Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, better known by his nicknames Elagabalus and Heliogabalus, was Roman emperor from 218 to 222, while he was still a teenager. His short reign was conspicuous for sex scandals and religious controversy. A close relative to the Severan dynasty, he came from a prominent Arab family in Emesa (Homs), Syria, where since his early youth he served as head priest of the sun god Elagabal. After the death of his cousin, the emperor Caracalla, Elagabalus was raised to the principate at 14 years of age in an army revolt instigated by his grandmother Julia Maesa against Caracalla's short-lived successor, Macrinus. He only posthumously became known by the Latinised name of his god.
Marcus Opellius Macrinus was Roman emperor from April 217 to June 218, reigning jointly with his young son Diadumenianus. As a member of the equestrian class, he became the first emperor who did not hail from the senatorial class and also the first emperor who never visited Rome during his reign. Before becoming emperor, Macrinus served under Emperor Caracalla as a praetorian prefect and dealt with Rome's civil affairs. He later conspired against Caracalla and had him murdered in a bid to protect his own life, succeeding him as emperor.
The Severan dynasty was an Ancient Roman imperial dynasty that ruled the Roman Empire between 193 and 235, during the Roman imperial period. The dynasty was founded by the emperor Septimius Severus, who rose to power after the Year of the Five Emperors as the victor of the civil war of 193–197, and his wife, Julia Domna. After the short reigns and assassinations of their two sons, Caracalla and Geta, who succeeded their father in the government of the empire, Julia Domna's relatives themselves assumed power by raising Elagabalus and then Severus Alexander to the imperial office.
The 210s decade ran from January 1, 210, to December 31, 219.
Year 218 (CCXVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Adventus. The denomination 218 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Year 219 (CCXIX) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Antonius and Sacerdos. The denomination 219 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Legio I Minervia was a legion of the Imperial Roman army founded in AD 82 by emperor Domitian (r. 81–96), for his campaign against the Germanic tribe of the Chatti. Its cognomen refers to the goddess Minerva, the legion's protector. There are still records of the I Minervia in the Rhine border region in the middle of the 4th century. The legion's emblem is an image of goddess Minerva.
Legio III Gallica was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. The cognomen Gallica suggests that its earliest recruits came from veterans of the Gallic legions of Gaius Julius Caesar, a supposition supported by its emblem, a bull, a symbol associated with Caesar. The legion was based for most of its existence at Raphanea, Roman Syria, and was still active in Egypt in the early 4th century.
Legio IV Scythica, also written as Legio IIII Scythica, was a legion of the Imperial Roman army founded in c. 42 BCE by the Roman general Mark Antony, for his campaign against the Parthian Empire, hence its other cognomen, Parthica. The legion was still active in the Roman province of Syria in the early 5th century.
Julia Maesa was a member of the Severan dynasty of the Roman Empire who was the grandmother of emperors Elagabalus and Severus Alexander, elder sister of empress Julia Domna, and mother of Julia Soaemias and Julia Mamaea. She wielded influence during the reigns of her grandsons as Augusta of the Empire from 218 to her death, especially on their elevation to emperors.
Julia Soaemias Bassiana was a Syrian noblewoman and the mother of Roman emperor Elagabalus, who ruled over the Roman Empire from 218 to 222. She was one of his chief advisors, initially with the support and accompaniment of her mother Julia Maesa. She and her mother guided the young emperor until growing unrest and a family division led to her son's replacement by her nephew Severus Alexander. Julia Soaemias was killed along with her son by the Praetorian Guard.
Diadumenian was the son of the Roman Emperor Macrinus, and served as his co-ruler for a brief time in 218. His mother was Nonia Celsa, whose name may have been invented by the author of the Historia Augusta. Diadumenian became caesar in May 217, shortly after his father's accession to the imperial throne. Elagabalus, a relative of the recently deceased Emperor Caracalla, revolted in May of the following year, and Diadumenian was elevated to co-emperor. After Macrinus was defeated in the Battle of Antioch on 8 June 218, Diadumenian was sent to the court of Artabanus IV of Parthia to ensure his safety; however, he was captured and executed along the way. After his death and that of his father, the Senate declared both of them enemies of Rome and had their names struck from records and their images destroyed – a process called damnatio memoriae.
Annia Aurelia Faustina was an Anatolian Roman noblewoman. She was briefly married to the Roman emperor Elagabalus in 221 and thus a Roman empress. She was Elagabalus' third wife.
The Battle of Antioch was fought between the Roman army of the Emperor Macrinus and his rival Elagabalus, whose troops were commanded by General Gannys, probably a short distance from Antioch. Gannys' victory over Macrinus led to the downfall of the emperor and his replacement by Elagabalus.
Gellius Maximus was a Roman usurper, who, in 219 AD, revolted against Emperor Elagabalus. His rebellion was swiftly crushed, and he himself was executed.
Lucius Marius Maximus Perpetuus Aurelianus was a Roman biographer, writing in Latin, who in the early decades of the 3rd century AD wrote a series of biographies of twelve Emperors, imitating and continuing Suetonius. Marius's work is lost, but it was still being read in the late 4th century and was used as a source by writers of that era, notably the author of the Historia Augusta. The nature and reliability of Marius's work, and the extent to which the earlier part of the HA draws upon it, are two vexed questions among the many problems that the HA continues to pose for students of Roman history and literature.
Annia Aurelia Fadilla, most commonly known as Fadilla was one of the daughters born to Marcus Aurelius and his wife Faustina the Younger. She was a sister to Lucilla and Commodus. Fadilla was named in honor of her late maternal aunt Aurelia Fadilla. The cognomen Fadilla, was the cognomen of the mother and a half-sister of Antoninus Pius. Her maternal grandparents were Antoninus Pius and Faustina the Elder and her paternal grandparents were Domitia Lucilla and praetor Marcus Annius Verus.
Julia Cornelia Paula was a distinguished Roman noblewoman who became Empress of Rome as the first wife of the Roman emperor Elagabalus, who divorced her.
Annia Faustina was a noblewoman of Anatolian Roman descent and a wealthy heiress who lived in the Roman Empire. She was a mother-in-law of the emperor Elagabalus.
Pomponia Ummidia was an Anatolian Roman noblewoman and was a prominent figure in Rome during the reigns of the Roman Emperors Gallienus, Claudius Gothicus, Quintillus and Aurelian. She lived in the period the Crisis of the Third Century in the Roman Empire.
