If absolute power can lead to absolute corruption, then the Roman emperor is the best proof. After centuries of republican government, Rome was transformed by Augustus (63 BC-14 AD) into an imperial dictatorship, which he believed was necessary for the survival of the nation. For more than 400 years, the rulers of the Western Roman Empire were sometimes power-hungry, sometimes mad for power, arrogant and selfish, and under the such brutal rule, the empire was often very short-lived. Of course, some of them are capable, smart, and even some really good rulers.
Historians have been discussing many bizarre facts about Roman emperors long before the fall of the Roman Empire, and here's what I share with you to reveal the quirky and sometimes sympathetic side of these Roman emperors.
Anthony Pius created one of the most peaceful eras in Roman history
The reign of Antony Pius (c. 117-138 AD) was famous for its peace, after all the political upheaval of the Roman Empire was very frequent, so it was actually a remarkable achievement.
The emperor is said to have ruled well and justly for the past 23 years, creating one of the most peaceful times in the history of the empire. Although the empire's underlying problems were exposed during the reign of Antony Pius' successor, Marcus Aurelius, and the army was not entirely free from war, historians have chosen to praise Antony Pius for being "without scandal", corruption and military operations” and at the time of his death left the government with a large surplus of funds.
Augustus' personal wealth, up to $4.6 trillion
Emperor Augustus (63 BC - 14 AD) was probably the richest man of all time. He inherited a large fortune from his great-uncle Julius Caesar, and his fortune skyrocketed after defeating Mark Antony and Cleopatra in 30 BC. With the fall of Egypt's ruler, Augustus declared that the entire kingdom was his personal property.
Egypt's abundance of grain, fertile soil, and irrigation from the Nile made it the granary of Rome. Moreover, Egypt's GDP in classical times accounted for 25-30% of the world's GDP. This enormous wealth has led some to estimate Augustus' net worth at about $4.6 trillion. MSN later calculated that this figure was "equivalent to 20% of the economy of the entire (Roman) Empire".
Vespasian made a joke to us in his last words
According to the ancient Roman biographer Suetonius, Emperor Vespasian (c. 69-79 AD) had a twisted sense of humor. After he passed an unpopular public toilet tax, his son Titus complained that it was a disgusting way to make money. Afterward, Vespasian put the collected money up to his son's nose and asked him if it meant anything. Titus said no, and Vespasian then said, "But it came from a public toilet."
He seemed to be joking as he was dying. Since Emperor Augustus deified his adoptive father Julius Caesar, it has become very common for most Roman emperors to be made gods after their death. Suetonius said that when Vespasian was dying, he said: "I'm so unlucky, I think I'm going to become a god."
Diocletian reorganized the empire after a century of turmoil, then voluntarily retired
Diocletian came to power after the Crisis of the Third Century (235-284 AD), a turbulent period for the Roman Empire when territories were divided, the economy collapsed and the emperor was assassinated every other year. (During these 49 years, more than 20 emperors ruled. By comparison, 26 emperors reigned from 27 BC to 235 AD.)
To be precise, it was Diocletian's predecessor, Aurelian, who reunited the divided Roman Empire. Diocletian, however, retained power, created a tetrad (a new form of imperial administration that didn't live long), redesigned the emperor's post, and stabilized after decades of chaos empire.
After ruling for 21 years, Diocletian voluntarily abdicated in AD 305. His retirement lasted many years, even after his successor returned to the civil war that led to the crisis of the third century. When people asked Diocletian to end his retirement first, his answer was interesting, he was busy growing vegetables:
If you could show your emperor the cabbage I planted with my own hands, he would not dare suggest that I replace the peace and happiness here with a storm of insatiable greed.
Claudius was mocked by his family because of his disability
Physical disability was a serious disgrace in Roman society, and Claudius, despite being a member of the revered Julio Claudius dynasty, was considered a disgrace to his family. Ancient Roman historians write that Claudius was trembling, limping, and occasionally foaming at the mouth. Modern scholars believe that he may have cerebral palsy or Tourette's disease.
Even Claudius' mother treated him very badly and was said to call him "a monster of man, but since it is of natural origin, it will never end", and his nephew, Emperor Caligula, even encouraged people to throws food.
Despite these disabilities, Claudius has a sharp mind. He wrote dozens of books on history, and although all of them are lost, they are used as sources for the extant works of the historian Tacitus. And as an emperor, his abilities far exceeded the expectations of his critics.
The bronze statue of Marcus Aurelius survived as he was mistaken for another emperor
Equestrian statues of imperial emperors, once common in Europe, were mostly destroyed in the centuries following the fall of Rome. Christians believed that they were pagan idols, and if they were made of precious metals, they were melted down and new statues or coins were minted. But the bronze statue of Marcus Aurelius, nearly 4.3 meters high, once stood in Piazza del Campidoglio in Rome (before that, in the Lateran Palace), but escaped this fate.
It is believed that the statue survived because it was misidentified. Early Christians believed that the bearded Marcus Aurelius was Constantine I, the first Christian Roman emperor, and could therefore be preserved. Later, a 10th-century article referred to the statue as "Constantine the Equestrian".
