Transcript Roman Emperors

From Julius to Nero
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By the end of this lesson I will know the major
differences between the Emperors of the
Claudeo-Julian dynasty.
By the end of this lesson I will recognize the
changes occurring within Rome under the
various Claudeo-Julian Emperor’s.
By the end of this lesson I will recognize trends
in the hereditary succession of the Roman
throne.
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Mostly A – Nero
Mostly B – Augustus
Mostly C – Claudius
Mostly D – Cleopatra
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Hereditary succession
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A really unstable job…almost all of them were
killed and almost always by those closest to
them – a tradition began with Julius Caesar
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Kind of…adoption…weird connections, but it is
largely seen as a family business.
Emperor gained throne through power and
force…why not be booted using the same tactics.
There was no “impeaching” an emperor – only one
way out!
There was some good, some bad, some ugly….
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The person responsible for moving Rome from
Republic to Empire.
Senate increasingly ineffective with infighting and
indecision.
Allied with Pompey and Crassus against the
Roman Senate
Secured Governorship of Gaul (Modern Day
France and Belgium).
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Recruited and conquered
Crassus dead – Caesar grows distant with Pompey
Invades Rome with no army – destroys opposition
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Invites some of his enemies to join him in
government…hmmm?
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Continued fighting wars in the East
Allowed foreigners to gain citizenship
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Like his army of Gauls
Reformed Roman calendar
Adopted his great nephew Augustus
Took some power away from the Senate – they
became more representative and increasingly
under control of the Emperor
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March 15th, 44 B.C.E.
Brutus and Longinus along with many other
Senators attack Caesar in the theatre of Pompey
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Feared that the Senate was losing power – feared
Caesar might just axe the whole thing…
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Stab him to death
Worried about Caesar gaining any more power.
Oh Crap!
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The act essentially guaranteed the ascension of Augustus
– who fully aware of the Senate’s actions would disband
them and send Mark Antony to hunt down Brutus and
Longinus
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Adopted by Julius Caesar several years before
death.
After Caesar’s death Augustus allied with Mark
Antony – a strong military leader as well as
Lepidus to form another triumvirate (the first one
being Caesar, Pompey and Crassus
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This alliance effectively removed the Senate from power.
Tensions rise and Octavian once again leads army
against Antony (and now Cleopatra) at the battle
of Actium
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Putting Egypt under Rome’s control
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Augustan did not want to suffer the same fate
as his Uncle…
Told the Senate that someone else was welcome to
take throne
 Only made Romans panic and they elected him
eternal ruler – he always acted and suggested that he
was ruling in obedience to the Senate - in fact he
had absolute power.
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He effectively solidified what his Uncle had
begun and moved Rome from a Republic to an
Empire
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Peace out of Chaos
Fire fighters and Police officers
 “Pax Romana”
 Expansion continued into the Nile regions
 Praetorian Guard…not gonna make that mistake twice!
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Marble out of Brick
Huge system of Roads
 Repaired and improved aqueducts (virtually no water in
Rome at time)
 Temple of Augustus, Temple of Caesar and Baths of
Agrippa
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Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus– just like in
that video – is rarely even considered because
everyone saw him as meek and nonthreatening.
He was married to Augustus daughter Julia
but after she started trifling he left her –
Augustus eventually found out and kicked her
to the curb
He was considered weak by many within the
Roman elite including Augustus other possible
heir Agrippa
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But was he..?
He was politically intelligent and made a lot of right
decisions…but sometimes not fast enough
 He filled Rome’s treasury to the brim
 Militarily intelligent
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He became corrupt and involved in multiple
scandals
He relied heavily on Sejanus – the head of the
Praetorian guard but eventually became suspicious
and had him killed – and replaced him with
Macro…who actually did kill Tiberius – awkward!
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After Marco had killed Tiberius, Gaius Julius
Caesar Augustus Germanicus (Caligula) took
the throne and was originally welcomed by the
Roman people.
By the time Caligula was twelve years old his
mother had been exiled and his brothers
executed for treason.
After falling ill less than a year after he took
power – Caligula went crazy…like really crazy
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He began claiming to be a God – making senators
kiss his sandals and seducing their wives and then
bragging about it…
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He also went into the temple at Jerusalem and tried to
erect a massive statue of himself
He ordered his guards to throw an entire section of
the crowd into arena to be killed because…there
was no criminals to execute
Made his horse Incintatus a high priest – because
he was incapable of being a Consul – obviously!
Accused of incest with his sisters.
“no more chance of becoming emperor than of
riding a horse across the Bay of Baiae”
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Emptied Rome’s treasury within one year.
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As a result he began blackmailing whoever he could.
Rome was plagued by riots and instability as a
result of the poverty.
Caligula launched attacks against Gaul and
other parts of Roman empire to try to regain
money.
The leader of the Praetorian guard killed
Caligula – and just to drive the point home –
killed his wife and daughter as well.
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Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus
Germanicus – An ideal choice..? Maybe?
Physically disfigured from an early illness he
was considered unthreatening and weak – and
easily controlled.
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A secret – safe – agenda!
Worked hard behind the scenes
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Just after midnight
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The provinces of Thrace, Noricum, Pamphylia,
Lycia and Judea were annexed under his term.
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A feat unattained by all previous Emperors even though
most tried!
Reformed Judicial System
Extended citizenship
Increased women’s rights
Apologized to those attending court when there
were too few chairs.
Big fan of games
Not well liked by the Senate
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Despite his successes – he had the WORST
taste in women. Welcome to Emperor
Matchmaker…our first contestant…
Messalina – Messalina likes long walks on the
beach and sleeping with all her servants behind
her Emperor husbands back – she was
eventually found dead to which her husband
replied – more wine.
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Agrippina – Agrippina likes candlelit dinners
and apparently marrying her Uncle Claudius
the Emperor in order to bring her own son to
power. Skills include convincing the Emperor
to disown his own son as well as a knowledge
of poisonous mushrooms. A strong and
determined catch she has on occasion
convinced doctors to show poisoned feathers
down throats to move the agenda along.
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Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus
Originally a bit of a Mama’s boy – although not
forever.
Much like Caligula, Nero had a strong start,
especially compared the last years of Claudius’
reign.
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Lowered taxes
More citizenship
Increased independence of Senate
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Stories about women, young boys, and street
murder
Mom, who tried to reign in her son, was attacked
by order of Nero…
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Nero – for reasons no one really knows – decided
to play with fire…
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But it failed…until Nero sent soldiers – no longer one for
subtlety
And sang “show tunes” while Rome burned
After an attempt on his life he launched a
campaign of terror through Empire.
Nero had a pretty bad beef with the Jews and
Christians – “the first persecutor”
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With Nero gone the Augustan dynasty had
ended and Rome was plunged into Civil War
Vespian emerged a victor – and a new dynasty
began in Rome…with the exact same bloody
problems as before – pun intended.
From Domitian to Titus the Empire continued
to expand and contract with ever growing
tension.
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Empires continued to be killed, crazy and
clever.
Building projects continued to be erected
including the Pantheon and the Coliseum –
mainly for the increased persecution of
Christians and Jews under the NervaAntonine, Severan and Constantinian Dynasty.
But…the problems we see arise during the
Claudeo-Julian dynasty are only made worse
with time…
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