Elagabalus - The "Femboy" Emperor #24 Roman History Documentary Series
2024 ж. 15 Мам.
123 175 Рет қаралды
On this channel we focus on Roman History and right now we're doing a video on every Roman Emperor, if you're interested in that subscribe or watch the playlist here:
bit.ly/32CUA2g
Narration by: James O'Neil
Intro: 0:00
Background - Prologue: 0:43
The Priest Emperor- Chapter I: 1:41
In Rome- Chapter II: 4:29
A New Caesar - Chapter III: 6:42
Final Thoughts - Epilogue: 09:46
Music
Imperator Rome OST - Magna Graecia
#Emperorsofrome #Romanemperors #SPQR #Romanhistory
Imagine at 14 being in command of the whole Roman Empire.
Didn't last long
"Now everyone bark like a dog!"
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
Actually, He l believe his Mother and few other counsels ran the Empire until he was old enough...
Not a position I'd ever wish for.... just my opinion
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.
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.
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.
@@mattkiraly9869 A true sigma femboy
@@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
@@riaagarwal6840nah 😂 women always made things worse
Caligula: I’m the craziest emperor! Elagabalus: Hold my wine!
He could not hold a candle to Caligula in that area
"I do believe that I am becoming a god"
@@vituscorvinus3110 Tiberius could 🤣
Look everybody...I'm a lady 🤣🤣🤣
leadwine*
Sounds like a perfect role for Ezra Miller.
Oh God don't give woke Hollywood any ideas lmao.
@@rdf4315 Do you even know what "lmao" means anymore?
Too perfect
Ezra miller could molest a baby live on TV but because he belongs to the (((tribe))) he wont end up in Jail.
That's unfair to Elagablus; we're not sure how messed up he actually was and how much of it was propaganda against him
*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.*
Alexander severus Is underrated
@@alessandrogini5283 Maximin has entered the chat
@@thadtuiol1717Never forget Doug. The savior of Rome, forgotten by history 😔
10:12 "he intended to implement a distinctly foreign god at the head of roman pantheon." Constantine: this looks like a job for me.
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.
@@SuperMrHiggins Not to mention the Monotheistic concept was far fresher and more appealing especially to the poorer peoples of Rome.
*Fun fact:* There's a 1911 silent short film about Elagabalus' madness and death called "L'orgie romaine" ("The Roman Orgy"). It's on KZhead if you are interested in watching it. Also, the Steven Saylor's book "Dominus" recounts Elagabalus' infamous reign. Both products are pretty good, actually.
thank you for sharing that. I may just look those up
"Femboy emperor?" I swear my undying fealty and loyalty to Rome
XD
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.
So true 👏🏼
This is my favorite video series about Rome, hands down!
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.
That's the exact thing I was thinking, it's ridiculous
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
@@TheSPQRHistorian lmao atleast youre honest
@@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.
@@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".
Ah, finally, Elagabalus... the emperor who beat all his predecessors in his depravity.
👍🌿😜🌿
...he just called himself a woman how can that match Tiberius?
@@vituscorvinus3110 The goings on in Capri with Catamites and Spintriae are legendary, even Caligula would have blushed...
The guy had a carriage, in which he had naked women pull it, while he whipped them, 100% correct sir.
No, Elagabalus was strange and mentally ill, he was nowhere near as depraved as Caligula or Caracalla
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.
The first I heard of him was in Kurt Vonnegut's "Breakfast of Champions", in which he was identified as "Heliogabalus".
I've been waiting for how long for you guys to make a video.
Such an overlooked emperor, thank you for this
It got what was coming, little Catamite
As always, well done.
He represented almost every vice. But he did invent the Whoopie Cushion.
Then his life truly did have meaning.
See farting preachers, to expand your search engine for more evidence of the reign of Fartimus maximus in our society.
its been a while since your last upload i was beginning to worry 😄 thanks for the great video 👍
Please Please Please, I beg of thee, never stop making videos!!!
Love your videos. I hope you do my favourite emperor “Aurelian” someday.
Please keep doing these!
Amazing work
Fascinating!
Elagabalus may've been the only femboy emperor we've ever had and I am not complaining.
Constans
@@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)
Caligula and Nero too
@@optimusprinceps3526 not caligula. Incestuous? Yes. Femboy? No.
@@dronvirs yeah he was a right wing femboy like we have today
This needs to be a Netflix series.
Well it's about a tranny so I'm sure they'll be all over it.
Netflix will portray him black
They won't he is an evil transgender
@@rufst😂 Farcical! He's Roman!
I wouldn’t watch such liberal filth
Great video! As every single one 🙂
i love this channel
Great video, I like your picture of Cassius Dio, is it a medieval picture?
I have peer reviewed sources published and reviewed by editorial boards who claim that he was a power bottom. Hence his hiring standards.
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...
Got that source I would read it
underrated channel
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.
