Five Good Emperors and Beyond Does good leadership make a difference?

Rebellion After the death of Nero provinces declared their own commanders emperor For a yr commanders from the East and the West claimed power Galba, Otho, and Vitellius all were emperors in one yr

Vespasian Son of middle class Italians, father auctioneer, served all over the empire and gained experience under Julio-Claudian emperors, Nero’s companion, put in charge of stopping Jewish rebellion in Palestine, in process of destroying Jerusalem when Nero murdered by guards, stayed in Alexandria to secure Egypt Left Titus in charge of destroying Jerusalem and the Jewish rebels who hid at Masada Once emperor determined, practical and down to earth Restored Rome through Public works, most famous was a new theatre called the Coliseum built on Nero’s lake of the palace Put down rebellion all over the empire, extended citizens rights, promoted urbanization by building huge apartment complexes Promoted his son and other to important positions, kicked intellectuals who criticized him out of Rome When he died he had prepared for a smooth transition to Titus

Titus Titus son of Vespasian, considered wild, immoderate and had been the one who did the dirty work of Vespasian He fell in love with Bernice a Judean woman he had met while destroying Jerusalem, brought her to Rome, she hate Rome and forced Titus to break it off Better emperor than heir, kind, compassionate, fair, intelligent and respected the office of emperor Vesuvius exploded under his rule destroying Pompeii and Herculaneum, provided disaster relief and visited area, another fire in Rome, rebuilt bigger and better w/ public celebrations, quarantined sections of Italy as the plague began to spread After 2yrs suddenly died, dying word I have made only one mistake.

Domitian Rome unprepared for Titus’s death, no children or heir, his brother Domitian filled the gap, had ruled Rome after the death of Vitellius until Vespasian could rule Terrible reputation, yet administered empire well, completed father’s and brother’s projects, put on extravagant games at the Coliseum suppressed rebellions, expanded empire Many public works like roads, palaces, and settlements built without raising taxes Acted arrogant and paraded around in royal garb at his palace and royal court Championed Rome’s religion and attacked anything that was opposed to it, attacking Judaism and Christianity Became paranoid, saw conspiracies everywhere, his wife, the palace guards , servants and high ranking senators all killed him in his bedroom, Rome celebrated by pulling down his statues

Nerva An aging senator without an heir made emperor Unable to maintain order Military discontent Revolt broke out, soldiers pushed past Nerva and killed Domitian’s killers Adopted Trajan, governor of Germany, giving him the title father of the country, lived out life (months) in peace

Trajan One of Rome’s most influential and popular emperors, ruled 20 yrs, military conquests, good gov’t, good relations w/ senate and good attitude 1st emperor born outside of Italy, in Spain, after Nerva’s death spent 2yrs securing the northern borders Created public assistance for poor children, rebuilt the forum (market) with large buildings, 2 libraries, brought in luxury goods from all over the empire, food, spices, and rare hides Many military conquests, fell ill trying to put down rebellion in East, put Hadrian in charge and died of a stroke

Hadrian Rose through connections in Trajan’s family, relationship w/ Trajan’s wife who really adopted him Followed popular Trajan and cleaned up his messes, stabilized Rome, built defenses on borders like Hadrian’s wall in Britannia Admired the Greeks so he wore a beard like a Greek, Studied Greek literature and gave privilege to Athens, Started another revolt in Jerusalem by building a temple to Jupiter where Solomon’s temple once stood Cranky, strict disciplinarian, lived out last yrs in a Palace Tivoli suffering from a medical ailment that caused him to try to commit suicide Died of natural causes

Antoninus Pius Hadrian’s successor from a prominent family , little administrative or military experience, 51 and chosen to maintain order till Hadrian's nephew Marcus Aurelius was ready Fair, judicious, good looking, well spoken, even tempered and unpretentious, loved ruling from his country estate, ruled 23 yrs , never left Italy, no major wars, military thinned out

Marcus Aurellius Known as the philosopher emperor, wrote a stoic journal called Meditations Travelled with Hadrian in battle Requested that good friend Varus be made co-emperor Persecuted Christians as a secretive cult, heard law cases, painful medical conditions led to drug addiction, died in Vienna

Emperors Continue Commodus , Marcus Aurelius’s son next Gladiator movie about him, loved sex and sports, killed by senators and favorite concubine Pertinax a 66 yr old senator who reluctantly to emperor, tried to bring finances in line, emperor 87 days Severi –Septimus,Caracalla, Geta, Macrinus, Elagabalus and Alexander rule Rome with ever increasing failure, more money lost, legions unhappy, borders shrinking