Ulpia Severina, the only Roman Empress ruling in her own right

Ulpia Severina was the only Empress ruling the Roman Empire in her own right. She was the wife of Roman emperor Aurelian, by whom she had a daughter. Very little is known about her, as there are no literary sources mentioning her existence. Almost everything known about her, including her name, is gathered from coins and inscriptions.^[1]

Aurelian married Severina before becoming emperor. According to coinage depicting her, Severina gained the title Augusta in the autumn of 274 A.D. She also received the titles of Pia ("pious") ^[1] and mater castrorum et senatus et patriae^[2] ("mother of the barracks (armies), senate, and country").

It is presumed that she was a daughter of Ulpius Crinitus,^[3] although this is based on the unreliable Historia Augusta and thus, is purely speculative.^[1] Some scholars believe that she was from Dacia, where the nomen Ulpius was common due to the influence of Trajan.^[1] According to Historia Augusta, Aurelian regularly presented Ulpia sigillaria by the end of Saturnalia, according to tradition.

There is considerable numismatic evidence for Severina ruling in her own right between the death of Aurelian and the election of Marcus Claudius Tacitus.^[1]

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