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Message:: [QUOTE="johnmilton, post: 4554322, member: 101855"]Whenever amateur and professional historians think of the really bad Roman emperors, Caligula and Nero immediately come to mind with a possible dishonorable mention for Caracalla. There is another bad boy who does not get that much press, Elagabalus. Some historians believe that he may have been the worst emperor of all. [ATTACH=full]1127677[/ATTACH] Denarius of Caracalla: Obverse: ANTONINVS PIVS AVG (Antoninus pius (name he used) Augustus) Reverse: INDVLGENTIA AVGG IN CARTH (indulgence to the emperors of Carthage) Dea Caelestis holding a thunderbolt and scepter, seated riding a lion leaping over water with water rushing from a rock. Sear 6806, Ric 130a This design shows some sort of favor from the emperors to Carthage, which was the capital of Severus’ native province. It might be related to the city’s water supply, perhaps a new aqueduct, but the details are not known. The female deity riding the lion, known to the Romans as Dea Caelesits, the “Celestial Goddess,” was the goddess of Carthage. Although her name does not appear on the coin, there is little doubt that it is her.       Elagabalus’ story begins with Caracalla. As Caracalla slipped more and more into cruelty and madness, praetorian prefect, Macrinus, plotted with others to assassinate the emperor and take his place. Macrinus succeeded in doing that without having his name attached to the deed. He was proclaimed emperor three days after Caracalla’s death. Macrinus invited Caracalla’s mother, Julia Donna, to join his government. She had been taking care of Rome’s administrative affairs as her son slipped into madness. Julia Donna committed suicide instead. [ATTACH=full]1127678[/ATTACH] Denarius of Macrinus, Obverse: IMP C M OPEL SEV MACRINVS AVG Reverse: SECVRITAS TEMPORUM Securitas standing, legs crossed, holding a scepter, leaning on a column, Similar to Sear 7365       Macrinus decided to begin the war against the Parthian Empire that Caracalla had intended to start. The war did not go well, and Macrinus because very unpopular with members of the army.       Seeing an opening to restore the Severan Dynasty, Julia Donna’s sister, Julia Maesa, spread the rumor that her grandson, Varius Avitus Bassianus (later to be known as Elagabalus) was the son of the Caracalla. Although the late emperor was only the boy’s great uncle, the family resemblance was good enough to make the rumor credible.       A first Macrinus did not take the threat seriously enough. He dispatched his praetorian prefect with an army to put down the rebellion. When that failed, Macrinus raised his own army. Unknown to him was the fact that Julia Maesa’s supporters had infiltrated his army. Macrinus’ forces suffered a surprising defeat. Macrinus tried to flee to Rome where he thought that he could build support for his cause, but he was captured and executed. [ATTACH=full]1127680[/ATTACH]  Denarius of Elagabalus, Obverse: IMP ANTONINVS PIVS AVG Reverse: P M TR P II COS II P P Sol standing, right hand raised, holding a whip.  RIC 17, RSC 134. Elagabalus held the hereditary priesthood of the Emersan son-god, Elah-Gabal.  Therefore it is appropriate that Sol, the sun god, would appear on this piece.       Bassianus became emperor at age 14 and got a new name, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. He would not be known as Elagabalus until after his death. He held the hereditary priesthood of the Emersan sun-god, Elah-Gabal from which the name “Elagabalus” would be derived. He is also known as “Heliogabalus” in recognition to his connection with the sun god.       Elagabalus took his time getting back to Rome. He brought with him a large stone, that was probably a meteorite, which he labeled as a gift from his god. It took four horses to pull it.       Once Elagabalus arrived in Rome, he tried to force the citizens to worship his sun god and turn away from their cultural deities. If he had confined his commands to that, it would have caused him enough trouble, but he had far more serious problems.       Satyriasis is the male equivalent to nymphomania. Some people say that the term is overused, but in Elagabalus’ case it was completely appropriate.       At age 15, the emperor was married to Julia Paula, an aristocratic young lady. The marriage had no chance for success because the emperor’s sensual desires stretched well beyond one woman. His eye turned to other women and the men who guarded him. When Julia refused to join him in his sexual escapades, he dropped her.       One of his most lurid activities was to stand naked in a doorway and prostitute himself to anyone who would pay him. At one point he offered a large sum of money to any surgeon who could provide him with a vagina, making Elagabalus one of history’s first recorded transsexuals.       In the meantime, Elagabalus’ mother, Julia Soaemias was as erotically charged as her son. Her easy virtue was an almost equal public scandal to that of her son. The mother and son were the talk of Rome. [ATTACH=full]1127686[/ATTACH] Nero had the Temple of Vesta rebuilt after the fire of 64 AD.       After he divorced Julia Paula, Elagabalus set his sights on Aquilia Severa, who was a Vestal Virgin. These women were committed and consecrated to serve Vesta, the goddess of the hearth and home. They took a vow of chastity and shared in the duty of maintaining the sacred fire that burned on the goddess’s altar.       Elagabalus made his argument to the highly skeptical and in some cases shocked Roman Senate. He stated that a marriage between a man who had been selected by the sun god and a woman who had been chosen by the goddess of hearth and home would produce superior, highly successful children. Most members of the Senate were unmoved.       Elagabalus got to marry Soaemias, but it did not last for very long. By then his grandmother, Julia Maesa, realized that the situation was getting out of control. She forced Elagabalus to end his marriage to Soaemias and name his cousin, Severus Alexander, as his successor. Elagabalus married his third wife, Annia Faustina, and did has he was told, but the pressure within him was building.       When Elagabalus tried to strip Alexander of his rank and made threats against his life, the praetorian guard acted. They killed Elagabalus and his mother. The people dragged their bodies through the streets of Rome and dumped them in the Tiber River. Thus, ended the four year reign of Elagabalus who accomplished nothing as emperor. [ATTACH=full]1127681[/ATTACH] Denarius of Severus Alexander, Obverse: IMP C M AVR SEV ALEXAND AVG Reverse: P M TR P V COS II PP Severus Alexander standing left sacrificing from patera over altar and holding a scroll. Sear 7899, Ric 55[/QUOTE]

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