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Holy Roman Emperors The Holy Roman Emperor was the ruler and head of state of the Holy Roman Empire. Charlemagne was crowned imperator romanorum ("Emperor of the Romans") by Pope Leo III in AD 800. In so doing, the Pope rejected the legitimacy of Empress Irene.
- From The Republic to The Imperial Era
- The First Emperor
- Absolute Power
- The Imperial Dynasties
- Deification
- Division of The Empire
- Conclusion
Before Rome was an empire, it was a republic with a long history of “democratic” rule. After ousting the Etruscans and their king, the city-state was ruled by a Senate and/or an assembly with elected magistrates - consuls and tribunes, both with a term of office limitations. After conquering the Italian peninsula, Rome gained considerable land thro...
As a victorious general, Octavian had often heard the cries of his soldiers - “Imperator” - especially after his defeat of Mark Antony. In the future, this title would automatically be assumed by his successors, regardless of their military experience, upon their ascension to the imperial throne. After two decades of civil war, Octavian, the adopte...
While many of the structures that had existed under the old Republic remained, such as the Senate, they existed in name only. In a kingdom, a king had to answer to an assembly (Englandhad a Parliament; France had the Estates General, for example). Often, these assemblies controlled the finances of the kingdom, but in Rome the emperor could collect ...
Augustus (31 BCE to 14 CE) maintained control of the empire, even in death, and, like a king, named his successor. In his case it was Tiberius. Even the name Augustus would become a title, assumed by all who followed him. But the naming of a successor is one of the few ways an emperor is like a king. In a kingdom, the tradition was for the continua...
The emperor held a special place in the hearts and minds of the people of Rome, both in life and in death. This adoration for the imperial leader would lead to his eventual deification or apotheosis. However, this type of honor or Imperial Cult was not unique to Rome; it dated back to Alexander the Great - he considered himself not the son of Phill...
After a long period of truly incompetent emperors, Diocletian came to power in 284 CE. The Pax Romana or Roman peace had been dead for over one hundred years. The empire was being attacked on all sides and it was on the verge of collapse. Diocletian realized the one major flaw of the empire - its size. To solve the problem he created the tetarchy o...
For the most part, the people of the Roman Empire were kept reasonably happy, even during times of duress, as long as the emperors provided grain for bread and games/entertainment. Lasting monuments were built to honor many of the emperors - the Baths of Caracalla and Nero, the Arch of Constantine, and Trajan's Column. The emperor was an absolute r...
- Donald L. Wasson
- Daniel Kershaw
- Chronicle of the Emperors. The Roman state began as a semi-mythical and small-scale monarchy in the 10th century BC. It later prospered as an expansionist republic from 509 BC onwards.
- Complete List of All Roman Emperors in Order. The Julio-Claudian Dynasty (27 BC – 68 AD) Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD) Tiberius (14 AD – 37 AD) Caligula (37 AD – 41 AD)
- The First (Julio-Claudian) Dynasty (27 BC – 68 AD) The Emergence of the Principate under Augustus (44 BC – 27 BC) Born in 63BC as Gaius Octavius, he was related to Julius Caesar, whose famous legacy he built on to become Emperor.
- The Year of the Four Emperors (68 AD – 69 AD) In the Year 69 AD, after the fall of Nero, three different figures briefly acclaimed themselves emperor, before the fourth, Vespasian, brought the chaotic and violent period to an end, establishing the Flavian Dynasty.
- Aaron Randle
- Gaius Julius Caesar (reign from 49 B.C. to 44 B.C.) The death of Julius Caesar. Technically, as the last ruler of Rome’s Republican era, Gaius Julius Caesar was never recognized as an emperor.
- Caesar Augustus (Reign: 27 B.C. to 14 A.D.) Gaius Octavius Thurinus. Gaius Octavius Thurinus, also known as Octavian or “Augustus,” served as the first official emperor of the Roman Empire, and is often seen by historians as the greatest.
- Tiberius (Reign: 14 to 37 A.D.) Tiberius Caesar Augustus. In ancient Rome, few emperors were better at acquiring land for the empire than Tiberius Caesar Augustus.
- Vespasian (reign: 69 to 79 A.D.) Titus Flavius Vespasianus. After the tyrannical reign of Emperor Nero, Rome found itself in a crisis of instability. So much so that during the 12-month span following Nero’s death, the empire had four different rulers (known as the “Year of the Four Emperors”).
Feb 17, 2023 · In 27 BC, he was granted the titles of ‘princeps’ (meaning ‘first citizen’) and ‘ Augustus ’ (‘revered), with the latter soon taken up as a title. As such, Augustus became the first Roman emperor. “He had handed back all of the extraordinary powers that he had during the civil war period,” says Dr Shushma Malik, speaking on an ...
Overview. The Roman Empire began in 27 BCE when Augustus became the sole ruler of Rome. Augustus and his successors tried to maintain the imagery and language of the Roman Republic to justify and preserve their personal power. Beginning with Augustus, emperors built far more monumental structures, which transformed the city of Rome.
Constantine the Great, born Flavius Valerius Constantinus, was the Roman emperor who ruled from 306 to 337 CE. He is considered one of the most influential Roman emperors due to his role in the unification of the Roman Empire, the rise of Christianity, and the founding of Constantinople.
