Marcia Otacilia Severa was the Roman empress and wife of Emperor Philip the Arab, who reigned over the Roman Empire from 244 to 249. She was the mother of Emperor Philip II.[1]
| Marcia Otacilia Severa | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Augusta | |||||||||
 Possible bust of Otacilia Severa, Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. | |||||||||
| Empress of the Roman Empire | |||||||||
| Tenure | 244–249 | ||||||||
| Spouse | Emperor Philippus I the Arab | ||||||||
| Issue |
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| Father | Governor Otacilius Severus | ||||||||
| Religion | Uncertain, possibly Christian | ||||||||
Biography
editEarly life
editShe was a member of the ancient gens Otacilia, of consular and senatorial rank. Her father was Otacilius Severus or Severianus, who served as Roman Governor of Macedonia and Moesia, while her mother was either a member of or related to the gens Marcia. According to sources she had a brother called Severianus, who served as Roman Governor of Lower Moesia in 246–247.[2]
Marriage
edit
In 234 Severa married Philip, who was probably serving at the time in the Praetorian Guard under Emperor Alexander Severus. They had at least one child, Marcus Iulius Philippus Severus or Philippus II (born in 238), who later became co-emperor with his father.[3]
In February 244, the emperor Gordianus died in Mesopotamia; it is suspected in the sources that he was murdered, and there is a possibility that Severa was involved in the conspiracy. Her husband Philip became the new emperor, giving Gordian a proper funeral and returning his ashes to Rome for burial.[4] Philip gave Severa the honorific title of Augusta and had their son made heir of the purple.
Severa and Philip are sometimes considered as the first Christian imperial couple, because during their reign persecutions of Christians were replaced by a policy of tolerance, but this belief has not been proven. It was through her intervention, for instance, that Bishop and Saint Babylas of Antioch was saved from persecution.
In August 249, Philip was killed near Verona in battle against Decius, who had been proclaimed Augustus by the Danubian armies. Severa was in Rome; when the news of her husband's death arrived, their son was murdered by the Praetorian Guard still in her arms. Severa survived her husband and son and lived later in obscurity.[citation needed]
References
edit- ^
Ramsay, William (1870). "Philippus II., M. Julius". In Smith, William (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 3. p. 273.
- ^ "Otacilia Severa". Antoninianus Presentation. Et Tu Antiquities. 24 February 2010. Archived from the original on 12 May 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2007.
- ^ Meckler, Michael L. (1999-06-07). "Philip the Arab (244–249 A.D.)". De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors.
- ^ Kienast, Dietmar; Werner Eck & Matthäus Heil (2017) [1990]. Römische Kaisertabelle: Grundzüge einer römischen Kaiserchronologie [Roman imperial table: Basics of the Roman imperial chronology] (in German) (6th ed.). Darmstadt: WBG. p. 192. ISBN 978-3-5342-6724-8.
External links
edit- Sermarini, Joseph T. (15 February 2006). "Otacilia Severa". NumisWiki, The Collaborative Numismatics Project. Forum Ancient Coins.
- "Otacilia Severa". Forum Ancient Coins. Forum Ancient Coins.
- Lendering, Jona (24 April 2007). "Otacilia Severa". Livius.Org.
- "Roman Imperial Coinage of Otacilia Severa". Wildwinds.
Further reading
edit- (in French) Minaud, Gérard, Les vies de 12 femmes d’empereur romain - Devoirs, Intrigues & Voluptés , Paris, L’Harmattan, 2012, ch. 10, La vie de Marcia Otacilia Sévéra, femme de Philippe l’Arabe, p. 243-262