Julius Alexander

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Julius Alexander, [1] also known as Julius Alexander of Emesa, [2] was a prince from the royal family of Emesa [3] who lived in the 2nd century.

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Although Alexander was a nobleman from Emesa, Syria, [4] little is known of his origins. He may have been the son of Sohaemus of Armenia also known as Gaius Julius Sohaemus, [5] who served as a Roman client king of Armenia from 144 until 161, then again in 163 perhaps up to 186. He may have been a possible kinsman of the Roman Empress Julia Domna, [6] which could explain him as a possible ancestor of the Roman emperor of the 3rd century Alexander Severus. Alexander and Severus share the same cognomen, Alexander. [7] The name Alexander is a dynastic name in the Emesan dynasty.

Alexander became a Bestiarius, also known as an animal fighter. [8] Alexander became skilled at lion-hunting. [9] He was known to have brought down a lion with his javelin while on horseback. [10] His prowess provoked the jealousy of the Roman emperor Commodus. [11]

Commodus ordered Alexander to be hunted down and killed in Emesa c. 190. [12] Alexander could have escaped from Commodus’ soldiers, but lost time because he didn't want to leave behind his youthful male lover, who was himself an excellent horseman. [13] Alexander tried to escape the assassins together with his lover, but they were overtaken and killed.

Alexander was buried in the Emesan dynastic tomb in Emesa. [14] Julius Alexander is mentioned in the histories of Cassius Dio and in the Historia Augusta, in The Life of Commodus.

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Birley, Septimius Severus: The African Emperor, p.223
  2. ↑ Prado, The Emperor Elagabalus: Fact or Fiction?, p.216
  3. ↑ Birley, Septimius Severus: The African Emperor, p.223
  4. ↑ Prado, The Emperor Elagabalus: Fact or Fiction?, p.xxiv
  5. ↑ Birley, Septimius Severus: The African Emperor, p.217
  6. ↑ Levick, Julia Domna: Syrian Empress, p.34
  7. ↑ Prado, The Emperor Elagabalus: Fact or Fiction?, p.216
  8. ↑ "Roman Emperors: Commodus". Archived from the original on 2017-12-20. Retrieved 2013-03-29.
  9. ↑ Birley, Septimius Severus: The African Emperor, p.223
  10. ↑ Cassius Dio, Roman History, 73.14
  11. ↑ Birley, Septimius Severus: The African Emperor, p.223
  12. ↑ Birley, Septimius Severus: The African Emperor, p.223
  13. ↑ Cassius Dio, Roman History, 73.14
  14. ↑ Birley, Septimius Severus: The African Emperor, p.223

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