Elagabalus was born Varius Avitus Bassianus in 204 and became known later as Marcus Aurelius Antonius. The name "Elagabalus" followed the Latin nomenclature for the Syrian sun god Elagabal, of whom he had become a priest at an early age. Elagabal was represented by a large, dark rock called a baetyl. Elagabalus's grandmother, Julia Maesa, Julia Domna's sister and sister-in-law of Emperor Septimius Severus, arranged for the restoration of the Severan dynasty and persuaded soldiers from the Gallic Third Legion, which was stationed near Emesa, by using her enormous wealth as well as the claim that Caracalla had slept with her daughter and that the boy was his bastard to swear fealty to Elagabalus. He was later invited alongside his mother and daughters to the military camp, clad in imperial purple and crowned as emperor by the soldiers.