Looking for details regarding the death of Alexander Severus

[Erik Andrus]

So, Emperor Alexander Severus was murdered by his own troops in 235. The army was apparently not too happy with the emperor's decision to pay off the germanic tribes and keep the peace. Does anyone have additional information on this pivotal event that paved the way to the subsequent half-century of chaos? Who did the deed, where, why (though we think we know, partially), when (more precisely) and how? Or perhaps someone can steer me to a good source? Thanks!

[Erik Andrus]

So far I've found some gory details from Herodian:

 

http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/herodian_06_book6.htm

 

Is this the definitive account of the event, does anyone know?

[Gaius Paulinus Maximus]

So far I've found some gory details from Herodian:

 

http://www.tertullia...an_06_book6.htm

 

Is this the definitive account of the event, does anyone know?

 

 

The literary sources, while numerous, are limited in value. Chief among them, at least in scope, is the biography in the Historia Augusta, much the longest of all the lives in this peculiar collection. Though purporting to be the work of six authors in the early fourth century, it is now generally considered to have been produced by one author writing in the last years of this century. Spacious in its treatment of the emperor and extremely favorable to him on the whole, it has little historical merit, seeming rather an extended work of fiction. It must be used with the utmost caution.

 

 

[Erik Andrus]

 

The literary sources, while numerous, are limited in value. Chief among them, at least in scope, is the biography in the Historia Augusta, much the longest of all the lives in this peculiar collection. Though purporting to be the work of six authors in the early fourth century, it is now generally considered to have been produced by one author writing in the last years of this century. Spacious in its treatment of the emperor and extremely favorable to him on the whole, it has little historical merit, seeming rather an extended work of fiction. It must be used with the utmost caution.

 

Thank you. I will have a read.

 

Do you find Herodian to be a credible source?

 

Also, how would I learn more about the makeup of the Roman army on the Rhine at the time of this incident?

 

Herodian makes it read like a classic military coup, with the typical effort to contain and marginalize the civilian government in the aftermath of the assassination.

[Gaius Paulinus Maximus]

Thank you. I will have a read.

 

Do you find Herodian to be a credible source?

 

Also, how would I learn more about the makeup of the Roman army on the Rhine at the time of this incident?

 

Herodian makes it read like a classic military coup, with the typical effort to contain and marginalize the civilian government in the aftermath of the assassination.

 

As far as I am aware. of the very few historians that mention Severus Alexander, Herodian is probably the most credible and by far the most extensive source on the reign of Severus Alexander.

 

Here's a brief history of the two legions that played a role in the death of Severus. Legio II Parthica and Legio XXII Primigenia

 

Hope this helps.