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S2183 of Julia Maesa

s2183

Lot No.1178. VF.

$ 60.

Sorry, this lot has been sold.

Julia Maesa was, like Livia in her day, the power behind the throne, returning the Severan dynasty to power, and running the affairs of the Empire for nearly a decade with remarkable skill, blatantly using her grandsons as figureheads.

Maesa was the younger sister of Julia Domna, wife of Septimius Severus. When the Severan dynasty fell, with the murder of Caracalla in 217, Maesa began plotting revenge for this and for the death of her sister. From her home city of Emesa in Syria, first choosing her 13-year-old grandson Varius Avitus, a priest and exotic dancer in the cult of Elagabal, as the figurehead for the revolt, (based on his resemblance to Caracalla, who had been popular with the soldiers) and using her considerable wealth to great effect, she persuaded the local garrison to support her and Elagabalus. After a miraculous victory against Macrinus, she tried with diminishing success to rein in the excesses of her wildly decadent grandson emperor. Finally, Maesa arranged his murder and replacement by Severus Alexander, who was actually quite a respectable person. She died early in Alexander's reign, arguably the most successful Roman Imperial lady in history.

On her coinage, she is depicted as a rather unattractive woman, but the "Iron Lady" is definitely deserving of a place in any collection of Roman coins.