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Aquilia Severa
Aquilia Severa
Augusta
	Aquilia Severa, in a coin celebrating Concordia
Roman empress
Tenure	220–221, 221–222
Spouse	Elagabalus
Father	Gaius Julius Severus
Occupation	Vestal Virgin

Julia Aquilia Severa (d. after 222) was the second and fourth wife of Roman emperor Elagabalus. She was the daughter of Gaius Julius Severus.^[1]

Life

Severa was a Vestal Virgin and, as such, her marriage to Elagabalus in late 220 was the cause of enormous controversy – traditionally, the punishment for breaking the thirty-year vow of celibacy was death by being buried alive.^[2] Elagabalus is believed to have had religious reasons for marrying Severa – he himself was a follower of the eastern sun god El-Gabal, and when marrying himself to Severa, he also conducted a symbolic marriage of his god to Vesta.^[3]

Both these marriages were revoked shortly afterwards, however. This was possibly on the urging of Julia Maesa, the grandmother who had engineered Elagabalus' rise to the imperial throne. Elagabalus then married Annia Faustina, a more generally acceptable choice to the senatorial elite. Within a short time, however, Elagabalus had divorced Faustina and returned to living with Severa, claiming that the original divorce was invalid. It is believed that Severa remained with Elagabalus until the emperor's assassination in 222. The two are not believed to have had any children.

Severa's own opinions about the entire affair are not very well recorded. She was forced to marry against her will, and others go further, alleging rape.^[4] It is claimed by some historians,^{[weasel words]} however, that many stories about Elagabalus have been exaggerated by his enemies, and so there is no certainty about what actually happened. It is unclear whether Elagabalus had any real feelings towards Severa, or whether he was more concerned with the symbolism of the marriage. Elagabalus also had relationships with men, and the historian Cassius Dio claims that Elagabalus had a more stable relationship with his chariot driver, Hierocles, than with any of his wives.^{[citation needed]}

Her fate after Elagabalus's assassination is unknown.^[5]^{[better source needed]}

Severan dynasty family tree

Septimius Macer

Gaius Claudius Septimius Aper

Fulvius Pius

Lucius Septimius Severus

Publius Septimius Aper

Gaius Septimius Aper

Fulvia Pia

Publius Septimius Geta

Septimia Polla

Julius Bassianus

Septimius

Publius Septimius Geta

Septimia Octavilla

Paccia Marciana (1)

Septimius Severus
(r. 193–211)^[i]

Julia Domna (2)

Julia Maesa

Gaius Julius Avitus Alexianus

Gaius Septimius Severus Aper

Fulvia Plautilla

Caracalla
(r. 197–217)^[ii]

Geta
(r. 209–211)^[iii]

Julia Soaemias

Sextus Varius Marcellus

Julia Avita Mamaea

Unknown^[iv] (2)

Julia Cornelia Paula (1)

Aquilia Severa (2 and 4)

Elagabalus
(r. 218–222)^[v]

Annia Faustina (3)

Sallustia Orbiana

Severus Alexander
(r. 222–235)^[v]

(1) = 1st spouse
(2) = 2nd spouse
(3) = 3rd spouse
(4) = 4th spouse
Dark green indicates an emperor of the Severan dynasty

Notes:

Except where otherwise noted, the notes below indicate that an individual's parentage is as shown in the above family tree.

^ Birley, Anthony R. (1999). Septimius Severus: The African Emperor. London: Routledge. p. i.
^ Burrell, Barbara (2004). Neokoroi: Greek Cities and Roman Emperors. BRILL. p. 216. ISBN 90-04-12578-7.
^ Burrell, Barbara (2004). Neokoroi: Greek Cities and Roman Emperors. BRILL. p. 247. ISBN 90-04-12578-7.
^ Icks, Martijn (2011). The Crimes of Elagabalus: The Life and Legacy of Rome's Decadent Boy Emperor. London: I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd. pp. 57–58. ISBN 978-1-84885-362-1.
^ ^a ^b Gibbon, Edward; Smith, William (1889). The Student's Gibbon: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. pp. 45–47.

Bibliography:

Birley, Anthony R. (1999). Septimius Severus: The African Emperor. London: Routledge. ISBN 0415165911.
Gibbon, Edward; Smith, William (1889). The Student's Gibbon: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. London: Murray. OCLC 993285639.

Notes

^ Settipani, Christian, Continuité gentilice et continuité sénatoriale dans les familles sénatoriales romaines à l'époque impériale (2000), p. 456
^ Plutarch, Parallel Lives, Life of Numa Pompilius, 10
^ Cassius Dio, Roman History LXXX.9
^ "Chapter 6 of The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire". www.ccel.org. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
^ Aquilia Severa, CNG

Royal titles
Preceded by Julia Cornelia Paula	Empress of Rome 220–221 221–222	Succeeded by Annia Faustina
Preceded by Annia Faustina	Empress of Rome 220–221 221–222	Succeeded by Sallustia Orbiana