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<p>[QUOTE="Jochen1, post: 5147411, member: 103829"]Dear Friends of ancient mythology!</p><p><br /></p><p>The Roman emperor Elagabal (218-222) was actually called Varius Avitus Bassianus and was given the name Marcus Aurelius Antoninus as emperor. Elagabal or Heliogabal he was called much later. But Elagabal was actually the name of the god he worshipped, the sun god of Emesa, today's Homs in Syria. To distinguish these two, I will always call the emperor Antoninus. So Elagabal here always means the sun god!</p><p><br /></p><p>In this article I would like to show where Elagabal comes from and into which cultural landscape he is to be classified.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>1st coin: The Holy Stone of Emesa</b></p><p>Syria, Emesa, Antoninus Pius, 138-161</p><p>AE 23, 10.19g, 180°</p><p>struck 138/9 (RY 1)</p><p>Obv.: [AVT KAI TI] AIΛ A [NTO - NEINOC CEB EVC] Awarded head n.r.</p><p>Rev.: EMI - [C]HNΩN</p><p>Eagle with closed wings standing r. on the Holy Stone of Emesa, head with wreath in beak turned.l., [stone decorated with a star in the middle at the top and a pellet on the left and right].</p><p>in right field A (RY 1)</p><p>Ref.: BMC 1; SNG Copenhagen 307; RPC IV online temp 5782</p><p>About VF, black-green patina with light green highlights</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1208147[/ATTACH]</p><p><b> Note:</b></p><p>This is the only pre-Severan coin with the Sacred Stone of Emesa. The stone itself was brought to Rome by Antoninus and returned to Emesa after his death. That this is the stone in the Kaaba in Mecca is only a rumour.</p><p><br /></p><p><b> Etymology:</b></p><p>The name Elagabal is composed of the Aramaic word 'LH = <i>ilaha</i> (god) and GBL = <i>gabal</i> (mountain), which means "god mountain", not "god of the mountain", because <i>ilaha</i> is in the status emphaticus and not in the status constructus (Jean Starcky). This is a subtle but not insignificant difference. The word for mountain is also known to us from Arabic, e.g. in <i>Djabal al-Tariq</i>, (mountain of Tarik), the name for Gibraltar. However, the mountain at Emesa was only about 30m high!</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Mythology:</b></p><p>Elagabal was first a local mountain god of Emesa on the Orontes, as there were so many in the Near East. But very early on he had a claim to universality due to his solar character, as was characteristic of the Semitic <i>Baalim</i>.</p><p><br /></p><p>Elagabal formed a triad with two female astral deities. Such triads were not unusual in Syria and Mesopotamia. His female consorts were Juno Caelestis and Pallas. Juno Caelestis=Tannit=Urania introduced the goddess of the moon and Pallas as Aphrodite=Astarte=Atargatis as the Venusian star the Arab <i>Al-Uzza</i>. As <i>Athena Allath</i> she was also the Arabian goddess of the moon.</p><p><br /></p><p>Elagabal had his solar character together with the East Semitic sun god <i>Shamash</i> from Mesopotamia, who was also depicted on Severan coins in Emesa. The cult of Elagabal also later came under his influence.</p><p><br /></p><p>Elagabal was not worshipped anthropomorphically (in human form), as it was common in the western religions, but aniconically in the shape of a black stone in conical form, a baetyl (from Semitic <i>bet el</i> = house of God), which probably was a meteorite. Mountain gods were already known in Anatolia, Syria and Palestine since the times of the Hittites. It was adorned on top, as we know from coins, with an eagle, as a sign of the highest god, as was the case with Jupiter.</p><p><br /></p><p>Many things point to an origin in Arabia. For example, it has the baetyllic format of its black stone together with the likewise solar Dusares of Petra. The priestly princes of Emesa have Arabic names: Azisos, Soaemus, Samsigeramus (Strabo), as well as later the female members of the Severan dynasty Maesa, Soaemias and Mammaea.</p><p><br /></p><p>According to Herodian, the worship of Elagabal was not only a local phenomenon in Emesa, but was also known from other places in Syria. Sacrifices were brought to Emesa by all the inhabitants of the surrounding areas, which became richer and richer. It is believed that the cult of Elagabal was the main cult of Syria and that Emesa was its religious centre. It is interesting to note that the cult of Elagabal was already widespread in the Roman Empire long before Antoninus. For example, a stele from 196 B.C. was found in Augsburg in what was then Raetia, dedicated to the sun god Elagabal, and another for the sun god Elagabal and Minerva in Woerden/Netherlands, the then Laurium in Germania inferior, i.e. from the other end of the world. This one is from the time of Antoninus Pius, which fits well with our coin.