It is said that Maximinus Trax was a giant who never set foot in Rome
Unfortunately, the most detailed information we have about the reign of Maximilinus Traxus (235-238 AD) is not entirely reliable. Both the Augustan Chronicles and the Herods are not true historical accounts, and in the former many accounts are polished or completely fictitious. However, the two sources agree on one thing, and that is the emperor's amazing size and strength.
Herod's description of Maximilinus was "a huge body that any skilled Greek athlete or trained warrior among barbarians could hardly match." The History of Augusta even says that the emperor was a veritable giant:
He's so tall...people say he's over 2.5 meters tall. His thumb is also so big that he uses his wife's bracelet as a ring. He can pull a carriage with his hands, push a cart full of goods by himself, knock down a horse with one punch, smash rocks, split trees with one palm, and finally, someone calls him Hercules...
Augusta also claims that Csimilenus Trax could drink an entire amphora and eat 18kg of meat in one day. However, these claims may be exaggerated.
Modern scholars believe that Maximinus may have suffered from acromegaly, a hormonal disorder that causes gigantism.
Elagabalus pranks dinner guests with a fart cushion
The youngest emperor of Rome, Elagabalus, reigned from 218 to 222 AD. But he was also a controversial figure in his day, considered one of Rome's worst rulers. His plan to replace Jupiter, the supreme god of Rome, with Elagabal of Syria naturally shocked many. His later marriage to a Vesta virgin led to a rumor that he was a prostitute on the streets at night.
However, he also likes to play pranks - some are just plain pranks, and some are not. As archaeologist Warwick Ball wrote:
(Elagabalus) has a rather endearing tendency to mischief, for example, he will make cocky dinner guests sit on "fart mats" or put drunk dinner guests on In a room with wild animals, but unbeknownst to the guests, these are completely tame and harmless beasts!
After his male lover died, Hadrian turned him into a god
In a sense, sexual relations in ancient Rome were more volatile than they were in the centuries after its demise. Men are judged not by who they have sex with, but by whether they are the "dominant" or "passive" party in a relationship. And that's why it was actually not uncommon for Emperor Hadrian (117-138 AD) to find a male lover. Unusually, though, Hadrian's affection for Antinus was so deep that he deified Antinous after he drowned in the Nile.
Many emperors were deified after their death, and so were some of their immediate family members, but this had never happened to one's own lover before. Hadrian commemorated Antinus in this way, which led some to dub Hadrian the "gay emperor".
In addition to deifying Antinous, Hadrian commissioned sculptures and busts of the Greek youth and even named a city after him. Torsten Oper, the curator of the Hadrian exhibition at the British Museum, explains:
Hadrian apparently lost a relative and painted many of his portraits. Near the place where Antinous drowned, a city was even founded and named after him the city of Annapolis, a kind of hero cult for Antinous.
After the Janissaries killed Pettinox, they sold the Emperor's position to the highest bidder
Three months into his reign, Petynox was assassinated by the Praetorian Guard, who, ironically, put him on the throne. After Emperor Commodus was strangled to death by his personal trainer in AD 193, the Praetorian Guards subsequently made Petynox Emperor.
According to the Roman historian Cassius Dio, "Petinox was a good and upright man", but he was eager to reform the broken empire. So the Guards quickly got tired of him and rushed into his palace. Until the end, Pettinox tried to negotiate peace. But a guard quickly stabbed him in the chest and said, "The soldiers brought you this sword."
The Praetorian then began to show loyalty to the highest bidder. When Didius Julian paid each soldier 25,000 roman dollars (the equivalent of five years' wages), he was soon proclaimed emperor, though his reign did not last long.
Caligula was so hairy that it was a crime to mention goats in his presence
Just how bloodthirsty, how weird, how wild is the real Caligula? It's hard to say because a lot of Roman emperors were terrible in front of the media, and Caligula (originally Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus) was so terrible that he only ruled for four years (37-AD). 41) was assassinated. Like Tiberius before him and Nero after him, Caligula may have really done some really wicked things, but did he really forbid people to compare him to a goat?
According to Suetonius, this is indeed the case. The ancient Roman biographer claimed that either looking directly at Caligula's head or comparing him to a goat was a capital offense - because he had so much hair. There are other hobbies, too: he speaks to the moon, orders his soldiers to collect English shells as "trophies", and even makes his beloved horse a consul.
Commodus renamed Rome "Comodana" and himself "Hercules"
Historians believe that Commodus' father, Marcus Aurelius (160-180 AD), was the last of the "Five Great Emperors". After Comodos' death, he was promoted to cardinal, resuming public performances and extremism not seen since Nero's suicide in AD 68.
Compared to his father, who is considered a philosophical warrior, Commodus has been described as "not only debauched and corrupt but also a megalomaniac who considers himself the reincarnation of the Greek god Hercules."
During his 12-year rule, Commodus delegated the de facto management of the empire to corrupt officials and executed them when they got too nosy. He also participated in gladiatorial competitions and believed himself to be the founder of the "Golden Age" of New Rome.
Then he started renaming everything. Herod I wrote:
First, he gave up his surname and ordered that he should not be called Commodus, son of Marcus, but Hercules, son of Zeus. He ditched Roman and imperial clothing styles, donned a lion's skin, and held the great club of Hercules. After that, he gave each month a new name, and some of them added their own title, mostly saying that Hercules was the manliest man in the world.
