Editing Elagabalus (section)

=== ''Augustan History'' ===
The source of many stories of Elagabalus's depravity is the ''[[Historia Augusta]]'', which includes controversial claims.{{sfn|Syme|1971|p=218}} It is most likely that the ''Historia Augusta'' was written towards the end of the fourth century, during the reign of emperor [[Theodosius I]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Cizek |first=Eugen |title=Histoire et historiens à Rome dans l'Antiquité |publisher=Presses universitaires de Lyon |year=1995 |location=Lyon |page=297}}</ref> The account of Elagabalus in the ''Historia Augusta'' is of uncertain historical merit.{{sfn|Syme|1971|p=263}} Sections 13 to 17, relating to the fall of Elagabalus, are less controversial among historians.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Butler |first=Orma Fitch |year=1910 |title=Studies in the life of Heliogabalus |journal=University of Michigan Studies: Humanistic Series IV |location=New York |publisher=MacMillan |page=140}}</ref> The author of the most scandalous stories in the ''Historia Augusta'' concedes that "both these matters and some others which pass belief were, I think, invented by people who wanted to depreciate Heliogabalus to win favour with Alexander".{{sfn|Ball|2016|p=464}}  The ''Historia Augusta'' is widely regarded to have been written by a single author who used multiple pseudonyms throughout the work, and has been described as a "fantasist" who invented large parts of his historical accounts.<ref name=":1" />