The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313 · External witness
Julia Mamaea
d. AD 235 (killed with her son) · Augusta · Mother of Severus Alexander · Antioch · Rome
External witness
Who Julia Mamaea was
Mother of the emperor Severus Alexander and effectively the ruler beside him. She sent a military escort to bring Origen to Antioch because she wanted to hear him on Christian doctrine, and kept him there some time before sending him back. She was killed with her son in the mutiny that put Maximinus Thrax on the throne — whose first act against the church was to go after its leaders. External, and one of very few imperial women in the archive.
Named once in Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History; no other ancient source names her.
Also listed in non-christian witnesses and women.
Common questions
When did Julia Mamaea die?
Julia Mamaea is dated d. AD 235 (killed with her son) in the archive, which places Julia Mamaea in the Ante-Nicene Church (AD 180–313).
Which early sources mention Julia Mamaea?
Julia Mamaea is named in 1 primary-source passage catalogued here, drawn from Eusebius of Caesarea. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Julia Mamaea from?
The archive associates Julia Mamaea with Antioch · Rome.
Who were Julia Mamaea’s contemporaries?
The archive links Julia Mamaea to 2 other figures, including Origen of Alexandria and Protoctetus. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (1)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Ecclesiastical History VI.21.3
c. AD 325[Mamaea, the mother of the emperor, a religious woman if ever there was one, sent a military escort to bring Origen to Antioch, that she might hear him.]Eusebius of Caesarea · Ecclesiastical History VI.21.3 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 177 · Persecution at Lyon and Vienne, AD 177
- AD 180 · The Scillitan martyrs, AD 180
- AD 190 · The Quartodeciman controversy, AD 190
- AD 202 · Perpetua and Felicity martyred, AD 202
- AD 235 · Maximinus Thrax targets the clergy, AD 235
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Julia Mamaea, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.