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1208148[/ATTACH]</p><p>The stele in Augsburg</p><p><br /></p><p>There is nothing left of the temples on the mountain near Emesa today. And the city itself, today's Homs, a UNESCO world heritage site. has been almost completely destroyed by the long civil war in Syria.</p><p><br /></p><p><b> Elagabal in Rome</b></p><p>After Antoninus had been elevated to emperor by his soldiers in May 2018, he set off for Rome after his victory over Macrinus. He used the land route, spent the winter in Nicomedia and carried the Holy Stone with him. In late summer 219 he reached Rome. Since he was already murdered in March 222, he was only in Rome for 2 1/2 years. From his magnificent entry into Rome we know descriptions The Sacred Stone of Elagabal was pulled on a chariot by horses. Antoninus in white priestly garb walked backwards in front of them so that he did not lose sight of his God. An unusual sight for the Romans.</p><p><br /></p><p>As soon as he arrived, he made Elagabal the supreme god of the Roman pantheon. He had two temples built for Elagabal. One, the <i>Elagabalium</i>, on the Palatine in the area of the imperial gardens, of which remains can still be seen today, and a second outside the city in what is now Trastevere. To decorate his new temple, the most sacred relics of the Roman religion were transferred from their original sites to the <i>Elagabalium</i>, the statue of the Great Mother, the fire of Vesta, the shields of the Salians and the Palladium. There should be no cult outside the priesthood of the Elagabal, all other deities were only the servants of his God. Herodian writes that Antoninus forced the senators to watch him while he danced around the altar of Elagabal to the sound of drums and cymbals.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1208149[/ATTACH]</p><p>The relics of the <i>Elagabalium</i> on the present Vigna Barberini</p><p><br /></p><p><b>2nd coin: Antoninus sacrificing</b></p><p>Antoninus, 218 - 220</p><p>AR - Denar, 3.51g, 18mm</p><p>Rome 220 - 222</p><p>Av.: IMP ANTONINVS PIVS AVG</p><p>Bust, draped, laureate, r., with "horn" on the forehead</p><p>Rv.: INVICTVS SACERDOS AVG</p><p>Antoninus in Syrian priest clothes stg. l., holding in his outstretched right hand</p><p>patera over burning altar and club in the left arm; behind the altar a lying bull</p><p>in upper left field a star</p><p>Ref.: RIC IV, 88; C. 61</p><p>almost EF</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1208150[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>Notes:</b></p><p>(1) Antoninus wears here parthian trousers and a long-sleeved short tunic with a decorative cast buckle in front of the belly, in addition chlamys and imperial diadem. Because of this costume he is called "the Assyrian" by Dio! But all in all this was more of an approximation to Roman customs. His clothing is different from Syrian and is not known there. Dirven thinks that this is an approximation to Caracalla's Germanic dress and the attempt to make himself more familiar to the troops and to profit from his father's military victories. Also the bull is not unusual</p><p>(2) The star in the field is probably intended to indicate the divine status of Antoninus and his belonging to the domus divina. Curtis Clay: Let it be a sign of the mint of Rome</p><p>(3) Since an upper ray of the star is much longer, it is also interpreted as Halley's comet, which must have been visible in Rome in 220.</p><p>(4) Elke Krengel interprets the "horn" as a dried bull penis as a sign of power and strength. However, this interpretation is not undisputed. At the beginning of 222 the "horn" disappears from the coins again, probably because the soldiers started to grumble.</p><p><br /></p><p>At the summer solstice he had a big festival celebrated, which was very popular with the masses, for example because food was generously distributed. During this festival Elagabal was put on a chariot, decorated with gold and jewels, and taken across the city in a pompous procession to the suburban temple outside the city. Presents were thrown into the crowd. Antoninus walked backwards in front of the chariot as usual. Several officers took care that he did not stumble. Then, from towers he had erected, vessels of gold and silver, clothes and cloths were thrown at the mob. The actual purpose of this procession has not been clarified to this day. Perhaps one reason was that many Syrian citizens lived in these districts.