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Severus Alexander
–
Roman Emperor
: 222-235 A.D.
Silver Denarius 18mm (3.17 grams) Rome mint: 227 A.D.
Reference: RIC 64, S 7902, C 312
IMPCMAVRSEVALEXANDAVG – Laureate, draped bust right.
PMTRPVICOSIIPP – Aequitas standing left, holding scales and cornucopia.
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The cornucopia (from Latin cornu copiae) or horn of plenty
is a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container
overflowing with produce, flowers, nuts, other edibles, or wealth in some form.
Originating in
classical antiquity
, it has continued as a
symbol in
Western art
, and it is particularly associated
with the
Thanksgiving
holiday in
North America
.
Allegorical
depiction of the Roman
goddess
Abundantia
with a cornucopia, by
Rubens
(ca. 1630)
In Mythology
Mythology
offers multiple
explanations of the origin
of the cornucopia.
One of the best-known involves the birth and nurturance of the infant
Zeus, who had to be hidden from his devouring father
Cronus
. In a cave on
Mount Ida
on the island of
Crete
, baby Zeus was cared for and protected by
a number of divine attendants, including the goat
Amalthea
(“Nourishing Goddess”), who fed him
with her milk. The suckling future king of the gods had unusual abilities and
strength, and in playing with his nursemaid accidentally broke off one of her
horns
, which then had the divine power to
provide unending nourishment, as the foster mother had to the god.
In another myth, the cornucopia was created when
Heracles
(Roman
Hercules
) wrestled with the river god
Achelous
and wrenched off one of his horns;
river gods were sometimes depicted as horned. This version is represented in the
Achelous and Hercules
mural painting
by the
American Regionalist
artist
Thomas Hart Benton
.
The cornucopia became the attribute of several
Greek
and
Roman deities
, particularly those associated
with the harvest, prosperity, or spiritual abundance, such as personifications
of Earth (Gaia
or
Terra
); the child
Plutus
, god of riches and son of the grain
goddess Demeter
; the
nymph
Maia
; and
Fortuna
, the goddess of luck, who had the power
to grant prosperity. In
Roman Imperial cult
, abstract Roman deities who
fostered peace (pax
Romana) and prosperity were also depicted with a cornucopia,
including Abundantia
, “Abundance” personified, and
Annona
, goddess of the
grain supply to the city of Rome
.
Pluto
, the classical ruler of the underworld in
the
mystery religions
, was a giver of agricultural,
mineral and spiritual wealth, and in art often holds a cornucopia to distinguish
him from the gloomier Hades
, who holds a
drinking horn
instead.
Modern depictions
In modern depictions, the cornucopia is typically a hollow, horn-shaped
wicker basket filled with various kinds of festive
fruit
and
vegetables
. In North America, the cornucopia
has come to be associated with
Thanksgiving
and the harvest. Cornucopia is
also the name of the annual November Wine and Food celebration in
Whistler
, British Columbia, Canada. Two
cornucopias are seen in the
flag
and
state seal
of
Idaho
. The Great
Seal
of
North Carolina
depicts Liberty standing and
Plenty holding a cornucopia. The coat of arms of
Colombia
,
Panama
,
Peru and
Venezuela
, and the Coat of Arms of the State of
Victoria, Australia
, also feature the
cornucopia, symbolising prosperity.
The horn of plenty is used on body art and at Halloween, as it is a symbol of
fertility, fortune and abundance.
-
Base of a statue of
Louis XV of France
Aquitas is the nominative form of the Latin
æquitatem, meaning justice, equality, conformity, symmetry, or fairness, and
is the source of the modern word “equity”. In
Roman mythology
, Aequitas, also known as Aecetia, was the
minor goddess of
fair trade
and
honest
merchants
. Like
Abundantia
, she is depicted with a
cornucopia
, representing wealth from commerce. She is also shown holding a
balance
, representing equity and fairness. During the
Roman Empire
, Aequitas was sometimes worshipped as a quality or aspect of
the
emperor
, under the name Aequitas
Augusti
.
SEVERUS ALEXANDER
 Augustus:
A.D. 222-235
Caesar: A.D. 221-222 under Elagabalus
Son of Julia Mamaea
Husband of Orbiana
Grandson of Julia Maesa
Nephew of Julia Soaemias
Cousin of Elagabalus
Second-cousin of Caracalla and Geta
Great-newphew of Septimius Severus and Julia Domna
Marcus
Aurelius Severus Alexander (October 1, 208–March 18, 235 AD), commonly
called Alexander Severus, was the last
Roman emperor
(11 March 222–235) of the
Severan dynasty
. Alexander Severus succeeded his cousin,
Elagabalus
upon the latter’s assassination in 222 AD, and was ultimately assassinated
himself, marking the
epoch event
for the
Crisis of the Third Century
—nearly fifty years of disorder, Roman civil
wars, economic chaos, regional rebellions, and external threats that brought the
Empire to near-collapse.
