Heliogabalus: Rome’s scandalous emperor

The story of the Roman emperor Heliogabalus is filled with sex, death, decadence and religious extremism, but it also touches on some key questions about imperial Rome. What were the limits of political power? How far should a ruler intervene in the life of his subjects? And what was a Roman emperor actually expected to do? Harry Sidebottom talks to Rachel Dinning about the emperor’s short but extraordinary reign.

Harry Sidebottom is the author of The Mad Emperor: Heliogabalus and the Decadence of Rome (Oneworld Publications, 2022)