A list of the five wackiest roman emperors, from nero to caligula, what made them the worst, and where to find their ruins in rome and italy. During their time, the emperors of ancient rome were the most powerful people in the known world and have come to epitomise the power of the roman empire. Minervahow to be a bad emperor is a look at some of the worst emperors from history and how they failed. The roman emperors ruled rome with an iron fist, and answered to no one.
This list looks at ten of the emperors who have left their mark on history for being so dreadful. Sep 06, 2014 i was reading about some roman emperors in a history book recently and it sparked the idea for this video. Ancient roman emperors roman emperors for kids dk find out. Especially favourite are the depictions of julian the apostate, and aurelian. As barry strauss put it in his book ten caesars, domitian was a responsible. From tiberius to diocletian, the roman emperors were known to do that and sooo much worse. This ruthless asshole ruled from ad 54 till he committed suicide in 68 after he was declared enemy of the state, while everyone in the empire grabbed their torches and pitchforks. Eric voiced by daniel roche visits roman britain, where he lives a. Some of these kings treated their people badly, and in 509 bce they were driven out and replaced by a ruling council called the senate. Mar, 2012 the men who are rightly or otherwise regarded as the best and worst rulers of the roman principate are some of the bestknown figures in western history. Recommended for history buffs who like to be entertained by the genre decadence, debauchery and depravity of history of cruelest emperors of the roman empire read more one person found this helpful.
How to be a bad emperor is a unique and appealing book. There was no job description, no selection process and no agreed title for the men who ruled imperial rome. Its gibbon revisited with a horrible histories slant that is the reverse of funny. Here is a list of the main emperors rated in categories from best to worst in terms. Out of the traditionally viewed worst roman emperors. History remembers him today as a madman with absolute power, a ruler who indulged in frequent debauchery and hated.
What are some of the worst byzantine emperors answers. Ruled over for a time by emperors, the empire had periods of greatness and periods of decline. List of roman emperors simple english wikipedia, the. Caligula formally known as gaius was the third of ancient romes emperors, who achieved feats of waste and carnage during his fouryear reign a. Nearly 2,000 years ago, suetonius wrote lives of the caesars, perhaps the greatest negative leadership book of all time. Rome is an area of history that i generally know very little about and that ive recently gotten more interested in. Ranking and summary of the lives and achievements of roman emperors from. The 11 most sexually depraved things the roman emperors ever did.
Emperors could be elevated with high political, legal and eventually religious offices, but control of the army and the senate was what really mattered. Hadrian hadrian built hadrians wall in britain, to prevent the picts from invading roman britain. Augustus maintained a facade of republican rule, rejecting monarchical titles but calling himself princeps senatus first man of. Top 10 greatest emperors of ancient rome ancient history lists. Nero roman emperor if you are well acquainted with ancient roman history, you have probably guessed that there are going to be quite a few roman emperors on this list. Augustus, trajan, marcus aurelius, constantine i, nero, caligula, domitian. The title caesar by the way was later adapted by the german kaizers and the russian czars there were a few good rulers like marcus aurelius, the philosopherking. Gill is a latinist, writer, and teacher of ancient history and latin.
Theres also cassius dios roman history and the sixth book of tacitus annals. I am a big believer in learning from cautionary tales, and while of course many of the stories from ancient rome are extreme, there is plenty to take. For more on roman history and its lessons, see here. By the way, theres an exhibit about one of the worst, emperor nero. Just like the army, the roman navy has had its fair share of military disasters.
There were 71 emperors and coregents from augustus to theodosius, who definitively split the empire in eastern and western halves in 395. Greatest and worst byzantine emperors 3301453 year end. Aug 07, 2018 it was the last time that debate ever happened. We four were the baddest emperors, and by bad we don. As people use to say, every rise has a fall, so do the romans. The reignbyreign record of the rulers of imperial rome the essential dualpurpose book on imperial rome. The secret history of the roman emperors by anthony blond. Roman empire, the ancient empire, centred on the city of rome, that was established in 27 bce following the demise of the roman republic and continuing to the final eclipse of the empire of the west in the 5th century ce. Selecting the top five worst roman emperors of all time isnt a difficult task, thanks to myriad roman historians, historical fiction, documentaries, and even movies and television programs, all of which illustrate the moral excesses of many of the rulers of rome and its colonies. Born gaius julius caesar germanicus, caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the julioclaudian dynasty. Nero was one of the most infamous of romes emperors. The roman empire was vast at its peak and its influence is still felt today in our forms of military, government, and society in general. If recent history has taught us anything, its that sometimes the best guide to leadership is the negative example. He was malicious and sadistic, and just like his cuckoo predecessor caligula he had a hitlist longer than santas naughty list, which consisted mostly of people who didnt even realize they had accidentally insulted him.
