The Nursery

The Severan dynasty was a Roman imperial dynasty, which ruled the Roman Empire between 193 and 235 CE. The dynasty was founded by the Roman general Septimius Severus, who rose to power as the victor of the 193-197 civil war.

Septimius Severus was from Libya – not only by birth but also by ethnicity – and after the death of his first wife he married Julia Domna, a woman from an important Arab Syrian family. They would prove to be a formidable couple, and after a civil war following the murder of Commodus ascended to the throne.

Although largely a peaceful time, the Severan Period was plagued by constant political turmoil and warfare – foreshadowing the imminent total collapse which followed the murder of Alexander Severus in 235 AD, and which we know as the Crisis of the 3rd Century.

One of the characteristic phenomena of this period of Roman history was the very active role played by the empresses and other female family members. This is also reflected in an abundance of coins struck in their name.

The Severans emperors were:

• Septimius Severus (193-211)
• Caracalla (198-217)
• Geta (209-211)
• Elagabalus (218-222)
• Severus Alexander (222-235)

In between Geta and Elagabalus, a single non-Severan emperor ruled for a year, the lawyer and bureaucrat Macrinus with his son Diadumenian as Caesar.

My coins

I have some coins from the Severan dynasty – although not many from each person.

Septimius Severus

#	Reference	Obverse	Reverse	Notes
1	Sear 6319		Paci Aeternae
2	Sear 6354		Provid Avgg

Julia Domna – wife of Septimius Severus

#	Reference	Obverse	Reverse	Notes
1	Sear 6584		Fortvnae Felici
2	Sear 6601		Pietas Pvblica

Caracalla

#	Reference	Obverse	Reverse	Notes
1	RIC 194		PM TRP XV COSIII PP	cf. S6829
2	Sear 6895		Vict Part Max

Plautilla – unfortunate wife of Caracalla

#	Reference	Obverse	Reverse	Notes
1	Sear 7074		Venus Victrix

Geta

#	Reference	Obverse	Reverse	Notes
1	Sear 7174		Felicitas Tempor

Elagabalus

#	Reference	Obverse	Reverse	Notes
1	RIC 13		PM TRP II COS II PP
2	Sear 7520		Laetitia Publ	Fake

Julia Maesa – grandmother of Elagabalus & Severus Alexander

#	Reference	Obverse	Reverse	Notes
1	Sear 7757		Saeculi Felicitas	RIC 272

Julia Mamaea – mother of Severus Alexander

#	Reference	Obverse	Reverse	Notes
1	Sear 8212		Ivno Conservatrix