You can't just be excellent for heroes and virtuosos.
There are no bureaucratic heroes or princes in modern society. They are excellent, but they do not save the country and bring light to the people.
Alexander Severus was a very talented man.
Historians have highly evaluated his reign.
But he lacked the charisma and luck needed for a hero or a virtuoso.
Emperor coronation and good politics
Alexander Severus was born as the grandson of Julia Mesa, the same as Elagabalus, the lowest tyrant in Roman history.
Alexander was a mild-mannered and straightforward personality that could not be considered a relative of Elagabalus, and with the help of the Roman legal scholar Ulpian, appointed by his grandfather Julia Mesa, he laid down a surprisingly good government for the first six years of his reign. ..
He declared in the Senate that he would take over the line of Emperor Aurelius, and in fact he had not purged any of the Senators during his reign.
He also changed his name to Caesar Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander Augustus.
Julia Mesa didn't scream as she had been disciplined for Heliogabalus, but only quietly pulled a string behind him.
But this time her mother, Julia Mamea, begins to talk about politics.
The Senate welcomed the newly inaugurated Alexander and gave all honorifics and all authority to the emperor, who was only 14 years old.
The oriental things that Elagabalus brought to Rome were completely eliminated, and the original politics of Rome was carried out under the leadership of Ulpian.
He actively embarked on various infrastructure development, spearheading for food security, and security measures, and achieved results with some exceptions.
Part of it was to leave the final decision of Roman law to the governors of each province.
This part is often raised to the mismanagement of later generations, but considering the situation at that time, it should be said that it was not in Alexander but in the Edict of Antoninus of Caracalla.
Anyone with Roman citizenship had the right to appeal to a court in Rome. Roman citizenship was well protected by law, and unlike modern Japan, the presumption of innocence was firmly applied until it was found guilty.
However, due to the explosive increase in Roman citizens under the Antoninus Edict, processing became impossible in the home country. Therefore, Roman citizens have lost this right of appeal.
Still, there was no major mismanagement, and the first six years of his reign were very successful. Rome also enjoyed peace for the first time in a long time.
The death of Julia Mesa and the assassination of Ulpian
Her gear went crazy only after her grandmother, Julia Mesa, died.
Mesa was the one who created the tyrant Elagabalus, but he was also the one who reflected on it or helped Alexander's good politics.
Her death had a great impact on Rome.
It is her mother Mamea who begins to have her power instead of Mesa and begins her runaway. Expulsion of her Empress Salstia at her beginning, she gradually begins to show off her power.
Alexander himself was a serious and talented emperor, but his mother's actions could make him unpopular. It can be said that this point is also involved in the tragedy that occurs later.
Bad words, but no matter how popular it would be if there was a mother's boy prime minister.
Mother and daughter become muddy once the relationship is broken.
Mamea was desperate to wipe out Mesa's influence. Ulpian is assassinated by her breathtaking guards.
Ulpian himself was killed by his men, even though he was the chief of the guards.
At that time, the chain of command in Rome was so disturbed that I wondered what was going on. In fact, this disruption of the chain of command of the Corps causes disaster for Alexander.
A famous historian, Senator Cassius Dio, left Rome during this period and began to immerse himself in historical narratives.
He said at the beginning that he had no luck, but unfortunately the Parthians were destroyed during his reign and a new powerful enemy, the Sasanian Persia, was born.
The first work of Roman emperors was peace with the Parthians. The five emperors, who are said to be wise emperors, were also forced to choose what to do with Parthian Empire at the time of their coronation.
Successive emperors have avoided the crisis by using the Kingdom of Armenia as a buffer zone.
However, unlike the Parthians, the Sassanid Empire was warlike.
The Sasanians began their invasion of Rome during this period.
It is not really clear whether the battle with the Sassanid Empire won or lost.
Alexander is holding a triumphal triumph in Rome after peace with the Sassanid Empire.
However, all contemporary historians note that Alexander was defeated by the Sassanid Empire. Among them, according to Hero de Anus, "Emperor Alexander lost many soldiers in the Persian campaign due to the cold, the top and the plague."
I don't know the truth of this, but I should appreciate the fact that it stopped the Sasanian invasion.
He is by no means a master like Trajan. Never compare.
In any case, the Senate expected Alexander. What made him feel good was that he turned his army to the Donau River and went to the Germanic front.
Of course, with his mother, Julia Mamea ...
The tragedy of Alexander Severus
Alexander did not die in the fight against the Germanic people. He was killed by his own army, which was supposed to be on his side.
This time it was openly killed by ordinary soldiers, not the Senate or the Guards.
There is a story that Alexander was dissatisfied with trying to avoid a fight with the Germanic people and conclude a peace treaty, but this may no longer be logical or anything.
Just as Urpinus, the commander-in-chief of the guards, was killed by the guards, the Roman emperor, the commander-in-chief of Rome, is also killed by his men.
Rome has already entered the world of justice only by force.
There is neither the brilliance of republic nor the idea of democracy.
There is only violence.
With the death of Alexander, Rome rushes towards a turmoil named the Barracks emperor. 235 AD. The crisis of the third century never ends.
Princeps, the first citizen of Rome, died. Why?
Probably because he was a little boy.
The soldiers who attacked him are said to be like this.
This milk drinker! When.
In fact, Alexander was killed with his mother.
He was only 26 years old.