Severus Alexander himself came on the heels of a much worse teenage Emperor, Elagabalus. Severus Alexander, at least, was not particularly cruel or impulsive, just a bit of a momma’s boy!

It was a time of breakdown of long-established norms, as Roman law ordinarily mandated fairly high minimum ages for holding office. But as the Emperor’s power became more and more absolute, it became… increasingly difficult to apply law to officeholders for the Imperial position… or candidates.