Elagabalus - The "Femboy" Emperor #24 Roman History Documentary Series

[@carausiuscaesar5672]

Imagine at 14 being in command of the whole Roman Empire.

[@OptimusPrinceps_Augustus]

Didn't last long

[@NinjaGrrrl7734]

"Now everyone bark like a dog!"

[@Caligulashorse1453]

If I was imperator I would probably either go crazy with power and do what Caligula did or pull a Constantine but most likely due to my lack of experience in ruling a massive empire I would probably be like one of those short lived 2 year Roman emperors like Philip the Arab

[@paulhunter6742]

Actually, He l believe his Mother and few other counsels ran the Empire until he was old enough...

[@Donathon-xt2nl]

Not a position I'd ever wish for.... just my opinion

[@EasternRomanHistory]

Elagabalus seems to have done everything he could to annoy everyone around him, and so it is little wonder he lasted slightly longer than Caligula. More interestingly and more often overshadowed is Julia Maesa and her role in restoring the Severan dynasty.

[@TheSPQRHistorian]

Yeah and it seems that she was the true power behind the throne and when she could no longer control Elagabalus she promoted her other grandson... Elagabalus' eccentricities might be, at least partly owed to, a normal obstinate teenage behaviour that took the form of a rebellion against his overbearing mother and grandmother. And/or some sort of psychological disorder that got aggravated by being promoted to purple at such a young age.

[@mattkiraly9869]

I have a lot of empathy for him. He was strange, didn't fit in, obviously had his own internal struggles, and then he was placed to rule over the most powerful country the world has known. Imagine a 14-year-old dealing with DC lobbyists. All the teenage emperors were like Elagabalus - Nero was 16 I think when he became emperor, Caligula was also young, etc.

[@redjirachi1]

@@mattkiraly9869 A true sigma femboy

[@riaagarwal6840]

​​@@TheSPQRHistorianif women could only hold power on their own, they would not have to use subterfuge and use males to further their ambitious. Maybe the roman women would have been better where the men failed

[@matraditz3954]

​@@riaagarwal6840nah 😂 women always made things worse

[@jamessheridan4306]

Sounds like a perfect role for Ezra Miller.

[@rdf4315]

Oh God don't give woke Hollywood any ideas lmao.

[@Zodroo_Tint]

@@rdf4315 Do you even know what "lmao" means anymore?

[@thaneofwhiterun3562]

Too perfect

[@viraloracle5151]

Ezra miller could molest a baby live on TV but because he belongs to the (((tribe))) he wont end up in Jail.

[@redjirachi1]

That's unfair to Elagablus; we're not sure how messed up he actually was and how much of it was propaganda against him

[@Hilversumborn]

Caligula: I’m the craziest emperor! Elagabalus: Hold my wine!

[@vituscorvinus3110]

He could not hold a candle to Caligula in that area

[@OptimusPrinceps_Augustus]

"I do believe that I am becoming a god"

[@OptimusPrinceps_Augustus]

@@vituscorvinus3110 Tiberius could 🤣

[@redplanet7163]

Look everybody...I'm a lady 🤣🤣🤣

[@juliansanchezharris5773]

leadwine*

[@TetsuShima]

*Fun fact:* There's a 1911 silent short film about Elagabalus' madness and death called "L'orgie romaine" ("The Roman Orgy"). It's on KZbin if you are interested in watching it. Also, the Steven Saylor's book "Dominus" recounts Elagabalus' infamous reign. Both products are pretty good, actually.

[@bradwolf07]

thank you for sharing that. I may just look those up

[@youvebeengreeked]

*Well, we're one emperor away from a complete Crisis... given how short they all reigned, I imagine your uploads are going to be pretty regular.*

[@alessandrogini5283]

Alexander severus Is underrated

[@thadtuiol1717]

@@alessandrogini5283 Maximin has entered the chat

[@cam5816]

⁠@@thadtuiol1717Never forget Doug. The savior of Rome, forgotten by history 😔

[@Apollo1989V]

I don’t really think you can say he was a trans. He had many enemies whose biased writings are our only source. Despite his eccentric actions, there is no evidence that he viewed himself as the opposite of his biological gender. The concept of gender identity is relatively recent and trying to apply the concept to people in the past is distorting history.

