Elagabalus and the Syrian Sun Cult
Elagabalus was the great-nephew of Julia Domna, wife of Septimius Severus. His grandmother Julia Maesa spread the rumour that her grandson was Caracalla's illegitimate son. The Syrian legions acclaimed the boy emperor in June 218 CE. His reign was a sustained assault on Roman religious convention. He brought the black stone of Elagabal — a baetyl, possibly a meteorite — to Rome and installed it in a new temple on the Palatine Hill. He declared Elagabal supreme over all Roman gods including Jupiter. He married a Vestal Virgin, an act of profound sacrilege. His grandmother Maesa, recognising that the emperor's behaviour made his survival impossible, convinced him to adopt his cousin Severus Alexander as Caesar. The Praetorian Guard turned against Elagabalus in March 222 CE and killed both him and his mother Soaemias. Their bodies were reportedly thrown in the Tiber.
- Year: 218 CE
- Category: Cultural
