Elagabalus or Heliogabalus (c. 203–March 11, 222), born Varius Avitus Bassus and also known as Varius Avitus Bassianus Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, was a Roman emperor of the Severan dynasty who reigned from 218 to 222. Elagabalus was and is one of the most controversial Roman emperors. During his reign he showed a disregard for Roman religious traditions and sexual taboos. Elagabalus' name is a Latinized form of the Semitic deity El-Gabal, a manifestation of the Semitic deity Ēl. He replaced Jupiter, head of the ...

Including:

• Elagabalus - Family
• Elagabalus - Rise to power
• Elagabalus - Imperial power
• Elagabalus - Religious controversy
• Elagabalus - Sex/gender controversy
• Elagabalus - Fall from power
• Elagabalus - After death
• Elagabalus - Biased historical sources
• Elagabalus - Cultural influence
• Elagabalus - Note

Read more here: » Elagabalus: Encyclopedia - Elagabalus

Elagabalus was the son of Sextus Varius Marcellus and Julia Soaemias Bassiana. His father was initially a member of the equites class but was later elevated to the rank of senator. His grandmother Julia Maesa was the widow of the Consul Julius Avitus, the sister of Julia Domna, and the wife of Emperor Septimius Severus. Julia Soaemias was a cousin of Caracalla. Other relatives included his aunt Julia Avita Mamaea and uncle Gessius Marcianus and their son Severus Alexander. Elagabalus' family held hereditary rights to the priesthood of the sun god El-Gabal, of whom Elagabalus was the high pr ...

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Elagabalus, Elagabalus - Family, Elagabalus - Rise to power, Elagabalus - Imperial power, Elagabalus - Religious controversy, Elagabalus - Sex/gender controversy, Elagabalus - Fall from power, Elagabalus - After death, Elagabalus - Biased historical sources, Elagabalus - Cultural influence, Elagabalus - Note

Read more here: » Elagabalus: Encyclopedia II - Elagabalus - Family

Elagabalus and his entourage spent the winter of 218 in Bithynia at Nicomedia. It was at Nicomedia that Elagabalus' religious beliefs first manifested as a problem. The local Roman citizens were disturbed by his practices and Gannys was killed while trying to suppress the ensuing riots. To help Romans adjust to the idea of having an oriental priest as emperor, Julia Maesa had a painting of Elagabalus in priestly robes sent to Rome and hung over a statue of the goddess Victoria in the Senate House. This placed Senators in the awkward position of having to make offerings to Elagaba ...

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Elagabalus, Elagabalus - Family, Elagabalus - Rise to power, Elagabalus - Imperial power, Elagabalus - Religious controversy, Elagabalus - Sex/gender controversy, Elagabalus - Fall from power, Elagabalus - After death, Elagabalus - Biased historical sources, Elagabalus - Cultural influence, Elagabalus - Note

Read more here: » Elagabalus: Encyclopedia II - Elagabalus - Imperial power

When the Emperor Macrinus came to power he exiled Julia Maesa, her two daughters, and her eldest grandson, Elagabalus, to her estate at Emesa in Syria. She began a plot, with her eunuch advisor and Elagabalus' tutor Gannys, to overthrow Macrinus almost upon arrival in Syria. She decided to elevate the fourteen year old Elagabalus as emperor. Elagabalus and his mother readily complied and announced, falsely, that he was the illegitimate son of Caracalla. After Julia Maesa displayed her wealth to the III Gallica at Raphaneae they swore ...

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Elagabalus, Elagabalus - Family, Elagabalus - Rise to power, Elagabalus - Imperial power, Elagabalus - Religious controversy, Elagabalus - Sex/gender controversy, Elagabalus - Fall from power, Elagabalus - After death, Elagabalus - Biased historical sources, Elagabalus - Cultural influence, Elagabalus - Note

Read more here: » Elagabalus: Encyclopedia II - Elagabalus - Rise to power

Elagabalus - Biased historical sources. After his death, Elagabalus' religious edicts were reversed and El-Gabal was returned to Emesa. Women were barred from ever attending meetings of the Senate, and a policy of damnatio memoriae — condemning a person by erasing him or her from recorded existence — was instituted. A black propaganda campaign against Elagabalus, traditionally attributed to Julia Avitus Mamaea, was also instituted. Many denigrating and false stories were circulated about him, and his e ...

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Elagabalus, Elagabalus - Family, Elagabalus - Rise to power, Elagabalus - Imperial power, Elagabalus - Religious controversy, Elagabalus - Sex/gender controversy, Elagabalus - Fall from power, Elagabalus - After death, Elagabalus - Biased historical sources, Elagabalus - Cultural influence, Elagabalus - Note

Read more here: » Elagabalus: Encyclopedia II - Elagabalus - After death