Severus Alexander

Severus Alexander
Bust, Musei Capitolini
Roman emperor
Reign	13 March 222 – 22 March 235
Predecessor	Elagabalus
Successor	Maximinus Thrax
Born	... Bassianus Alexianus 1 October 208 Arca Caesarea, Phoenicia (modern Akkar, Lebanon)
Died	21/22 March 235 (aged 26) Moguntiacum, Germania Superior (Mainz, Germany)
Burial	Monte del Grano [it]
Spouses	Sallustia Orbiana Sulpicia Memmia
Names Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander Regnal name Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander Augustus
Dynasty	Severan
Father	Uncertain, possibly Marcus Julius Gessius Marcianus
Mother	Julia Avita Mamaea
Religion	Syncretism of pagan, Orphic and Christian beliefs

Roman imperial dynasties
Bust of Julia Mamaea, Alexander's mother
Severan dynasty
Chronology
Septimius Severus 193–211
with Caracalla 198–211
with Geta 209–211
Caracalla 211–217
Geta 211
Macrinus' usurpation 217–218
with Diadumenian 218
Elagabalus 218–222
Severus Alexander 222–235
Dynasty
Severan dynasty family tree
All biographies
Succession
Preceded by Year of the Five Emperors Followed by Crisis of the Third Century
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Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander^[1] (1 October 208 – 21/22 March 235), also known as Alexander Severus,^[2] was Roman emperor from 222 until 235. The last emperor from the Severan dynasty, he succeeded his slain cousin Elagabalus in 222, at the age of 13. Alexander himself was eventually assassinated, and his death marked the beginning of the events of the Crisis of the Third Century, which included nearly fifty years of civil war, foreign invasion, and the collapse of the monetary economy.

Alexander was the heir to his cousin, the 18-year-old Emperor Elagabalus. The latter had been murdered along with his mother Julia Soaemias by his own guards, who, as a mark of contempt, had their remains cast into the Tiber river.^[3] Alexander and his cousin were both grandsons of Julia Maesa, who was the sister of empress Julia Domna and had arranged for Elagabalus's acclamation as emperor by the Third Gallic Legion.

Alexander's 13-year reign was the longest reign of a sole emperor since Antoninus Pius.^[4] He was also the second youngest sole Roman emperor of a united empire, after Gordian III. Alexander's peacetime reign was prosperous. However, Rome was militarily confronted with the rising Sassanid Empire and growing incursions from the tribes of Germania. He managed to check the threat of the Sassanids. But when campaigning against Germanic tribes, Alexander attempted to bring peace by engaging in diplomacy and bribery. This alienated many in the Roman army, leading to a conspiracy that resulted in the assassination of Alexander, his mother Julia Avita Mamaea, and his advisors. After their deaths, the accession of Maximinus Thrax followed. Alexander's death marked the epoch event for the Crisis of the Third Century.