Julia Domna (AD 193-217). AR denarius (17mm, 3.18 gm, 1h). NGC VF 5/5 - 3/5, brushed. Rome, ca. AD 193-196. IVLIA DO-MNA AVG, draped bust of Julia Domna right, seen from front, air waved in ridges and bound in large chignon at back of head / VENERI VICTR, Venus Callipyge standing right, seen from behind, drapery below posterior, palm branch cradled in left arm, apple in outstretched right hand, leaning left elbow on a low column to her left. RIC IV.I (Septimius Severus) 536. Julia Domna was of Syrian-Arab ancestry, as the daughter of the hereditary high priest of Elagabal at Emesa, a wealthy caravan city in the Syrian desert. Beautiful, cultured, and highly educated, she was made even more of a "prize" by a horoscope that proclaimed she would marry a king. Septimius Severus probably encountered her family while serving as a general in Syria in the AD 180s; when he learned of the horoscope, he immediately wrote to her father and secured her hand in marriage. Upon Severus' ascension as Roman Emperor in AD 193, Julia was named Augusta and became his closest advisor and confidant. Her love of art, learning and philosophy manifested in a cultural Renaissance in Rome. In AD 217, Caracalla was assassinated. Julia Domna, who was already suffering from breast cancer, died by self-starvation. HID09801242017 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved www.HA.com/TexasAuctioneerLicenseNotice

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