Teen Priest Elagabalus Defeats Emperor Macrinus at Antioch
The teenage priest Elagabalus, backed by his grandmother's gold and the loyalty of Syrian legions, defeated Emperor Macrinus outside Antioch after Macrinus's own troops began defecting mid-battle. Macrinus fled disguised as a courier but was captured near Chalcedon and executed, ending a reign of barely fourteen months. Elagabalus's ascension installed one of Rome's most controversial emperors, whose religious fanaticism and sexual transgressions scandalized the Roman establishment until his own assassination four years later.
June 8, 218
1808 years ago
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