Heligobalus

Heligobalus, or ELAGABALUS, emperor of Rome, was born at Emesa in 204 A.D. His real name was Varius Avitus Bassianus, but having, when a mere child, been appointed high-priest of the Syro-Phœnician sun-god Elagabal, he assumed the name of that deity. Soon after the death of his cousin Caracalla, Heligobalus was proclaimed emperor by the soldiers, in opposition to the legitimate sovereign, Macrinus, who had become obnoxious to the troops from his parsimony and the severity of his discipline. The rivals met in battle on the borders of Syria and Phœnicia in 218 A.D. Macrinus was defeated, and Heligobalus, proceeding to Rome, quietly assumed the purple. His reign, which lasted rather more than three years and nine months, was infamous for the gluttony and the nearly unparalleled debaucheries of every kind in which he indulged. He was murdered in an insurrection of the prætorians in 222 A.D., and was succeeded by his cousin and adopted son, Alexander Severus.