Roman Emperor: Life and reign of Elagabalus Quiz

Answer: Julia Soaemias Bassiana

Julia Soaemias Bassiana (180 AD-222 AD) was born in Emesa (modern day city of Homs) in Syria. From a well-connected noble family, her father was Gaius Julius Avitus Alexianus, a Syrian noble and military man. Her mother was Julia Maesa, who was the older sister of Roman Emperor Septimus Severus' wife, Julia Domna.

Julia Soaemias Bassiana would have two children with Sextus Varius Marcellus, one whose identity has been lost to history, and the other would later become Roman Emperor Elagabalus, born sometime around 204 AD. It has been a consistent debate between historians whether Elagabalus was born in Emesa, where his mother was born, or in Rome. However, as there is evidence that Marcellus was active in Rome during the time of Elagabalus' birth, this lends credit to the theory that he was not born in Emesa.

Answer: Caracalla

Caracalla was Roman emperor from 198 AD until his assassination in 217 AD. He was the cousin of Elagabalus' mother, Julia Soaemias Bassiana. She later asserted (after her husband died in 215 AD) that Elagabalus was the illegitimate son of Caracalla, hoping to cement Elagabalus' claim to the Roman throne.

When Marcellus died in 215 AD, his tombstone was dedicated by his wife and "sons" - that is, Elagabalus and his unknown brother. This suggests that Julia Soaemias Bassiana was only eager to purport that Elagabalus was the illegitimate child of Caracalla, once there was a chance that this assertion could lead her son to the throne of Rome.

Answer: Sun

Elagabalus and his family had inherited the rights to the priesthood the worshipped Elagabal, a sun god of Roman Syria who was originally worshiped in Emesas, the birthplace of Elagabalus' mother. "Elagabalus" is a Latinized form of Arabic which means "god of the mountain", although the deity to which he dedicated himself was a god of the sun. This god was later merged with other Roman gods, and the Greek god of the sun is Helois. This is why Elagabalus is sometimes referred to as "Heliogabalus," a combination of both names.

Sun worship had become more popular since the reign of Roman Emperor Septimius Severus, and Elagabalus likely took advantage of this in an attempt to promote his own beliefs. He was, however, so obnoxious in his implementation of this, that Roman society was not impressed.

Answer: Had them exiled to Emesa

When Macrinus came into power, he was concerned with the remaining family of his assassinated predecessor, Caracalla, still being in Rome. He exiled them to Emesa. This included Elagabalus' grandmother, Julia Maesa, her two daughters, one of which was Elagabalus' mother, and Elagabalus himself.

Julia Maesa began to spread gossip that Elagabalus was Caracalla's son. The soldiers of the Third Legion still loyal to Caracalla who had received benefits for their military service under him were happy to accept the rumor as fact. Almost as soon as the family had reached Syria, Julia Maesa began to scheme with Gannys, her advisor and a tutor of her grandson, about how they could secure the throne for 14 year old Elagabalus. Publius Valerius Comazon, leader of the Third Legion, declared Elagabalus the rightful Roman emperor, and prepared to fight for his cause.

Answer: Ulpius Julianus

Little is known about the background and early life of Ulpius Julianus. It is, however, known that he was designated to take the census under Caracalla, and worked his way up to become a prefect under Macrinus. Macrinus sent him to Antioch with some soldiers to deal with Elagabalus, however, neither predicted that Ulpius Julianus' army would turn against him, kill him, and join Elagabalus.

To further deny Elagabalus' claim to the Roman throne, Macrinus threw a feast at the ancient Roman city of Apamea, and declared his son, Diadumenian, co-emperor. It was during this feast that a messenger appeared and served Macrinus the severed head of Ulpius Julianus. Disturbed by this, Macrinus fled to Antioch, after which the Second Legion allied with Elagabalus.

Answer: Cappadocia

Lead by his tutor, Gannys, Elagabalus' army were victorious against that of Macrinus, despite the inexperience of Elagabalus' army. Macrinus' troops deserted him and he ran from battle after sending his son, Diadumenian, with an ambassador to the Parthian king to ask for help, while Macrinus tried to escape to Rome. Macrinus disguised himself as a courtier and traveled across Asia Minor, but was intercepted at Chalcedon (now part of Northern Anatolia, Turkey). He was transported to Cappadocia (now part of Central Anatolia, Turkey) and executed and beheaded. His nine year old son, Diadumenian, was captured shortly after at Zeagma, Syria, and also killed.

