Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, or Elagabalus, is one of the most infamous Roman emperors in history. Reigning from 218 to 222, he has been variously described as a teenage tyrant, a mad libertine, and even a genderqueer icon. Born in Syria, his posthumous nickname Elagabalus (alternatively Heliogabalus) refers to the Arab-Roman sun god Elagabal, of whom he served as a head priest. Though Elagabal was a popular deity in Roman Syria, the rest of the Empire did not care for him as much, despite Elagabalus’s efforts to bring him into vogue…
