The image of Julia Domna, wife of Roman emperor Severus (192211), was ubiquitous in her time. Her visage could be found gracing everything from state-commissioned art to privately owned ivory dolls. The imperial empire equated her to the great mother goddess, Cybele, endowing her with an unprecedented power above other imperial women. In Maternal Megalomania, Julie Langford unmasks this maternal ideal as a campaign on the part of the administration to garner support for Severus and his sons.Julia Domna accrued an impressive array of titles in her lifetime; most were concerned with maternity, whether it was the role of mother to her two sons (both future emperors) or as the metaphorical mother to the empire. In actuality, Julia Domnas life was punctuated by murder, civil war, adultery, and incest. Langford looks to numismatic, literary, and archaeological evidence to reconstruct the propaganda surrounding the empress. She explores how her image was tailored toward different populations, including the military, the Senate, and the general population, and applies the case of Julia Domna to a broader context regarding the relationship between the ruling class and its subjects.
Preface Introduction Julia Domna Who? Carving Out a Niche Severan Dynastic Propaganda and Julia Domna 1. Not Your Momma Problematizing Julia Domna as the Mater Castrorum Women and the Military Faustina the Younger: The Mother of All Mothers of the Camp The Military and the Domus Augusta: All in the Family? Severus and the Mater Castrorum Title Severus, the Military, and Julia Domna About Face! Conclusion 2. Romancing the Romans Julia Domna and the Populus Romanus The Nature of the Sources The Princeps and the Plebs The Roman Populace, Public Demonstrations, and Divine Inspiration Severan Propaganda and the Urban Plebs Roman Matrona, Mother, and Protectress Severus, the Populus Romanus, and the Collegia And Julia Domna? But What Does It All Mean? 3. Mater Senatus, Mater Patriae Julia Domna as Senatorial Savior Natural Rivals: Imperial Women and the Senate Severus's Senate Creating Consensus in the Senate: Wooing, Marginalizing, and Exterminating Negotiating Dynasty: Maternal Megalomania and Senatorial Subversions Julia Domna in Cassius Dio Moderating Maternal Megalomania Conclusion Ideological Crisis On the Dangers of Taking Ideology Too Seriously Appendix A: Hoard Details of the Severan Hoard Analysis Database by Clare Rowan Appendix B: Frequency of Julia Domna Coin Types in Hoards around the Mediterranean Appendix C: Dating the Mater Senatus, Mater Patriae Titles Notes Bibliography Index
""In just 123 pages, Langford adds a new dimension to the proliferation of texts about Rome's first third-century empress.""
