Julia Domna, Wife of Septimius Severus (193-211 AD)

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Julia was born in Syria, daughter of Bassianus who was the high priest of the cult of Baal in Emesa. She was supposedly destined to be the wife of the emperor and ended up marrying Septimius Severus between 185 and 187 AD. [Sear, in the 1988 and previous editions o f Roman Coins and their Values, indicates that she married Severus in 173 AD, though she would have been about 3 years of age at the ti me, many other works have taken this date as well, going so far as to say that it was many years until she bore their first son, in 188 AD. Thankfully, Sear has corrected this in Roman Coins and their Values Volume II published in 2002.] When Severus died in 211 A D, she tried to make peace between her two sons, Caracalla and Geta. In this she failed and Geta was killed in her arms by assassins s ent by Caracalla. When Macrinus ordered her to return to Rome after Caracalla was killed, she starved herself to death, dying in 217 A D.