Gaius Julius Bassianus or
Bassus, also known as
Julius Bassianus (?-towards 217) was an
ArabArab people or Arabs are an ethnic group whose members identify along linguistic, cultural or genealogical grounds...
, who lived in the second and third century AD. Bassianus was a high priest for the
Temple of the Sun, which was adored in a shape of a black stone. The Aramaean Sun God in Aramaic is
El-Gabal. Bassianus was a member of the
Royal Family of EmesaThe Royal Family of Emesa was a native Syrian Arab dynasty of Priest Kings in Emesa . There is a possibility that members of the Royal Family may have some ancestry from the local Greek population in Syria.-Background:...
(modern
HomsHims Hims Hims is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Hims Governorate. It is above sea level and is located north of Damascus...
,
SyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest....
). The Royal Family was apart of the local Syrian Aramaean aristocracy and was a client kingdom of the
Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
.
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Gaius Julius Bassianus or
Bassus, also known as
Julius Bassianus (?-towards 217) was an
ArabArab people or Arabs are an ethnic group whose members identify along linguistic, cultural or genealogical grounds...
, who lived in the second and third century AD. Bassianus was a high priest for the
Temple of the Sun, which was adored in a shape of a black stone. The Aramaean Sun God in Aramaic is
El-Gabal. Bassianus was a member of the
Royal Family of EmesaThe Royal Family of Emesa was a native Syrian Arab dynasty of Priest Kings in Emesa . There is a possibility that members of the Royal Family may have some ancestry from the local Greek population in Syria.-Background:...
(modern
HomsHims Hims Hims is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Hims Governorate. It is above sea level and is located north of Damascus...
,
SyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest....
). The Royal Family was apart of the local Syrian Aramaean aristocracy and was a client kingdom of the
Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
. The beginning of his priesthood is unknown but by 187, he was a
high priestThe term "high priest" may refer to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or may refer to the head of a religious caste.* In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many gods revered by the Egyptians....
at Emesa.
Future emperor Lucius
Septimius SeverusLucius Septimius Severus was a Roman Emperor who reigned from 14 April, 193 until his death in 211. Severus was the first emperor of the troubled Severan dynasty, the last imperial dynasty of the Roman principate before the Crisis of the Third Century...
had visited Emesa, based on a promising horoscope that he would find his future wife in Syria. Bassianus introduced Severus to his two daughters. Bassianus' wife is unknown. His elder daughter
Julia MaesaJulia Maesa was a Roman citizen
[Shahid, Irfan . Rome and The Arabs: A Prolegomenon to the Study of Byzantium and the Arabs]
was married to a Syrian noble Julius AvitusJulius Avitus or his full name Gaius Julius Avitus Alexianus, was a Syrian noble that lived in the 2nd century and 3rd century. He originally came from Emesa . Avitus was originally, a Roman knight who became a man of consular rank...
and they had two daughters Julia SoaemiasJulia Soaemias Bassiana was the mother of Roman Emperor Elagabalus and ruled over the Roman Empire during the minority of her son's rule....
and Julia Avita MamaeaJulia Avita Mamaea was the second daughter of Julia Maesa, a powerful Roman woman of Syrian Arab origin and Syrian noble Julius Avitus. She was a niece of empress Julia Domna and emperor Septimius Severus and sister of Julia Soaemias...
. His younger daughter Julia DomnaJulia Domna was a member of the Severan dynasty of the Roman Empire. Empress and wife of Roman Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus and mother of Emperors Geta and Caracalla, Julia was among the most important women ever to exercise power behind the throne in the Roman Empire.- Family background...
was not married.
Severus and Domna, married not so long after. Domna bore Severus two sons, Lucius Septimius Bassianus (CaracallaCaracalla , born Lucius Septimius Bassianus and later called Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and Marcus Aurelius Severus Antoninus, was the eldest son of Septimius Severus and Roman Emperor from 211 to 217. He was one of the most nefarious of Roman emperors...
, 4 April 186-8 April 217) and Publius Septimius GetaPublius Septimius Geta , was a Roman Emperor co-ruling with his father Septimius Severus and his older brother Caracalla from 209 to his death.-Early life:...
(27 May 189-19 December 211). Caracalla and Geta would became future Roman Emperors and heirs to their father.
Julia Maesa prevailed upon her grandson, the emperor ElagabalusElagabalus , also known as Heliogabalus or Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, was a Roman Emperor of the Severan dynasty who reigned from 218 to 222...
to adopt another grandson, Julia Avita Mamaea son, who took the name Alexander SeverusMarcus Aurelius Severus Alexander , commonly called Alexander Severus, was the last Roman emperor of the Severan dynasty...
and eventually became emperor.
Bassianus could be a possible descendant of Princess Drusilla of MauretaniaDrusilla of Mauretania was a princess of Mauretania, the daughter and only child of king Ptolemy of Mauretania and queen Julia Urania.-Life:...
and possible ancestor to Syrian Queen ZenobiaZenobia was a 3rd century Syrian queen of the Palmyrene Empire. After her father's death, before becoming the second wife of King Septimius Odaenathus...
of PalmyraPalmyra was in ancient times an important city of central Syria, located in an oasis 215 km northeast of Damascus and 120 km southwest of the Euphrates. It has long been a vital caravan city for travellers crossing the Syrian desert and was known as the Bride of the Desert...
.
Sources
- http://www.geocities.com/christopherjbennett/ptolemies/selene_ii.htm#Selene.10
- http://www.livius.org/jo-jz/julia/julia_maesa.html
- http://www.roman-emperors.org/sevjulia.htm
- http://www.livius.org/ei-er/emperors/emperors03.html
- http://www.roman-emperors.org/sepsev.htm