During the first few years of Nero’s reign, Agrippina held much influence over her son and political affairs. Because Nero was 17 at the time he became Emperor, and not yet old enough to rule,…
Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus Augustus was one of few who went to the extremes of killing his own family members just to keep his new booming Empire up and running. Constantine ruled from 306 A.D. until 337 A.D. During Constantine the Great’s thirty-one years of ruling, he influenced the Roman Empire that affected the Roman people in a virtuous way. He strengthened Christianity in Rome and was a martyr in making Christianity a respected religion, he created economic reforms that helped the common people, and crafted impressive structures throughout the Empire.…
“To be effective in politics a woman needed a husband, brother or son to act for her” Levick…
Augustus’ stepson Tiberius was well into middle age when he was confirmed as Rome’s princeps. He followed Augustus’ lead and repeatedly declined the recognition as head of state so he would not look too anxious for power. He finally accepted when he saw the Senate’s exasperation and he was confirmed as the head of state. Tiberius chose his nephew Germanicus as his heir instead of his son Drusus, but the death of Germanicus left him no choice but to make Drusus as the new heir. When Drusus died, Tiberius became despondent and left Rome for the island of Capri where he indulged in vice with other people.…
Domitian, 51-96 CE, was the last emperor of the Flavian dynasty. His mother and sister died when he was young and his father, Vespasian, and elder brother, Titus, were away in the military. Domitian’s father, made him his representative, but Mucianus, his second in command. Domitican focused on arts and literature over politics. Titus died in 81 CE and Domitian was named Emperor. Domitian inherited few military successes and economic downturn. He raised taxes, devalued the money, and paid for costly arts programs, such as, the Capitoline Games, a sporting event (Donahue). Domitian caused repressed the Roman people. He killed people on the Roman Upper class and Christians. Additionally, Domitian killed his cousin, Flavius Clemins in 96 CE. The Praetorian Guard, backed by the Senate and the royal family, murdered him. Domitian inherited a Roman Empire and by the end of his reign of 15 years, he brought. Post-mortem, Domitian was given a damnation memoriae to erase his memory from history. His death led to the Nervan-Antonian…
The Roman leader Nero slit his own throat on June 9th, 68 C.E. after receiving word that the Senate had declared him a public enemy. He was 30 years old. In the beginning of 68 C.E. Gaius Vindex led a rebellion against Nero, Rome’s current emperor, that could have been easily stopped had Nero not given up so soon. Nero did not put put up much of a fight during his fall, and was easily overtaken by the rebels, proving that anyone with an army backing them up could become emperor of Rome. Afterwards, Sulpicius Galba was put in charge of Rome but ruled poorly, marking the start of the Year of Four Emperors.…
During its reign many illustrious leaders including Augustus and the Five Great Emperors governed the Roman Empire. Rome’s revolutionary government was the one of the main reasons the Empire survived as long as it did, with the exception of the military. The probable cause of the corruption of the emperors is because humans are not meant to be idols. Emperors such as Tiberius, Nero and Elagabalus engaged in immoral and self-absorbed behavior. Nero, an emperor whose reign preceded the fall of the Western Empire, is considered to be the most insane to exist.…
his death. At the age of 16, Nero became emperor of Rome, this was the youngest up until that…
After Rome burned in a fire Nero became one of the infamous people in the city.In addition to killing his own mother he also killed his first wife and his second wife.Tacitus claims that his second wife was the reason why Nero killed his one & only mother.I don't know what his second wife did to kill his only mother but it must have been relation ship problems.…
Augustus’ dynasty included the unpopular Tiberius (14-37 A.D.), the bloodthirsty and unstable Caligula (37-41) and Claudius (41-54), who was best remembered for his army’s conquest of Britain. The line ended with Nero (54-68), whose excesses drained the Roman treasury and led to his downfall and eventual suicide. Four emperors took the throne in the tumultuous year after Nero’s death; the fourth, Vespasian (69-79), and his successors, Titus and Domitian, were known as the Flavians; they attempted to temper the excesses of the Roman court, restore Senate authority and promote public welfare. Titus (79-81) earned his people’s devotion with his handling of recovery efforts after the infamous eruption of Vesuvius, which destroyed the towns of Herculaneum and Pompeii.…