[@JulianThePhilosopher7]

That's the exact thing I was thinking, it's ridiculous

[@TheSPQRHistorian]

I know and I agree, that's why I only recite Cassius Dio and move on. But I'm sorry; it's too juicy... I had to put it in the title for the clickbait

[@TomSeliman99]

@@TheSPQRHistorian lmao atleast youre honest

[@georgesantos4962]

@@TheSPQRHistorian although I agree with you, you’re going to ruffle a lot of fragile feathers on both sides - especially those who try to ascribe modern standards to ancient history.

[@jonddavis3817]

@@TheSPQRHistorian Lost some respect for this channel. Not so much for the trans thing itself, but doing it as clickbait. People watch your channel because the videos are well made and the content is well researched and well described. You don't need to bait people into your watching your videos. We're not little fishies. Also, never say "too juice".

[@dronvirs]

10:12 "he intended to implement a distinctly foreign god at the head of roman pantheon." Constantine: this looks like a job for me.

[@SuperMrHiggins]

Yeah, the difference betwixt the two: while Elagabalus was a freakin' child, who by all accounts was a fairly inept ruler, gaining the throne by way of a fluke. Constantine was an amazing General gaining the throne by victory through bloodshed while also being an extremely competent ruler. Though, I guess if youre in the camp that Christianity led to the collapse of the empire he probably isn't that good in your mind. Personally imho, religion is mostly lip service, people are gonna do what they're gonna do. The Crusades were made more so by a few bountiful harvests and a surplus of sons than by any divine portents or commands EDIT: Just basic editing and added in the bit about the crusades. Best wishes, dear reader.

[@romanicempirium3083]

@@SuperMrHiggins Not to mention the Monotheistic concept was far fresher and more appealing especially to the poorer peoples of Rome.

[@pokemata1035]

@@SuperMrHiggins Very polite

[@arthurconan1899]

And?.....

[@billdecompsa4705]

The monotheistic abrahamic god was not placed at the head of the pantheon, he replaced the pantheon.

[@maximvsdread1610]

Thank you so much for this systematic chronological lay out of the emperors of Rome. It really helps with the understanding of the missing gaps so many other histories possess.

[@yvonnemg4292]

So true 👏🏼

[@voizen7879]

This is my favorite video series about Rome, hands down!

[@kaloarepo288]

One of the greatest of Venetian composers Francesco Cavalli wrote an opera called "Eliogabalo" in 1667 -apparently it was never staged but put on stage for the first time in 2010 in the U.S. and many other places starring the astonishing Argentinian male soprano Franco Fagioli.The whole of the Paris production is available on You Tube -a quite amazing work.

[@mangrove]

The first I heard of him was in Kurt Vonnegut's "Breakfast of Champions", in which he was identified as "Heliogabalus".

[@TheReddShinobi13]

"Femboy emperor?" I swear my undying fealty and loyalty to Rome

[@zwerg8474]

XD

[@KoiaruTan]

Based

[@svenmuller5332]

I despise you with my whole heart

[@shuhdhh7824]

Gooner

[@billdecompsa4705]

I despise you with my whole heart.

[@Anakunus]

Ah, finally, Elagabalus... the emperor who beat all his predecessors in his depravity.

[@OptimusPrinceps_Augustus]

👍🌿😜🌿

[@vituscorvinus3110]

...he just called himself a woman how can that match Tiberius?

[@OptimusPrinceps_Augustus]

@@vituscorvinus3110 The goings on in Capri with Catamites and Spintriae are legendary, even Caligula would have blushed...

[@BenWaitinOnYou]

The guy had a carriage, in which he had naked women pull it, while he whipped them, 100% correct sir.

[@joshuadk13]

No, Elagabalus was strange and mentally ill, he was nowhere near as depraved as Caligula or Caracalla

[@goethe3116]

I've been waiting for how long for you guys to make a video.

[@markp44288]

He represented almost every vice. But he did invent the Whoopie Cushion.

[@toddkurzbard]

Then his life truly did have meaning.

[@tr7b410]

See farting preachers, to expand your search engine for more evidence of the reign of Fartimus maximus in our society.

[@stronkveak5917]

Such an overlooked emperor, thank you for this

[@OptimusPrinceps_Augustus]

It got what was coming, little Catamite

[@dronvirs]

Elagabalus may've been the only femboy emperor we've ever had and I am not complaining.

