The following is a list of notable people from Homs and ancient Emesa.
see the Royal family of Emesa
The Severan dynasty was an Ancient Roman imperial dynasty that ruled the Roman Empire between 193 and 235, during the Roman imperial period. The dynasty was founded by the emperor Septimius Severus, who rose to power after the Year of the Five Emperors as the victor of the civil war of 193–197, and his wife, Julia Domna. After the short reigns and assassinations of their two sons, Caracalla and Geta, who succeeded their father in the government of the empire, Julia Domna's relatives themselves assumed power by raising Elagabalus and then Severus Alexander to the imperial office.
Julia Maesa was a member of the Severan dynasty of the Roman Empire who was the grandmother of emperors Elagabalus and Severus Alexander, elder sister of empress Julia Domna, and mother of Julia Soaemias and Julia Mamaea. She wielded influence during the reigns of her grandsons as Augusta of the Empire from 218 to her death, especially on their elevation to emperors.
Julia Soaemias Bassiana was a Syrian noblewoman and the mother of Roman emperor Elagabalus, who ruled over the Roman Empire from 218 to 222. She was one of his chief advisors, initially with the support and accompaniment of her mother Julia Maesa. She and her mother guided the young emperor until growing unrest and a family division led to her son's replacement by her nephew Severus Alexander. Julia Soaemias was killed along with her son by the Praetorian Guard.
Julia Avita Mamaea or Julia Mamaea was a Syrian noble woman and member of the Severan dynasty. She was the mother of Roman emperor Alexander Severus and remained one of his chief advisors throughout his reign. She was killed in 235 by rebel soldiers alongside her son.
Mona Simpson is an American novelist. She has written six novels and studied English at the University of California, Berkeley and Languages and Literature at Columbia University. She won a Whiting Award for her first novel, Anywhere but Here (1986). It was a popular success and adapted as a film by the same name, released in 1999. She wrote a sequel, The Lost Father (1992). Critical recognition has included the Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize and making the shortlist for the PEN/Faulkner Award for her novel Off Keck Road (2000).
Iamblichus was an ancient Syrian Greek novelist. He was the author of the Babyloniaca, a romance novel in Greek. If not the earliest, it was at least one of the first productions of this kind in Greek literature.
The Emesenedynasty, also called the Sampsigeramids or the Sampsigerami or the House of Sampsigeramus, were a Roman client dynasty of Arab priest-kings known to have ruled by 46 BC from Arethusa and later from Emesa, Syria, until between 72 and 78/79, or at the latest the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius (138–161). Iamblichus, the famous Neoplatonist philosopher of the third century, was one of their descendants, as was empress Julia Domna, matriarch of the Severan dynasty.
Julius Bassianus was an Arab high priest of Elagabalus at the Temple of the Sun in Emesa, Syria, where this solar deity was worshipped in a shape of a black stone. The name Elagabalus derives from Ilāh and gabal, resulting in "the God of the Mountain," the Emesene manifestation of the deity. Bassianus was a member of the Royal family of Emesa, which was a part of the Arab aristocracy in this client kingdom of the Roman Empire. The beginning of his priesthood is unknown, but by 187 he was a high priest at Emesa. Bassianus was a son of a Julius and his paternal uncle was Julius Agrippa, who served as a Primipilaris.
Julia Drusilla was a princess of the Roman client kingdom of Mauretania in North Africa. She was the daughter of Ptolemy of Mauretania and thus a great-granddaughter of Cleopatra VII and Mark Antony. She was married to the procurator Marcus Antonius Felix in the reign of Roman emperor Claudius and later the Emesene priest-king Sohaemus.
Gaius Julius Avitus Alexianus was a Syrian nobleman who had an impressive Roman military and political career.
Marcus Julius Gessius Marcianus also known as Gessius Marcianus was a Syrian Roman aristocrat. He was the second husband of Julia Avita Mamaea and step-father of the future emperor Severus Alexander.
Gaius Julius Sohaemus Philocaesar Philorhomaeus also known as Sohaemus of Emesa and Sohaemus of Sophene, was a prince and a Roman Client Priest King from Syria who lived in the 1st century. He ruled the Emesan kingdom from 54 until 73. His name may derive from the Aramaic root ŠḤM, which described the color black.
Gaius Julius Alexion was a Syrian Prince and Roman Client Priest King of Emesa. He was the son of Syrian king Sohaemus and Queen Consort Drusilla.
Gaius Julius Sohaemus was a Roman client king of Armenia.
Julius Alexander also known as Julius Alexander of Emesa was prince from the Royal family of Emesa who lived in the 2nd century.
Julius Agrippa was a Syrian nobleman from the Royal family of Emesa who lived in the 2nd century.
Sampsiceramus I was the founding Priest-King of the Emesene dynasty who lived in the 1st century BC and was a tribal chieftain or Phylarch.
Sampsiceramus II was a Priest King of Emesa who reigned from 14 to 42 AD.
Iotapa was a princess of Commagene, daughter of King Mithridates III of Commagene, Queen consort of Syrian King Sampsiceramus II of Emesa.
Bassma Al Jandaly is a journalist based in the United Arab Emirates; she worked as a community and crime correspondent at Dubai-based English-language newspaper Gulf News, and is known for her demonstrated interests in humanitarian causes.