Julia Cornelia Paula

Julia Cornelia Paula
Julia Cornelia Paula
Augusta
	Marble bust of Julia Cornelia Paula
Roman empress
Tenure	219–220
Spouse	Elagabalus

Julia Cornelia Paula (lived 3rd century AD) was a distinguished Roman noblewoman who became Empress of Rome as the first wife of the Roman emperor Elagabalus, who divorced her.^[1]^[2]

Life

Paula was a lady, according to Herodian, of very noble descent: a relative of the gens Cornelia through her mother, her father, Julius Paulus, was an important jurist active throughout the Severan Dynasty, who subsequently served as praetorian prefect between 228 and 235.

In early 219, Julia Maesa, eldest sister of dowager empress Julia Domna, arranged for Cornelia Paula to marry her grandson, the new emperor Elagabalus.^[3]^[4] Their wedding was lavishly celebrated in Rome. Cornelia Paula, Elagabalus' first wife, was given the honorific title Augusta.^[5]

In late 220, Elagabalus divorced her to marry the Vestal Virgin Aquilia Severa in a union that was considered scandalous because she was still a Vestal. Apart from falling in love with Severa, Elagabalus married Severa as a part of the religious process of worshiping the Syrian Sun God El-Gabal and integrating El-Gabal into Roman religion.

After the divorce, Elagabalus removed Paula's Augusta title and reduced her to a private station. They had no children and her subsequent fate is unknown.^[6]

Septimius Macer

Gaius Claudius Septimius Aper

Fulvius Pius

Lucius Septimius Severus

Publius Septimius Aper

Gaius Septimius Aper

Fulvia Pia

Publius Septimius Geta

Septimia Polla

Julius Bassianus

Septimius

Publius Septimius Geta

Septimia Octavilla

Paccia Marciana (1)

Septimius Severus
(r. 193–211)^[i]

Julia Domna (2)

Julia Maesa

Gaius Julius Avitus Alexianus

Gaius Septimius Severus Aper

Fulvia Plautilla

Caracalla
(r. 197–217)^[ii]

Geta
(r. 209–211)^[iii]

Julia Soaemias

Sextus Varius Marcellus

Julia Avita Mamaea

Unknown^[iv] (2)

Julia Cornelia Paula (1)

Aquilia Severa (2 and 4)

Elagabalus
(r. 218–222)^[v]

Annia Faustina (3)

Sallustia Orbiana

Severus Alexander
(r. 222–235)^[v]

(1) = 1st spouse
(2) = 2nd spouse
(3) = 3rd spouse
(4) = 4th spouse
Dark green indicates an emperor of the Severan dynasty

Notes:

Except where otherwise noted, the notes below indicate that an individual's parentage is as shown in the above family tree.

^ Birley, Anthony R. (1999). Septimius Severus: The African Emperor. London: Routledge. p. i.
^ Burrell, Barbara (2004). Neokoroi: Greek Cities and Roman Emperors. BRILL. p. 216. ISBN 90-04-12578-7.
^ Burrell, Barbara (2004). Neokoroi: Greek Cities and Roman Emperors. BRILL. p. 247. ISBN 90-04-12578-7.
^ Icks, Martijn (2011). The Crimes of Elagabalus: The Life and Legacy of Rome's Decadent Boy Emperor. London: I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd. pp. 57–58. ISBN 978-1-84885-362-1.
^ ^a ^b Gibbon, Edward; Smith, William (1889). The Student's Gibbon: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. pp. 45–47.

Bibliography:

Birley, Anthony R. (1999). Septimius Severus: The African Emperor. London: Routledge. ISBN 0415165911.
Gibbon, Edward; Smith, William (1889). The Student's Gibbon: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. London: Murray. OCLC 993285639.