[@TrajGreekFire]

Constans

[@dronvirs]

@@TrajGreekFire extremely gay but was not called Hierocles's queen 😩 and he sponsored a decree alongside Constantius II that ruled that marriage based on "unnatural" sex should be punished meticulously (maybe he was not a femboy or maybe he was)

[@OptimusPrinceps_Augustus]

Caligula and Nero too

[@dronvirs]

@@OptimusPrinceps_Augustus not caligula. Incestuous? Yes. Femboy? No.

[@TrajGreekFire]

@@dronvirs yeah he was a right wing femboy like we have today

[@timmiller1954]

He is mentioned in the Major-General Song from the Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert & Sullivan.

[@EasternRomanHistory]

Great video, I like your picture of Cassius Dio, is it a medieval picture?

[@goethe3116]

Please Please Please, I beg of thee, never stop making videos!!!

[@alhajisonline7353]

Love your videos. I hope you do my favourite emperor “Aurelian” someday.

[@RagnaCloud13]

Lucius: now who is this guy anyway? Alexander Severus: just a degenerate emperor.

[@MotzKotz3]

The praetorian guard trying not to riot about the most stupid shit (impossible)

[@dda40x1]

As always, well done.

[@AD-ij2wj]

I have peer reviewed sources published and reviewed by editorial boards who claim that he was a power bottom. Hence his hiring standards.

[@DS-us1vi]

Seems inappropriate to be referring to an emperor with a large majority of his reign (75% ish) was as an underage child in an extremely sexualised and visual way... speculating about a child's sex life, historical or not, is also very weird and almost seems fetishist. You aren't really helping progressives who are fighting for gay (or queer now apparently) rights that we've been trying to fight and disassociation with pedophilia which you seem to be trying to get reattached by saying stuff like this...

[@gideoncornfield4732]

Got that source I would read it

[@elYisusdelaNazza]

Thank you for my daily dose of thinking about the roman empire

[@stratagos4610]

its been a while since your last upload i was beginning to worry 😄 thanks for the great video 👍

[@phantomwolf5468]

He was the grandson of Emperor Septimius Severus correct?

[@TheSPQRHistorian]

No, Septimius Severus wife Julia Domna had a sister named Julia Maesa, Elagabalus and Severus Alexander was Julia Maesas grandsons

[@phantomwolf5468]

@@TheSPQRHistorian Yes 👍🏾yes that’s right, I just looked back and realize that. Thanks very much for the reply & great story😊

[@septimiusseverus343]

_Grandnephew, and I am utterly ashamed and disgusted to admit it._

[@kellysouter4381]

@@septimiusseverus343 there, there, you can pick your friends but not your family

[@larsrons7937]

Thanks for an interesting story. Elagabalus is one of my favorite emperors to *hear* about, but in ancient times it must have felt absolutely ridiculous to experience him. Rome hasn't always been lucky with it's emperors. I missed the story of his extravagant first entrance to Rome, but I guess there are so many stories we can't have them all. And we might never know facts from fiction.

[@georgesnovi5138]

pro-ukrainian and woke totaly mdr!

[@larsrons7937]

@@georgesnovi5138 You wrote that nonsense, not I.

[@MC-gj8fg]

Something that always baffled me regarding roman emperors is that, while it may be understandable with the earlier emperors of this type, after so many of their predecessors were killed by the senate or military, you would think that at some point they would stop making the mistake of believing that they can just do whatever they like without getting the stabby stab.

[@JustinCage56]

This comment section is gonna be a fucking war zone

[@TheSPQRHistorian]

I know right - I put a trigger word in the title

[@FazeParticles]

so far it's tame.

[@willrice1850]

I can't help but notice that our narrator sounds like John Cleese's younger brother.

[@JayWayne-yq7lh]

Each time I see Elagabalus bust, i always find myself thinking "Dang, he's good lookin!"

[@xiezhao9075]

What was Egbalus's original name? SEXtus.

[@goldenweeb2081]

seeing the word femboy on a serious video about rome is so funny

[@shebbasanders1916]

This needs to be a Netflix series.

[@Just_lift_anyone]

Well it's about a tranny so I'm sure they'll be all over it.

[@rufst]

Netflix will portray him black

[@renefonck8920]

They won't he is an evil transgender

[@moniqueloomis9772]

​@@rufst😂 Farcical! He's Roman!

