Table of Contents

Introduction Chapter 1: The boy on the throne Chapter 2: The child priest from Emesa Chapter 3: The invincible priest-emperor Chapter 4: The rejected ruler Chapter 5: The evil tyrant Chapter 6: The decadent emperor Chapter 7: The modern prince Epilogue The Nachleben of Elagabalus in art and literature: an overview Severan family tree Notes Select bibliography Index

Promotional Information

Elagablus, raised to the throne at the age of fourteen in 218 AD, and assassinated only four years later, remains among the most notorious and enigmatic of Roman Emperors. The contemporary and Byzantine sources on his reign portray a life of decadence and sexual and criminal excess, as well as religious affront to Rome's traditions.

About the Author

Martijn Icks is a Marie Curie fellow at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universitat Heidelberg, Germany. He was previously Lecturer in History and Literature Studies at the University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands and obtained his PhD cum laude in 2008.

Reviews

'This is a clear and well-organized account written in a lively and approachable way. It is not a routine imperial biography, but a much wider study encompassing the nature of religious belief, culture and ethnicity, the presentation of the imperial image and the response to this in Rome and the provinces. An important and original aspect is the description of the dissemination of classical culture and the reception of Rome in later periods, and in particular the changing image of Elagabalus in opera, drama and fiction.' - Brian Campbell, Professor of Roman History, Queen's University Belfast