the people paid under his reign thirty times less taxes than in the days of his predecessor Elagabalus.</li> <li>he was a reformer and respected all religions including the Christians.</li> </ul><p>Bad points :</p><p><br /></p><ul> <li>Severus was completely dominated by his mother, Julia Mamaea. Like many of the women from the Severian dynasty, a dominating personality seems to be a strong trait. Herodian went on to remark that Severus “<i>did exactly as he was told&quot;.</i> A real mummy&#039;s boy.</li> <li>Severus Alexander is still too young and weak to be able to effectively oppose the often criminal demands of the Praetorians; these execute Ulpien before his eyes in 228 AD.</li> <li>The fatigue of the expedition against the Persians irritated the dissatisfaction of the troops. The bad success of this war caused the emperor to lose his reputation as a general and even as a soldier, and later it would cost him his life...</li> </ul><p>His Coinage :</p><p><br /></p><p>Alexander attempted to reform the coinage somewhat during his reign, and increased the issue of Dupondii while the production of the Antoninianus is mysteriously suspended and will not be re-introduced until the reign of Pupienus and Balbinus to finance the war against Maximinus. </p><p>Upon his accession he reduced the silver purity of the denarius from 46.5% to 43% — the actual silver weight dropping from 1.41 grams to 1.30 grams; however, in 229 he revalued the denarius, increasing the silver purity and weight to 45% and 1.46 grams respectively. The following year he decreased the amount of base metal in the denarius while adding more silver – raising the silver purity and weight again to 50.5% and 1.50 grams. For the gold, Alexander struck aurei weighting between 5.38 g to 7.25 g. He also had coin minted in electrum (a natural alloy of gold and silver). </p><p><br /></p><p><b>Annona</b> denarius</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1182412[/ATTACH] </p><p><b>Annona</b> is a very common theme in his coinage; it appears that the delivery system fir North African grain was reformed in some manner, maybe involving the regulation of the ship-owners and merchants guilds.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>IOVI STATORI</b> denarius</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1182409[/ATTACH] </p><p>The transformation of Imperial emphasis from expanding the frontiers to simply defending them is showed and publicized in the introduction of <b>Jupiter Stator </b>(Jupiter, the stayer of flight), a highly defensive manifestation of that god.</p><p><br /></p><p>And why not a Provincial too ?</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1182408[/ATTACH] </p><p>And a &quot;RED&quot; one</p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>Severus Alexander</b> Sestertius</p><p>Rome 233 AD</p><p>Sol advancing and raising hand &amp; whip</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1182410[/ATTACH] </p><p><b>Please search your Collection and show us your coins of Severus Alexander !</b>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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