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>The Holy Weddings</b></p><p>The Holy Wedding (<i>'ιερος γαμος</i>) was widespread in oriental religions. With the actions of Antoninus in Rome one should know that these were mirrored events in his pantheon. This means that when Antoninus married a Vesta priestess, it was actually about the marriage of his sun god Elagabal to the Roman goddess Vesta. But he himself was never the incarnation of his god. These weddings were very unusual events for the Romans.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>First Antoninus married Julia Paula. This probably went back to the clan of Emesa under his mother Julia Maesa and is seen as an attempt to connect him with the Roman aristocracy. However, he rejected her because she had a physical mark, which was not compatible with his idea of divinity. He also had his own ideas about marriage, which were intended to spread his faith.</p><p><br /></p><p>And this led him to Aquila Severa, the chief Vesta priestess. By marrying her he wanted to establish a connection between his Elagabal cult and that of Vesta, the holiest cult of Rome. Moreover, divine children were to emerge from this marriage, with whom Antoninus wanted to found a divine dynasty. This marriage took place parallel to the marriage of Elagabal to Athena, which according to Halsberghe, however, arose from the misunderstanding that Antoninus considered the palladium to be Vesta because it was kept in the Vesta temple. His marriage with the supreme vestal virgin caused great unrest in Rome, as the vestal virgins were considered untouchable, so that Julia Maesa convinced him to break his connection and that of Elagabal.</p><p><br /></p><p>He then married Annia Faustina, a descendant of Marcus Aurelius. This had the advantage of creating a real connection between the Severans and the Antonines and especially with the popular philosopher-emperor Marcus Aurelius. Children from this marriage would have had a strong dynastic claim to the throne. Parallel to this marriage he married Elagabal to Urania, whom he had brought from Carthage and who, as goddess of the moon, was to be an expression of divine harmony together with Elagabal as sun god.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1208151[/ATTACH]</p><p>Sicilopunian, tetradrachm, 320-313 B.C., Künker, Jenkins III, 271st Vs: Aphrodite Urania. €180.000.-</p><p><br /></p><p>But Annia Faustina did not match his ambitions. He divorced her and brought back Aquilia Severa. His religious convictions had won!</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Summary</b></p><p>Antoninus was lucky to have ruled in a rather peaceful time. There were no warlike entanglements and the officials of the empire worked as usual with routine in the administration of the empire and the maintenance of the infrastructure. He was never actually active as emperor. He saw himself as the high priest of his god Elagabal, to whom he wanted to gain global recognition as the supreme god. A local Syrian cult was to become a comprehensive world religion. But this was not a monotheism, as some wrongly assume (e.g. Gaston Halsberghe). Other deities also existed under Elagabal, just as a kind of servant and under him. So he is not a forerunner of Christianity.</p><p><br /></p><p>In March 222 Antoninus was murdered by his Praetorians after he had tried to hide in a latrine. His cousin and adopted son Severus Alexander became his successor. Immediately after his elevation, Alexander restored the old circumstances. The relics of the Elagabalium were returned to their old locations and the temple was rededicated to Jupiter Ultor, the Avenger. A convincing name! He had the Sacred Stone of Elagabal brought back to Emesa. With that the haunting was over. One can see where religious fanaticism can lead!</p><p><br /></p><p>It is reported that after his victory over Zenobia of Palmyra (272), Aurelian offered sacrifices to the Elagabal at the altar of the sun god. This homage, however, was not so much to the black stone but to his own idea of a universal and supranational <i>Sol invictus</i> (Pauly).