Otacilia Severa - 246-248 AD - Silver Antoninianus - PIETAS AVGVSTAE

Description: RIC IV Philip I 130 Date: A.D. 248 - A.D. 249 Denomination: Antoninianus Mint: Rome Obverse: OTACIL SEVERA AVG: Bust of Otacilia Severa, diademed, draped, on crescent, right Reverse: PIETAS AVGVSTAE: Pietas, draped, standing left, raising right hand & holding box of perfume in left hand. Weight: 4.54g Diameter: 23.00mm Marcia Otacilia Severa or Otacilia Severa - was the Empress of Rome & wife of Emperor Marcus Julius Philippus or Philip the Arab, who reigned over the Roman Empire from 244 to 249. She was a member of the ancient gens Otacilia, of consular & senatorial rank. Her father was Otacilius Severus or Severianus, who served as Roman Governor of Macedonia & Moesia, while her mother was a member of gens Marcia or was related to the gens. According to sources she had a brother called Severianus, who served as Roman Governor of Lower Moesia in 246–247. Life - In 234, Severa married Philip who at that time probably served in the Praetorian Guard under Emperor Alexander Severus & they had at least 1 child, Marcus Iulius Philippus Severus or Philippus II (born in 238), who later became co-emperor with his father. In February 244, the emperor Gordianus died in Mesopotamia, it is suspected that he was murdered & there is a possibility that Severa was involved in the conspiracy. Her husband Philip became the new emperor & he gave his young predecessor a proper funeral & his ashes were returned to Rome for burial. Philip gave Severa the honorific title of Augusta & had their son made heir of the purple. Severa & Philip are sometimes considered as the 1st Christian imperial couple because during their reign the persecutions of Christians had ceased & the couple had become tolerant towards Christianity but their beliefs have not been proven. It was through her intervention, for instance, that Bishop & Saint Babylas of Antioch was saved from persecution. In 249, the Danubian armies proclaimed Decius Augustus & in August, Philip died in battle near Verona & Decius became the sole emperor. Severa was in Rome at that time & when the news of her husband’s death arrived, their son was murdered by the Praetorian Guard still in her arms. Severa survived her husband & son & lived later in obscurity.

Price: 49.95 USD

Location: Williamsburg, Virginia

End Time: 2024-10-01T20:05:05.000Z

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