Facts about Emperor Heliogabalus (Elagabalus)
Elagabal tried on the crown of the emperor of the Roman Empire at the age of fifteen. He ruled for only four years, but it was a very turbulent time. The young emperor was a native of Syria.
He gained power in 218 as a result of an uprising, which was raised by his mother and grandmother. Elagabal was the illegitimate son of the recently slain Emperor Caracalla. The young ruler immediately acquired a very scandalous reputation.
He stated that the Syrian sun god Elagabal is the supreme deity of Rome. He himself was the high priest of this cult. His subjects for ugly sexual orgies remembered the reign of this emperor.
Elagabal loved dressing up as a man, then as a woman, and even entered into relationships with animals. Among other things, the emperor allowed his mother to enter the halls of the senate, which were intended exclusively for men.
It seemed that Elagabal had gone over all the perversions and that he had nothing more to surprise the public with. The bottom was broken by a scandal when the ruler married a vestal. These were the priestesses who were supposed to observe chastity.
It was not only a violation of religious norms, the emperor declared that this marriage would produce god-like offspring. As a result, the patience of the Romans ran out, and Elagabalus was killed. His cousin Alexander Severus was elevated to the throne of the empire.
Elagabalus was later characterized as one of the most decadent Roman rulers. Some modern historians argue that his political opponents probably exaggerated the eccentricity of his behavior in an attempt to discredit.
