Elagabalus also known as Heliogabalus, was Roman Emperor

Roman Emperor

The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...

 from 218 to 222. A member of the Severan Dynasty

Severan dynasty

The Severan dynasty was a Roman imperial dynasty, which ruled the Roman Empire between 193 and 235. The dynasty was founded by the Roman general Septimius Severus, who rose to power during the civil war of 193, known as the Year of the Five Emperors....

, he was Syrian

Syria (Roman province)

Syria was a Roman province, annexed in 64 BC by Pompey, as a consequence of his military presence after pursuing victory in the Third Mithridatic War. It remained under Roman, and subsequently Byzantine, rule for seven centuries, until 637 when it fell to the Islamic conquests.- Principate :The...

 on his mother's side, the son of Julia Soaemias

Julia Soaemias

Julia Soaemias Bassiana was the mother of Roman Emperor Elagabalus and ruled over the Roman Empire during the minority of her son's rule....

 and Sextus Varius Marcellus

Sextus Varius Marcellus

Sextus Varius Marcellus was a Roman of equestris class, but was later elevated to the rank of senator.Although he had little administrative experience he was related to Septimius Severus and the new emperor sent him to Roman Britain in 197 to assist Virius Lupus in rebuilding the province...

. Early in his youth he served as a priest of the god El-Gabal at his hometown, Emesa. Upon becoming emperor he took the name Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus and was called Elagabalus only after his death.

In 217, the emperor Caracalla

Caracalla

Caracalla , was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. The eldest son of Septimius Severus, he ruled jointly with his younger brother Geta until he murdered the latter in 211...

 was assassinated and replaced by his Praetorian prefect

Praetorian prefect

Praetorian prefect was the title of a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders becoming the Emperor's chief aides...

, Marcus Opellius Macrinus

Macrinus

Macrinus , was Roman Emperor from 217 to 218. Macrinus was of "Moorish" descent and the first emperor to become so without membership in the senatorial class.-Background and career:...

.