[@binghamguevara6814]

I wouldn’t watch such liberal filth

[@morganicom3027]

i love this channel

[@jamesruddy9264]

I'm glad this showed up as I'd recently bought a coin with his image on it but never heard of him before and didn't know a thing about him. Thanks.

[@OptimusPrinceps_Augustus]

That's a rare Roman coin

[@jamesruddy9264]

@@OptimusPrinceps_Augustus Really? I didn't know that either. I paid $10 for it at an antique shop in Hastings Minnesota.

[@thejohn6614]

​@@jamesruddy9264 how do you know it's real?

[@jamesruddy9264]

@@thejohn6614 I don't know for sure, but I'm not overly concerned as I only collect for fun not as an investment.

[@thejohn6614]

@@jamesruddy9264 that's cool. I wish I could just stumble across something like that somewhere. That's a cool find. Does it look really old? What is it made out of?

[@TotilaTheGoth]

You should put the sources into the description.

[@TetsuShima]

Praetorian Guards: "Caesar, we have finally found the way to turn you into a woman!" Elagabalus: "Really? Oh man, I cannot wait to get rid of this ridiculous p*nis. What's your plan?" Praetorian Guards: "Close your eyes!" Elagabalus: "Okie Dokie!" 😊 Praetorian Guards: *Draw swords*

[@hyraemous]

Elagabalus: Why do I hear a sword?

[@cinema6r845]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@Eazy-ERyder]

Please keep doing these!

[@MrSergore]

Well, he's considered as one of the most inept emperors to ever "rule" the Roman Empire. He was a puppet of his own grandmother, who got rid of him because of Elagabalus being so depraved and unpopular with Praetorian Guard as well as populace. So much so, he began to be a threat to the security of his own family, who ended up killing him with the help of the Praetorian Guard. Killing him before others do it and kill the family as well for the good measure... I sincerely don't know why modern homosexual people look up to him. Hadrian was gay and one of the best emperors to rule the Empire and despite him being gay, he left the best succession after him. He is far more deserving of praise.

[@jamessheridan4306]

Modern homosexuals look up to him??? I never did. Beware of generalizations.

[@simenon5929]

Well, Hadrian was not a fan of the jews ...

[@sneedsfeedandseed1795]

because hadrian was literally hitler

[@bertplank8011]

@@simenon5929 no one was a "fan of the jews".....anyway,how is this relevant?.

[@michelleandrade303]

Great video! As every single one 🙂

[@jeraldbaxter3532]

When I was 19 years old, I bought, in a drugstore\ genaral goods store in south Georgia (USA), a book entitled "Child of the sun," which was a novelized telling of this emperor. I was still in my "ancient Rome" period, and bought the book based on its cover. When I started reading it, well, it wasn't really a shock (I was trying to be "worldly" and sophisticated to admit to being shocked😉), but, I certainly was surprised. I finished reading it and while not great literature, it was interesting.😊

[@edwardmiessner6502]

Bear in mind that Cassius Dio, Herodian, and the chronicler for the _Historia Augusta_ were of the type men back then who would recoil at the very idea of men and teenage boys expressing traits of femininity, and especially of male citizens who bottomed. So they hated Elagabalus who could very well have been bisexual, gay, a femboy, etc., as we understand it, but I think we need to take with a grain of salt some of their more outrageous claims about him. But I have to admit, he was pretty.

[@mattkiraly9869]

He was kinda pretty, I agree. :)

[@PatrickDoherty-m7k]

Yeah, pretty fking ghae lol

[@here_we_go_again2571]

@ edwardmiessner6502 The warrior ethic is what most Romans viewed as honorable.

[@romanyromania6032]

Amazing work

[@fantasia55]

The name Elagabalus refers to the god Baal.

[@hawaiigopher]

Just watching this video as a Gladiator II sequel.

[@fuferito]

I first heard of Elagabalus (actually, Golobulus) in _G.I. Joe: The Movie;_ he was one of the chief denizens of Cobra-La, voiced by the late great Burgess Meredith.

[@yammt3148]

This is a tricky one... All of our sources on him are questionable.

[@NapoleonAquila]

Gladiator 3 coming soon

[@kennethgiles-nu9dk]

knew how to enjoy himself

[@joshuadk13]

Also, are we going to gloss over his choosing of bodyguards based on their… size?

