AR24 - Elagabalus L Β

Alexandria's billon tetradrachms from the opening year of Elagabalus's reign reflect the immediate administrative scramble following Macrinus's defeat at the Battle of Antioch in June 218. The young emperor — fourteen years old at accession, his claim built entirely on his mother Julia Soaemias's insistence that he was Caracalla's illegitimate son — had to assert legitimacy fast, and the Alexandrian mint moved quickly. The L Β regnal date places this in year two of the Egyptian calendar, which ran from late 218 into 219.