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Orbiana – Roman Empress: 225- 227 A.D., wife of Severus Alexander
Silver Denarius 19mm (3.22 grams) Rome mint, struck circa 225-227 A.D.
Reference: BMC 287; Cohen 1; RIC 319
Certification: NGC Ancients MS Strike: 5/5 Surface: 2/5 4936272-008
SALL BARBIA ORBIANA AVG, Diademed and draped bust of Orbiana to right.
CONCORDIA AVG G, Concordia seated left, holding patera in her right hand and double cornucopiae with her left.
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In ancient Roman religion, Concordia is the goddess who embodies agreement in marriage and society. Her Greek equivalent is usually regarded as Harmonia, with musical harmony a metaphor for an ideal of social concord or entente in the political discourse of the Republican era. She was thus often associated with Pax (“Peace”) in representing a stable society. As such, she is more closely related to the Greek concept of homonoia (likemindedness), which was also represented by a goddess.
Concordia Augusta was cultivated in the context of Imperial cult. Dedicatory inscriptions to her, on behalf of emperors and members of the imperial family, were common.
In art
In art, Concordia was depicted sitting, wearing a long cloak and holding onto a patera (sacrificial bowl), a cornucopia (symbol of prosperity), or a caduceus (symbol of peace). She was often shown in between two other figures, such as standing between two members of the Imperial family shaking hands. She was associated with a pair of female deities, such as Pax and Salus, or Securitas and Fortuna. Paired “Security and Luck” could also be represented by Hercules and Mercury.
Temples
The oldest Temple of Concord, built in 367 BC by Marcus Furius Camillus, stood on the Roman Forum. Other temples and shrines in Rome dedicated to Concordia were largely geographically related to the main temple, and included (in date order):
- a bronze shrine (aedicula) of Concord erected by the aedile Gnaeus Flavius in 304 BC “in Graecostasis” and “in area Volcani” (placing it on the Graecostasis, close to the main temple of Concord). He vowed it in the hope of reconciling the nobility who had been outraged by his publication of the calendar, but the senate would vote no money for its construction and this thus had to be financed out of the fines of condemned usurers. It must have been destroyed when the main temple was enlarged by Opimius in 121 BC.
- one built on the arx (probably on the east side, overlooked the main temple of Concord below). It was probably vowed by the praetor Lucius Manlius in 218 BC after quelling a mutiny among his troops in Cisalpine Gaul, with building work commencing in 217 and dedication occurring on 5 February 216.
- a temple to Concordia Nova, marking the end Julius Caesar had brought to civil war. It was voted by the senate in 44 BC. but was possibly never built.
- a temple built by Livia according to Ovid’s Fasti VI.637‑638 (“te quoque magnifica, Concordia, dedicat aede Livia quam caro praestitit ipsa viro” – the only literary reference to this temple). The description of the Porticus Liviae follows immediately, and it is probable therefore that the temple was close to or within the porticus, but the small rectangular structure marked on the Marble Plan (frg. 10) can hardly have been a temple deserving of the epithet “magnifica” (HJ 316).
In Pompeii, the high priestess Eumachia dedicated a building to Concordia Augusta.
Modern religion
Harmonians and some Discordians equate Concordia with Aneris. Her opposite is thus Discordia, or the Greek Eris.
 Seia Herennia Sallustia Barbia Orbiana Augusta (fl. 220s), also known as Barbia Orbiana, was an Augusta of the Roman Empire and briefly the wife of Emperor Severus Alexander. She was known for her beauty, which was captured in multiple works of art. Following the execution of her father Seius Sallustius, she was exiled to North Africa, after only two years as empress.
 Orbiana was born to influential Roman Senator Seius Sallustius in the early Third Century CE. In August 225, at about the age of 16 years, she wed Roman Emperor Severus Alexander in an arrangement organized by the emperor’s mother, Julia Mamaea. After Orbiana was given the title of Augusta, Mamaea grew jealous, due to her desire for complete ownership of all feminine imperial titles, and the strong bond that developed between Orbiana and Severus. She treated Orbiana cruelly, forcing her to seek refuge with her father, Sallustius, who is believed to had been appointed as a Caesar. Sallustius consulted with the Praetorian Guard for protection of Orbiana, but the act was determined to be treasonous. In August 227, Sallustius was executed, and Orbiana was stripped of her title, divorced and exiled to the province of Libya in North Africa. Severus Alexander had the power to intervene, but chose not to. He and his mother later died during the usurpation by Maximinus Thrax in 235, ending the Severan dynasty.
 Severus Alexander – Roman Emperor: 222-235 A.D.
Caesar: 221-222 A.D. (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-nephew of Septimius Severus and Julia Domna |
Severus Alexander (Latin: Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander Augustus; 1 October 208 – 19 March 235) was Roman Emperor from 222 to 235 and the last emperor of the Severan dynasty. He succeeded his cousin Elagabalus, upon the latter’s assassination in 222, and was ultimately assassinated himself, marking the epoch event for the Crisis of the Third Century – nearly 50 years of civil wars, foreign invasion, and collapse of the monetary economy, though this last part is now disputed.
Alexander was the heir apparent to his cousin, the 18-year-old Emperor who had been murdered along with his mother Julia Soaemias, by his own guards, who, 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 famous Third Gallic Legion. It was the rumor of Alexander’s death that triggered the assassination of Elagabalus and his mother.
As emperor, Alexander’s peace time reign was prosperous. However, Rome was militarily confronted with the rising Sassanid Empire and growing incursions from the tribes of Germania. He managed to check the threat of the Sassanids. But when campaigning against Germanic tribes, Alexander attempted to bring peace by engaging in diplomacy and bribery. This alienated many in the Roman Army and led to a conspiracy to assassinate and replace him.
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