Alexander Severus

Hello,

I've read several biographies, ancient and modern, of the young Roman Emperor Alexander Severus. The account of his life in the Historia Augusta is especially interesting. It would seem that Alexander, unlike the other Severan rulers, was a serious,studious, dedicated youth who strove to rule with wisdom and tolerance. Yet many biographers...especially recent ones...have maligned this unfortunate emperor (who was vilely murdered at the age of 26), classifying him as a timid weakling, completely under the influence of his dominating mother, Julia Mamaea.

I'd like to discuss this topic with other forum members. Please let me know your opinions about Alexander Severus. Was he another sage, philosophical ruler like Marcus Aurelius, or just a puppet in the hands of Julia Mamaea?

I don't think so; it was his (probably) deranged cousin and predecessor Elagabalus whose memory and statuary were cancelled.

Alexander Severus was apparently well-liked and esteemed by the majority of Romans. The army, however, considered Alexander to possess overly pacifistic tendencies, and conspired against him for that reason.

He was Christian, how well he understood the religion is debatable. 

I think he was both a philosophical ruler and a puppet. Although he loved philosophy and did his best for the people(he even cut taxes for them), he was too dependent on his mother Julia Mamaea. That's why he was killed by Maximinus' soldiers.


He won their devotion by giving them all kinds of gifts and rewards. Consequently, the recruits, who included an especially large number of Pannonians, praised the masculinity of Maximinus and despised Alexander as a mother's boy. Their contempt for the emperor was increased by the fact that the empire was being managed by a woman's authority and a woman's judgment, and by the fact that Alexander had directed the campaigns carelessly and timidly. They reminded each other of the defeats in the East which had resulted from the emperor's negligence and of his failure to do anything courageous or vigorous when he faced the Germans. (from Herodian's Roman History)