Reseña
Empress of Syrian origin (170-217 AD), wife of Septimius Severus. She exerted a strong influence on her husband's decisions, taking an active part in the administration of the Empire. She strove for her sons to share the Principality, but after Caracalla murdered Geta, Julia Domna was more flexible with her son and reached the peak of her power. She surrounded herself with a circle of cultured men such as the philosopher Philostratus and the physician Galen. After the murder of her son and her exile to Antioch, she decided to die by starvation. She was buried together with her husband in the Mausoleum of Augustus.
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Justificaciones
- She was the most powerful empress in Rome.
- She enthroned a new dynasty.
- She surrounded herself with a circle of intellectuals.
Biografía
Julia Domna was born in Emesa, present-day Homs, in Syria, in 170 AD. Her father, Julius Bassianus, was the high priest of sun god Baal. When Julia was 15 years old, Septimius Severus, who was then about 40 years old, noticed her and, in the year 187, they got married.
When Julia left her distant eastern lands to settle in the capital of the empire, she did not do it alone. Her sister, Julia Maesa, accompanied her. Julia and Septimius had two sons, Lucius Septimius Bassianus (known as Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Caracalla) and Publius Septimius Geta.
When Septimius Severus was proclaimed emperor in the year 193, Julia Domna received the title of Augusta. Other titles followed this one, such as Mother of the Augustus, Mother of the Country and Mother of the Senate, becoming the most powerful Roman empress in history. In the year 196 she would also receive the title of Mater Castrorum for her presence in the camps of the legions which the emperor commanded. Julia was always at the side of Septimius, advising and helping the emperor in the tasks of government.
Her main enemy, the praetorian prefect Gaius Fulvius Plautianus, did not hesitate to accuse Julia of adultery against her husband and, although Septimius did not pay attention to the accusations, his wife's power was substantially diminished. That was the moment in which the empress took refuge in her spiritual and philosophical studies and surrounded herself with cultured men such as Philostratus or Galen. Julia was known as the philosopher empress, and great similarities were found between her and the scholar Aspasia. Her philosophical exile ended in 205, when Plautianus died. From then, until the disappearance of Septimius in 211 in Britain, Julia started to collaborate again in the state affairs.
After the emperor died, he was replaced by his son Caracalla. A terrible confrontation started then between him and his brother Geta, who Caracalla murdered. But, unlike other mother empresses such as Agrippina the Younger, who was openly confronted against her son Nero, Julia wiped away her tears and stayed by her son's side, with whom she ruled the empire once more, earning the esteem and approval of many people.
When Caracalla died in 217, Julia Domna did not have the physical or moral strength to continue fighting against all the detractors. A tumour in her chest helped shorten the waiting time until her death, but she died of starvation at her own free will.
Her body was returned to Rome to rest eternally next to Septimius Severus in the Mausoleum of the Antonines.
Ferrer, Sandra (2011). La emperatriz filósofa, Julia Domna (170-217). Mujeres en la historia. (retrieved on 14/05/2021), <https://www.mujeresenlahistoria.com/2011/10/la-emperatriz-filosofa-julia-domna-170.html>
Bibliografía
-Aguado, Paloma (2010). Julia Domna: emperatriz romana. Madrid: Aldebarán Ediciones.
-Cabello, Diana (2016). "Julia Domna. Emperatriz y filósofa", Blog: Los mensajes de Clío, (retrieved on 14/05/2021), <http://losmensajesdeclioyotrashistorias.blogspot.com/search?q=julia+domna>
-Caravaca, Consuelo Isabel (2014). ”Aproximación a la figura de una matrona romana culta y poderosa. El caso de Julia Domna” en Panta Rei. Revista Digital de Ciencia y Didáctica de la Historia, pp. 25-37, (retrieved on 14/05/2021), <https://www.um.es/cepoat/pantarei/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/2014_03julia.pdf>
-Dávila, Rosa Mª (2004). "Julia Domna, Oriente en Occidente", en Jesús de la Villa, (ed.), Mujeres de la Antigüedad. Madrid: Alianza Editorial, pp. 225-253.
-Ferrer, Sandra. (2011). "La emperatriz filósofa, Julia Domna (170-217)". Mujeres en la historia, (retrieved on 14/05/2021), <https://www.mujeresenlahistoria.com/2011/10/la-emperatriz-filosofa-julia-domna-170.html>
-Hidalgo, M.ª José. (2012). Las emperatrices romanas. Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca, pp. 131-160.
Enfoque Didáctico
-CUC: Block Classical roots of today's world. History and socio-political evolution; Block Classical roots of today's world. Everyday life.
-Latin 4 ESO: Block The present of Latin civilisation.
-Latin Baccalaureate: Block Ancient Rome.
-History 1 ESO: Block Societies and territories, referring to Rome.
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