Out of the traditionally viewed worst roman emperors, which. The worst roman emperors, from incompetent to insane. A list of the five wackiest roman emperors, from nero to caligula, what. At the same time, he was not a good or even average emperor either. The book was the crimes of elagabalus by martijn icks. Nero is commonly regarded to be one of the worst emperors in romes history. Why ancient rome kept choosing bizarre and perverted emperors.
She has been featured by npr and national geographic for her ancient history expertise. Watch this to learn more about julian the apostates reign from history matters. A gleeful new compendium of dastardly highlights from suetonius the lives of caesars. This book provides a summary on some of the most influential figures of human history. The roman empire was vast at its peak and its influence is still felt today in our. From caligula to the lesser known but no less notorious elagabalus, these emperors. How to be a bad emperor princeton university press. I actually ranked him as the strangest emperor on this site and it was my most popular answer. Under trajan, the roman empire was at its largest size ever. Top 10 notorious rulers of the history ancient history lists. What are the best books about ancient rome and roman emperors. At its height, the roman empire controlled huge swaths of europe and the middle eastand the emperors of the great conquering nation had to be cunning, cruel, and brutal to survive in this wide, cutthroat world. Bloody facts about the most ruthless roman emperors in history.
From tyrannical roman emperors to unruly and insane monarchs around the world, whether they were crazy, incompetent, evil, or all of the above, they were disastrous for their countries and their subjects. Dec 05, 2011 in my opinion a list of the worst emperors to have ruled the roman empire. Nerva, friend of nero, who had saved neros life trajan. The roman emperors were the rulers of the roman empire dating from the granting of the title of augustus to gaius julius caesar octavianus by the roman senate in 27 bc, after major roles played by the populist dictator and military leader julius caesar.
I always find it interesting when historians try to rank political leaders for example, american presidents from best to worst, and i was wondering what r history s opinion on roman emperors is. Even so, the tenure of the craziest emperors illuminates the big flaws in the roman system not least the fact that it relied on a succession system that rarely rewarded the best leaders. To put together a list of my top ten worst emperors of rome. Caligulas successor, claudius, was an improvement but, despite the favourable picture in robert gravess famous book i, claudius, not by much. As the roman empire grew, army generals threatened to take power away from the senate. Who were the best and worst roman emperors in history. Selecting the top five worst roman emperors of all time isnt a difficult task, thanks to myriad roman historians, historical fiction, documentaries, and even movies and television. The emperors were the most famous rulers of rome, but in its early days rome was ruled by kings.
The men who are rightly or otherwise regarded as the best and worst rulers of the roman principate are some of the bestknown figures in western history. Feb 27, 2012 chronicle of the roman emperors is at once a book to be enjoyed as popular history, an essential work of reference, and a source of visual inspiration, bringing to life one of the most powerful and influential empires the world has ever known. Although he was a dull, rather uncharismatic emperor, most interpretations have. Caracalla showed his true face in 211 when he murdered geta, his coruler and brother. Best and worst eastern roman emperors history forum. Quite possibly one of the worst emperors in the history of rome, caracalla initially ruled together with his father, severus, until his death in 211. Here are 41 appalling facts about the worst rulers in history. The 11 most sexually depraved things the roman emperors. How rome fell into tyranny this enticing selection from suetoniuss lives highlights the role of four roman emperors as antirole modelsegregious examples of how not to behave, which may also resonate with more recent political leaders. And most of all, they could be the worst perverts the. The great roman empire has lived for centuries, but now in the book of history. Rome would suffer 78 more emperors before succumbing to the crushing burdens of a welfarewarfare tyranny and foreign invasion in 476. From the death of julius caesar to the mad ramblings of nero, here are the most ruthless roman emperors in history.
