Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander

Severus Alexander
Bust of Severus Alexander
26th Emperor of the Roman Empire
Reign	11 March 222 – 18/19 March 235
Predecessor	Elagabalus
Successor	Maximinus Thrax
Born	(208-10-01)1 October 208 Arca Caesarea, Syria Phoenicia Province (modern Akkar, Lebanon)
Died	19 March 235 (aged 26) Moguntiacum, Germania Superior
Spouse	Sallustia Orbiana Sulpicia Memmia
Full name Marcus Julius Gessius Bassianus Alexianus (from birth to adoption); Caesar Marcus Aurelius Alexander (from adoption to accession); Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander Augustus (as emperor)
Imperial Dynasty	Severan
Father	Marcus Julius Gessius Marcianus
Mother	Julia Avita Mamaea

Roman imperial dynasties
Severan dynasty
The Severan Tondo
Chronology
Septimius Severus		193–198
—with Caracalla		198–209
—with Caracalla and Geta		209–211
Caracalla and Geta		211–211
Caracalla		211–217
Interlude: Macrinus		217–218
Elagabalus		218–222
Alexander Severus		222–235
Dynasty
Severan dynasty family tree All biographies
Succession
Preceded by Year of the Five Emperors		Followed by Crisis of the Third Century

Severus Alexander (Latin: Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander Augustus; 1 October 208 – 19 March 235) was Roman Emperor from 222 to 235 and the last emperor of the Severan dynasty. He succeeded his cousin Elagabalus, upon the latter's assassination in 222, and was ultimately assassinated himself, marking the epoch event for the Crisis of the Third Century — nearly 50 years of civil wars, foreign invasion, and collapse of the monetary economy, though this last part is now disputed.

Alexander was the heir to his cousin, the 18-year-old Emperor who 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 river Tiber. He and his cousin were both grandsons of the influential and powerful Julia Maesa, who had arranged for Elagabalus' acclamation as emperor by the famous Third Gallic Legion. It was the rumor of Alexander's death that triggered the assassination of Elagabalus and his mother. His 13-year reign was the longest reign of a sole emperor since Antoninus Pius.

As emperor, Alexander's peace time 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 and led to a conspiracy to assassinate and replace him. According to Canduci, Alexander is remembered as an emperor who was "level headed, well meaning, and conscientious," but his fatal flaw was his domination by his mother and grandmother. Not only did this undermine his authority, but his mother's influence was the cause of Alexander's least popular actions (convincing him not to take part in battle and trying to buy off the warring Germanic barbarians).