Emperor Alexander Severus: Rome's Age of Insurrection, AD 222-235

by John S. McHugh

Overview

Alexander Severus' is full of controversy and contradictions. He came to the throne through the brutal murder of his cousin, Elagabalus, and was ultimately assassinated himself. The years between were filled with regular uprisings and rebellions, court intrigue (the Praetorian Guard slew their commander at the Emperor's feet) and foreign invasion. Yet the ancient sources generally present his reign as a golden age of just government, prosperity and religious tolerance Not yet fourteen when he became emperor, Alexander was dominated by his mother, Julia Mammaea and advisors like the historian, Cassius Dio. In the military field, he successfully checked the aggressive Sassanid Persians but some sources see his Persian campaign as a costly failure marked by mutiny and reverses that weakened the army. When Germanic and Sarmatian tribes crossed the Rhine and Danube frontiers in 234, Alexander took the field against them but when he attempted to negotiate to buy time, his soldiers perceived him as weak, assassinated him and replaced him with the soldier Maximinus Thrax. John McHugh reassesses this fascinating emperor in detail.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781473845824
Publisher:	Pen & Sword Books Limited
Publication date:	01/24/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
File size:	9 MB

About the Author

John S McHugh has a BA and MA in Ancient History. His love of the ancient world has led him to travel to many classical sites. He is currently an Assistant Headmaster at a secondary school in Bolton. He is the co-author of a text book on Boltons connections with the slave trade and is currently assisting Bolton Museum with a project to record the oral history of the local populace with the aim of promoting understanding between people of different generations or ethnic and social backgrounds.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations vi

List of Maps viii

Maps ix

Family Tree xiv

Chapter 1 Murderers and Usurpers AD 192-211 1

Chapter 2 Conspiracy AD 211-217 23

Chapter 3 Revolt AD 217-218 44

Chapter 4 A Palace Coup AD 218-222 61

Chapter 5 Regency AD 222-223 86

Chapter 6 Restoring the 'Golden Age' AD 224-228 115

Chapter 7 The Empire of Alexander Severus AD 222-235 150

Chapter 8 War in the East AD 228-233 176

Chapter 9 War in the West AD 234-235 221

Epilogue 244

End Notes 254

Bibliography 305

Bibliography of Pictures 319

Bibliography of Maps 322

Key Events 323

Index 327

Editorial Reviews

British academic McHugh, who has written on the Emperor Commodus and other subjects, does a masterful job in giving us this life of Alexander Severus set within his unstable times which presaged even more instability… This is a rich work, and valuable for anyone with an interest in the Roman Empire.

Winter 2018 The NYMAS Review