O oriente ascende em Roma: uma análise das representações documentais do imperador romano Heliogábalo (218-222 d.C.)

Abstract

Elagabalus was a young Syrian, born in the city of Emesa, who at the age of 14 became emperor of Rome from 218 to 222 AD through a political coup allegedly orchestrated by his grandmother, Julia Maesa, which overthrew the current ruler, Macrinus. The narratives surrounding his time in power are characterized by negative representations of the way he governed, how he manifested his Syrian/Eastern cultural identity, his homoerotic relationships, and his effeminacy. Elagabalus's rise to power is embedded in the context of the third-century Roman Empire, a period of ascendancy of Easterners to Roman political positions and a coalition of Syrian power within the imperial sphere. Thus, the emperor is implicated in political forces that contributed to his continued power, such as Eastern allies, people from lower social classes, and the figures of his grandmother and mother, who fit into what would become known by scholars as the Julia Dynasty. Elagabalus's depictions clashed with Roman values and customs, which can be framed by the Latin term mos maiorum, an aristocratic notion that shaped various aspects of Roman society, governing how it should behave. Therefore, by being associated with someone who disrespected the mos maiorum, the emperor is placed in a category of disruption of the Roman Empire's order. Described in narratives as a cruel tyrant, an exotic, fanatical Oriental, as well as an effeminate recipient in his homoerotic relationships and influenced by female figures, Elagabalus is permeated by representations that reveal various aspects of Roman imperial society, enabling us to understand the Roman Empire itself through the study of Elagabalus. This research aims to analyze ancient textual representations surrounding the emperor Heliogabalus from the Emperor, Oriental and Deviant axes, in order to understand, from his representation, the Roman context in which he was involved, working with aspects involving the mos maiorum, connection between Rome and the East, notions about effeminacy and homoeroticism, the feminine influence in imperial power, among other elements, problematizing decontextualized notions of an Empire without cultural exchanges or possessing extreme virility.