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 Julia Maesa. AR, Silver Denarius. Antioch. RIC IV 256 (Elagabalus); RSC 20/21.
                        EF. Rare eastern issue. $100.00.
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                                  Item # 59339

                                Roman Imperial:
           Currently 57 USD                   First Bid 1 USD
DescriptionQuantity  1                        # of Bids 13 (bid history)
           Time Left COMPLETED                Location
           Started   Wed, 19 Apr, 2000        Country   USA
                     09:00:00
           Ends      Tue, 02 May, 2000        (mail this auction to a friend)
                     11:50:00
           Seller    (ask CNG a question)
           High bid  MonetaRomana
           Payment
           Shipping

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                                  Description
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Julia Maesa, grandmother of Elagabalus. AR Denarius      Click for Larger Image
(2.62 gm). Antioch mint. IVLIA MAESA A[VG], diademed and
draped bust right, resting on crescent / I-V-NO, Juno    [Image]
standing left, holding patera and sceptre; peacock at
her feet. RIC IV 256 (Elagabalus); RSC 20/21. EF, grainy surfaces. Rare eastern
issue. Estimate $100.

History: The first "Female Caesar," Julia Maesa cooked up the plot that returned
the Severan dynasty to power and ran the affairs of the Empire for nearly a
decade with remarkable skill. Unlike earlier empresses, she wielded power
directly, using her grandsons as mere figureheads. Maesa grew up as the younger
sister of Julia Domna, wife of Septimius Severus and a highly influential
empress in her own right. The Severan dynasty fell with the murder of Caracalla
in 217 by the usurper Macrinus. When Macrinus executed her sister as well, Maesa
immediately began plotting revenge from her home city of Emesa in the Syrian
desert. She chose 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. Spreading her
considerable wealth around, she induced the local garrison to support her. The
rebels defeated Macrinus, who had the whole weight of the Roman state behind
him, with miraculous ease. Once installed as empress, she tried with diminishing
success to rein in the excesses of Avitus, now called Elagabalus after his god,
who went on a self-indulgent spree which alienated the Roman people. When his
position became insupportable, Maesa coolly engineered his murder and
replacement by her other, more docile grandson Severus Alexander. She died
fairly early in Alexander's reign, leaving her daughter Julia Mamaea to continue
in the "iron lady" role she had pioneered.

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