Julia Avita Mamaea or Julia Mamaea was a Christian Syrian noble woman and member of the Severan dynasty. She was the mother of Roman emperor Alexander Severus and remained one of his chief advisors throughout his reign. She was killed in 235 by rebel soldiers alongside her son.
Bust of Julia Mamaea, Louvre
Antoninianus of Julia Mamaea
Bust of Julia Mamaea, Pushkin Museum
Etching showing the sarcophagus of Severus Alexander and his mother Julia Avita Mamaea
The Severan dynasty, sometimes called the Septimian dynasty, was an Ancient Roman imperial dynasty that ruled the Roman Empire between 193 and 235, during the Roman imperial period. The dynasty was founded by the emperor Septimius Severus, who rose to power after the Year of the Five Emperors as the victor of the civil war of 193–197, and his wife, Julia Domna. After the short reigns and assassinations of their two sons, Caracalla and Geta, who succeeded their father in the government of the empire, Julia Domna's relatives themselves assumed power by raising Elagabalus and then Severus Alexander to the imperial office.
The Libyan emperor Septimius Severus, the founder of the Severan dynasty
Caracalla and Geta, Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1907)
Dynastic aureus of Septimius Severus, minted in 202. The reverse feature the portraits of Geta (right), Julia Domna (centre), and Caracalla (left).
Aureus of Macrinus celebrating the "generosity of the emperor" (LIBERALITAS AVG)