Julia Domna, Julia Maesa, Julia Soaemias, and Julia Mammaea were empresses of the so-called Severan Dynasty who guided Rome through its last good days before the plague, civil war, barbarian attacks, and famine of the third-century crisis. Julia Domna was the wife of ruler Serevus and was considered an intellect in her time. Her influence became more prominent after her husband's death, during her son's reign.

While Julia Domna spent much of her husband's reign in political eclipse, her influence was felt again during her son's regime. Her sister Julia Maesa revived the Severan dynasty by taking the ruthless actions necessary to place first one grandson and then another on the throne. Her actions staved off the type of civil war that would nearly destroy Rome a generation later, brought Roman jurisprudence to its height, and completed the integration of the eastern and western parts of the Mediterranean...