What happens when you put the Roman Empire in the hands of a teenage boy? The life and times of the worst Roman emperor of all.
What happens when you put the Roman Empire in the hands of a teenage boy? Discover the scandalous life and times of Rome''s worst emperor.
''Buy the book; it''s very entertaining.'' David Aaronovitch, The Times
On 8 June 218 AD, a fourteen-year-old Syrian boy, egged on by his grandmother, led an army to battle in a Roman civil war. Against all expectations, he was victorious.
Varius Avitus Bassianus, known to the modern world as Heliogabalus, was proclaimed emperor. The next four years were to be the strangest in the history of the empire.
Heliogabalus humiliated the prestigious Senators and threw extravagant dinner parties for lower-class friends. He ousted Jupiter from his summit among the gods and replaced him with Elagabal. He married a Vestal Virgin – twice. Rumours abound
