Emperor Alexander Severus

Name: Emperor Alexander Severus
Price: 54.99 AUD
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ISBN: 9781036151362

Rome's Age of Insurrection, AD222-235

John S McHugh

$54.99

Paperback

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English

Pen and Sword
01 February 2026

History; Ancient history: to c 500 CE

Alexander Severus' is full of controversy and contradictions. He came to the throne through the brutal murder of his cousin, Elagabalus, and was ultimately assassinated himself. The years between were filled with regular uprisings and rebellions, court intrigue (the Praetorian Guard slew their commander at the Emperor's feet) and foreign invasion. Yet the ancient sources generally present his reign as a golden age of just government, prosperity and religious tolerance.

Not yet fourteen when he became emperor, Alexander was dominated by his mother, Julia Mammaea and advisors like the historian, Cassius Dio. In the military field, he successfully checked the aggressive Sassanid Persians but some sources see his Persian campaign as a costly failure marked by mutiny and reverses that weakened the army. When Germanic and Sarmatian tribes crossed the Rhine and Danube frontiers in 234, Alexander took the field against them but when he attempted to negotiate to buy time, his soldiers perceived him as weak, assassinated him and replaced him with the soldier Maximinus Thrax. John McHugh re-assesses this fascinating emperor in detail.

AUTHOR: John S McHugh has a BA and MA in Ancient History. His love of the ancient world has led him to travel to many classical sites. Before his recent (early) retirement he was Assistant Headmaster at a secondary school in Bolton. He is the co-author of a text book on Bolton's connections with the slave trade and assisted Bolton Museum with a project to record the oral history of the local populace with the aim of promoting understanding between people of different generations or ethnic and social backgrounds. He is the author of The Emperor Commodus: God and Gladiator; Emperor Alexander Severus: Rome's Age of Insurrection, AD 222-235; and Sejanus, Regent of Rome, which were also published by Pen & Sword Books.

By: John S McHugh
Imprint: Pen and Sword
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9781036151362
ISBN 10: 1036151360
Pages: 352
Publication Date: 01 February 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Unspecified

JOHN S MCHUGH has a BA and MA in Ancient History. His love of the ancient world has led him to travel to many classical sites. Before his recent (early) retirement he was Assistant Headmaster at a secondary school in Bolton. He is the co-author of a text book on Bolton’s connections with the slave trade and assisted Bolton Museum with a project to record the oral history of the local populace with the aim of promoting understanding between people of different generations or ethnic and social backgrounds. He is the author of _The Emperor Commodus: God and Gladiator_; _Emperor Alexander Severus: Rome's Age of Insurrection, AD 222-235_; and _Sejanus, Regent of Rome_, which were also published by Pen & Sword Books.

Reviews for Emperor Alexander Severus: Rome's Age of Insurrection, AD222-235

""British academic McHugh, who has written on the Emperor Commodus and other subjects, does a masterful job in giving us this life of Alexander Severus set within his unstable times which presaged even more instability... This is a rich work, and valuable for anyone with an interest in the Roman Empire.""-- ""The NYMAS Review, Winter 2018""