Didia Clara was a daughter and the only recorded child of the
Roman emperor Didius Julianus
Marcus Didius Julianus (; 29 January 133 – 2 June 193) was Roman emperor from March to June 193, during the Year of the Five Emperors. Julianus had a promising political career, governing several provinces, including Dalmatia (Roman province) ...
and empress
Manlia Scantilla. She was born and raised in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
. Little is known about her personality or life.
After Didius Julianus purchased the throne of the Roman Empire at an auction held by the praetorian guardsmen early in 193, he was accorded the title of Augustus by the Senate. Clara and her mother both received the title of
Augusta. The author of the ''
Historia Augusta
The ''Historia Augusta'' (English: ''Augustan History'') is a late Roman collection of biographies, written in Latin, of the Roman emperors, their junior colleagues, Caesar (title), designated heirs and Roman usurper, usurpers from 117 to 284. S ...
'' reports the two women received the honors "with both trepidation and reluctance as if they already foresaw catastrophe"; however,
Herodian
Herodian or Herodianus () of Syria, sometimes referred to as "Herodian of Antioch" (c. 170 – c. 240), was a minor Roman civil servant who wrote a colourful history in Greek titled ''History of the Empire from the Death of Marcus'' (τῆς με ...
claims they were primary instigators of his bid to power.
During the brief reign of
Pertinax
Publius Helvius Pertinax ( ; 1 August 126 – 28 March 193) was Roman emperor for the first three months of 193. He succeeded Commodus to become the first emperor during the tumultuous Year of the Five Emperors.
Born to the son of a freed sl ...
, she married
Cornelius Repentinus
Cornelius Repentinus was a Roman Senator who was active in the 2nd century AD. He held a number of positions during the reigns of emperors Marcus Aurelius, Commodus and Didius Julianus, which included suffect consul and Urban prefect of Rome.
Rep ...
, who served as
prefect of Rome
The ''praefectus urbanus'', also called ''praefectus urbi'' or urban prefect in English, was prefect of the city of Rome, and later also of Constantinople. The office originated under the Roman kings, continued during the Republic and Empire, and ...
during the brief period that her father reigned, starting 28 March 193. When her father died on 1 June 193, the new emperor
Septimius Severus
Lucius Septimius Severus (; ; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through cursus honorum, the ...
removed her title.
[''Historia Augusta'', "Didius Julianus"]
8.9
/ref> Within a month, her mother died. Didia Clara survived her parents; however her fate afterwards is unknown.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Didia Clara
Year of birth unknown
2nd-century deaths
2nd-century Roman women
Clara
Clara may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Clara'' (2018 film), a Canadian sci-fi drama
* ''Clara'' (2019 film), a Ukrainian animated fantasy film
* ''Clara'' (TV series), a German TV series
* Clara the Cow, mascot of the Greek TV show '' P ...
Augustae
Daughters of Roman emperors
Year of death unknown