References

^ Bertolazzi, Riccardo (2020), "Women in the Severan dynasty", The Routledge Companion to Women and Monarchy in the Ancient Mediterranean World, Routledge, doi:10.4324/9780429434105-43/women-severan-dynasty-riccardo-bertolazzi, ISBN 978-0-429-43410-5, retrieved 2024-05-13
^ Icks, Martijn (2006-09-12), "Priesthood and Imperial Power The Religious Reforms of Heliogabalus, 220-222 AD", The Impact of Imperial Rome on Religions, Ritual and Religious Life in the Roman Empire, Brill, pp. 169–178, ISBN 978-90-474-1134-5, retrieved 2024-05-13
^ Icks, Martijn (2006-09-12), "Priesthood and Imperial Power The Religious Reforms of Heliogabalus, 220-222 AD", The Impact of Imperial Rome on Religions, Ritual and Religious Life in the Roman Empire, Brill, pp. 169–178, ISBN 978-90-474-1134-5, retrieved 2024-05-13
^ Nugent, Mark (2008). "From 'Filthy Catamite' to 'Queer Icon': Elagabalus and the Politics of Sexuality (1960–1975)". Helios. 35 (2): 171–196. ISSN 1935-0228.
^ Buongiorno, Pierangelo (2021-11-25), "The Attitude of Herodian towards the Roman Senate", Herodian's World, Brill, pp. 202–221, ISBN 978-90-04-50045-7, retrieved 2024-05-13
^ Ramsay 1867, p. 141.

Bibliography

"Emperor Elagabalus", The Roman Empire: People & The Decline, n.d. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
"Julia Paula", Forvm Ancient Coins: NumisWiki, n.d. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
Meckler, Michael L. "Elagabalus (218-222 A.D.)", De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors, 26 August 1997. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
Ramsay, William. "Paula, Julia Cornelia" In William Smith (ed.) Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. 3. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1867.

Sources

Herodian 5.6.1.
Cassius Dio 79.9.

Royal titles
Preceded by Nonia Celsa	Empress of Rome 219–220	Succeeded by Aquilia Severa

[7] Birley, Anthony R. (1999). Septimius Severus: The African Emperor. London: Routledge. p. i.

[8] Burrell, Barbara (2004). Neokoroi: Greek Cities and Roman Emperors. BRILL. p. 216. ISBN 90-04-12578-7.

[9] Burrell, Barbara (2004). Neokoroi: Greek Cities and Roman Emperors. BRILL. p. 247. ISBN 90-04-12578-7.

[10] Icks, Martijn (2011). The Crimes of Elagabalus: The Life and Legacy of Rome's Decadent Boy Emperor. London: I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd. pp. 57–58. ISBN 978-1-84885-362-1.

[gibbon-11] Gibbon, Edward; Smith, William (1889). The Student's Gibbon: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. pp. 45–47.

[1] Bertolazzi, Riccardo (2020), "Women in the Severan dynasty", The Routledge Companion to Women and Monarchy in the Ancient Mediterranean World, Routledge, doi:10.4324/9780429434105-43/women-severan-dynasty-riccardo-bertolazzi, ISBN 978-0-429-43410-5, retrieved 2024-05-13

[2] Icks, Martijn (2006-09-12), "Priesthood and Imperial Power The Religious Reforms of Heliogabalus, 220-222 AD", The Impact of Imperial Rome on Religions, Ritual and Religious Life in the Roman Empire, Brill, pp. 169–178, ISBN 978-90-474-1134-5, retrieved 2024-05-13

[3] Icks, Martijn (2006-09-12), "Priesthood and Imperial Power The Religious Reforms of Heliogabalus, 220-222 AD", The Impact of Imperial Rome on Religions, Ritual and Religious Life in the Roman Empire, Brill, pp. 169–178, ISBN 978-90-474-1134-5, retrieved 2024-05-13

[4] Nugent, Mark (2008). "From 'Filthy Catamite' to 'Queer Icon': Elagabalus and the Politics of Sexuality (1960–1975)". Helios. 35 (2): 171–196. ISSN 1935-0228.

[5] Buongiorno, Pierangelo (2021-11-25), "The Attitude of Herodian towards the Roman Senate", Herodian's World, Brill, pp. 202–221, ISBN 978-90-04-50045-7, retrieved 2024-05-13

[6] Ramsay 1867, p. 141.

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[2]

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Julia Cornelia Paula
Augusta
Marble bust of Julia Cornelia Paula
Roman empress
Tenure	219–220

Spouse	Elagabalus