</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Sources:</b></p><p>(1) Cassius Dio, Roman history</p><p>(2) Herodian, History of the Empire from the Death of Marcus</p><p>(3) Historia Augusta</p><p><br /></p><p><b> </b></p><p><b>Secondary literature:</b></p><p>(1) RIC</p><p>(2) BMCR</p><p>(3) Hans-Joachim Hoeft, Coins and Ancient Mythology, 2011</p><p>(4) Artaud, A., Heliogabale ou l'anarchiste couronne, 1943</p><p>(5) Dirven, L., The emperor's new clothes: a note on Elagabalus' priestley dress, 2007</p><p>(6 ) Halsberghe, G.H., The Cult of Sol Invictus, 1972</p><p>(7) Martin Icks, The Crimes of Elagabalus, I.B.Tsuris 2013</p><p>(8) Der Kleine Pauly</p><p>(9) Dietmar Kienast, Roman Imperial Tables, 1990</p><p>(10) Elke Krengel, The so-called "Horn" of the Elagabal - The tip of a bull penis. A reinterpretation as a result of interdisciplinary research, 1997</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Online sources:</b></p><p>(1) Livius.org</p><p>(2) Halley's Comet: A Visual Record on Coins of Elagabalus, 2020 <a href="https://nnpsymposium.org/exhibit-hall/f/halleys-comet-a-visual-record-on-coins-of-elagabalus" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://nnpsymposium.org/exhibit-hall/f/halleys-comet-a-visual-record-on-coins-of-elagabalus" rel="nofollow">https://nnpsymposium.org/exhibit-hall/f/halleys-comet-a-visual-record-on-coins-of-elagabalus</a></p><p>(3) Wikipedia</p><p><br /></p><p>Best regards[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Jochen1, post: 5147411, member: 103829"]Dear Friends of ancient mythology! The Roman emperor Elagabal (218-222) was actually called Varius Avitus Bassianus and was given the name Marcus Aurelius Antoninus as emperor. Elagabal or Heliogabal he was called much later. But Elagabal was actually the name of the god he worshipped, the sun god of Emesa, today's Homs in Syria. To distinguish these two, I will always call the emperor Antoninus. So Elagabal here always means the sun god! In this article I would like to show where Elagabal comes from and into which cultural landscape he is to be classified. [B]1st coin: The Holy Stone of Emesa[/B] Syria, Emesa, Antoninus Pius, 138-161 AE 23, 10.19g, 180° struck 138/9 (RY 1) Obv.: [AVT KAI TI] AIΛ A [NTO - NEINOC CEB EVC] Awarded head n.r. Rev.: EMI - [C]HNΩN Eagle with closed wings standing r. on the Holy Stone of Emesa, head with wreath in beak turned.l., [stone decorated with a star in the middle at the top and a pellet on the left and right]. in right field A (RY 1) Ref.: BMC 1; SNG Copenhagen 307; RPC IV online temp 5782 About VF, black-green patina with light green highlights [ATTACH=full]1208147[/ATTACH] [B] Note:[/B] This is the only pre-Severan coin with the Sacred Stone of Emesa. The stone itself was brought to Rome by Antoninus and returned to Emesa after his death. That this is the stone in the Kaaba in Mecca is only a rumour. [B] Etymology:[/B] The name Elagabal is composed of the Aramaic word 'LH = [I]ilaha[/I] (god) and GBL = [I]gabal[/I] (mountain), which means "god mountain", not "god of the mountain", because [I]ilaha[/I] is in the status emphaticus and not in the status constructus (Jean Starcky). This is a subtle but not insignificant difference. The word for mountain is also known to us from Arabic, e.g. in [I]Djabal al-Tariq[/I], (mountain of Tarik), the name for Gibraltar. However, the mountain at Emesa was only about 30m high! [B]Mythology:[/B] Elagabal was first a local mountain god of Emesa on the Orontes, as there were so many in the Near East. But very early on he had a claim to universality due to his solar character, as was characteristic of the Semitic [I]Baalim[/I]. Elagabal formed a triad with two female astral deities. Such triads were not unusual in Syria and Mesopotamia. His female consorts were Juno Caelestis and Pallas. Juno Caelestis=Tannit=Urania introduced the goddess of the moon and Pallas as Aphrodite=Astarte=Atargatis as the Venusian star the Arab [I]Al-Uzza[/I]. As [I]Athena Allath[/I] she was also the Arabian goddess of the moon. Elagabal had his solar character together with the East Semitic sun god [I]Shamash[/I] from Mesopotamia, who was also depicted on Severan coins in Emesa. The cult of Elagabal also later came under his influence. Elagabal was not worshipped anthropomorphically (in human form), as it was common in the western religions, but aniconically in the shape of a black stone in conical form, a baetyl (from Semitic [I]bet el[/I] = house of God), which probably was a meteorite. Mountain gods were already known in Anatolia, Syria and Palestine since the times of the Hittites. It was adorned on top, as we know from coins, with an eagle, as a sign of the highest god, as was the case with Jupiter. Many things point to an origin in Arabia. For example, it has the baetyllic format of its black stone together with the likewise solar Dusares of Petra. The priestly princes of Emesa have Arabic names: Azisos, Soaemus, Samsigeramus (Strabo), as well as later the female members of the Severan dynasty Maesa, Soaemias and Mammaea. According to Herodian, the worship of Elagabal was not only a local phenomenon in Emesa, but was also known from other places in Syria. Sacrifices were brought to Emesa by all the inhabitants of the surrounding areas, which became richer and richer. It is believed that the cult of Elagabal was the main cult of Syria and that Emesa was its religious