Diva Paulina in Rome and in the East

This paper reconsiders all the existing literary, epigraphic and numismatic evidence about Diva Caecilia Paulina, the wife of emperor Maximinus Thrax. Because this evidence is extremely poor and Paulina was almost entirely regarded by the ancient sources as a ‘Diva’, scholars have traditionally believed that she was already dead when Maximinus became emperor. However this assumption is almost entirely based on information gathered from Roman imperial sources. In fact the analysis of the very rare inscriptions and coins from the provinces suggests that Paulina may have been honoured as a still living Augusta in the East and that the traditional view about her cultural and social background can be challenged.