The throne was now ready for Elagabalus. He did, however, stay in Antioch in 218 AD to crush rebellions of those who had soon become disillusioned the idea of him as Roman emperor. These rebellions included that of Verus, a budding usurper, who declared that he was in fact the true heir to the Roman throne. Elagabalus responded by having him executed, and disbanded the Third Legion, while demoting Tyre (now a city in modern-day Lebanon with the same name) from its status as a metropolis as that was where this legion's headquarters were. Elagabalus also had to deal with the rebellion of Gellius Maximus, a Roman officer in charge of finance, who had originally supported Elagabalus, but was upset at his ingratitude for this. Gellius Maximus was also executed on Elagabalus' orders.

Once Elagabalus had finally arrived in Rome in 219 AD, he had the supporters of Macrinus executed.

Answer: He would prostitute himself in brothels and taverns

Cassius Dio made no attempt to hide his disapproval at Elagabalus' sexual behaviour. It is, however, important to remember that after his assassination, Elagabalus was subject to "damnatio memoriae" ("condemnation of memory"). Any recording of Elagabalus after his death would have to be profoundly negative, or simply scrubbed from the record. It is true that Roman emperors subjected to this had acted in ways that antagonized either the Senate, or the entirety or Rome. However, the bias should be taken into account.

Cassius Dio asserted that Elagabalus would arrive in taverns and brothels in Rome late at night, donning a wig and stealing work from prostitutes in the area. He would then take his newfound clients back to a specific room in the palace.

Answer: Building the Elagabalium on Capitoline Hill

Elagabalus did establish the Elagabalium, but it was situated on the Palatine Hill. The base of the temple had already been established by Roman Emperor Domitian, however, Elagabalus expanded this and did not intend for it to be for the worship of Jupiter, as Domitian likely had. Elagabalus had the fire of Vesta and the Palladium moved from the Forum Romanum, the sacred Shields of the Salii moved from the Temple of Mars, and other Roman religious artifacts moved to his new temple, upsetting many Romans in the process. After Elagabalus death, the temple was dedicated to Jupiter by the following Roman emperor, Severus Alexander.

Elagabal was elevated to the chief deity by the instruction of Elagabalus, even higher than Jupiter, to the astonishment and horror of Roman society. In an attempt to appease them, he tried to combine Roman goddesses (such as Minerva, Astarte or Urania, or a mixture of the three) with Elagabal, asserting that she (or they) were now his consort(s).

Cassius Dio reported that Elagabalus horrified Rome by allowing human sacrifices in the temple, locking in young boys with lions, snakes and monkeys. Herodian, however, only suggested that he sacrificed animals such as sheep in the temple, although he antagonized the spectators by dancing obnoxiously around the altar while the sacrifice was taking place.

Although the Romans were known for establishing foreign deities into their faith, Elagabalus had such an extreme and obnoxious way of implementing this, and it was likely too much for them to tolerate. Elagabalus further antagonized the Romans by marrying a Vestal Virgin, attempting to reassure them by explaining that their children would be "god-like." This reassurance did not appease the Romans, who believed that any Vestal Virgin caught having sexual intercourse was to be buried alive.

Answer: Women

Under her son's approval, Julia Soaemias Bassiana was the first woman to be allowed into meetings with the Roman Senate, and was the first Roman woman to be awarded a senatorial title. This further did not ingratiate Elagabalus with the powerful people in Rome. She was not only awarded the title "Augusta", but also the senatorial title, "Clarissima." Her likeness was printed on coins and inscriptions, and she was heavily involved with advising her son during his time as Roman emperor.

After the assassination of Elagabalus, women were once again banned from entering meetings with the Roman Senate.

Answer: Julia Cornelia Paula

Julia Cornelia Paula was a wealthy and well-connected Roman noblewoman. Her father is said to have been a praetorian prefect, Paulus. She married Elagabalus in 219 AD, the wedding being arranged by Julia Maesa, Elagabalus' grandmother. She was given the title "Augusta" due to the marriage.

The marriage, however, ended in shortly under a year, upon accusations of her having a "bodily defect." Elagabalus had her title removed, and the couple had no children. Her fate after this is lost to history.

Answer: Aquilia Severa

Aquilia Severa was the daughter of Quintus Aquilius Sabinus, who was two times a consul between 214 AD-216 AD, under the reign of Caracalla. Aquilia Severa married Elagabalus in 220 AD, and had to have beeen between 30-35 years old, based on the rules of age for becoming a Vestal Virgin. Selected by the Pontifex Maximus, a Vestal Virgin had to be a virgin, between 6-10 years old, and they had to undergo 10 years of training for the position, followed by another 10 years of being an officiating priestess and then another 10 years to train those training to become a Vestal Virgin. A fully fledged Vestal Virgin would have had to have completed all of this, therefore, Aquilia Severa had to have been between 30-35 years old. Her own thoughts about the marriage are lost to history, though some historians have suggested that she was forced by Elagabalus.

