Elagabalus information

Regnal name
	Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus

Elagabalus
Elagabalus
	Bust, Capitoline Museums
Roman emperor
Reign	16 May 218 – 11 March 222
Predecessor	Macrinus
Successor	Severus Alexander
Born	Sextus Varius Avitus Bassianus; c. 204; Emesa, Syria or Rome, Italy
Died	11/12 March 222 (aged 18); Rome, Italy
Burial	Corpse thrown into the Tiber
Spouses	Julia Cornelia Paula; Aquilia Severa; Annia Aurelia Faustina; Hierocles;
Issue	Severus Alexander (adoptive)
Regnal name
Regnal name
	Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus
Dynasty	Severan
Father	Sextus Varius Marcellus
Mother	Julia Soaemias Bassiana

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Sextus Varius Avitus Bassianus, c. 204 – 11/12 March 222), better known by his nicknames Elagabalus (/ˌɛləˈɡæbələs/, EL-ə-GAB-ə-ləs) and Heliogabalus (/ˌhiːliə-, -lioʊ-/ HEE-lee-ə-, -⁠lee-oh-^[3]), was Roman emperor from 218 to 222, while he was still a teenager. His short reign was notorious for sex scandals and religious controversy. A close relative to the Severan dynasty, he came from a prominent Arab family in Emesa (Homs), Syria, where since his early youth he served as head priest of the sun god Elagabal. After the death of his cousin, the emperor Caracalla, Elagabalus was raised to the principate at 14 years of age in an army revolt instigated by his grandmother Julia Maesa against Caracalla's short-lived successor, Macrinus. He only posthumously became known by the Latinised name of his god.^[a]

Later historians suggest Elagabalus showed a disregard for Roman religious traditions and sexual taboos. He replaced the traditional head of the Roman pantheon, Jupiter, with the deity Elagabal, of whom he had been high priest. He forced leading members of Rome's government to participate in religious rites celebrating this deity, presiding over them in person. He married four women, including a Vestal Virgin, in addition to lavishing favours on male courtiers thought to have been his lovers.^[5]^[6] He was also reported to have prostituted himself.^[7] His behavior estranged the Praetorian Guard, the Senate and the common people alike. Amidst growing opposition, at just 18 years of age he was assassinated and replaced by his cousin Severus Alexander in March 222. The assassination plot against Elagabalus was devised by Julia Maesa and carried out by disaffected members of the Praetorian Guard.

Elagabalus developed a reputation among his contemporaries for extreme eccentricity, decadence, zealotry and sexual promiscuity. This tradition has persisted; among writers of the early modern age he endured one of the worst reputations among Roman emperors. Edward Gibbon, notably, wrote that Elagabalus "abandoned himself to the grossest pleasures with ungoverned fury".^[8] According to Barthold Georg Niebuhr, "“the name of Elagabalus is branded in history above all others; [...] "Elagabus had nothing at all to make up for his vices, which are of such a kind that it is too disgusting even to allude to them."^[9] An example of a modern historian's assessment is Adrian Goldsworthy's: "Elagabalus was not a tyrant, but he was an incompetent, probably the least able emperor Rome had ever had."^[10] Despite near-universal condemnation of his reign, some scholars write warmly about his religious innovations, including the 6th-century Byzantine chronicler John Malalas, as well as Warwick Ball, a modern historian who described him as "a tragic enigma lost behind centuries of prejudice".^[11]

^ de Arrizabalaga y Prado 2010, p. 231.
^ Arrizabalaga 2010, p. 27.
^ "Heliogabalus". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
^ "The Chronography of 354 AD. Part 16: Chronicle of the City of Rome". tertullian.org (in Latin and English). Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
^ Scott 2018, pp. 129–130, 135–137.
^ Zanghellini 2015, p. 59.
^ Campanile, Carlà-Uhink & Facella 2017, p. 113.
^ Gibbon, Edward. Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Chapter VI.
^ Niebuhr, Barthold Georg (1844). The History of Rome: From the First Punic War to the Death of Constantine. Vol. 2. S. Bentley. p. 306.
^ Goldsworthy 2009, p. 81.
^ Ball 2016, p. 464.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

[FOOTNOTEde_Arrizabalaga_y_Prado2010231-1] Arrizabalaga y Prado 2010, p. 231.

[FOOTNOTEArrizabalaga201027-2] Arrizabalaga 2010, p. 27.

[3] "Heliogabalus". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins. Retrieved 6 November 2019.

[4] "The Chronography of 354 AD. Part 16: Chronicle of the City of Rome". tertullian.org (in Latin and English). Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.

[FOOTNOTEScott2018129–130,_135–137-6] Scott 2018, pp. 129–130, 135–137.

[FOOTNOTEZanghellini2015[httpsbooksgooglecombooksidB1ChCAAAQBAJpgPT59_59]-7] Zanghellini 2015, p. 59.

[FOOTNOTECampanileCarlà-UhinkFacella2017[httpsbooksgooglecombooksid39ENDgAAQBAJpgPT113_113]-8] Campanile, Carlà-Uhink & Facella 2017, p. 113.

[Gibbon-9] Gibbon, Edward. Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Chapter VI.

[Niebuhr1844-10] Niebuhr, Barthold Georg (1844). The History of Rome: From the First Punic War to the Death of Constantine. Vol. 2. S. Bentley. p. 306.

[FOOTNOTEGoldsworthy200981-11] Goldsworthy 2009, p. 81.

[FOOTNOTEBall2016464-12] Ball 2016, p. 464.

Elagabalus information

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