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Augustus
Augustus was the founder of the Roman Empire and its first Emperor, ruling from 27 BC until
his death in AD 14.
He was born Gaius Octavius into an old and wealthy equestrian branch of the plebeian Octavii
family. His maternal great-uncle Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC, and Octavius was
named in Caesar's will as his adopted son and heir, then known as Octavianus (Anglicized as
Octavian). He, Mark Antony, and Marcus Lepidus formed the Second Triumvirate to defeat the
assassins of Caesar. Following their victory at Philippi, the Triumvirate divided the Roman
Republic among themselves and ruled as military dictators. The Triumvirate was eventually torn
apart under the competing ambitions of its members. Lepidus was driven into exile and
stripped of his position, and Antony committed suicide following his defeat at the Battle of
Actium by Octavian in 31 BC.
After the demise of the Second Triumvirate, Augustus restored the outward facade of the free
Republic, with governmental power vested in the Roman Senate, the executive magistrates,
and the legislative assemblies. In reality, however, he retained his autocratic power over the
Republic as a military dictator. By law, Augustus held a collection of powers granted to him for
life by the Senate, including supreme military command, and those of tribune and censor. It
took several years for Augustus to develop the framework within which a formally republican
state could be led under his sole rule. He rejected monarchical titles, and instead called himself
Princeps Civitatis ("First Citizen of the State"). The resulting constitutional framework became
known as the Principate, the first phase of the Roman Empire.
The reign of Augustus initiated an era of relative peace known as the Pax Romana (The Roman
Peace). The Roman world was largely free from large-scale conflict for more than two centuries,
despite continuous wars of imperial expansion on the Empire's frontiers and one year-long civil
war over the imperial succession. Augustus dramatically enlarged the Empire, annexing Egypt,
Dalmatia, Pannonia, Noricum, and Raetia; expanding possessions in Africa; expanding into
Germania; and completing the conquest of Hispania.
Beyond the frontiers, he secured the Empire with a buffer region of client states and made
peace with the Parthian Empire through diplomacy. He reformed the Roman system of
taxation, developed networks of roads with an official courier system, established a standing
army, established the Praetorian Guard, created official police and fire-fighting services for
Rome, and rebuilt much of the city during his reign.
Trajan
Trajan was Roman emperor from 98 to 117 AD. Officially declared by
the Senate optimus princeps ("the best ruler"), Trajan is remembered
as a successful soldier-emperor who presided over the greatest
military expansion in Roman history, leading the empire to attain its
maximum territorial extent by the time of his death. He is also known
for his philanthropic rule, overseeing extensive public building
programs and implementing social welfare policies, which earned him
his enduring reputation as the second of the Five Good Emperors who
presided over an era of peace and prosperity in the Mediterranean
world.
Born in the city of Italica in the province of Hispania Baetica, Trajan's non-patrician family was
of Italian and perhaps Iberian origin. Trajan rose to prominence during the reign of emperor
Domitian. Serving as a legatus legionis in Hispania Tarraconensis, in 89 Trajan supported
Domitian against a revolt on the Rhine led by Antonius Saturninus. In September 96, Domitian
was succeeded by Marcus Cocceius Nerva, an old and childless senator who proved to be
unpopular with the army. After a brief and tumultuous year in power, culminating in a revolt by
members of the Praetorian Guard, Nerva was compelled to adopt the more popular Trajan as
his heir and successor. He died on 27 January 98 and was succeeded by his adopted son without
incident.
As a civilian administrator, Trajan is best known for his extensive
public building program, which reshaped the city of Rome and left
numerous enduring landmarks such as Trajan's Forum, Trajan's
Market and Trajan's Column. Early in his reign, he annexed the
Nabataean Kingdom, creating the province of Arabia Petraea. His
conquest of Dacia enriched the empire greatly, as the new province
possessed many valuable gold mines. However, its exposed position
north of the Danube made it susceptible to attack on three sides, and
it was later abandoned by Emperor Aurelian.
