Julia Paula

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Denarius of Julia Paula; on the reverse Concordia , the goddess of harmony

Iulia Cornelia Paula was the first wife of the Roman emperor Elagabal , who ruled from 218 to 222.

Little is known about Julia Paula because she is only mentioned briefly in the narrative sources. As the contemporary historian Herodian reports, she was of very distinguished origin. Presumably she was related to the lawyer Iulius Paulus , maybe she was his daughter. Elagabal, who had become emperor in Syria in 218 , married her in the summer of 219, soon after he had arrived in Rome. Thereupon she was raised to Augusta . Elagabal was then only fifteen years old and a stranger in Rome. Presumably, his grandmother Julia Maesa arranged the marriage in order to provide support for her grandson in the capital's ruling class. Towards the end of 220 the emperor disowned his wife. He then married Aquilia Severa .

The circumstances of the divorce shed a bright light on the sharp, irreconcilable cultural and religious contrast between the Syrian Elagabal and the noble society of Rome. The reason for divorce given by Elagabal was a physical flaw from Juliet. According to the Roman feeling, a divorce because of a physical mark was tyrannical arbitrariness. From the emperor's point of view, however, the dissolution of the marriage was a religious necessity, since he was a priest of the Syrian deity Elagabal and his wife, as the priest's wife, also had to meet cultic requirements; in his religion this presupposed physical flawlessness.

Iulia Paula retired into private life after the divorce. Nothing is known of their further fate.

The appearance of Julia Paula can only be inferred from her coin portraits. No round three-dimensional portrait can be assigned to her with certainty or at least with great probability.

literature

Remarks

  1. ↑ Herodian 5,6,1.
  2. ↑ Detlef Liebs suspects that Iulius Paulus was Iulia's father and had to go into exile because of the divorce of their marriage : Iulius Paulus . In: Handbuch der Latinischen Literatur der Antike , Vol. 4: Die Literatur des Umuchs, Munich 1997, pp. 150–175, here: 151.
  3. ↑ Martin Frey: Studies on Religion and Religious Policy of Emperor Elagabal , Stuttgart 1989, p. 88; Ray Thompson: Elagabalus: Priest-Emperor of Rome , Lawrence (Kansas) 1972, p. 187; Martijn Icks: The Crimes of Elagabalus , London 2011, p. 65.
  4. ^ Ray Thompson: Elagabalus: Priest-Emperor of Rome , Lawrence (Kansas) 1972, p. 188; Martijn Icks: The Crimes of Elagabalus , London 2011, p. 65.
  5. ↑ For the dating see Martin Frey: Investigations on Religion and Religious Policy of the Emperor Elagabal , Stuttgart 1989, pp. 88–89; Martijn Icks: The Crimes of Elagabalus , London 2011, p. 32.
  6. ↑ Cassius Dio 80 (79), 9.3.
  7. ↑ Ruth Stepper: Augustus et sacerdos , Stuttgart 2003, pp. 181-183; Martin Frey: Studies on religion and the religious policy of the Emperor Elagabal , Stuttgart 1989, p. 89.
  8. ↑ For the coins see Georges Gautier: Le monnayage en or émis à Rome en 219 ap. J.-C. au nom de Julia Paula: une enquête au sein des sources . In: Revue numismatique 165, 2009, pp. 153–162.
  9. ↑ Max Wegner : Iulia Cornelia Paula, Iulia Aquilia Severa, Annia Faustina . In: Heinz Bernhard Wiggers , Max Wegner: Caracalla, Geta, Plautilla. Macrinus to Balbinus (= The Roman Emperor , Section 3 Volume 1), Berlin 1971, pp. 167–176, here: 168–173.
personal data
SURNAME Paula, Julia
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Julia Cornelia Paula; Iulia Cornelia Paula; Julia Paula
BRIEF DESCRIPTION first wife of the Roman emperor Elagabal
DATE OF BIRTH 2nd century or 3rd century
DATE OF DEATH after 220