Julia and Severus: power couple
It’s the year 195 CE and Lucilla, wife of a rich merchant in Rome, has just returned home from her trip to the market. Normally, a woman of her status would let the household slaves run errands, but today she had time to go herself. Lucilla counts the money she has left after shopping, and among the change is a bronze sestertius. Lucilla looks at the coin and notices that it depicts the bust of a woman on the obverse. It had been a while since Rome had an empress. Commodus (176-192), the previous emperor, had accused his wife Crispina of adultery in 188 and exiled her.
Now with emperor Septimius Severus (193-211), Rome had a new empress again. Julia Domna was the wife of Septimius and became empress in 193. Her face was immediately put on coins. Lucilla held the coin in her hand and quickly recognized the empress. She had seen silver and gold coins with Julia’s profile as well. One of the first things to note when looking at a woman on a coin, is the hairstyle. Click to the next step to read why…