Julia Cornelia Paula or Julia Paula was a distinguished Roman noblewoman who lived in the 3rd century. Paula was a member of the gens Cornelia of ancient Rome. She was a Syrian woman of Roman descent and her family was a distinguished family from Syria

Syria

Syria , 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....

. Paula’s father, Julius Cornelius Paulus was a prefect of the Praetorian Guard

Praetorian Guard

The Praetorian Guard was a force of bodyguards used by Roman Emperors. The title was already used during the Roman Republic for the guards of Roman generals, at least since the rise to prominence of the Scipio family around 275 BC...

 in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

; however, his ancestry is not known. Paula was well educated and was a charming person.

In 219, Julia Maesa

Julia Maesa

Julia Maesa was a Roman citizen and daughter of Julius Bassianus, priest of the sun god Heliogabalus, the patron god of Emesa in the Roman province of Syria...

 (eldest sister of Roman Empress Julia Domna

Julia Domna

Julia 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...

), had arranged for Julia Cornelia Paula to marry her grandson, Rome’s new emperor Elagabalus

Elagabalus

Elagabalus , also known as Heliogabalus, was Roman Emperor from 218 to 222. A member of the Severan Dynasty, he was Syrian on his mother's side, the son of Julia Soaemias and Sextus Varius Marcellus. Early in his youth he served as a priest of the god El-Gabal at his hometown, Emesa...

. Their wedding ceremony was a lavish ceremony that occurred in Rome. Paula became a Roman empress, as Elagabalus’ first wife and was given the honorific title of Augusta.

In early 220, Elagabalus ended his marriage to Paula. They had no children.
Elagabalus divorced Paula to marry the Vestal Virgin

Vestal Virgin

In ancient Roman religion, the Vestals or Vestal Virgins , were priestesses of Vesta, goddess of the hearth. The College of the Vestals and its well-being was regarded as fundamental to the continuance and security of Rome, as embodied by their cultivation of the sacred fire that could not be...

 Julia Aquilia Severa

Aquilia Severa

Iulia Aquilia Severa was the second and fourth wife of Emperor Elagabalus. She was the daughter of Quintus Aquilius, twice consul under Caracalla. The praenomen of Julia was given to her after becoming an empress.Severa was a Vestal Virgin...

. His marriage to Severa was considered as scandalous because she was still a Vestal. Apart from falling in love with Severa, Elagabalus married Severa as apart of the religious process of worshipping the Syrian Sun God El-Gabal and integrating El-Gabal into Roman religion.

After the divorce, Elagabalus removed Paula's Augusta title. She withdrew from public life and her fate afterwards is unknown.

Sources

• German version of Wikipedia
• http://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Julia%20Paula
• http://www.roman-empire.net/decline/elagabalus.html
• http://www.roman-emperors.org/elagabal.htm
• http://www.livius.org/he-hg/heliogabalus/heliogabalus2.html
• http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/2474.html

External links

Her bust can be seen at http://sights.seindal.dk/sight/864_Julia_Paula.html