That's a rare Roman coin
@@optimusprinceps3526 Really? I didn't know that either. I paid $10 for it at an antique shop in Hastings Minnesota.
@@jamesruddy9264 how do you know it's real?
@@thejohn6614 I don't know for sure, but I'm not overly concerned as I only collect for fun not as an investment.
@@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?
This comment section is gonna be a fucking war zone
I know right - I put a trigger word in the title
so far it's tame.
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.
Hey Ela...you go girl!
Nice
"unusual" at least he didn't call him bizzare like I've heard other people
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.
pro-ukrainian and woke totaly mdr!
@@georgesnovi5138 You wrote that nonsense, not I.
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.
Barely heard of this emperor before...boy was I missing out on some fascinating insanity
Sources? I love your videos btw!
You should put the sources into the description.
knew how to enjoy himself
There must be a film or a series about him but without historical mistakes or fantasy costumes!
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
He reminds me of Geoffrey from the game of thrones
I can't help but notice that our narrator sounds like John Cleese's younger brother.
I absolutely love the title of this video in the name of all the Gods of Rome please don't change it
That image presented as Elagabalus looks alot like George Noory.
What a gigachad
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
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*
Elagabalus: Why do I hear a sword?
😂😂😂😂😂
Count Dankula should make an Absolute Mad Lads on this emperor
He was the grandson of Emperor Septimius Severus correct?
No, Septimius Severus wife Julia Domna had a sister named Julia Maesa, Elagabalus and Severus Alexander was Julia Maesas grandsons
@@TheSPQRHistorian Yes 👍🏾yes that’s right, I just looked back and realize that. Thanks very much for the reply & great story😊
_Grandnephew, and I am utterly ashamed and disgusted to admit it._
@@septimiusseverus343 there, there, you can pick your friends but not your family
History kinda repeating itself.
He merely embraced his position as Queen..er um…
He really had a Horriblius Anus? NM
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.
He was kinda pretty, I agree. :)
Yeah, pretty fking ghae lol
@ edwardmiessner6502 The warrior ethic is what most Romans viewed as honorable.
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.
Literally chudulus
We can call him Elafaggabalus for various reasons
even the greeks thought that the syrians were shifty
👍🏻👍🏻
What was Egbalus's original name? SEXtus.
I heard that he would walk backwards while holding a rock and was killed while he was using the bathroom.
Yo man Romans were tripping back then
Julia Maesa BABY!! Original Queen Of Hearts!!
How he lasted more than a month is crazy .he had no desire to do his job at all. Like commodus but worse..
👍👍
seeing the word femboy on a serious video about rome is so funny
No mention of Zoticus ... how disappointing!!
The name Elagabalus refers to the god Baal.
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.
Poor Elagabalus, who only wanted to become a priest and not an emperor at all! 🌹
Almost to the crisis of the third century😅
hi my name is Braulio Darias i'm deaf all right the another i am really that history the roman amazing thanks
AVE ELAGABALUS, THE FOLLOWERS OF THERSITES PRAISE YOU
When you take the Dionysian cult a little 2 hard.
ELAGABALUS- The Femperor 🗿
of course he looks like schlatt
Elagabalus is the personification of main character energy
Elagabalus was named for the Semitic god Baal. Adherents worshipped stones.
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?
He wasn't accepted by the Romans and got what was coming
@@optimusprinceps3526 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?
@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.
@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! 🙂
@Frank Thinnes Sounds awesome
Elagabalus really woke and chose to live their life like it was a video game
Fr being crowned at 14 is crazy
@@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.
Ah yes, the Femboy waifu ~Dovahatty
Who are these guards, seriously i mean how many emperor have they killed.
The more things change...the more they stay the same! lol
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!!.
@@bertplank8011 You're a moron.....and a traitor by the sounds of it.
He was, however, a great favorite during PRIDE Month.
Hadrian and Trajan would be better choices
"Bad times make strong men. Strong men make good times. Good times make weak men. Weak men make bad times."
The Bad times started before him
As long as you are a good person and do a good job it doesn't matter if you are a man or a woman.
Roman emperors were discord mods before discord even existed
That historical period when the world was ruled by the italian Mafia.
Also, are we going to gloss over his choosing of bodyguards based on their… size?
Poor lad! he were only a kid, tiz all
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
nah you could be gay just not a bottom as that wasn't considered manly
Catamite would be a better word.
The stone of Elagabol is the same stone as the one in Mecca.
Surely "Femporer"?
Where's the dads joke groan icon?
😄 that is clever... Like it
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.
Modern homosexuals look up to him??? I never did. Beware of generalizations.
Well, Hadrian was not a fan of the jews ...
because hadrian was literally hitler
@@simenon5929 no one was a "fan of the jews".....anyway,how is this relevant?.
I liked the moment I saw the title 🤣
He would have listened to radiohead
The comments are hilarious. TRIGGERED!!!!!!!!!!