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Elagabalus or Heliogabalus ((ギリシア語:Μάρκος Αυρήλιος Αντωνίνος Αύγουστος); (ラテン語:Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus); 203 – March 11, 222), was Roman Emperor from 218 to 222. A member of the Severan Dynasty, he was Syrian, the second son of Julia Soaemias and Sextus Varius Marcellus. In his early youth he served as a priest of the god Elagabal (in Latin, ''Elagabalus'') in the hometown of his mother's family, Emesa. As a private citizen, he was probably named Sextus Varius Avitus Bassianus.〔For a detailed discussion of his nomenclature, see Leonardo de Arrizabalaga y Prado, ''Elagabalus: Fact or Fiction?'', p. 231.〕 Upon becoming emperor he took the name Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus. He was called Elagabalus only after his death.〔First by the fourth-century author Aurelius Victor ''Liber de Caesaribus'' (23.1) ()〕 In 217, the emperor Caracalla was assassinated and replaced by his Praetorian prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus. Caracalla's maternal aunt, Julia Maesa, successfully instigated a revolt among the Third Legion to have her eldest grandson (and Caracalla's cousin), Elagabalus, declared emperor in his place. Macrinus was defeated on 8 June 218, at the Battle of Antioch. Elagabalus, barely fourteen years old, became emperor, initiating a reign remembered mainly for sexual scandal and religious controversy. Later historians suggest Elagabalus showed a disregard for Roman religious traditions and sexual taboos. He replaced the traditional head of the Roman pantheon, Jupiter, with the deity of whom he was high priest, Elagabal. He forced leading members of Rome's government to participate in religious rites celebrating this deity, over which he personally presided. Elagabalus was married as many as five times, lavished favours on male courtiers popularly thought to have been his lovers, and was reported to have prostituted himself in the imperial palace. His behavior estranged the Praetorian Guard, the Senate, and the common people alike. Amidst growing opposition, Elagabalus, just 18 years old, was assassinated and replaced by his cousin Alexander Severus on 11 March 222, in a plot formulated by his grandmother, Julia Maesa, and carried out by disaffected members of the Praetorian Guard. Elagabalus developed a reputation among his contemporaries for extreme eccentricity, decadence and zealotry. This tradition has persisted, and in writers of the early modern age he suffers one of the worst reputations among Roman emperors. Edward Gibbon, for example, wrote that Elagabalus "abandoned himself to the grossest pleasures and ungoverned fury."〔Gibbon, Edward. ''Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', Chapter VI.〕 According to B.G. Niebuhr, "The name Elagabalus is branded in history above all others" because of his "unspeakably disgusting life."〔Niebuhr, B.G. ''(History of Rome )'', p. 144 (1844). Elagabalus' vices were "too disgusting even to allude to them."〕 ==Family and priesthood== Elagabalus was born around the year 203〔Herodian, ''Roman History'' (V.3 )〕 to a Greek father, Sextus Varius Marcellus and Julia Soaemias Bassiana. His father was initially a member of the equestrian class, but was later elevated to the rank of senator. His grandmother Julia Maesa was the widow of the consul Gaius Julius Avitus Alexianus, the sister of Julia Domna, and the sister-in-law of the emperor Septimius Severus.〔Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' (LXXIX.30 )〕 He had at least one sibling: an unnamed elder brother.〔Birley, ''Septimius Severus: The African Emperor'', p.p.217&222-223〕〔(Sextus Varius Marcellus' article at Livius.org )〕 His mother, Julia Soaemias, was a cousin of the Roman emperor Caracalla. Other relatives included his aunt Julia Avita Mamaea and uncle Marcus Julius Gessius Marcianus and among their children, their son Alexander Severus. Elagabalus's family held hereditary rights to the priesthood of the sun god Elagabal, of whom Elagabalus was the high priest at Emesa (modern Homs) in Syria.〔 The deity Elagabalus was initially venerated at Emesa. This form of the god's name is a Latinized version of the Syrian ''Ilāh hag-Gabal'', which derives from ''Ilāh'' (a Semitic word for "god") and ''gabal'' (an Aramaic word for "mountain"), resulting in "the God of the Mountain," the Emesene manifestation of the deity. The cult of the deity spread to other parts of the Roman Empire in the 2nd century; a dedication has been found as far away as Woerden (Netherlands), near the Roman ''limes''.〔"(An Early Dedication to Elagabal )" at Livius.org; the inscription is in now in Woerden's (city museum ).〕 The god was later imported and assimilated with the Roman sun god known as Sol Indiges in republican times and as Sol Invictus during the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE. In Greek the sun god is Helios, hence "Heliogabalus", a variant of "Elagabalus". 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Elagabalus」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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