Trajan's war against the Parthian Empire ended with the sack of the capital Ctesiphon and the
annexation of Armenia and Mesopotamia. His campaigns expanded the Roman Empire to its
greatest territorial extent. In late 117, while sailing back to Rome, Trajan fell ill and died of a
stroke in the city of Selinus. He was deified by the Senate and his ashes were laid to rest under
Trajan's Column. He was succeeded by his adopted son Hadrian.
Marcus Aurelias
Marcus Aurelius was Roman Emperor from 161 to 180. He ruled with
Lucius Verus as co-emperor from 161 until Verus' death in 169. Marcus
Aurelius was the last of the so-called Five Good Emperors. He was a
practitioner of Stoicism, and his untitled writing, commonly known as the
Meditations, is the most significant source of the modern understanding
of ancient Stoic philosophy.
During his reign, the Empire defeated a revitalized Parthian Empire in the East: Aurelius' general
Avidius Cassius sacked the capital Ctesiphon in 164. In central Europe, Aurelius fought the
Marcomanni, Quadi, and Sarmatians with success during the Marcomannic Wars, although the
threat of the Germanic tribes began to represent a troubling reality for the Empire.
In 175, he faced another challenge—this time for his very position. After hearing a rumor about
Aurelius being deathly ill, Avidius Cassius claimed the title of emperor for himself. This forced
Aurelius to travel to the East to regain control. But he did not have to fight Cassius as he was
murdered by his own soldiers. Instead Aurelius toured eastern provinces with his wife, reestablishing his authority. Unforunately, Faustina died during this trip.
While once again battling the German tribes, Aurelius made his son Commodus his co-ruler in
177. Together they fought the northern enemies of the empire. Aurelius even hoped to extend
the empire’s borders through this conflict, but Aurelius didn't live long enough to see this vision
to completion.
Aurelius' Meditations, written in Greek while on campaign between 170 and 180, is still revered
as a literary monument to a philosophy of service and duty, describing how to find and preserve
equanimity in the midst of conflict by following nature as a source of guidance and inspiration.
Caligula
Caligula was the popular nickname of Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus
Germanicus, Roman emperor (AD 37–41). Born Gaius Julius Caesar
Germanicus (not to be confused with Julius Caesar), Caligula was a
member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the JulioClaudian dynasty. Caligula's biological father was Germanicus, and he
was the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius. The young Gaius
earned the nickname "Caligula" (meaning "little soldier's boot", the diminutive form of caliga,
hob-nailed military boot) from his father's soldiers while accompanying him during his
campaigns in Germania. He did not appreciate the nickname and preferred to be called Gaius
(GUY-us).
With the death of Tiberius in AD 37, Caligula succeeded his grand uncle and adoptive
grandfather as emperor.
There are few surviving sources about the reign of Emperor Caligula, although he is described
as a noble and moderate ruler during the first six months of his reign. After this, the sources
focus upon his cruelty, sadism, extravagance, and sexual perversity, presenting him as an insane
tyrant. While the reliability of these sources is questionable, it is known that during his brief
reign, Caligula worked to increase the unconstrained personal power of the emperor, as
opposed to countervailing powers within the principate. He directed much of his attention to
ambitious construction projects and luxurious dwellings for himself, and initiated the
construction of two aqueducts in Rome: the Aqua Claudia and the Anio Novus. During his reign,
the empire annexed the Kingdom of Mauretania as a province.
Philo of Alexandria and Seneca the Younger describe Caligula as an insane emperor who was
self-absorbed, angry, killed on a whim, and indulged in too much spending and sex. He is
accused of sleeping with other men's wives and bragging about it, killing for mere amusement,
deliberately wasting money on his bridge, causing starvation, and wanting a statue of himself
erected in the Temple of Jerusalem for his worship. The validity of these accounts is debatable.
In Roman political culture, insanity and sexual perversity were often presented hand-in-hand
with poor government.
In early AD 41, Caligula was assassinated as a result of a conspiracy by officers of the Praetorian
Guard, senators, and courtiers. The conspirators' attempt to use the opportunity to restore the
Roman Republic was thwarted: on the day of the assassination of Caligula, the Praetorian Guard
declared Caligula's uncle, Claudius, the next Roman emperor.
