1. Julio – Claudian Emperors Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero

2. AUGUSTUS - originally named Gaius Octavius, Augustus was born in Rome on Sept. 23, 63 BC - first Emperor of Rome from 27 B.C. – 14 A.D. -restored “unity and orderly government” after nearly a century of civil wars -presided over an era of peace, prosperity, and cultural achievement known as the Augustan Age. -he was the grandnephew of Julius Caesar

3. TIBERIUS - Emperor from 14 – 37 A.D. -“efficient, tenacious administrator and general” -“reserved, unapproachable replacement for the popular, charismatic Augustus.” -adopted by Augustus and forced to divorce his beloved wife and marry Augustus’ daughter -Tiberius came to power with great ambivalence and found little happiness in the course of his reign. He was an able ruler, but his reign was clouded by conspiracies and a degenerating relationship with the Senate. - As a result, for the last decade of his reign he lived in seclusion on the island of Capri. [Source: Discovery Education]

4. CALIGULA -Emperor from 37-41 A. D. real name was Gaius Caesar (12-41),) the grandnephew of the Roman emperor Tiberius. His early life in military camps earned him the nickname Caligula (Lat., "Little Boot") because of his small military shoes. Tiberius named his grandson, Tiberius Gemellus (19-38), and Caligula joint heirs to the throne, but the Roman Senate and people chose Caligula as sole emperor. Caligula adopted Gemellus as his son but later had him murdered. A clement ruler for the first six months, he became a vicious tyrant after a severe illness. Historians believe that he probably went insane. he squandered his fortune on public entertainment and building projects; banished or murdered most of his relatives; had people tortured and killed while he dined; made his favorite horse a consul; declared himself a god; and had temples erected and sacrifices offered to himself. In 41 he was assassinated by his guard. [Source: Discovery Education]

5. CLAUDIUS - Emperor from 41-54 A.D. -The scholarly, crippled Claudius came to power at the age of 51, following the assassination of his nephew Caligula. - Certainly the most “competent and productive” emperor since Augustus, Claudius extended the empire’s borders by conquering and annexing Britain. -Internally, Claudius strengthened the state by extending enfranchisement and state offices to provincial Romans, and by reorganizing the imperial bureaucracy. -In later years, his power was undermined by failing health and by his scheming wife. Not long after adopting his wife's son Nero, Claudius died, perhaps the victim of poison. [Source: Discovery Education]

6. NERO -Emperor from 54-68 A.D. -Like his uncle Caligula before him, Nero had “little talent or interest” in the exhaustive tasks of the office he inherited. - His mother Agrippina ruled during his minority and was eclipsed soon afterwards by Nero’s astute advisors Seneca and Burrus. -As fear of plots (real and imagined) increased, Nero’s popularity decreased. -He had his mother assassinated, and later, Seneca. -The great fire that destroyed much of Rome was unlikely to have been caused by Nero, but his ambitious plans for building a new palace in the ruins fueled suspicions. -Nero fled, and committed suicide when the Praetorian guard abandoned him after the armies in the provinces rebelled and named their generals "emperor.” [Source: Discovery Education]