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Ulpia Severina
It is a simple question. Who knew that for about half a year the entire Roman Empire was led by a woman? Ulpia Severina did just that — or did she?
Ulpia was already an empress when she came to power by her marriage to emperor Aurelian. Besides that, and membership of Rome's patrician class, Ulpia appears to have assumed the imperial throne — or at least the power — without any known opposition. For 3rd century Rome, this was something of a record. From 235, the title of Roman emperor had gone to generals, at least one child, and possibly a few criminally insane. No civilians, and certainly no women. Yet here was an empire that stretched from Hadrian's Wall to southern Egypt, held by a Caesar's wife.
What we know[edit]
Since nothing is known about her background, historians naturally resort to guesswork. One long shot is that her original name was Zenobia and that she had been the rebel empress of the desert empire of Palmyra, which had expanded from Syria to include Palestine, Israel, and Lebanon. Though preposterous, this narrative is at least colourful. Ulpia also seems to have been married to Aurelian before he became emperor, so she and Zenobia were probably two different people. But it is likely they met in Rome when Zenobia had to do the perp walk for losing her war with the empire.
Emperor Aurelian's main preoccupation was all things Goths (they were really lousing up the empire) and making Rome more secure. For that, Aurelian ordered the construction of a city wall. Rome had done without them for centuries, but this had left the city open to invaders — or a rival to Aurelian taking the city without a fight.
Since Aurelian was often out fighting someone or other, someone else had to build the wall. Thousands of slaves were the answer. More than likely, Ulpia made sure it came in on time and within budget. Within four years, the 'Aurelian Wall' enclosed 2,400 hectares and all of Rome's main monuments. The only exception was the old ruined racetrack on the Vatican Hill and a shrine to St. Peter that had become a Christian tourist site.
What we don't know[edit]
Officially, Aurelian died in September 270. His generals killed him before he could kill all of them. They thought he might because of a rumour spread by a desperate civil servant whom Aurelian had caught forging cheques; he needed to get his boss killed. The conspirators fled Italy. With no obvious successor, Ulpia skipped the customary mourning and made it 'business as usual'. A successor could have come from the Roman Senate, but none showed any appetite for the main job. This state of affairs lasted about six months, before the Senate finally elected Marcus Claudius Tacitus. He went up to the imperial palace to inform Ulpia she had been 'deposed' and had a couple of hours to clean out her desk and turn in her badge.
Fate[edit]
Ulpia left Rome with her daughter Domitica sometime in early 276. They completely disappear from the historical record. At least they lived longer than emperors Tacitus and Florian. Historians, still guessing, believe they travelled to the Caribbean and founded the Domitican Republic.
Other Ulpias[edit]
The English-speaking world has no analogues to Ulpia Severina, except perhaps Uthar Pendragon or Ulta Beauty.
| Preceded by: Aurelian |
Roman Empress 275-276 |
Succeeded by: Marcus Claudius Tacitus |
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