{"product_id":"the-mad-emperor-heliogabalus-and-the-decadence-of-rome-9780861546855","title":"The Mad Emperor: Heliogabalus and the Decadence of Rome","description":"\u003cb\u003eWhat 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.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Buy the book; it's very entertaining.' David Aaronovitch, \u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBBC History\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eSpectator \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eBook of the Year\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eOn 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.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eVarius 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHeliogabalus 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 abounded that he was a prostitute. In the first biography of Heliogabalus in over half a century, Harry Sidebottom unveils the high drama of sex, religion, power and culture in Ancient Rome as we've never seen it before.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e ONEWorld Publications\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/14\/2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780861546855\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 352","brand":"Harry Sidebottom","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43132851421365,"sku":"9780861546855","price":16.11,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_44b61bdf-0a88-4af5-aba9-8e54cc2f86ba.jpg?v=1695134853","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-mad-emperor-heliogabalus-and-the-decadence-of-rome-9780861546855","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}