en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macrinus
1 correction found
Macrinus was overthrown at the Battle of Antioch on 8 June 218 and Elagabalus proclaimed himself emperor with support from the rebelling Roman legions.
Elagabalus was already proclaimed emperor by rebel troops in mid-May 218, weeks before Macrinus was defeated at Antioch on June 8, 218.
Full reasoning
The chronology here is wrong. Elagabalus was not first proclaimed emperor after the Battle of Antioch on 8 June 218. He had already been raised to the purple by rebel troops in mid-May 218, before the battle.
A scholarly De Imperatoribus Romanis biography states that a nearby legion revolted on the evening of 15 May 218 and "named him emperor". World History Encyclopedia likewise says that on May 16, 218 CE Elagabalus was brought into the camp of the Third Gallic Legion and "declared emperor."
The Battle of Antioch on 8 June 218 came later, when Macrinus tried to defeat this already-existing rival claimant. So the article sentence is misleading in placing Elagabalus's proclamation after, or as a consequence of, the battle.
2 sources
- Roman Emperors - DIR Elagabalus
A legion camped nearby went into open revolt on the evening of 15 May 218... they named him emperor using Caracalla's official nomenclature, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus.
- Elagabalus - World History Encyclopedia
On May 16, 218 CE the young Elagabalus was smuggled into the Third Legion's camp by the Roman commander Comazon and declared emperor.