Post #2 for Elagabalus:
Unfortunately most other people did not find these jokes as amusing as she did. As the respect for Elagabalus decreased across the Roman Empire she was forced to adopt her cousin named Serverus Alexander. Alexander was her only 'son' and successor. The Romans took great care in ensuring that Alexander didn't turn out like his cousin. He was taught more in Roman culture and values. Elagabalus understood that Alexander was a threat and tried to remove him. This ploy failed and Elagabalus as well as her mother were murdered at a camp of Praetorian guards. Their mutilated bodies were carried through the streets of Rome before they were tossed into the river Tiber. After her reign women were never allowed to step foot in the building where the senate resided. The Romans tried as hard as they could to erase the legacy of Elagabalus from history.
Transgender behavior was practiced both before and after Elagabalus. It was tolerated and sometimes respected when one would come out as transgender. It was really only respected when a male born priestess of Cybele would come out. These people were known as the Gallae/Galli. These women would celebrate a taurobolium. This was originally the castration of a bull but it was celebrated when a formally male priestess would cut off their genitalia, bleed (simulating menstruation), wear women's clothing, and go by female names. This was viewed as a very mystical understanding of gender. The Roman Empire was very diverse in many ways including gender and religion. It was normal for a transgender female to seek out the Gallae/Galli and go through this ritual. This ritual would both please her goddess and sooth the dysphoria that person may be feeling.
Even though Elagabalus was not the best ruler she was still important. I'm every group there are bad people and the lgbtq+ community is no exception. Elagabalus probably was not bad she just wasn't ready to be a ruler. She was important to history and she did many things. It isn't fair to cover her up just because she's trans. We don't cover up people like Nero or Caligula even though they did worse things than Elagabalus did. She might have altered Roman culture and rules but she also contributed many things.
Resources: A brief biography of Elagabalus: the transgender ruler of Rome. (OutHistory)
