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.
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.