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Emperor |
Dates of
Reign |
Key
Actions / Accomplishments |
Evaluation (Good, Bad, Ugly) |
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Tiberius |
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Caligula |
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Claudius |
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Nero |
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Trajan |
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Hadrian |
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Diocletian |
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Tiberius,
the stepson of Augustus, was a highly regarded general with several successful
mili-tary campaigns to his credit then he became Emperor. He was a large,
powerful man of good health, except for his complexion, which was marred by
skin problems. A stern, silent individ-ual with a great interest in mythology,
Tiberius firmly believed that everything is ruled by fate. Despite his great
physical strength, he lacked the oratory skills of leaders such as Augustus.
During
the first ten years of his reign, he provided good leadership by continuing the
policies
of Augustus, whom he had succeeded. He increased the power of the Senate,
thereby leaving
the public assemblies only the token power of approving the Senate’s choices
for public office. Generally, Tiberius was disliked by the people because he
was frugal and refused to sponsor lavish games.
Dates of Reign: CE 37–41
Gaius (Caligula) was Tiberius’s grandnephew and successor. As a young child he was nick-named Caligula (“little boots”) by the soldiers who served under his father. This nickname referred to the miniature military boots he had been given to wear as a child.
Descriptions of Caligula indicate that he was not an
attractive man. He was said to have been
tall and extremely pale, with an unshapely body and very thick neck and legs.
His eyes were described as hollow, his forehead broad, and the hair on his head
thin, although he had a
hairy body. He is reputed to have worked hard in front of mirrors to make
himself appear even more fearful by making scary faces. He was also said to get
extremely excited and angry and
was prone to extreme measures such as making it a capital offence for anyone to
look down
on him lest they see his baldness. Perhaps the most damaging reports about his
character
regard his sex life. These reports include rumours of sadism and incest.
Caligula has been described as an insomniac, schizoid, schizophrenic, and
chronic alcoholic.
Although
Caligula had very little administrative training, his rule began positively: he
par-
doned political prisoners, abolished some taxes, and put an end to treason
trials. After a seri-
ous illness, however, he became mentally unstable, and his reign descended into
treachery. He began to use the treasury for lavish building projects and
insulted public officials. When the treasury had been drained, Caligula
extorted money from wealthy families by reinstating trea-
son trials. Throughout his reign, he made no pretense of ruling with the
support of the Senate. Instead, he openly ruled as a despot, earning himself
the distrust and hatred of many members
of the upper class. After only four years as Emperor, Caligula was assassinated
by members of the Praetorian Guard.
Dates of Reign: CE 41–54
Despite never holding public office before coming Emperor,
Claudius proved to be an able
and energetic administrator. His lack of training was quite likely due to
numerous physical dis-abilities. He has been described as a well-built man with
an impressive face and white hair who had a nervous tic and often ate and drank
himself into a stupor. He is said to have slept poorly
at night, although he was known to doze off while presiding over a lawsuit.
As an administrator, Claudius attempted to emulate
Augustus, whom he greatly admired, by blending innovation with tradition. He
met with limited success, however, for despite conceiv-ing many good ideas, he
found it difficult to implement his thoughts and was easily diverted
by suspicion, timidity, and fear.
Among
his greatest achievements were the construction of two new aqueducts, the
building
of three major roads, the expansion and improvement of the harbour at
adopted Roman customs and values. He was eventually assassinated by his wife,
Agrippina, whose son, Nero, became the next Emperor.
Dates of Reign: CE 54–68
Nero was only 16 years old when he became Emperor. He was described by Suetonius as fol-lows: “…spots and malodorous, his hair light blond, his features regular rather than attractive, his eyes blue and somewhat weak, his neck over-thick, his belly prominent, and his legs very slender.”
During
the early years of his reign, he was wisely advised by the philosopher Seneca,
leading to a few years of sound rule. For example, Nero had governors charged
if they abused their pow-ers, did not allow gladiators to fight to the death,
and refused to engage in war except for defence. He also took steps to improve
public order, to guard against forgery, and to reform
the treasury procedures.
In
the second year of his reign, Nero became increasingly frustrated by his
mother’s (Agrippina) attempts to dominate him, and he plotted her murder.
