{"product_id":"the-mad-emperor-by-harry-sidebottom-9780861546855","title":"The Mad Emperor","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'Buy the book; it's very entertaining.' David Aaronovitch, \u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA \u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e, BBC History and \u003ci\u003eSpectator\u003c\/i\u003e Book of the Year\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOn 8 June 218 AD, a fourteen-year-old Syrian boy, egged on by his grandmother, led an army to battle in a Roman civil war. Against all expectations, he was victorious.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eVarius Avitus Bassianus, known to the modern world as Heliogabalus, was proclaimed emperor. The next four years were to be the strangest in the history of the empire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHeliogabalus humiliated the prestigious Senators and threw extravagant dinner parties for lower-class friends. He ousted Jupiter from his summit among the gods and replaced him with Elagabal. He married a Vestal Virgin – twice. Rumours abounded that he was a prostitute.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn the first biography of Heliogabalus in over half a century, Harry Sidebottom unveils the high drama of sex, religion, power and culture in Ancient Rome as we’ve never seen it before.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46846513479916,"sku":"9780861546855","price":32.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/20308293482494.jpg?v=1758911048","url":"https:\/\/bookhero.pro\/products\/the-mad-emperor-by-harry-sidebottom-9780861546855","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}