thehornedmoonwithonebrightstar:Left to right: Elagabalus, Severus Alexander and Gallienus. All from
thehornedmoonwithonebrightstar:Left to right: Elagabalus, Severus Alexander and Gallienus. All from the third century crisis phase when Rome nearly collapsed. Elagabalus went from Syrian priest to Emperor of Rome at the age of 14, made a complete hash of things as a figurehead since he wanted to replace Jupiter with his home god Elagabalus as Rome’s primary deity. That might have gone over better had he not also married a Vestal Virgin, tried to give his charioteer the title of Caesar (and husband), or allowed female senators. His reputation as the gayest, craziest, most debaucherous Emperor that ever was is probably not entirely deserved, but he was definitely not the right man for the job. Needless to say, he was assassinated and replaced by his cousin Severus Alexander (note Jupiter firmly back on the obverse). He was also mostly controlled by his elders and was also assassinated, triggering the Third Crisis, wherein 50 different factions proceeded to fight for control. Gallienus wound up on top for a decent number of years, but spent most of it at war along the Rhine, I believe. I was never a big Roman history buff - I’m more into Bronze Age Greece - but these poor doomed cousins are pretty compelling. -- source link