The Stone of Emesa
A Roman emperor who worshipped a black stone.
Before he became Roman emperor in AD 218, the teenage Elagabalus was a priest of the sun god Elagabal at Emesa, now Homs in Syria. The god was worshipped in the form of a large black conical stone, which coins of the city show carried on a chariot.
As emperor, Elagabalus brought the stone to Rome, built a temple for it on the Palatine Hill and paraded it through the streets. His behaviour scandalised the Romans, and he was murdered in 222. The stone was sent back to Emesa.
Ancient writers said the stone had fallen from the sky, and many modern historians think it was probably a meteorite. It has long since been lost.