Julia Cornelia Paula (lived 3rd century AD) was a distinguished Roman noblewoman who became Empress of Rome as the first wife of the Roman emperor

Elagabalus Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Sextus Varius Avitus Bassianus, 204 – 11/12 March 222), better known by his nickname "Elagabalus" (, ), was Roman emperor from 218 to 222, while he was still a teenager. His short reign was conspicuous for s ...

, who divorced her.

Life

Paula was a lady, according to

Herodian Herodian or Herodianus ( el, Ἡρωδιανός) of Syria, sometimes referred to as "Herodian of Antioch" (c. 170 – c. 240), was a minor Roman civil servant who wrote a colourful history in Greek titled ''History of the Empire from the Death o ...

, of very noble descent: a member of the

gens Cornelia The gens Cornelia was one of the greatest patrician houses at ancient Rome. For more than seven hundred years, from the early decades of the Republic to the third century AD, the Cornelii produced more eminent statesmen and generals than any oth ...

through her maternal line, her father,

Julius Paulus Julius Paulus ( el, Ἰούλιος Παῦλος; fl. 2nd century and 3rd century AD), often simply referred to as Paul in English, was one of the most influential and distinguished Roman jurists. He was also a praetorian prefect under the Rom ...

, was an important

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

active throughout the

Severan Dynasty The Severan dynasty was a Ancient Rome, Roman imperial dynasty that ruled the Roman Empire between 193 and 235, during the Roman imperial period (chronology), Roman imperial period. The dynasty was founded by the emperor Septimius Severus (), w ...

, who subsequently served as

praetorian prefect The praetorian prefect ( la, praefectus praetorio, el, ) was a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders be ...

between 228 and 235. In early 219,

Julia Maesa Julia Maesa (7 May before 160 AD – AD) was a member of the Severan dynasty of the Roman Empire who was the grandmother of emperors Elagabalus and Severus Alexander, elder sister of empress Julia Domna, and mother of Julia Soaemias and Julia ...

, eldest sister of dowager 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 ...

, arranged for Cornelia Paula to marry her grandson, the new emperor

. Their wedding was lavishly celebrated in Rome. Cornelia Paula, Elagabalus' first wife, was given the honorific title '' Augusta''. In late 220, Elagabalus divorced her to marry the

Vestal Virgin In ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins or Vestals ( la, Vestālēs, singular ) were priestesses of Vesta, virgin goddess of Rome's sacred hearth and its flame. The Vestals were unlike any other public priesthood. They were chosen before puberty ...

Aquilia Severa Julia Aquilia Severa (d. after 222) was the second and fourth wife of Roman emperor Elagabalus. She was the daughter of Quintus Aquilius. The ''praenomen'' of "Julia" was given to her after becoming an empress. Life Severa was a Vestal Virgin a ...

in a union that was considered scandalous because she was still a Vestal. Apart from falling in love with Severa, Elagabalus married Severa as a part of the religious process of worshiping the Syrian Sun God El-Gabal and integrating El-Gabal into Roman religion. After the divorce, Elagabalus removed Paula's Augusta title and reduced her to a private station. They had no children and her subsequent fate is unknown.Ramsay 1867, p. 141.

References

Bibliography

"Emperor Elagabalus"
''The Roman Empire: People & The Decline'', n.d. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
"Julia Paula"
''Forvm Ancient Coins: NumisWiki'', n.d. Retrieved 5 February 2022. * Meckler, Michael L

''De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors'', 26 August 1997. Retrieved 5 February 2022. * Ramsay, William
"Paula, Julia Cornelia"
In William Smith (ed.) ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 p ...

.'' 3. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1867.

Sources

5.6.1. *

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

79.9. {{DEFAULTSORT:Paula, Julia Cornelia Julii Cornelii Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Augustae Wives of Elagabalus 3rd-century Roman empresses