Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar wasn't an Emperor but he started it all by becoming dictator of Rome. In 44 bc he was assassinated and his "heir" Augustus became the first real Emperor.

Augustus
27bc-14ad

Augustus, or "Octavian" as he was known before he became Emperor, claimed to be Caesar's heir. After defeating Mark Antony he became the sole ruler of Rome in 27 bc.

Tiberius
14-37

Augustus died in 14 bc and Tiberius, his adopted son and natural son of Augustus' wife Livia, became Emperor. He was too old, though, and had waited too long. He was to rule for 22 years, most of them in self-imposed exile on the island of Capri.

Caligula
37-41

Tiberius died at Misenum in 37 ad (probably with a little help from the future Emperor) and Caligula, "little boots" as he was called by the soldiers of his father Germanicus' legions, took over at Rome. It was the worst time for all Romans as Caligula was quite mad. He thought he was a living God, he married his sister, he murdered without restraint -- you know, the usual psycho stuff.

Claudius
41-54

Caligula was to last only four years, at the end of which he was assassinated in a plot hatched by the praetorian guard Cassius Charrea. The rest of the Praetorians went looking for the murderer and found poor crippled uncle Claudius hiding behind a curtain in the palace. What would you do if you found a lame old coward trembling and drooling behind a hanging bolt of fabric? Right! You'd make the gimp an Emperor. And that's what they did to Claudius in 41 ad.

It wasn't so bad, though. He turned out to be one of the best. He was deified after his death.

Nero
54-68

Claudius ruled for 13 years. In 54 ad he was murdered by his wife Agrippina the younger who fed him a poison mushroom. She did it to get her own son, Domitius Ahenobarbus or "Nero" on the throne. Now Rome went back to being governed by a madman. A young one, too. He was 16 when he took over.

Let's see... he murdered his mother and probably slept with her, too. It was kind of an all in one Oedipal adventure since he couldn't kill his father: both of them were already dead. He poisoned his brother, Claudius' natural son Britannicus, at dinner one evening. He alienated the entire senate with his Greek artisitic tastes and his overt loathing of them. He was blamed for the big fire that wiped out most of the area around the forum. He blamed it on the Christians, though, and used them as human torches to light up his parties.

He was to be the last of the Julio-Claudians to be Emperor. It was just as well. They didn't have such a good track record.

Galba
June 68-January 69

There was a big revolt in 68 in response to Rome's growing dissatisfaction with the reign of Nero. Galba, then governor of Hispana Tarraconensis, was proclaimed Emperor by his troops in April of that year and was confirmed by the senate in June. Nero, who had governed for 14 years, committed suicide. His last words were "What a loss to art!". Indeed. No loss to the Roman people, however.

Galba was 70 when he took command of the Empire, but his reign was to last only one year.

Otho
January 69-April 69

The proclamations by the armies flew about and the civil strife continued at Rome and its empire. Otho took over after he overthrew Galba in January of 69. He was a strange fellow who enjoyed plucking out all of his body hair. He probably only got to do it once or twice in the exquisite comfort of the pristine imperial bathroom because he only lasted 3 months as Emperor.

Vitellius
April 69-December 69

This comely example of porcine manliness who accompanied Nero on his gluttonous excursions was proclaimed emperor by his troops in Germany even before Otho had seized power. Vitellius had no military credit to his name and, in Seutonius' own words, "Seldom has the support of the army been gained by any man through honorable means than he won it through his worthlessness". He was just in the right place at the right time.

And he lasted all of 9 months...

Vespasian
69-79

Vespaian was the first middle class Emperor. He gave the empire a period of stable and efficient government .

He had commanded the second legion in the conquest of Britain. Under Nero, he became one of his official companions on the emperor's concert tours, but incurred the imperial wrath when he fell asleep at one of his lute recitals. Later he successfully put down a revolt in Judea with the help of Titus, his son.

He was something of a skinflint. Or perhaps it was just that he had set himself the goal of raising 400 million sesterces to ease the suffering treasury. He taxed everyone and everything. Even the public urinals.

But he was one of the good ones. He was deified after his death. His famous last words revealed his humor. As he lay dying he proclaimed: "By Jove! I think I'm becoming a god."

Titus
79-81

Titus was one of two sons of Vespasian. He was clearly marked for succession as he held the consulship an unprecedented number of times during Vespasian's reign.

He had a scandalous affair with Queen Berenice, a member of the Judaean royal family. The Roman people didn't like their emperors' families connecting with foreigners. Marc Antony had done it with Cleopatra, and Augustus used that as a political maneuvering point in his quest for the sole rule of Rome. Vespasian made Titus send Berenice back. He did, and never spoke to her or of her again.

Titus succeeded his father on June 24th, 79, and though he was an unpopular prince, he quickly became the darling of Rome as emperor.

He died only a few years later, probably of malaria. Domitiian, his brother, rushed to Rome to secure his own succession, even before Titus was dead. And just as quickly deified his brother.

Domitian
81-96

Domitian's bad reputation may have been well-earned. He stripped the senate of any of its remaining dignity by completely ignoring it. He ruled as a despot rather than the benevolent prince his brother was.

Domitian also tried to raise standards of public morality. He forbade the castration of males, and punished senators who practiced homosexuality. As Pontifex Maximus he condemned to death four of the six Vestal Virgins; three for incest, and a fourth, the Chief Vestal Cornelia, for entertaining a whole string of lovers.

Domitian's autocratic style of government was underlined by his adoption of the titles 'dominus et deus', 'lord and god'.