[@bradwolf07]

Barely heard of this emperor before...boy was I missing out on some fascinating insanity

[@nicholaspiper98]

Sources? I love your videos btw!

[@s1gma9000]

Is that Pyrocynical?

[@JonathanRivera-dj6mm]

There must be a film or a series about him but without historical mistakes or fantasy costumes!

[@nhammond944]

He reminds me of Geoffrey from the game of thrones

[@MithridatesVI32]

underrated channel

[@jackal25301]

Elagabalus= اله الجبل

[@robbabcock_]

Fascinating!

[@johnwalzer9187]

I've never understood the infamy to which Elagabalus was consigned. Sure, his pansexuality was novel and probably disconcerting, even to the Romans. But he wasn't bloody or murderous - just strange. It's hard to take seriously the idea that the Praetorians were offended by his behavior - these were, after all, the louts who had murdered several emperors and put the Empire itself up for sale at auction some years earlier. The Praetorians were hardly in a position to "look down" on anyone from a moral or behavioral standpoint. All that can be said of Elagabalus is that he was manipulated into power by his scheming mother and grandmother, was immature and not competent to rule (which could be said of a dozen other emperors), and he enjoyed himself while he could. If you really want to talk sexually depraved, cruel, selfish and out of touch, it begins and ends with Tiberius.

[@sweetpeach3649]

Tiberius, Caligula, and Nero

[@raulpetrascu2696]

Moral standards were different then, killing people unjustly was a small vice compared to bringing "shame" to the highest holy position of the empire and insulting many important Roman traditions and worshipping a foreign god (he should've learned from what happened to Mark Antony). The Praetorians were used to violence, but super gay shit? UNACCEPTABLE But seriously tho if true the main thing had to have been the vestal virgin part, that was one of the worst sacrileges a Roman could possibly do, so I'm not surprised that he would be one of the most hated by every Roman after. Everything he allegedly did, a decadent boy raised in the East, was a grave insult to Rome

[@johnwalzer9187]

@@raulpetrascu2696 How the Romans felt about Elagabalus is irrelevant. My point is that the 1,800 years of judgments about Elagabalus that followed seem rather unfair and the historical condemnation out of all proportion to his actions. Nearly all the criticism of Elagabalus centers on his unusual sexual proclivities - which, in the grand scheme of things, doesn't seem all that important when compared with the bloodthirsty viciousness of Tiberius, Caligula, Commodus and Caracalla, to name only a few. And then I look around at a gun-infested America in 2023 - a nation where weekly massacres are seen as unremarkable even as huge numbers of people perceive drag shows as immoral horrors that require eradication, and I realize we have far more in common with the ancient Romans than we'd care to admit. As long as people continue to be more hysterical - and titillated - over sex than they are over murder, and violence in general, I don't expect to see Elagabalus' reputation to improve much.

[@raulpetrascu2696]

@@johnwalzer9187 what do you mean how the Romans felt about him is irrelevant? The "infamy to which Elagabalus _was consigned_" you talk about and 1800 years of judgement is literally every Roman after him (plus Christians which again the criticism should not be a surprise). 99% of opinions of Elagabalus come from them and were influenced by Roman sources. You mentioned the praetorians also and how you think it didn't make sense for them but I explained why it really does in their context, I'm not sure you read your own comment that I was responding to. Modern opinions is another matter but that's not what your original comment communicated

[@johnwalzer9187]

@@raulpetrascu2696 Are you sure you read the comment? "I've never understood the infamy to which Elagabalus was consigned." Read it again. I'm clearly referring to the condemnation he's suffered over the last 2,000 years. Otherwise I would have said, "I've never understood why Elagabalus was condemned by his contemporaries." Yes, historians have read the accounts of the emperor's contemporaries but there are ugly contemporary accounts of Tiberius and Claudius and Domitian, and yet historians have found things to admire in all of them. On the other hand, Elagabalus seems to bring out the worst in historians resulting in a lot of knee-jerk sanctimony and a total lack of objectivity. As for the praetorians, they were monumental hypocrites in their day and I don't think their reputations have improved since the 2nd century. They were self-serving, unreliable bully boys and louts who were loyal to nobody, did very little that wasn't ceremonial and cared only about their own enrichment - and that's all they cared about. If, in addition to all their other vices, they were delusional and able to convince themselves that their avarice, disloyalty and general bloodiness did not disqualify them from judging a weird but harmless boy emperor - well, that would not surprise me at all.

