Julia Livilla See julia (6).
Julia Maesa (d. 226 c. e.) Sister of Julia Domna and grandmother of two emperors, Elagabalus and Severus Alexander
Julia Maesa was married to Julius Avitus, a consular official of Syria, by whom she bore two daughters, julia SOAEMIAS and julia mamaea, the mothers of elagabalus and SEVERUS Alexander respectively. She lived in Rome with her sister for all of Caracalla’s reign but was allowed by Macrinus to retire to her home at Emesa in 217. Once back in Syria, julia Maesa masterminded the conspiracy in the provinces to ensure the destruction of Macrinus and the elevation of Elagabalus to the throne. Through her efforts, Macrinus fell, and her grandson was proclaimed emperor in 218. She received the title of Augusta, working with her tutor Gannys to maintain order in the imperial government.
Faced with a bizarre and disliked grandson, Julia tried to curb Elagabalus’s sexual habits. Failing in this, she supported her other grandson, Severus Alexander. Through her influence he was elevated to the rank of Caesar, adopted and protected from the jealousies of Elagabalus. When, in 222, Elagabalus and his mother were murdered in the Castra Praetoria, she again proved instrumental in securing an acceptable replacement, Severus Alexander. Her place in his administration was even greater. She headed the consilium principis and guided every decision with a steady hand. Already aged, she died in 226.
Julia Mamaea (d. 235 c. e.) Daughter of Julia Maesa and mother of Severus Alexander
Julia held the rank of Augusta from 222 to 235. She was married to a Syrian knight, Gessius Marcianus, by whom she had Severus. When Elagabalus became uncontrollable as emperor, even to his own mother, julia soaemias (Julia Mamaea’s sister), Severus was elevated to the rank of Caesar and groomed to succeed him. In 222, Elaga-balus and his mother were murdered in the Castra Prae-toria. SEVERUS Alexander was proclaimed his successor, and Julia Mamaea the Augusta. Her influence over the government and her son was at first heavily restricted by the presence of Julia Maesa. When she died in 226, however, Mamaea assumed virtual control of the empire. unfortunately, she dominated the young emperor to the point that no one could curb her avarice for gold, titles, and treasures. Even Severus Alexander remarked that her greed was relentless. She drove all opposition from the palace, including her son’s wife, Barbia Orbiana, in 227. During the campaigns of 231-232, Julia interfered with Severus’s decisions; and in the German campaigns of 234-235, her domination of the monarch earned her the resentment of the legions. A general named Maximinus used Julia as the means for causing a mutiny, and the soldiers murdered her and Severus Alexander, bringing the Severan line to an end.
Julia Soaemias (fl. third century c. e.) Daughter of Julia Maesa, mother of Elagabalus, and Augusta from 218 to 222 Julia Soaemias married Sextus Varius Mercellus, a Syrian knight from Apamea, by whom she had her son. Through the conspiracies of her mother, in 218, Julia witnessed the defeat of Emperor Macrinus and the elevation of ELAGABALUS to the throne. From the start she displayed a total ignorance of conservative Roman customs. She lacked, as well, any control over her son. Thus he outraged Rome with his religious practices and with his bizarre sexual tastes. To restore order, julia maesa forced her daughter to accept the elevation of Severus Alexander and his mother julia mamaea (her sister). When the Praetorian Guard became violent over Elagabalus’s jealous treatment of Severus Alexander, Julia Soaemias and her son went to the Castra Praetoria to put down the rebellion. They failed and were murdered there. Both were decapitated, stripped, carried through Rome, and dumped, Elagabalus in the river and Julia Soaemias on the side of the road.
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