Tacitus describes Nero’s attempts to murder Agrippina by providing her with a
collapsible ship, which she was able to swim away from only to meet her death
on land. After her death, Nero’s reign began to steadily deterio-
rate. He later murdered his wife so that he could marry his mistress and eventually
neglected
the daily needs of the Empire.
Instead
of governing, Nero began to devote his time to music and poetry, often forcing
people
to attend concerts in which he performed. In CE 64, a major fire ravaged
deflect such accusations, Nero blamed the fire on Christians and carried out
the first persecu-tions of Christians, killing hundreds, including the apostles
Peter and Paul.
The palace that Nero built on the land he annexed after the
fire was called the “Golden House.” This enormous palace was larger than
anything built by a European monarch before or since in the heart of a capital
city. The Golden House was a series of graceful pavilions and kiosks set among
a beautiful landscape that included a large artificial lake stocked with many
varieties of fish and animals. The complex included baths flowing with
sulphurous and salt waters, the world’s largest hydraulic organ, and a
banqueting hall that included a domed ceil-
ing, that revolved “like the heavens” about the diners. Nero is reported to
have exclaimed upon completion of the Golden House, “Good. Now I can at last
begin to live like a human being!”
When
a plot to murder Nero was unearthed in CE 65, it was crushed
ruthlessly. Many of
lions began to break out throughout the Empire in protest. Becoming frustrated,
Nero eventu-
ally committed suicide in CE 68, exclaiming as he died, “Oh, what a great artist
the world is losing in me.”
The Spanish-born Trajan was the first Roman emperor not of
Italian birth. His numerous suc-cessful military campaigns made him very
popular with the army. Trajan has been described as
a tall, well-built man, “most conspicuous for his justice, for his bravery, and
for the simplicity of his habits….” Dio Cassius goes on to praise Trajan: “He
did not envy or slay anyone, but hon-oured and exalted all good men without
exception, and hence he neither feared nor hated
any of them. He refrained from taking other people’s money, and from unjust
murders. He expended vast sums on wars and vast sums on works of peace; and
while making very many urgently needed repairs to roads and harbours and public
buildings, he drained no one’s blood
in any of these undertakings….”
Trajan
saw as his major life work the expansion of the
the
Between his wars of conquest, Trajan was able to show himself
a capable and efficient admin-istrator. He paid particular attention to the
material needs of the people, ensuring that the
grain supply was secure and that financial subsidies were available for poor
children. Trajan
also expanded an ever-increasing amount of time and resources on public
buildings. For exam-ple, the aqueduct Aqua Trajana substantially increased the
daily supply of water for
The stable reign of Trajan was followed by the equally
effective administration of Hadrian. Hadrian, however, differed significantly
from his predecessor in his view of foreign conquests. Immediately following
his ascension to power, he reversed Trajan’s policy of conquest, electing
instead to fortify and consolidate
the Empire as a living organism, not only at its centre but also in all its
provinces. Rather than viewing the provinces as conquered territories, he saw
them as part of a commonwealth in
which each region had a unique identity.
Hadrian spent much of his
reign travelling through the Roman provinces, making sure the
army was in a state of readiness and attempting to redress the problems he
encountered. By
the end of his life, he had earned the title of the greatest of all the
imperial travellers. At
home, Hadrian had the laws modernized and the Pantheon rebuilt. The rebuilt
Pantheon was
one of the greatest architectural achievements of the Roman world. Hadrian also
built for him-
self a lavish villa near the city of
Diocletian was born into a poor family in the Roman
In CE 293, Diocletian decided the
rule of the Western provinces to Maximian. He also declared that he and
Maximian would rule for 20 years and then step down, allowing their assistants
(Constantius and Galerius, respec-tively) to take over.
Diocletian
reformed the administration of the Empire by dividing each of the existing
prefec-tures into 12 dioceses and appointing a ruler in each. He also moved the
capital of the
The
black mark on the reign of Diocletian comes from his attempts to impose one
religion on
all the people of the
In CE 305, true to his word,
Diocletian stepped down as Emperor, having served his 20 years