[@freemikeg]

I absolutely love the title of this video in the name of all the Gods of Rome please don't change it

[@Evocletian]

he was related to septimius severus , not marcus aureleis .... which is what you said in the first minute of the video. Many late Roman emperors added Aurelius to his Name to add providence to his position

[@chrisyoung5363]

That image presented as Elagabalus looks alot like George Noory.

[@JulianThePhilosopher7]

Hey I'm not hating on the hussel, great videos mostly thank you, wasn't trying to give u a hard time thanks for the response

[@jeromesullivan4015]

He merely embraced his position as Queen..er um…

[@jeromesullivan4015]

He really had a Horriblius Anus? NM

[@michaeldy3157]

How he lasted more than a month is crazy .he had no desire to do his job at all. Like commodus but worse..

[@martinbeausoleil5229]

No mention of Zoticus ... how disappointing!!

[@vasp99]

Decades ago I read a novel of historical fiction about Elegabalus called Emperor of the Sun , never dreaming it was based on a real person and events !

[@gregorylittle1461]

Really love your presentations. Please have someone proofread your material and your pronunciation of foreign names. Latin names usually follow a pronunciation that follows the Latin vowels.

[@fantasia55]

Elagabalus was named for the Semitic god Baal. Adherents worshipped stones.

[@TaeSunWoo]

Elagabalus really woke and chose to live their life like it was a video game

[@shiro4095]

Fr being crowned at 14 is crazy

[@Starlight-by3cf]

​@@shiro4095 He was crowned at the age of 14 which explains why he was the way he was and did what he did, all he was doing was experimenting with his new found power and seeing how far he can go which of course is pure insanity.

[@ontaka5997]

Becoming Emperor of Rome at 14 due to lineage is one thing. I am more curious about how he became a high priest of a cult at such a young age.

[@johnmanno2052]

THANK YOU for making a video about my FAVORITE Roman emperor!!!! The Historia Augusta's account of his life is AWESOME!! I like his taste in men (that blond gladiator husband sounded sensational), his sense of humor, and his fashion sense. And I want that chariot of his, the one that's drawn by naked women!!! And it's always very very odd to me that people go ballistic about him ... STILL!! After all these centuries! And even CENSOR accounts of what he did. And I wonder, why? What's the big deal? "Great" leaders who aren't nearly as fun are responsible for the violent deaths of millions (Hello obscure 19th century American Presidents! What happened to all those Native Americans??). Is wearing monochrome earth tone clothing, no makeup, and monogamously married to a cisgendered woman who doesn't talk much a ticket to moral virtue? Why is it whenever someone behaves in ways most people would consider to be outrageous it's seen as some sort of "degeneracy", yet brutality, violence, mayhem and destruction are greeted with applause, or some sort of shrug and acceptance?

[@OptimusPrinceps_Augustus]

He wasn't accepted by the Romans and got what was coming

[@johnmanno2052]

@@OptimusPrinceps_Augustus Yes. He wasn't accepted by "the Romans" (whoever they were), but hardly anyone was, and those who were were VERY brutal people (Diocletian, Constantine, etc etc). Speaking personally, I certainly would prefer a flamboyant absolute monarch to a brutal one, but to each his own, I guess. What I don't understand, however, was how "he got what was coming to him". It sounds like you're saying that any man in makeup and a dress somehow "deserves" some kind of violence. But I can't imagine anyone nowadays saying such a thing, though people certainly said such things when I was 12 (I'm 60). Would you please clarify?

[@johnmanno2052]

@Frank Thinnes Interesting. I don't visualize him as a modern person at all, because a lot of those conceptions that we have about ourselves and our identities simply didn't exist at the time, though I am aware of the HUGE debate between essentialists and their critics. And I'm not sure if he had any agenda, per se, other than doing what he wanted to do. But whatever he was, or wanted, or did, I find the record that is his legacy fascinating and even inspiring, far more so than someone like Augustus. This has nothing to do with Elagabalus himself, but rather myself. We have much to blame people like Augustus for, if subsequent societies are based on Roman perspectives on how to run a society. Imagine, if you will, what life would have been like if people like Elagabalus won.

