Julia Cornelia Paula

Julia Cornelia Paula (fl. 3rd century AD) was a distinguished Roman noblewoman who became Empress of Rome as the first wife of the Roman emperor Elagabalus, who divorced her.

Life

Paula was a lady, according to Herodian, of very noble descent: a relative of the gens Cornelia through her mother; her father, Julius Paulus, was an important jurist active throughout the Severan Dynasty, who subsequently served as praetorian prefect between 228 and 235.

In early 219, Julia Maesa, eldest sister of dowager empress Julia Domna, arranged for Cornelia Paula to marry her grandson, the new emperor Elagabalus. Their wedding was lavishly celebrated in Rome. Cornelia Paula, Elagabalus' first wife, was given the honorific title Augusta.

In late 220, Elagabalus divorced her to marry the Vestal Virgin Aquilia Severa in a union that was considered scandalous because she was still a Vestal. Apart from falling in love with Severa, Elagabalus married Severa as a part of the religious process of worshiping the Syrian Sun God El-Gabal and integrating El-Gabal into Roman religion.

After the divorce, Elagabalus removed Paula's Augusta title and reduced her to a private station. They had no children and her subsequent fate is unknown.

vteSeveran family tree
Septimius Macer Gaius Claudius Septimius AperFulvius PiusLucius Septimius Severus Publius Septimius AperGaius Septimius AperFulvia PiaPublius Septimius GetaSeptimia PollaJulius Bassianus SeptimiusPublius Septimius GetaSeptimia OctavillaPaccia Marciana (1)Septimius Severus (r. 193–211)Julia Domna (2)Julia Maesa Gaius Julius Avitus Alexianus Gaius Septimius Severus Aper Fulvia Plautilla Caracalla (r. 197–217)Geta (r. 209–211)Julia Soaemias Sextus Varius Marcellus Julia Avita MamaeaUnknown (2) Julia Cornelia Paula (1)Aquilia Severa (2 and 4)Elagabalus (r. 218–222)Annia Faustina (3)Sallustia Orbiana Severus Alexander (r. 222–235)
						Septimius Macer


		Gaius Claudius Septimius Aper			Fulvius Pius			Lucius Septimius Severus


Publius Septimius Aper		Gaius Septimius Aper		Fulvia Pia	Publius Septimius Geta		Septimia Polla			Julius Bassianus




Septimius	Publius Septimius Geta		Septimia Octavilla	Paccia Marciana (1)	Septimius Severus (r. 193–211)			Julia Domna (2)		Julia Maesa		Gaius Julius Avitus Alexianus




Gaius Septimius Severus Aper					Fulvia Plautilla	Caracalla (r. 197–217)		Geta (r. 209–211)	Julia Soaemias		Sextus Varius Marcellus		Julia Avita Mamaea	Unknown (2)



								Julia Cornelia Paula (1)	Aquilia Severa (2 and 4)		Elagabalus (r. 218–222)		Annia Faustina (3)	Sallustia Orbiana	Severus Alexander (r. 222–235)


(1) = 1st spouse (2) = 2nd spouse (3) = 3rd spouse (4) = 4th spouse Dark green indicates an emperor of the Severan dynasty Notes: Except where otherwise noted, the notes below indicate that an individual's parentage is as shown in the above family tree. Bibliography: Birley, Anthony R. (1999). Septimius Severus: The African Emperor. London: Routledge. ISBN 0415165911. Gibbon, Edward; Smith, William (1889). . London: Murray. OCLC .

Bibliography

, The Roman Empire: People & The Decline, n.d. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
, Forvm Ancient Coins: NumisWiki, n.d. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
Meckler, Michael L. , De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors, 26 August 1997. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
Ramsay, William. In William Smith (ed.) Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. 3. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1867.

Sources

Herodian 5.6.1.
Cassius Dio 79.9.

Royal titles
Preceded byNonia Celsa	Empress of Rome 219–220	Succeeded byAquilia Severa