Julia Urania
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| Julia Urania | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| Title | Queen of Mauretania |
| 👩 Spouse(s) | Ptolemy of Mauretania |
| 👶 Children | Drusilla of Mauretania the Younger |
Julia Urania (fl. 1st century AD) was Queen of Mauretania by marriage to the Berber King Ptolemy of Mauretania.[1]
Life[edit]
Urania became Queen of Mauretania through her marriage to Ptolemy. She married Ptolemy at an unknown date in the 1st century and bore him a daughter, Drusilla, in 38.[2]
Julia Bodina[edit]
Urania is only known through a funeral inscription of her freedwoman Julia Bodina found at Cherchell, in modern-day Algeria.[3] Cherchell was then known as Caesaria, the capital of the Berber client kingdom of Mauretania in the Roman Empire. In Bodina's funeral inscription, the freedwoman calls her former mistress Queen Julia Urania. She was ascribed Queen as a local courtesy or probably a posthumous honor as a dedication to the memory of the former ruling monarch. The inscription reveals that Bodina was a loyal former slave to Urania, and she appears to have taken the gentilicium of her former mistress.[citation needed]
Origins[edit]
Modern historians have developed two theories about the origins and status of Julia Urania. She may have been a mistress from the lower class, as Urania was a nickname sometimes given to a favorite mistress in a harem. The nickname is derived from the eponymous Muse.[3] She may have been a member of the royal court in Mauretania.[citation needed]
The other theory is that Urania may have been an Arabian princess from the Royal family of Emesa. Emesa was at that time a leading kingdom in the Roman East.[citation needed]
Name[edit]
Urania is an ancient Greek word meaning 'Heavenly', 'Sky' or 'Universe 'and is an ancient and modern Greek name. The name Urania is of Emesene origin.[3] Two other Emesene priest kings shared the name Uranius, the male variant of Urania: Uranius Antoninus, who reigned from 210 until 235, and Lucius Julius Aurelius Sulpicius Severus Uranius Antoninus, who reigned from 235 until 254.
Julia wasn't the only queen to have the name Urania. The Parthian queen and wife of Phraates IV of Parthia had the name Thea Urania (Astarte).[3]
References[edit]
- ↑ Ptolemaic Genealogy: Cleopatra Selene Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Cleopatra’s Children and Descendants: credited by Karl Leon Ciccone at Ancient History by Suite101
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Ptolemaic Genealogy: Cleopatra Selene, Footnote 10 Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
Sources[edit]
- Royal Egyptian Genealogy, Ptolemaic Dynasty: Cleopatra Selene
- Cleopatra's Children and Descendants at Ancient History by Suite101
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