[@johnmanno2052]

@Frank Thinnes Oh! I'm sorry I misunderstood your comment! And now I feel foolish because here you are an expert and I shot off my mouth! Thank you for your infinite patience. And it's nice to know I'm not the only one who daydreams about Elagabalus! 🙂

[@johnmanno2052]

@Frank Thinnes Sounds awesome

[@nurval1093]

Roman emperors were discord mods before discord even existed

[@IamBuffal0]

History kinda repeating itself.

[@sarockanime]

Who are these guards, seriously i mean how many emperor have they killed.

[@arifahmedkhan9999]

Yo man Romans were tripping back then

[@jonathanfinney7821]

Surely "Femporer"?

[@kellysouter4381]

Where's the dads joke groan icon?

[@kurzeful]

😄 that is clever... Like it

[@stephenlennon76]

Nice

[@theicepickthatkilledtrotsk658]

The stories about the Roman Emperor Elagabalus and the rise of questions about the “Transgender Emperor” and stuff like that. It is not surprising that most of the discussions about the so-called “Transgender Emperor” are inherently flawed and just simply wrong. This is not really an issue, there is almost no substance for a meaningful dialogue. There is just too little reputable information we have only the accounts of Cassius Dio, Herodian, and Historia Augusta, all of who had open animosity against Elagabalus. Accusing an unpopular former emperor of abnormal sexual behavior was a time-honored tradition among Roman Historians at this point. They really kick it up a notch with Elagabalus. But what we can prove is that this Emperor was a religious fanatic of cult to the Eastern diety El Gabal Latinised to Elagabalus witch traditions include circumcision. Elagabalus also liked to fuck around with the Roman state religion with reckless abandon. Needless to say, all this must have been incredibly unpopular which led to exaggeration and demonization.

[@TheSPQRHistorian]

I tend to agree with and you thats why I only recite Cassius Dios account and move on. But it's to jucie not have in the title; for that clickbait

[@starcapture3040]

In Mecca maybe some of Elagabalus black stone still exist

[@OptimusPrinceps_Augustus]

Catamites are such

[@DS-us1vi]

The thing that bothers me the most is when other gay (or queer now, apparently) decide that they want to discuss his sex life in vivid detail firstly not only based on unreliable accounts but also knowing full well that he was likely a child for a majority of the period they are mentioning. Now this is fine if it's from an academic and largely scholarly point. But the way they are discussing it is based firstly on flawed accounts and seizing on ridiculous exaggerated information, inappropriately applying modern ideas like 'femboy' 'trans' and 'power bottom' which not only give labels which didn't exist but apply very vivid and almost pornographic imagery to one's mind of what a child was getting up to. Not only is it not scholarly, but the unnecessary and inappropriate application of trendy terms that are used when talking about their personal sex lives in modern times makes me find it very concerning. Not long ago and even today gay men were associated with pedophilia, I'm sure the lesbians even were and still are too, it also doesn't help trans people who are being accused of trying to make children take pills to change their genitals inappropriately... they are deciding to give ammunition to the right by firstly sexualising children and then applying identities onto them when both of these things are based on likely inaccurate information. It's gross and upsetting for me to read. It's one thing to speculate about monarchs sex lives (James VI and I, Frederick the Great, Anne Stuart) but they were adults and there is much evidence to rely on. But by giving this child identities which firstly there's basically no reliable evidence to base these on but also secondly it associates them with something not only did they definitely have absolutely any concept or idea of these modern identities but it also takes away their ability and right to choose to be associated with it. Just because they are a historical figure it doesn't make it ok to announce they were trans based on no sources because they have the right to be associated with that if they want, if they want to be gay they can choose to be associated with that. But they are dead so speculating on it is fine but it's so gross when people don't actually comment on the historical sources they base information on when making these videos or writing comments because it is important to the information and children understanding that it's not somehow transphobic or discriminatory for us to disagree with them. Especially cuz these children have never been in the real world but think they know everything you are sending them unprepared into the world with what they think they know at a crucial time being very questionable.

[@briandarlage9815]

Impossible. Everyone knows the Roman's and the Greeks totally accepted all kinds of sexual debauchery. I am sure the army had no issues with his gender expression

[@turtlesandmoreturtles]

nah you could be gay just not a bottom as that wasn't considered manly

[@BongBing11]

Not really, homosexuality was looked down upon greatly, and Ellie was from Syria, which was considered a 'feminine' culture

[@jellyratpie9169]

Im gonna hold your hand when I say this...