Alexander Severus was the
heir
apparent
to his cousin, the eighteen-year-old Emperor who had been murdered
along with his mother by his own guards—and as a mark of contempt, had their
remains cast into the
Tiber river
. He and his cousin were both grandsons of the influential and
powerful Julia Maesa
, who had arranged for Elagabalus’ acclamation as Emperor by the
famed
Third Gallic Legion
.
A rumor of Alexander’s death circulated, triggering the assassination of
Elagabalus.
Alexander’s reign was marked by troubles. In military conflict against the
rising
Sassanid Empire
, there are mixed accounts, though the Sassanid threat was
checked. However, when campaigning against
Germanic tribes
of
Germania
,
Alexander Severus apparently alienated his legions by trying diplomacy and
bribery, and they assassinated him.
Life
Alexander was born with the name Marcus Julius Gessius Bassianus Alexianus.
Alexander’s father,
Marcus Julius Gessius Marcianus
was a Syrian
Promagistrate
. His mother
Julia Avita Mamaea
was the second daughter of
Julia
Maesa
and Syrian noble
Julius Avitus
and maternal aunt of Emperor
Elagabalus
.
He had an elder sister called Theoclia and little is known about her.
Alexander’s maternal great-aunt was empress
Julia
Domna
(also Maesa’s younger sister) and his great-uncle in marriage was
emperor Lucius
Septimius Severus
. Emperors
Caracalla
and
Publius Septimius Geta
, were his mother’s maternal cousins. In 221,
Alexander’s grandmother, Maesa, persuaded the emperor to adopt his cousin as
successor and make him
Caesar
and Bassianus changed his name to Alexander. In the following
year, on March 11, Elagabalus was murdered, and Alexander was proclaimed emperor
by the
Praetorians
and accepted by the Senate.
When Alexander became emperor, he was young, amiable, well-meaning, and
entirely under the dominion of his mother. Julia Mamaea was a woman of many
virtues, and she surrounded the young emperor with wise counsellors. She watched
over the development of her son’s character and improved the tone of the
administration. On the other hand, she was inordinately jealous. She also
alienated the army by extreme parsimony, and neither she nor her son were strong
enough to impose military discipline. Mutinies became frequent in all parts of
the empire; to one of them the life of the jurist and praetorian praefect
Ulpian
was
sacrificed; another compelled the retirement of
Cassius
Dio
from his command.
On the whole, however, the reign of Alexander was prosperous until the rise,
in the east, of the
Sassanids
. Of the war that followed there are various accounts. (Mommsen
leans to that which is least favourable to the Romans). According to Alexander’s
own dispatch to the senate, he gained great victories. At all events, though the
Sassanids were checked for the time, the conduct of the Roman army showed an
extraordinary lack of discipline. The emperor returned to
Rome and celebrated
a triumph in 233.
The following year he was called to face German invaders in
Gaul, who had
breached the Rhine frontier in several places, destroying forts and over-running
the countryside. Alexander mustered his forces, bringing legions from the
eastern provinces, and crossed the Rhine into Germany on a pontoon bridge.
Initially he attempted to buy the German tribes off, so as to gain time. Whether
this was a wise policy or not, it caused the Roman legionaries to look down on
their emperor as one who was prepared to commit unsoldierly conduct.
Herodian
says “in their opinion Alexander showed no honourable intention to pursue the
war and preferred a life of ease, when he should have marched out to punish the
Germans for their previous insolence”. These circumstances drove the army to
look for a new leader. They chose
Gaius Iulius Verus Maximinus
, a Thracian soldier who had worked his way up
through the ranks.
Following the nomination of Maximinus as emperor, Alexander was slain (on
either March 18 or March 19, 235), together with his mother, in a mutiny of the
Primigenia Legio XXII
. These assassinations secured the throne for
Maximinus.
The death of Alexander is considered as the end of the Principate
system established by
Augustus
.
Although the Principate continued in theory until the reign of
Diocletian
,
Alexander Severus’ death signalled the beginning of the chaotic period known as
the
Crisis of the Third Century
which weakened the empire considerably.
Legacy
Alexander was the last of the Syrian emperors. Under the influence of his
mother, he did much to improve the morals and condition of the people. His
advisers were men like the famous jurist Ulpian, the historian Cassius Dio and a
select board of sixteen senators; a municipal council of fourteen assisted the
urban praefect in administering the affairs of the fourteen districts of Rome.
The luxury and extravagance that had formerly been so prevalent at the court
were put down; the standard of the coinage was raised; taxes were lightened;
literature, art and science were encouraged; the lot of the soldiers was
improved; and, for the convenience of the people, loan offices were instituted
for lending money at a moderate rate of interest.
In religious matters Alexander preserved an open mind. It is said that he was
desirous of erecting a temple to the
founder of
Christianity
, but was dissuaded by the pagan priests.
Marriage
Alexander was married three times. His most famous wife was
Sallustia Orbiana
,
Augusta
, whom he married in 225. He divorced and exiled her in 227,
after her father,
Seius Sallustius
, was executed for attempting to assassinate the emperor.
Another wife was Sulpicia Memmia. Her father was a man of consular rank; her
grandfather’s name was Catulus.
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