Editing Severus Alexander (section)

===Domestic achievements===
Under the influence of his mother, Alexander did much to improve the morals and condition of the people, and to enhance the dignity of the state.{{sfn|Benario|2023}} He employed noted [[jurist]]s, such as [[Ulpian]],<ref name="Alexander Severus">{{cite web |title=Alexander Severus |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Alexander_Severus/ |website=[[World History Encyclopedia]] |access-date=28 January 2021}}</ref> to oversee the administration of justice.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/80*.html#noteA|title = Cassius Dio – Epitome of Book 80}}</ref> His advisers were men like the [[Roman Senate|senator]] and historian [[Cassius Dio]], and historical sources claimed that with the help of his family, he created a select board of 16 senators,{{sfn|Southern|2001|p=60}} although this claim is sometimes disputed.<ref>{{cite book|last=de Blois|first=Lukas|editor-last=Kolb|editor-first=Anne|title=Herrschaftsstrukturen und Herrschaftspraxis. Konzepte, Prinzipien und Strategien der Administration im römischen Kaiserreich|publisher= Akademie Verlag|date=2006|pages=45–52|chapter=Administrative Strategies of the Emperor Severus Alexander and his Advisers}}</ref> Some scholars have rejected [[Herodian]]'s view that Alexander expanded senatorial powers.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Davenport|first=Caillan|date=2011|title=Iterated Consulships and the Government of Severus Alexander.|journal=Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik|volume=177|pages=282|jstor=41291183}}</ref> He also created a municipal council of 14 who assisted the [[urban prefect]] in administering the affairs of the 14 districts of Rome.<ref>[[Historia Augusta]], ''Life of Severus Alexander'', 33:1</ref> Excessive luxury and extravagance at the imperial court were diminished,<ref>[[Historia Augusta]], ''Life of Severus Alexander'', 15:1</ref> and he restored the [[Baths of Nero]] in 227 or 229; consequently, they are sometimes also known as the Baths of Alexander after him. He extended the imperial residence at the [[Horti Lamiani]] on the [[Esquiline Hill]] with elaborate buildings, and created the Nymphaeum of Alexander (known as the Trophies of Marius), which still stands in the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele. This was the great fountain he built at the end of the [[Aqua Claudia]] aqueduct.

Upon his accession he reduced the silver purity of the [[denarius]] from 46.5% to 43%{{snd}}the actual silver weight dropped from 1.41&nbsp;grams to 1.30&nbsp;grams; however, in 229 he revalued the denarius, increasing the silver purity and weight to 45% and 1.46&nbsp;grams. The following year he decreased the amount of base metal in the denarius while adding more silver, raising the silver purity and weight again to 50.5% and 1.50&nbsp;grams.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.tulane.edu/~august/handouts/601cprin.htm |title=Tulane University 'Roman Currency of the Principate'|access-date=2011-03-18 |archive-date=2008-11-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081101003844/http://www.tulane.edu/~august/handouts/601cprin.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> Additionally, during his reign taxes were lightened; literature, art and science were encouraged;<ref>[[Historia Augusta]], ''Life of Severus Alexander'', 21:6</ref> and, for the convenience of the people, loan offices were instituted for lending money at a moderate rate of interest.<ref>[[Historia Augusta]], ''Life of Severus Alexander'', 21:2</ref>

In religious matters, Alexander preserved an open mind. According to the ''Historia Augusta'', he wished to erect a temple to [[Jesus]] but was dissuaded by the [[Paganism|pagan]] priests; however, this claim is unreliable as the ''Historia Augusta'' is considered untrustworthy by historians, containing significant amounts of information that is false and even invented, extending to when it was written and the number of authors it was written by.<ref>[[Historia Augusta]], ''Life of Severus Alexander'', 43:6–7</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.livius.org/sources/content/historia-augusta/ |title=Historia Augusta – Livius |last= |first= |date=October 10, 2020 |website=[[Livius.org]] |publisher= |access-date=April 28, 2021 |quote=}}</ref> He allowed a [[synagogue]] to be built in Rome, and he gave as a gift to this synagogue a scroll of the [[Torah]] known as the [[Severus Scroll]].<ref name=jew/>

In legal matters, Alexander did much to aid the rights of his soldiers. He confirmed that soldiers could name anyone as heirs in their [[Will and testament|will]], whereas civilians had strict restrictions over who could become heirs or receive a legacy.{{sfn|Campbell|1984|p=221}} He also confirmed that soldiers could free their slaves in their wills,{{sfn|Campbell|1984|p=224}} protected the rights of soldiers to their property when they were on campaign,{{sfn|Campbell|1984|p=239}} and reasserted that a soldier's property acquired in or because of military service (his ''castrense peculium'') could be claimed by no one else, not even the soldier's father.{{sfn|Campbell|1984|p=234}}