Julius Alexander also known as Julius Alexander of Emesa was prince from the

Royal family of Emesa The Emesene (or Emesan) dynasty, also called the Sampsigeramids or the Sampsigerami or the House of Sampsigeramus ( ar, آل شمسيغرام, translit=ʾĀl Šamsīġirām), were a Roman client dynasty of Arab priest-kings known to have ruled by ...

who lived in the 2nd century. Although Alexander was a nobleman from Emesa, little is known of his origins. He may have been the son of

Sohaemus of Armenia Gaius Julius SohaemusBirley, ''Septimius Severus: the African emperor'', p.224 ( el, Γάϊος Ἰούλιος Σόαιμος) (died 180) was a Roman client king of Armenia. Life Sohaemus, a prominent person in the Roman Empire in the 2nd cen ...

also known as Gaius Julius Sohaemus, who served as a Roman Client King of

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

from 144 until 161, then again in 163 perhaps up to 186. He may have been a possible kinsman of the Roman Empress

Julia Domna Julia Domna (; – 217 AD) was Roman empress from 193 to 211 as the wife of Emperor Septimius Severus. She was the first empress of the Severan dynasty. Domna was born in Emesa (present-day Homs) in Roman Syria to an Arab family of priests of ...

, which could explain him as a possible ancestor of the Roman emperor of the 3rd century

Alexander Severus Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander (1 October 208 – 21/22 March 235) was a Roman emperor, who reigned from 222 until 235. He was the last emperor from the Severan dynasty. He succeeded his slain cousin Elagabalus in 222. Alexander himself was ...

. Alexander and Severus share the same cognomen, ''Alexander''. The name ''Alexander'', is a dynastic name in the Emesani dynasty. In his career, Alexander became a Bestiarius also known as an animal fighter. Alexander became a prowess at Lion-hunting. He was known to have brought down a

Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

with his javelin while on horseback. His prowess of his profession, provoked the jealousy of the Roman emperor

Commodus Commodus (; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was a Roman emperor who ruled from 177 to 192. He served jointly with his father Marcus Aurelius from 176 until the latter's death in 180, and thereafter he reigned alone until his assassination. ...

. There is a possibility that Lion hunting was a royal or imperial activity that Alexander may had deliberately participated in because he may had wanted the Roman throne for himself. Commodus on his orders at night had Alexander hunted down and killed in Emesa c. 190. Alexander could have escaped from Commodus’ soldiers however, he didn't want to leave his youthful male-lover behind whom himself was an excellent horseman, so he died with Alexander. Alexander with his lover, left when the assassins arrived but were overtaken and killed. After Alexander died, he was buried in the Emesani dynastic tomb in

Emesa Homs ( , , , ; ar, حِمْص / ALA-LC: ; Levantine Arabic: / ''Ḥomṣ'' ), known in pre-Islamic Syria as Emesa ( ; grc, Ἔμεσα, Émesa), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level ...

.Birley, ''Septimius Severus: The African Emperor'', p.223 Julius Alexander is mentioned in the histories of Cassius Dio and in the

Augustan History The ''Historia Augusta'' (English: ''Augustan History'') is a late Roman collection of biographies, written in Latin, of the Roman emperors, their junior colleagues, designated heirs and usurpers from 117 to 284. Supposedly modeled on the sim ...

, in ''The Life of Commodus''.

References

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Sources

*A.R. Birley, ''Septimius Severus: The African Emperor'', Routledge, 2002 *B. Levick, ''Julia Domna: Syrian Empress'', Routledge, 2007 *L. de Arrizabalaga y Prado, ''The Emperor Elagabalus: Fact or Fiction?'', Cambridge University Press, 2010
Roman Emperors: Commodus
People from Homs Emesene dynasty People of Roman Syria Nerva–Antonine dynasty People executed by the Roman Empire 2nd-century monarchs in the Middle East 2nd-century Arabs de:Iulius Alexander

See also

References

Sources