The Roman Empress Ulpia Severina

Of the twelve Augustae who lived during the fifty years of the so-called “military anarchy” (235-284 A.D.), Ulpia Severina, wife of the “Illyrian” emperor Aurelian (270-275 AD), is certainly one of the most enigmatic and less known. The book focuses on Ulpia Severina, who, even though never mentioned by name in literary sources, has been studied almost exclusively from the perspective of the numerous coins issued in her name and is the subject of many interesting honorific inscriptions that had not been thoroughly examined or adequately valued until this study. This exceptional situation, represented by the sole presence of Ulpia Severina on the throne of Rome, deserves more attention than it has received. The pages of the university history textbooks dedicated to the reconstruction of a fifty-year phase of Roman-imperial history must be, if not rewritten, at least integrated in order to give the deserved space to this empress and, therefore, to the so-called “interregnum,” which lasted at least two months, between the death of Aurelian and the advent of emperor Tacitus.

The proceedings of the Sixth International Congress on Black Sea Antiquities (Constanţa, 2017) is dedicated to the 90th birthday of Prof. Sir John Boardman, President of the Congress since its inception. The central theme returns to that considered 20 years earlier: the importance of the Pontic Region for the Graeco-Roman World.

The book tells the historical accounts of women who lived as members of the Roman Empire's ruling family, and how much they influenced the country despite the limitations of women during the era. This chronological account begins with the rise of Empress Livia, consort of Octavian who was considered one of his closest advisors even prior to her coronation. Also featured in this book are other famous Roman empress consorts such as Julia, Agrippina the Elder, Salonina, Faustina, and Marcia Octacilla Severa.

Drawing from a broad range of documentation this book vividly characterizes eleven royal women who are brought visually to life through photographs of over 300 ancient coins and through the author's own illustrations. Spanning the period from the death of Julius Caesar in 44BC to the third century AD, and with an epilogue surveying empresses of later eras, the author's compelling biographies reveal their remarkable contributions towards the legacy of Imperial Rome. Examining the wives, daughters, sisters and mothers of emperors, the study includes: a pregnant Roman princess who saves a Roman army through an act of personal heroism three third-century empresses who rule the most powerful state on Earth, presiding over unprecedented social and political reform an empress, though revered by her husband, is immortalized in history for infidelity and corruption by students of her greatest enemy. Jasper Burns paints portraits of these exceptional women that are colourful, sympathetic, and above all profoundly human. This book will be highly valuable to numismatists, students and scholars of Roman history or women’s studies.

Vols. 24-52 include the Proceedings of the American Numismatic Association Convention, 1911-39.

“An illuminating and highly readable narrative about the role of women at the center of imperial Rome—fascinating and important.” —Lesley Adkins, author of Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero—these are the names history associates with the early Roman Empire. Yet, not a single one of these emperors was the blood son of his predecessor. In this captivating history, a prominent scholar of the era documents the Julio-Claudian women whose bloodline, ambition, and ruthlessness made it possible for the emperors’ line to continue. Eminent scholar Guy de la Bédoyère, author of Praetorian, asserts that the women behind the scenes—including Livia, Octavia, and the elder and younger Agrippina—were the true backbone of the dynasty. De la Bédoyère draws on the accounts of ancient Roman historians to revisit a familiar time from a completely fresh vantage point. Anyone who enjoys I, Claudius will be fascinated by this study of dynastic power and gender interplay in ancient Rome. “In contrast to most histories of Rome which focus almost entirely on the exploits of its male emperors, Domina examines the women who partnered them in power, from the perfect Roman wives Livia and Octavia to Cleopatra, Agrippina the Younger and the trio of Severan Julias who all stepped far beyond tradition to dominate the Roman world.”—Joann Fletcher, author of The Story of Egypt “Enjoyable, fluently written and well-balanced in approach. De la Bédoyère leaves no stone unturned by way of evidence, which he carefully evaluates with regard to its context and reliability.”—Pat Southern, author of The Roman Army