| Marcia Otacilia Severa | |||||||||
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| Augusta | |||||||||
 Possible bust of Otacilia Severa,Walters Art Museum,Baltimore. | |||||||||
| Empress of the Roman Empire | |||||||||
| Tenure | 244–249 | ||||||||
| Spouse | EmperorPhilippus I the Arab | ||||||||
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| Father | Otacilius Severus or Severianus | ||||||||
| Mother | Marcia | ||||||||
Marcia Otacilia Severa was theRoman empress and wife ofEmperorPhilip the Arab, who reigned over theRoman Empire from 244 to 249. She was the mother of co-emperorPhilip II.[1]
She was a member of the ancientgensOtacilia, of consular and senatorial rank. Her father was Otacilius Severus or Severianus, who served as Roman Governor ofMacedonia andMoesia, while her mother was either a member of or related to the gensMarcia. According to sources she had a brother called Severianus, who served as Roman Governor ofMoesia Inferior in 246–247.[2]
In 234 Severa married Philip, who was probably serving at the time in thePraetorian Guard under EmperorAlexander Severus. They had at least one child, Marcus Iulius Philippus Severus orPhilippus II (born in 238), who later became co-emperor with his father.[3]
In February 244, the emperorGordianus died inMesopotamia; it is suspected in the sources that he was murdered, and there is a possibility that Severa was involved in the conspiracy. Her husband Philip became the new emperor, giving Gordian a proper funeral and returning his ashes toRome for burial.[4] Philip gave Severa the honorific title ofAugusta and had their son made heir of the purple.
In August 249, Philip was killed nearVerona in battle againstDecius, who had been proclaimed Augustus by the Danubian armies. Severa was in Rome; when the news of her husband's death arrived, their son was murdered by thePraetorian Guard still in her arms. Severa survived her husband and son and lived later in obscurity.[citation needed]
Ramsay, William (1870)."Philippus II., M. Julius". InSmith, William (ed.).Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 3. p. 273.| Royal titles | ||
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| Preceded by | Empress of Rome 244–249 | Succeeded by |