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The Five Good Emperors: The History of the Roman Empire during the Reigns of Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius, by Charles River Editors. Lives of the Romans, by Philip Matyszak. The Roman Emperor Aurelian: Restorer of the World, by John F. White.
Timeline Description: The Roman Empire began with the reign of Augustus Caesar in 27 BCE. It was divided in 285 CE, and fell in 476 CE. The emperors ranged from successful and effective rulers to the corrupt and even insane. In some periods, a single individual held power for a number of years and in others, many individuals fought to rule in a ...
DateEvent27 BCAugustus Caesar: The First Emperor (27 ...14Tiberius to Nero (14 CE to 68 CE) The ...68The Year of the Four Emperors to Domitian ...96The Five Good Emperors (96 CE to 180 CE) ...People also ask
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- Nerva (96 -98 AD) Domitian was the last of the Twelve Caesars, and most Romans were glad to see the back of him. Towards the end of his reign, Domitian treated the Senate with complete contempt and was considered a tyrant.
- Trajan (98 – 117 AD) Trajan was born near Seville in 52 AD which ensured he had the distinction of becoming the first Roman Emperor who was not born in Italy.
- Hadrian (117 – 138) Like Nerva, Trajan ‘adopted’ his successor; although this time, the emperor was near death. Born as Publius Aelius Hadrianus on January 24, 76 AD, Hadrian had the advantage of possessing the right connections.
- Antoninus Pius (138 – 161) Antoninus Pius was born in Lanuvium on September 19, 86 AD, and while he was only Hadrian’s second choice, the decision proved to be an excellent one.
- Who Were The Five Good Emperors?
- Nerva
- Trajan
- Hadrian
- Antoninus Pius
- Marcus Aurelius
- Where Did The Name “The Five Good Emperors” Come from?
- What Was The State of The Empire Before The Five Good Emperors Took Charge?
- How Did The First of The Five Good Emperors Come to Power?
- What Made The Five Good Emperors So Special?
The Five Good Emperors belonged exclusively to the Nerva-Antonine Dynasty (96 AD – 192 AD), which was the third Dynasty of Roman emperors that ruled over the Roman Empire. They included Nerva, the founder of the dynasty, and his successors Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius. These constituted all but two of the Nerva-Antonine Dyna...
As mentioned above, Nerva came from deep within the senatorial ranks and was propped up by that aristocratic body as Roman emperor in 96 AD. However, this seemed to have been done without the express consent of the military who by this point had become pivotal in the legitimacy of each emperor’s accession and his subsequent reign. Therefore, whilst...
Trajan – the “Optimus Princeps” (“best emperor”) – began his reign by taking a tour of the northern frontiers next to which he had been posted when his adoption and subsequent accession were announced. He, therefore, took his time returning to Rome, perhaps so that he could properly ascertain the mood and situation. When he did return he was very e...
Hadrian did not in fact manage to fill the shoes of Trajan, although he is still remembered as a great emperor of the Roman Empire. This is the case even though he seemed to be despised by portions of the senate, due to the fact he executed a number of their members without any due process. As alluded to above, his accession was viewed with some su...
Against the wishes of large portions of the senate, Antoninus Pius ensured that his predecessor was deified (as Nerva and Trajan had been). For his continued and impervious loyalty to his predecessor, Antoninus received the cognomen “Pius” by which we now know him. His reign is, unfortunately, quite bereft of documentation or literary accounts (par...
Whilst Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus did rule jointly, the latter died in 169 AD and has subsequently been overshadowed by his co-ruler. For this reason, Lucius Verus did not seem to warrant inclusion amongst these “good” emperors, even though his reign as emperor appeared for the most part to be in line with Marcus’s. Interestingly, even though...
The label of the “Five Good Emperors” is believed to have originated from the infamous Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolo Machiavelli. When assessing these Roman emperors in his lesser-known work Discourses on Livy, he repeatedly praises these “good emperors” and the period they reigned over. In doing so, Machiavelli was repeating the ...
As mentioned above, the Roman Empire had been ruled by two previous dynasties before the Nerva-Antonines took over. These were the Julio-Claudians, founded by the emperor Augustus, and the Flavians, founded by the emperor Vespasian. The first Julio-Claudian dynasty was marked by its famous and iconic emperors, including Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula...
After the death of the emperor Domitian, the senate jumped into affairs in order to avoid a bloody breakdown of the state. They did not want a repeat of the Year of the Four Emperors – the period of civil war that erupted after the fall of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty. They also lamented their loss of influence since the emergence of the emperors mor...
Based on all of the above it may or may not seem clear why these emperors were so special. The reasons are in fact more complicated than they might seem as a number of different factors in their reigns and their dynasty as a whole are important when considering this question.
- Daniel Kershaw
Apr 30, 2018 · Definition. Roman Emperor s ruled the Roman Empire starting with Augustus in 27 BCE and continuing in the West until the late 5th century CE and in the Eastern Roman Empire up to the mid-15th century CE. The emperors took titles such as Caesar and Imperator but it was their command of the army which allowed them to keep the throne.
- Donald L. Wasson
“A chronological list of the emperors of ancient Rome, covering the Julio-Claudian, Flavian, Antonine, and Severan dynasties; the Gallic, Palmyrene, and Eastern Roman empires; and the Constantine period.”
Nov 21, 2023 · The timeline of Roman emperors in order below highlights the greatest Roman emperors (and the cruelest). Principate. Julio-Claudian Dynasty. Augustus (27 BCE-14 CE) Tiberius (14-37 CE) Caligula ...
