26 ELAGABALUS (c.18; r.218-222)
At the time of Elagabalus’ elevation, 04Varius Avitus Bassianus was the hereditary high priest of Elah-Gabal, the sun-god of Emesa, which provided him with his nickname. In 218 Elagabalus, together with his mother and grandmother, left Syria for Rome, arriving at the capital in early autumn 219.
Elagabalus seemed to consider as emperor his service to the Syrian son god to be his primary duty. He brought the most sacred object of Elah-Gabal’s worship, a black cone-shaped meteorite, to Rome from Emesa and placed it in a temple on the Palatine Hill he had built to house the stone. He insisted that the senators participate in the worship of the sun god and this together with the associated excessive daily sacrifices caused outrage among the Romans.
In 219 there were two attempts at usurpation in Syria. One led by Gellius Maximus, the son of a physician and a member of the senate, who as an officer in Legio IV Scythica had proclaimed himself emperor; the other led by Verus, a centurion who had succeeded in becoming a senator. As commander of Legio III Gallica, he led the soldiers who were becoming increasingly disenchanted with Elagabalus’ rule. Elagabalus quelled both revolts and ordered the execution of both men.
In 220 Elagabalus divorced his first wife, 13Julia Cornelia, Cornelia and married a Vestal Virgin, Aquilia Severa, a ‘sacred marriage’ to match that of Elah-Gabal with a statue of the roman goddess Vesta, expressing his belief that any children of such a union would be godlike.
He gave more offence by his nepotism to his favourites: the prefect of the watch (vigiles urbani) was a former coachman, the prefect of the grain supply (annona) a former hairdresser, and the prefect of the city (praefectus urbi) a former dancer.
In 221 when Elagabalus’ behaviour escalated into open orgiastic debauchery, his grandmother persuaded him to adopt his cousin Gessius Bassianus Alexianus as caesar under the name Marcus 14Aurelius Alexander, and to divorce Aquilia in favour of a descendant of the emperor Marcus Aurelius, Annia Faustina (c.21; fl.221-222), but by the end of following year he took Aquilia back and tried to get rid of Alexander.
When Alexander proved popular with the people, Elagabalus tried to have him killed but this was prevented by Maesa and Manaea. On 11 March 222 Elagabalus and Soaemias were murdered by the praetorians and their bodies dragged through the streets of Rome and dumped into the Tiber.
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