Is the past a foreign country? An historical debate over the gender identity of a teenage emperor has hit the mainstream — and could reshape how we see the ancient world.
The Roman emperor who was a trans woman
Is the past a foreign country? An historical debate over the gender identity of a teenage emperor has hit the mainstream - and could reshape how we see the ancient world.
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, or "Elagabalus", was not the most distinguished of the 70 emperors who ruled over Rome. He came to the throne aged 14 through the string-pulling of his powerful mother, and was assassinatedMurdered for political ends. The word is thought to derive from the name given to a Shia Muslim sect based in medieval Persia, the Hashshashin, who carried out high-profile murders of important leaders. just four years later.
But now, 1,800 years later, his reign has sparked a new wave of interest after the North Hertfordshire Museum announced that it believes Elagabalus was a transgender woman, and that it would start referring to him with female pronouns.
According to contemporary accounts, Elagabalus frequently wore make-up and wigs, asked to be called a lady rather than a lord, and may even have sought to get gender reassignment surgeryA range of surgeries that some transgender people choose to have so that their body matches the gender they identify with. .1
The museum said it had changed its policy because it was "only polite and respectful to be sensitive to identifying pronouns for people in the past".2
Elagabalus has long been of interest to historians for a variety of reasons. He came from an ArabArabia includes the countries on the coast of north Africa (from Morocco in the north-west) and the Arabian peninsula. It does not include Iran, which is in Asia but which is the most significant supporter of Shia Islam. family: his regnal name was based on his Arabic name "Ela Gabal", meaning "God of the mountain", because before becoming emperor he was the high priest of that god's cult in SyriaA Middle Eastern country that was the site of much of the fighting during the Crusades.. So his brief time in power indicates a strong Arab presence in the Roman Empire.
And the stories of his time in power are unusually juicy, even for a Roman emperor. He took both male and female lovers. He married a Vestal VirginRoman women who were chosen as children to tend the fire in the temple of the goddess Vesta. They had to serve for 30 years and remain virgins in that time. , which was against the very oldest Roman laws, and justified himself by claiming their children would be "godlike". Some think he may have invented the whoopee cushion.3
But the problem facing historians is that there is no real way of knowing how much of this is true. There are few impartial sources covering Elagabalus's reign.
He infuriated the Roman political and religious establishment when he tried to impose his own faith on the empire, and many historians believe that the stories about his immorality might have been invented by his opponents.
The claim that he wanted to be treated as a woman, they argue, might likewise have been made up by critics who wanted to present him to posterity as weak and unmanly.
The Romans, they say, had no concept of being transgender. So it is ahistoricalLacking historical perspective or context. and anachronistic to talk about a "transgender emperor".4
But others argue this does not give the Romans enough credit. In fact, they say, our ancient forebears might just have had different attitudes towards gender identity - perhaps even more modern attitudes.
After all, Roman myth was full of examples of people who changed their gender. The poet Ovid wrote the story of Tiresias, a man who was transformed into a woman and then back again.5 In the story, he does not seem to be unduly bothered by these transitions.
And the satirist Lucian wrote an exchange between two courtesansWomen who had sexual relationships with wealthy and powerful men, normally for money. about a lover who was "born a woman" but has the "mind and the desires and everything else of a man".6
So rather than assume that Elagabalus's gender fluidity was invented to discredit his name, they say, we should recognise the truth of LP HartleyA British novelist, born in 1895.'s famous adage that "The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there."
<h5 class="wp-block-heading eplus-wrapper" id="question"><strong>Is the past a foreign country?</strong></h5>
Yes: We should not assume the ancient Romans must have been backward by our standards. Rather than seeing Elagabalus's reputation as ancient libelA false written statement about someone that damages their reputation. , we should recognise they did many things differently from us, including gender identity.
No: We know ancient Rome was a masculine, patriarchal society. If we take descriptions of Elagabalus at face value we obscure the fact that gender-fluid people faced terrible repression in history.
Or... Like any other society, Rome was divided. It had both prejudiced chauvinistsPeople who have unreasonable belief in the superiority of their own group, particularly men prejudiced against women. and gender-fluid people. We can excavate their histories while remaining alive to the discrimination they suffered.
Assassinated - Murdered for political ends. The word is thought to derive from the name given to a Shia Muslim sect based in medieval Persia, the Hashshashin, who carried out high-profile murders of important leaders.
Gender reassignment surgery - A range of surgeries that some transgender people choose to have so that their body matches the gender they identify with.
Arab - Arabia includes the countries on the coast of north Africa (from Morocco in the north-west) and the Arabian peninsula. It does not include Iran, which is in Asia but which is the most significant supporter of Shia Islam.
Syria - A Middle Eastern country that was the site of much of the fighting during the Crusades.
Vestal Virgin - Roman women who were chosen as children to tend the fire in the temple of the goddess Vesta. They had to serve for 30 years and remain virgins in that time.
Ahistorical - Lacking historical perspective or context.
Courtesans - Women who had sexual relationships with wealthy and powerful men, normally for money.
LP Hartley - A British novelist, born in 1895.
Libel - A false written statement about someone that damages their reputation.
Chauvinists - People who have unreasonable belief in the superiority of their own group, particularly men prejudiced against women.
The Roman emperor who was a trans woman

Glossary
Assassinated - Murdered for political ends. The word is thought to derive from the name given to a Shia Muslim sect based in medieval Persia, the Hashshashin, who carried out high-profile murders of important leaders.
Gender reassignment surgery - A range of surgeries that some transgender people choose to have so that their body matches the gender they identify with.
Arab - Arabia includes the countries on the coast of north Africa (from Morocco in the north-west) and the Arabian peninsula. It does not include Iran, which is in Asia but which is the most significant supporter of Shia Islam.
Syria - A Middle Eastern country that was the site of much of the fighting during the Crusades.
Vestal Virgin - Roman women who were chosen as children to tend the fire in the temple of the goddess Vesta. They had to serve for 30 years and remain virgins in that time.
Ahistorical - Lacking historical perspective or context.
Courtesans - Women who had sexual relationships with wealthy and powerful men, normally for money.
LP Hartley - A British novelist, born in 1895.
Libel - A false written statement about someone that damages their reputation.
Chauvinists - People who have unreasonable belief in the superiority of their own group, particularly men prejudiced against women.