centre. It is interesting to note that the cult of Elagabal was already widespread in the Roman Empire long before Antoninus. For example, a stele from 196 B.C. was found in Augsburg in what was then Raetia, dedicated to the sun god Elagabal, and another for the sun god Elagabal and Minerva in Woerden/Netherlands, the then Laurium in Germania inferior, i.e. from the other end of the world. This one is from the time of Antoninus Pius, which fits well with our coin. [ATTACH=full]1208148[/ATTACH] The stele in Augsburg There is nothing left of the temples on the mountain near Emesa today. And the city itself, today's Homs, a UNESCO world heritage site. has been almost completely destroyed by the long civil war in Syria. [B] Elagabal in Rome[/B] After Antoninus had been elevated to emperor by his soldiers in May 2018, he set off for Rome after his victory over Macrinus. He used the land route, spent the winter in Nicomedia and carried the Holy Stone with him. In late summer 219 he reached Rome. Since he was already murdered in March 222, he was only in Rome for 2 1/2 years. From his magnificent entry into Rome we know descriptions The Sacred Stone of Elagabal was pulled on a chariot by horses. Antoninus in white priestly garb walked backwards in front of them so that he did not lose sight of his God. An unusual sight for the Romans. As soon as he arrived, he made Elagabal the supreme god of the Roman pantheon. He had two temples built for Elagabal. One, the [I]Elagabalium[/I], on the Palatine in the area of the imperial gardens, of which remains can still be seen today, and a second outside the city in what is now Trastevere. To decorate his new temple, the most sacred relics of the Roman religion were transferred from their original sites to the [I]Elagabalium[/I], the statue of the Great Mother, the fire of Vesta, the shields of the Salians and the Palladium. There should be no cult outside the priesthood of the Elagabal, all other deities were only the servants of his God. Herodian writes that Antoninus forced the senators to watch him while he danced around the altar of Elagabal to the sound of drums and cymbals. [ATTACH=full]1208149[/ATTACH] The relics of the [I]Elagabalium[/I] on the present Vigna Barberini [B]2nd coin: Antoninus sacrificing[/B] Antoninus, 218 - 220 AR - Denar, 3.51g, 18mm Rome 220 - 222 Av.: IMP ANTONINVS PIVS AVG Bust, draped, laureate, r., with "horn" on the forehead Rv.: INVICTVS SACERDOS AVG Antoninus in Syrian priest clothes stg. l., holding in his outstretched right hand patera over burning altar and club in the left arm; behind the altar a lying bull in upper left field a star Ref.: RIC IV, 88; C. 61 almost EF [ATTACH=full]1208150[/ATTACH] [B]Notes:[/B] (1) Antoninus wears here parthian trousers and a long-sleeved short tunic with a decorative cast buckle in front of the belly, in addition chlamys and imperial diadem. Because of this costume he is called "the Assyrian" by Dio! But all in all this was more of an approximation to Roman customs. His clothing is different from Syrian and is not known there. Dirven thinks that this is an approximation to Caracalla's Germanic dress and the attempt to make himself more familiar to the troops and to profit from his father's military victories. Also the bull is not unusual (2) The star in the field is probably intended to indicate the divine status of Antoninus and his belonging to the domus divina. Curtis Clay: Let it be a sign of the mint of Rome (3) Since an upper ray of the star is much longer, it is also interpreted as Halley's comet, which must have been visible in Rome in 220. (4) Elke Krengel interprets the "horn" as a dried bull penis as a sign of power and strength. However, this interpretation is not undisputed. At the beginning of 222 the "horn" disappears from the coins again, probably because the soldiers started to grumble. At the summer solstice he had a big festival celebrated, which was very popular with the masses, for example because food was generously distributed. During this festival Elagabal was put on a chariot, decorated with gold and jewels, and taken across the city in a pompous procession to the suburban temple outside the city. Presents were thrown into the crowd. Antoninus walked backwards in front of the chariot as usual. Several officers took care that he did not stumble. Then, from towers he had erected, vessels of gold and silver, clothes and cloths were thrown at the mob. The actual purpose of this procession has not been clarified to this day. Perhaps one reason was that many Syrian citizens lived in these districts. [B]The Holy Weddings[/B] The Holy Wedding ([I]'ιερος γαμος[/I]) was widespread in oriental religions. With the actions