Named after the Syrian Sun god, Elagabalus at only 13 years old led his army to victory and became Emperor of Rome. He was a god-like young man: strong, beautiful, charming, and beloved of his soldiers. But when he rose to power, Elagabalus rejected his family’s influence and they, like the Senate, became his deadly enemies. With his customary elegant writing, esteemed writer Alfred Duggan draws us into the tale of this unusual and outrageous leader and the lethal political world of third century Rome.