He was an insecure and totally paranoid tyrant who murdered senators without restraint. He himself was murdered in 96 by his chamberlain Stephanus, probably with the encouragement of Domitia, the emperor's wife.

Nerva
96-98 AD

Nerva was already 65 years old when he came to power after the assassination of Domitian. He vowed to restore the liberties taken away by Domitian, but had a difficult time managing the empire's finances and controlling the army. The Praetorian Guard revolted in 97 and forced him to adopt an heir. That heir was Trajan, one of Rome's finest generals of the time and who would become one of Rome's most beloved emperors.

After barely fifteen months in office, Nerva died of natural causes on 27 January 98. Upon his death he was succeeded and deified by Trajan.

Trajan
98-117

Trajan originally hailed from Spain. His reign was bloodless, at least on the home front. He freed many people who had been unjustly imprisoned by Domitian and returned a great deal of private property that Domitian had confiscated; a process begun by Nerva before his death. His popularity was such that the Roman Senate eventually bestowed upon Trajan the honorific of optimus, meaning "the best."

He is best known, however, for his wars with Dacia, eventually incorporating it into the empire.

About 107, he returned home to govern for seven years of peace. He was a prolific builder. Trajan's Forum and Trajan's Column, which commemorated his war with Dacia, still stand in Rome. You can see videos of Trajan's column and forum in my video section. He also built many triumphal arches which still exist today.

In 113 he embarked on his last campaign against Parthia. Initially successful in his campaign, he began to toy with the idea of conquering the whole of Mesopotamia. It backfired on him. He had to eventually withdraw his troops, hoping to get back later to do more damage. That never happened because he fell ill, and in 117 headed back to Italy. By the time he had reached Selinus in Cilicia, which was later renamed Trajanopolis, he suddenly died from edema on August 9.

Some say that Hadrian, who succeeded Trajan, had been adopted by Trajan. Others insist that Trajan's wife, Pompeia Plotina, had hired someone to impersonate the emperor and adopt Hadrian after Trajan had already died, to ensure a peaceful transfer of power.

Hadrian
117-138



Hadrian was a man of culture and the arts, rather than war. Hadrian showed none of that enjoyment of war so conspicuous in Trajan, his predecessor. As a result, he has had good press in recent times: a pragmatic ruler, who avoided war wherever possible, and concentrated his energies on improving the internal administration of the empire. He gave the Roman world 20 years of good government, and strengthened and stabilized its frontiers. All this is undeniable. Roman historians leave us no doubt, however, that Hadrian was not without his faults.

Hadrian was born on January 24, 76 A.D., probably at Rome.

According to Dio, Hadrian’s accession was engineered by the Empress Plotina, who concealed Trajan’s death for several days. She used this time to send letters to the Senate in Rome announcing Hadrian’s adoption, but these carried her signature rather than Trajan’s, presumably on the excuse that the Emperor was too weak to write. Another rumor claimed that Plotina had smuggled someone into Trajan’s chamber to impersonate the Emperor’s voice so the senators could hear about the adoption from "his own" voice.

One of Hadrian’s first and most significant acts was the abandonment of the Eastern territories which Trajan had conquered during his last campaign. Augustus a century before had laid down for his successors the policy that the Empire should be kept within natural borders formed by the Rhine, the Danube and the Euphrates. Troajan had crossed the Euphrates to conquer Armenia and Mesopotamia; Hadrian pulled his forces back again to the Euphrates frontier.

Hadrian tightened discipline in the Army and strengthened the frontiers. He made a great effort to visit his vast territories in person and inspect their governments for himself. he also directed many buildings in Athens and Rome.

Hadrian was a bit vindictive, though. The most shocking incident was the persecution of Trajan’s architect Apollodorus of Damascus, whose views Hadrian had invited on his own design for a new Temple. Open criticism was not something Hadrian found easy to stomach.

Hadrian’s sexual proclivities, which most have slouching heavily towards homosexuality, are not well documented; however, his relationship with Antinous was rather well-known. Some say he was unnaturally fond of Antinous, and we can only imagine what that means. Hadrian took him with him on his visit to Egypt in 130 AD, and it was there that Antinous met his untimely and rather mysterious death. In his autobiography, which has been lost to time, Hadrian related the simple story that Antinous had fallen from a boat during a trip on the Nile. Other people relate a more sinister event, in which Antinous offered himself as a sacrifice for Hadrian in some bizarre rite. Hadrian was deeply grieved by the death of his favorite, and founded the city Antinoopolis on the spot where the young man died. He even identified a star which he believed embodied the soul of his friend.

In 136 A.D., Hadrian was 60 years old and in bad health. Hadrian adopted an heir, Lucius Ceionius Commodus, but his adopted son died two years later. Antoninus Pius became his chosen successor.

Adrian died on July 10, 138 A.D. He was buried in several different places before his final interment in the tomb especially made for him, which can still be seen in Rome and is called Castel Sant’ Angelo.

Antoninus Pius
138–161

Antoninus Pius ruled the empire for almost a quarter of a century, but he left less of a mark on it than previous emperors. Many believe that Hadrian chose Antoninus Pius not for his own abilities but for the abilities of his 16-year-old nephew, Marcus Annius Verus, later to become Marcus Aurelius.

Antoninus Pius had the good fortune to reign when the Empire had no major external threats. He provided firm government without the overt displays of power so often associated with Imperial rule. He continued the policies set forth by Hadrian. All in all he was a benign and moderate ruler.

He died at a palace he had built at his beloved country estate of Lorium near Rome on March 7, 161.