<i>Civiles Principes</i> and Persian Despots: Alexander Severus’ Admission Ritual in the <i>Historia Augusta</i>

Abstract This article argues that the Historia Augusta retrojected fourth-century rituals of the imperial court into its presentation of the reign of Severus Alexander in order to criticise the “oriental” and un-Roman practices of the contemporary emperors of the fourth century. The Historia Augusta ’s two descriptions of Alexander Severus’ admission ritual ( salutatio ) are suffused with fourth-century ritual elements which have no place in the early third century. A simplistic reading might interpret these anachronisms as evidence of the HA ’s sloppiness and incompetence. However, I argue instead that they are conscious and deliberate. These two descriptions highlight a contrast between the adoratio of the fourth century and the restrained and moderate civilitas of the traditional princeps , and the descriptions also innovatively present the adoratio as Persian. This article thus demonstrates the contemporary political argument of the Historia Augusta , which sought to contribute to wider intellectual debates about the ideal emperor and the importance of civilitas in the fourth century.