[@herooja]

How come you never mention that the whole family was of Arabic descent though they were Roman citizens? Julia Maesa middle name is Arabic ميساء , a name still used today, Elgabalus is Arabic ايل جبل ، or mountain God ,

[@drillxedit]

He wasn’t Arab nor were his family. They were pre-Arab Syrians and they had Semitic-Carthaginian and Roman admixture. Arab nationalist claim everyone from the ancient Middle East was Arab but that’s not what Ancient sources say.

[@herooja]

@@drillxedit what does " preArab Syrian" mean? It's a strange term, considering that the first use of the word Arab in the Kurkh Inscription of Neo Assyrian king Shalmanasser 3rd described a nation living most likely in the area west of Damascus , and later Assyrian inscriptions talked about Arabs living in the area west of Hamath

[@TheSPQRHistorian]

@@herooja I mention the origins of Julia Domna and Maesa in my video on Septimius.

[@simenon5929]

Yes, I too think that Elegabalus is the fault of the arabs. Why else would he be gay? Thanks a lot for clarifying!

[@GOODdeels]

@@drillxedit Nah. The Emesans are a well documented Arab dynasty. Even after obtaining their roman citizenship, they still had Arab names and continued worshipping an Arab deity.

[@dano3952]

Hey Ela...you go girl!

[@miscellaneoussarnian5282]

YAAS QUEEN

[@cheeseman417]

Is this narrator Pierce Morgan?😂 he sounds just like him!

[@TetsuShima]

How fortunate were the Praetorian Guards to kill Elagabalus before Twitter even existed. Imagine the backlash they would have suffered for killing the first trans emperor 🤣🤣🤣

[@genosiaproduction7091]

“Cancel the praetorian Guards”

[@septimiusseverus343]

They'd have been out of a job within days...though that _might_ have been a good thing.

[@kurzeful]

🤣 facts

[@joshjacob1530]

When you take the Dionysian cult a little 2 hard.

[@joshjacob1530]

ELAGABALUS- The Femperor 🗿

[@neilgodwin6531]

Amazing that a 2000 year old story sparks fear, and homo/trans phobia in people who supposedly live in the 21st century, but actually have 19th century attitudes 😂

[@danielchequer5842]

AVE ELAGABALUS, THE FOLLOWERS OF THERSITES PRAISE YOU

[@PC-lu3zf]

He was a young nut case teen. The restored dynasty had little legitimacy as she and her grandsons had no actual relation to Septimius Severus guess that is why she invented the myth he was Caracalls son.

[@misaelfraga8196]

"Bad times make strong men. Strong men make good times. Good times make weak men. Weak men make bad times."

[@Ale-dd3ek]

The Bad times started before him

[@andrejajurecic1050]

Poor Elagabalus, who only wanted to become a priest and not an emperor at all! 🌹

[@PlanetFeatherr]

Seems pretty smash able to me

[@RagnaCloud13]

We can call him Elafaggabalus for various reasons

[@joshjacob1530]

Literally chudulus

[@timothykozlowski2945]

I heard that he would walk backwards while holding a rock and was killed while he was using the bathroom.

[@aram226]

ايل جبل ❤

[@pentegarn1]

The more things change...the more they stay the same! lol

[@bertplank8011]

The collapse of empires/civilisations follow a predictable pattern. Recall Amenhotep in Ancient Egypt,just from the remaining statues you could determine that the chap was at least an oddball.He wanted to convert Egyptians to one god revolving around the Sun/worship.....When they got rid of him they destroyed evidence of him actually existing. Its a fascinating subject because so many forces are at play when a new "regime" takes over. Today a man suffering from dementia has been installed as the "Emperor " of America....the whole thing is a complete farce when you see him tottering along....but as with the Roman example it is now speculated that Jill Biden/Jacob is ACTUALLY the power behind the scenes.....and that Biden is told what to do.... But as with Elagabus Bidens presence has created enormous resentment.....so his ice-creams would be the perfect vehicle for delivering a cure for American woes. Ironically Iran/Persia is still around!!.

[@pentegarn1]

@@bertplank8011 You're a moron.....and a traitor by the sounds of it.