Nero
Nero was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian
dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir
and successor, and acceded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death.
Nero focused much of his attention on diplomacy, trade and enhancing
the cultural life of the empire, ordering theatres built and promoting
athletic games, but according to the historian Tacitus (writing one generation later) he was
viewed by the Roman people as compulsive and corrupt. During his reign, the redoubtable
general Corbulo conducted a successful war and negotiated peace with the Parthian Empire. His
general Suetonius Paulinus crushed a revolt in Britain. Nero annexed the Bosporan Kingdom to
the empire and may have begun the First Jewish–Roman War.
In 64 AD, most of Rome was destroyed in the Great Fire of Rome. Suetonius, writing a
generation later claims that many Romans believed Nero himself had started the fire, in order
to clear land for his planned palatial complex, the Domus Aurea. In 68, the rebellion of Vindex
in Gaul and later the acclamation of Galba in Hispania drove Nero from the throne. Facing a
false report of being denounced as a public enemy who was to be executed, he committed
suicide on 9 June 68 (the first Roman emperor to do so). His death ended the Julio-Claudian
dynasty, sparking a brief period of civil wars known as the Year of the Four Emperors. Nero's
rule is often associated with tyranny and extravagance. He is known for many executions,
including that of his mother, and the probable murder by poison of his stepbrother Britannicus.
Nero was rumored to have had captured Christians dipped in oil and set on fire in his garden at
night as a source of light. This view is based on the writings of Tacitus, Suetonius and Cassius
Dio, the main surviving sources for Nero's reign, but a few sources paint Nero in a more
favourable light. Some sources, including some mentioned above, portray him as an emperor
who was popular with the common Roman people, especially in the East. Some modern
historians question the reliability of ancient sources when reporting on Nero's tyrannical acts.
Domitian
Domitian was Roman emperor from 81 to 96. Domitian
was the third and last emperor of the Flavian dynasty.
Domitian's youth and early career were largely spent in the
shadow of his brother Titus, who gained military renown
during the First Jewish–Roman War. This situation
continued under the rule of his father Vespasian, who
became emperor in 69 following the civil war known as the
Year of the Four Emperors. Vespasian died in 79 and was
succeeded by Titus, whose own reign came to an unexpected end when he was struck by a fatal
illness in 81. The following day Domitian was declared Emperor.
As Emperor, Domitian quickly dispensed with the republican facade his father and brother had
maintained during their reign. By moving the centre of government (more or less formally) to
the imperial court, Domitian openly rendered the Senate's powers obsolete. In his view, the
Roman Empire was to be governed as a divine monarchy with himself as the benevolent despot
at its head.
In addition to exercising absolute political power, Domitian believed the Emperor's role
encompassed every aspect of daily life, guiding the Roman people as a cultural and moral
authority. To usher in the new era, he embarked on ambitious economic, military and cultural
programs with the intention of restoring the Empire to the splendour it had seen under the
Emperor Augustus.
Significant wars were fought in Britain, where his general Agricola attempted to conquer
Caledonia (Scotland), and in Dacia, where Domitian was unable to procure a decisive victory
against king Decebalus. Domitian's government exhibited totalitarian characteristics; he saw
himself as the new Augustus, an enlightened despot destined to guide the Roman Empire into a
new era of brilliance. Religious, military, and cultural propaganda fostered a cult of personality,
and by nominating himself perpetual censor, he sought to control public and private morals. As
a consequence, Domitian was popular with the people and army but considered a tyrant by
members of the Roman Senate.
Domitian's reign came to an end in 96 when he was assassinated by court officials. The same
day he was succeeded by his advisor Nerva. After his death, Domitian's memory was
condemned to oblivion by the Roman Senate, while senatorial authors such as Tacitus, Pliny the
Younger and Suetonius propagated the view of Domitian as a cruel and paranoid tyrant.
Modern revisionists have instead characterized Domitian as a ruthless but efficient autocrat
whose cultural, economic and political program provided the foundation of the peaceful 2nd
century.