THE FIVE GOOD EMPERORS The Antonine Dynasty

Something that distinguishes the Five Good Emperors from those before and after is that the principate stops passing down the bloodline. Unlike the Flavians, the emperor adopted an heir and, unlike the Julio-Claudians, the emperor chose from outside his relatives.

#1 This trend begins with M. Cocceius Nerva. Nerva was elected emperor in 96 at the death of Domitian. He was already in his mid-60’s when he got the job, and had been a long-time politician serving under Nero and the Flavians.

#1 His reign was short as he died of natural causes early in 98, only 16 months after taking office. Also it was a difficult reign due to financial problems and issues of loyalty from the military.

#1 In order to maintain control of the army he named one of its most popular generals as his successor. For this he is accredited with starting a new, wise tradition for Rome, but it should be noted that his options were limited.

#2 Nerva was succeeded by his adopted heir M. Ulpius Traianus. Trajan ruled from 98 to 117 and is famous for stretching the Roman empire to the greatest extent it ever reached.

#2 Trajan is also famous for the fact that he was not born in Italy. He was from a non-patrician family in Spain and the first Roman Emperor not to be from Italy.

#2 Trajan and Nerva alike established a practice of conferring and cooperating with the senate despite their growing lack of authority, and the peaceful transition of power continued to the next three emperors.

DACIA

ARMENIA, ASSYRIA, MESOPATAMIA

#3 Trajan was succeeded in 117 by his adopted heir P. Aelius Traianus Hadrianus. Today we know him as Hadrian. Sources differ on whether he was born in Rome or Spain, but he was from a patrician family.

#3 Hadrian was not quite as popular as his predecessors with the senate or the army. He also brought back the tradition of bribing soldiers which Trajan had succeeded in not doing.

#3 Some of the many things that distinguish Hadrian is his love for building and architecture and his first hand knowledge of the provincial governments.

#3 Hadrian made extensive travels and inspections throughout the empire. He also began to solidify it rather than expand it. This was dramatically different from any of his predecessors.

HADRIAN’S WALL

#4 Hadrian was succeeded in 138 by his adopted heir T. Aurelius Fulvius Boionius Arrius Antoninus Pius. Today known as Antoninus Pius, his family was a patrician family from Narbonese Gaul.

#4 Antoninus Pius tends to be the least well known today even though he actually ruled longer than the other four of the “Five Good Emperors” and everyone else thus far since Augustus.

#4 His reign saw no major wars, only small skirmishes, and he himself never left Italy to deal with them as his predecessors did and follower would do. He also increased cooperation with the senate which had diminished under Hadrian.

#5 Antoninus Pius was succeeded in 161 by his adopted heir M. Aurelius Antoninus. This was a unique adoption since it was done by the order of Hadrian. M. Aurelius grew up being prepared to be the ruler.

#5 In adulthood he was known for his Stoic philosophy which survives in his work Meditations. Like Hadrian, he traveled the empire spending a great deal of time in Germania during the wars there.

#5 His reign was also marked by a new war with the Parthians who invaded Armenia and Syria. The war was won, but the army returned with a plague which killed millions of Romans.

#5 M. Aurelius’ rule is also marked by the fact that it began and ended with joint rule of co-emperors, the beginning with Verus, and the end with Commodus. .M. Aurelius died in 180 of some kind of pox, possibly the plague brought from Parthia

1 - 5 Apart from the manner of succession and the peace and prosperity felt by the empire, there were other trends with these five emperors. Administratively the government shifted toward being more authoritarian despite general increased cooperation with the upper class. The Comitia was disbanded after Nerva. Under Hadrian the princeps took law making and interpreting power away from the praetors.

1 - 5 The upper class in towns across the empire became more financially responsible for their communities. Also, all of these emperors greatly contributed to the enfranchisement of peoples around the empire. They all extended Latin rights to provinces, which was the stepping stone to full citizenship.

COMMODUS M. Aurelius was succeeded in 180 by his son and co-ruler L. Aurelius Commodus Antoninus.

COMMODUS He was the first actual, non-adopted son to take power since Domitian. He has gone down in history as one of the “mad emperors” along with Nero and Caligula, all of whom are known for their excesses.

COMMODUS He died in 192 when he was strangled in the bath tub by a wrestler hired to kill him.