Julia Domna, the wife and chief advisor to Septimius Severus, navigated within a patriarchal system that officially denied her absolute power, yet she skillfully asserted her influence. Diverging from her predecessors, Julia Domna actively accompanied her husband on military campaigns and earned the title of the Lady of the Camp. Revered by the troops, she provided astute military counsel. She bore two sons, Geta and Caracalla, who later became co-emperors following Septimius' death in 211. Tragically, Geta was assassinated by agents of his brother, and Julia Domna continued to serve as Caracalla's advisor until his own assassination in 217.

Upon the ascent of the new emperor, Macrinus, Julia Domna found herself unable to relinquish control. Rather than submit to the new rule, she chose to end her own life through self-imposed starvation.