The citizens of Rome were outraged and horrified by the marriage, believing that any Vestal Virgin to be found guilty of sexual intercourse should be buried alive, not to mention their fear of the wrath of the goddess, Vesta, whose fire the Vestal Virgins tended to for the protection of Rome. Elagabalus had either ignored or misunderstood this, citing (according to Cassius Dio) "I did it in order that godlike children might spring from me, the high priest, and from her, the high-priestess"

The couple had no children, but after Elagabalus divorced her after less than a year and married his third wife, he would later remarry Severa as his fourth and final wife, claiming that their divorce was invalid.

Answer: Annia Aurelia Faustina

Annia Aurelia Faustina was a Roman noblewoman of Anatolian origin, a relative of a previous Roman emperor, Commodus. She was the daughter of Roman Senator, Tiberius Claudius Severus Proculus, the maternal grandson of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Her mother was Annia Faustina (full name unknown) who was heiress and noblewoman. Like Elagabalus' previous marriages, her marriage to him in 221 AD did not last long. It was shortly annulled and Elagabalus went back to his second wife, Aquilia Severa.

There have been frequent debates and questions about Elagabalus' sexuality, but these are from unreliable sources which held Elagabalus in contempt, and would wish to portray him in ways that were looked down upon at the time. Cassius Dio asserted that Elagabalus wished to marry a male charioteer, Hierocles, and frequently refered to Elagabalus with female pronouns during his documentation of the emperor.

However, after Elagabalus' death, he was subjected to a campaign designed to smear him (by the standards of the time). He was accused of effeminacy, obsessed with both transitioning to become a woman, and hair care. Elagabalus was believably a sexually adventurous teenager, and could have been the first transgender Roman emperor, however, given the sources and the bias of Cassius Dio and Historia Augusta, the true nature of Elagabalus' sexuality and gender identity remains unclear.

Answer: Julia Avita Mamaea

Julia Avita Mamaea was part of the Severan dynasty and a Syrian noblewoman, and she and Elagabalus' grandmother, Julia Maesa, could see that the young emperor's popularity was declining rapidly. Due to Elagabalus' erratic behavior, constant partying, implementation of foreign religious customs, and frequent sex scandals, the Praetorian Guard became resentful and hostile to Elagabalus and his mother, Julia Soaemias Bassiana, who frequently got involved and assisted her son during his time in power.

Julisa Maesa (according to Herodian) was becoming increasingly worried about Elagabalus' indifference and disrespect to Roman customs, as Herodian wrote that she was "greatly disturbed and tried again and again to persuade the youth to wear Roman dress when he entered the city to visit the Senate" correctly asserting that "his appearance, obviously foreign and wholly barbaric, would offend those who saw him."

Julia Avita Mamaea would bribe the Praetorian Guard to support her son in his quest for the Roman throne, Severus Alexander. Elagabalus was not oblivious to the Praetorian Guard's fondness for Severus Alexander, and attempted to convince them to murder him, which they refused to do.

Answer: Praetorian Guard

Elagabalus was an enthusiastic trickster, and lied to the Praetorian Guard about his cousin, Severus Alexander, being close to death simply to see how they would react to such news. This was a prank that likely cost him his life, despite the Praetorian Guard being disillusioned with him for some time. This prank would subsequently cause a riot. The Praetorian Guard insisted on seeing Severus Alexander to find out the truth.

Elagabalus, unfortunately for himself, agreed to this. Alongside his mother, Julia Soaemias Bassiana, he revealed his cousin to the public and proved he was not ill, let alone close to dying. The Praetorian Guard were relieved and welcomed Severus Alexander whilst clearly snubbing Elagabalus. Elagabalus naively ordered the execution of anyone who had taken part in this public social snub, not realising the Praetorian Guard had reached their limit with him and decided to kill him instead. He had either underestimated his own importance and popularity, or possibly not realised how closely guarded Severus Alexander was guarded by his mother and the Praetorian Guard, whom she had bribed with substantial amounts of gold.

The Praetorian Guard killed Elagabalus and his mother as she cradled his dead body. Both of their heads were decapitated. Severus Alexander now had the throne of Rome.

Answer: His body was thrown in the Tiber

Elagabalus, according to Historia Augusta, was warned of his death by premonition. He had been told by Syrian priests that he would die a bloody death. Elagabalus carried swords to end his life quickly to stop this, and had fashioned items onto his garments to be used as a noose when or if the time came.

Along with his mother, many people associated with Elagabalus were executed. This included his lover, Hierocles. Every religious custom he had implemented was swiftly erased.

Elagabalus' corpse was paraded through the streets of Rome, mutilated, and abused before being unceremoniously (for a Roman emperor, at least) thrown in the Tiber. Years before, when Roman Emperor Tiberius died, the citizens of Rome had chanted "to the Tiber with Tiberius" due to his stark unpopularity. Now, a Roman emperor's corpse had truly been thrown into the Tiber.