of Antoninus in Rome one should know that these were mirrored events in his pantheon. This means that when Antoninus married a Vesta priestess, it was actually about the marriage of his sun god Elagabal to the Roman goddess Vesta. But he himself was never the incarnation of his god. These weddings were very unusual events for the Romans. First Antoninus married Julia Paula. This probably went back to the clan of Emesa under his mother Julia Maesa and is seen as an attempt to connect him with the Roman aristocracy. However, he rejected her because she had a physical mark, which was not compatible with his idea of divinity. He also had his own ideas about marriage, which were intended to spread his faith. And this led him to Aquila Severa, the chief Vesta priestess. By marrying her he wanted to establish a connection between his Elagabal cult and that of Vesta, the holiest cult of Rome. Moreover, divine children were to emerge from this marriage, with whom Antoninus wanted to found a divine dynasty. This marriage took place parallel to the marriage of Elagabal to Athena, which according to Halsberghe, however, arose from the misunderstanding that Antoninus considered the palladium to be Vesta because it was kept in the Vesta temple. His marriage with the supreme vestal virgin caused great unrest in Rome, as the vestal virgins were considered untouchable, so that Julia Maesa convinced him to break his connection and that of Elagabal. He then married Annia Faustina, a descendant of Marcus Aurelius. This had the advantage of creating a real connection between the Severans and the Antonines and especially with the popular philosopher-emperor Marcus Aurelius. Children from this marriage would have had a strong dynastic claim to the throne. Parallel to this marriage he married Elagabal to Urania, whom he had brought from Carthage and who, as goddess of the moon, was to be an expression of divine harmony together with Elagabal as sun god. [ATTACH=full]1208151[/ATTACH] Sicilopunian, tetradrachm, 320-313 B.C., Künker, Jenkins III, 271st Vs: Aphrodite Urania. €180.000.- But Annia Faustina did not match his ambitions. He divorced her and brought back Aquilia Severa. His religious convictions had won! [B]Summary[/B] Antoninus was lucky to have ruled in a rather peaceful time. There were no warlike entanglements and the officials of the empire worked as usual with routine in the administration of the empire and the maintenance of the infrastructure. He was never actually active as emperor. He saw himself as the high priest of his god Elagabal, to whom he wanted to gain global recognition as the supreme god. A local Syrian cult was to become a comprehensive world religion. But this was not a monotheism, as some wrongly assume (e.g. Gaston Halsberghe). Other deities also existed under Elagabal, just as a kind of servant and under him. So he is not a forerunner of Christianity. In March 222 Antoninus was murdered by his Praetorians after he had tried to hide in a latrine. His cousin and adopted son Severus Alexander became his successor. Immediately after his elevation, Alexander restored the old circumstances. The relics of the Elagabalium were returned to their old locations and the temple was rededicated to Jupiter Ultor, the Avenger. A convincing name! He had the Sacred Stone of Elagabal brought back to Emesa. With that the haunting was over. One can see where religious fanaticism can lead! It is reported that after his victory over Zenobia of Palmyra (272), Aurelian offered sacrifices to the Elagabal at the altar of the sun god. This homage, however, was not so much to the black stone but to his own idea of a universal and supranational [I]Sol invictus[/I] (Pauly). [B]Sources:[/B] (1) Cassius Dio, Roman history (2) Herodian, History of the Empire from the Death of Marcus (3) Historia Augusta [B] Secondary literature:[/B] (1) RIC (2) BMCR (3) Hans-Joachim Hoeft, Coins and Ancient Mythology, 2011 (4) Artaud, A., Heliogabale ou l'anarchiste couronne, 1943 (5) Dirven, L., The emperor's new clothes: a note on Elagabalus' priestley dress, 2007 (6 ) Halsberghe, G.H., The Cult of Sol Invictus, 1972 (7) Martin Icks, The Crimes of Elagabalus, I.B.Tsuris 2013 (8) Der Kleine Pauly (9) Dietmar Kienast, Roman Imperial Tables, 1990 (10) Elke Krengel, The so-called "Horn" of the Elagabal - The tip of a bull penis. A reinterpretation as a result of interdisciplinary research, 1997 [B]Online sources:[/B] (1) Livius.org (2) Halley's Comet: A Visual Record on Coins of Elagabalus, 2020 [URL]https://nnpsymposium.org/exhibit-hall/f/halleys-comet-a-visual-record-on-coins-of-elagabalus[/URL] (3) Wikipedia Best regards[/QUOTE]
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