Transcript Julio – Claudian Emperors

Julio – Claudian
Emperors
Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero
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
TIBERIUS
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Emperor from 14 – 37 A.D.
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“efficient, tenacious administrator and general”
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“reserved, unapproachable replacement for the popular, charismatic
Augustus.”
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adopted by Augustus and forced to divorce his beloved wife and marry
Augustus’ daughter
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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.
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As a result, for the last decade of his reign he lived in seclusion on the
island of Capri. [Source: Discovery Education]
CALIGULA
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Emperor from 37-41 A. D.
•
real name was Gaius Caesar (12-41),)
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the grandnephew of the Roman emperor Tiberius.
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His early life in military camps earned him the nickname Caligula (Lat., "Little Boot") because of his
small military shoes.
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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.
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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.
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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]
CLAUDIUS
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Emperor from 41-54 A.D.
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The scholarly, crippled Claudius came to power at the age of 51,
following the assassination of his nephew Caligula.
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Certainly the most “competent and productive” emperor since
Augustus, Claudius extended the empire’s borders by conquering
and annexing Britain.
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Internally, Claudius strengthened the state by extending
enfranchisement and state offices to provincial Romans, and by
reorganizing the imperial bureaucracy.
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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]
NERO
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Emperor from 54-68 A.D.
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Like his uncle Caligula before him, Nero had “little talent or interest” in the exhaustive
tasks of the office he inherited.
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His mother Agrippina ruled during his minority and was eclipsed soon afterwards by
Nero’s astute advisors Seneca and Burrus.
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As fear of plots (real and imagined) increased, Nero’s popularity decreased.
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He had his mother assassinated, and later, Seneca.
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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.
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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]