Seia Herennia Sallustia Barbia Orbiana Augusta (fl.

Floruit

Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...

 220s), also known as Barbia Orbiana, was an Augusta

Augusta (honorific)

Augusta was the imperial honorific title of empresses. It was given to the women of the Roman and Byzantine imperial families. In the third century, Augustae could also receive the titles of Mater castrorum and Mater Patriae .The title implied the greatest prestige, with the Augustae able to...

of the Roman Empire

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

 and briefly the wife of Emperor

Roman Emperor

The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...

 Severus Alexander. She was known for her beauty, which was captured in multiple works of art. Following the execution of her father Seius Sallustius

Seius Sallustius

Lucius Seius Herennius Sallustius was a Roman usurper in 227. He was a son of Seius and wife Herennia Orbiana , and paternal grandson of Publius Seius Fuscianus....

, she was exiled to North Africa, after only two years as empress.

Augusta

Orbiana was born to influential Roman Senator Seius Sallustius

Seius Sallustius

Lucius Seius Herennius Sallustius was a Roman usurper in 227. He was a son of Seius and wife Herennia Orbiana , and paternal grandson of Publius Seius Fuscianus....

 in the early Third Century CE. In August 225, at about the age of 16 years, she wed Roman Emperor Severus Alexander in an arrangement organized by the emperor's mother, Julia Mamaea. After Orbiana was given the title of Augusta

Augusta (honorific)

Augusta was the imperial honorific title of empresses. It was given to the women of the Roman and Byzantine imperial families. In the third century, Augustae could also receive the titles of Mater castrorum and Mater Patriae .The title implied the greatest prestige, with the Augustae able to...

, Mamaea grew jealous, due to her desire for complete ownership of all feminine imperial titles, and the strong bond that developed between Orbiana and Severus. She treated Orbiana cruelly, forcing her to seek refuge with her father, Sallustius, who is believed to had been appointed as a Caesar

Caesar (title)

Caesar is a title of imperial character. It derives from the cognomen of Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator...

. Sallustius consulted with 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...

 for protection of Orbiana, but the act was determined to be treasonous. In August 227, Sallustius was executed, and Orbiana was stripped of her title, divorced and exiled to the province of Libya

Libya

Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

 in North Africa. Severus Alexander had the power to intervene, but chose not to. He and his mother later died during the usurpation by Maximinus Thrax

Maximinus Thrax

Maximinus Thrax , also known as Maximinus I, was Roman Emperor from 235 to 238.Maximinus is described by several ancient sources, though none are contemporary except Herodian's Roman History. Maximinus was the first emperor never to set foot in Rome...

 in 235, ending the Severan dynasty

Severan dynasty

The Severan dynasty was a Roman imperial dynasty, which ruled the Roman Empire between 193 and 235. The dynasty was founded by the Roman general Septimius Severus, who rose to power during the civil war of 193, known as the Year of the Five Emperors....

.

Depictions

A notable statue of Orbiana, represented as Venus

Venus (mythology)

Venus is a Roman goddess principally associated with love, beauty, sex,sexual seduction and fertility, who played a key role in many Roman religious festivals and myths...

 Felix, was unearthed near the church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme

Santa Croce in Gerusalemme

The Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem is a Roman Catholic parish church and minor basilica in Rome, Italy. It is one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome....

. The marble, now in the Cortile Belvedere of the Vatican Museums

Vatican Museums

The Vatican Museums , in Viale Vaticano in Rome, inside the Vatican City, are among the greatest museums in the world, since they display works from the immense collection built up by the Roman Catholic Church throughout the centuries, including some of the most renowned classical sculptures and...

, was dedicated the empress by her liberti, Helpidius and Sallustia. Besides a limited emission of coinage in bronze and silver, several Roman gold coins were minted with Orbiana's visage, including a coin which sold for £26.00 in 1897. She was the only wife of Severus to be featured on coins.

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