Some people have come to the conclusion that Nero did not start the Great Fire of Rome. They have come to this conclusion based on the fact that he was not there at the time to ignite the fire. Also he had witnesses who saw where he was at the time of the fire. Being that Nero was disliked, he was framed for a fire that started accidentally. Many myths about Nero circulated about him being the one who started the fire which accredited to his bad reputation. Nero did not start the Great Fire of Rome because he was not present during the time the fire started, myths were started about him, and was framed for the fire because he was disliked.…
This loss of power brought about a series of civil wars fought among generals with the backing of their distinct armies. Julius Caesar eventually prevailed when in 49 BCE he rode into Italy with his army against the orders of the Senate. In 44 BCE he declared himself dictator for life, but was murdered by a crew of strict republicans on the Ides of March 44 BCE. This once again plunged Rome into civil war and while Caesar's heir, his grand-nephew Octavian, and Marc Antony initially joined sides to avenge his death, they soon turned against each other and Octavian eventually triumphed over Antony and his ally, Cleopatra. Octavian was given the honorific title 'Augustus' in 27 BCE and ruled Rome for the next 40 years. While he claimed to have restored the Republic, Augustus held many important administrative and religious positions simultaneously and so, in fact, became the first emperor. He attempted to maintain control over the Empire by improving road systems and augmenting town growth. He also united the Empire through his use of the arts as a form of self-promotion and to promote the themes of his administration, such as peace, allegiance to Rome, and respect for tradition. He visually improved the city by constructing new buildings that were worthy of the powerful Empire. He made art into the materialization of Roman government which was an idea continued by his descendants and was declared a god-- as had been his father, Julius Caesar-- at his death in 14…
While in exile, Agrippina’s husband Ahenobarbus died of dropsy and her son was sent to live with a relative of Caligula. Caligula used the death of Ahenobarbus to seize most of Lucius’s assets and inheritance, essentially leaving him in poverty (Agrippina the Younger). Potentially alienating the entire empire including his Praetorian Guard with his bizarre and erratic behavior, Caligula, his wife, and his daughter were murdered on January 24 AD 41. (Agrippina II). After his assassination, Caligula was replaced by his paternal uncle, Tiberius Claudius Caesar. Better known as Claudius, Tiberius Claudius Caesar lifted the exile on his nieces, Agrippina and Livilla, restored their properties and wealth, and reinstated his nephew Lucius’s inheritance…
At the beginning of Nero’s rule, he was said to be a fair Emperor, but as his power increased his regards to what is just or unjust vanished. Nero did not consider himself subjected to laws. He took advantage of his power and used it for his own personal gain, simply because there was no one with the authority to make him stop. He killed anyone he considered a threat to his throne including his own mother, Agrippina. Nero spent large amounts of the Empire’s money for his own artistic pursuits. He even took money from temples in Rome in order to build himself an extravagant villa. He was not forced to follow any laws because he was the Emperor; therefore, he chose to disregard laws and do as he pleased. He lived extravagantly and irresponsibly; he was not concerned with doing what was considered just or fair.[bonus…
Augustus rose to power largely because of his connection with Julius Caesar, who adopted his young relative. Before the age of twenty, Augustus had been named to the position of Consul which was the most powerful office in the Roman Republic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus). Augustus wanted peace and prosperity in his political career and used his heavily embellished link to Julius Caesar’s lineage in order to build his status as a “God” figure in the Roman Empire. “Augustus himself invested very heavily in the foundation myths, and repeatedly drew on the stories of Romulus and Aeneas in his imperial imagery.”(Block 2 pg. 108). He was able to overcome a number of obstacles in his path to gain control of the most powerful empire in the world buy using the strength of his army. The myth of the infants suckled by the she wolf became dominant during the reign of Augustus who claimed ancestry from Romulus. Augustus was adept at manipulating Rome 's foundation…