I had initially found this book at the library, and to avoid late fees, simply ordered this book. The emperors of the eastern empire, however, are comparatively obscure though many were just as colorful. Aug 16, 2018 augustus, caligula, nero and commodus are all emperors who have become immortalised and had their stories told in various films and television series with some portrayed as great role models and others as terrible despots. The untold history of the roman emperors by michael kerrigan. He was the fifth and last emperor of the julioclaudian dynasty, which had been founded by augustus. Recommended for history buffs who like to be entertained by the genre decadence, debauchery and depravity of history of cruelest emperors of the roman empire. Caligula, tiberiuss grandson, murdered by his bodyguards for many crimes. Apr 29, 2019 but the roman people regarded their emperors as the equivalent of kings, even though the very first emperor augustus the great absolutely refused to be seen as a monarch. Augustus, caligula, nero and commodus are all emperors who have become immortalised and had their stories told in various films and television series with some portrayed as great role models and others as. Romes worst emperors paperback large print, february, 2017. All roman emperors had their faults, well documented in historical records, but the ancient romans experienced a select few who really were.
Aug 07, 2012 emperor nero would go down in history as one of the worst rulers of history, right up there with king john and ivan the terrible. Caligula was also the force behind many public works, and the remains of one of the most important, the claudian. Check out this list of the absolute worst roman emperors of all time. Claudius conquered britain, making it part of the roman empire. Jan 26, 2020 nero in full nero claudius caesar augustus germanicus was a roman emperor who lived during the 1 st century ad. The top ten worst roman emperors 1 caligula caligula, properly gaius julius caesar augustus germanicus was roman emperor in ad 3741. Asked in history of europe, roman empire, byzantine empire. Chronicle of the roman emperors is at once a book to be enjoyed as popular history, an essential work of reference, and a source of visual inspiration, bringing to life one of the most powerful and influential empires the world has ever known. The roman empire would more accurately be described as the principate from 27 bce to 284 ce and the dominate from diocletians tetrarchy.
List of roman emperors simple english wikipedia, the free. I was reading about some roman emperors in a history book recently and it sparked the idea for this video. He murdered his brother in order to secure the office of emperor exclusively for himself. There were 81 emperors of the western roman empire, and counting in corules, there were another 97 eastern or byzantine roman emperors. Nero in full nero claudius caesar augustus germanicus was a roman emperor who lived during the 1 st century ad. Out of the traditionally viewed worst roman emperors, which could be removed after a modern examination of the evidence offered by the hostile ancient sources.
In this one, a joint naval expedition reputedly one the biggest in ancient times by the empire and the independent province of illiricum against the vandal kingdom ended in a huge lopsided defeat led by the eastern emperor leo is brotherinlaw basiliscus, the massive fleet totaled more than 1,000. Throughout time, there has been no shortage of bad rulers. Bloody facts about the most ruthless roman emperors in history penelope singh at its height, the roman empire controlled huge swaths of europe and the middle eastand the emperors of the great conquering nation had to be cunning, cruel, and. The twelve caesars was considered very significant in antiquity and remains a primary source on roman history. I always find it interesting when historians try to rank political leaders for example, american presidents from best to worst, and i was wondering what rhistory s opinion on roman emperors is. Nearly 2,000 years ago, suetonius wrote lives of the caesars, perhaps the greatest. I know its not been the most stable office, and theres a lot of propaganda. Julian the apostate and the death of the ancient world, adrian murdoch describes constantius like this. What the worst roman emperors can teach us about how not to lead if recent history has taught us anything, its that sometimes the best guide to leadership is the negative example. About the life of the caesars, commonly known as the twelve caesars, is a set of twelve biographies of julius caesar and the first 11 emperors of the roman empire written by gaius suetonius tranquillus the work, written in ad 121 during the reign of the emperor hadrian, was the most popular work of suetonius, at that time hadrians personal. Dark history of the roman emperors dark histories kindle edition by. The book discusses the significant and critical period of the principate from the end of the republic to the reign of domitian. Nero was quite possibly the worst of the notorious roman emperors, which is really saying something.
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