Roman Emperors/ The Crazy Emperors

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Roman Emperors/The Crazy Emperors

• Mr. Hawthorne
• Western Civilization

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The Julio-Claudian Emperors(Successors of
Augustus)

• Tiberius (adopted son of Augustus)
• Ruled 14- 37 AD
• Caligula (grand-nephew of Tiberius)
• Ruled 37- 41
• Claudius (uncle of Caligula)
• Ruled 41- 54
• Nero (step-son of Claudius)
• Ruled 54- 68

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Tiberius (ruled 14-37 AD)

• Distinguished general
• Adopted by Augustus, since he was out of
  relatives
• Forced to divorce his wife and marry Augustus
  daughter, Julia
• Long reign created stability during transition
  after Augustus
• Struggled with remnants of Republicappointed
  people to hold the offices of consul, senator,
  etc.

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Caligula (ruled 37-41 AD)

• Designated emperor by Tiberius
• Lacked leadership qualities and abilities
• Grew up in a military setting
• Ruled with cruelty and violencecalled a
  monster and drained the treasury
• Murdered in 41 AD by own guards

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Caligula

• Well-liked then became ill-almost died
• When came back-determined to prove immortality
• sat in temples
• dressed as one of the gods
• engaged in conversations with gods
• Elected horse (Incitatus) to senate or consul

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Caligula Contd

• Humiliated senators making them serve him
  sisters like slaves
• Alex was his idol . . . built bridge of boats
  over Bay of Baiae rode horse across wearing
  Alexs breastplates
• Assassinated after 4 years of rule by guards in
  secret passage(pg. 191)

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Claudius (ruled 41-54 AD)

• Succession backed military force
• Insistence for emperor
• Changed Roman government enrolled men in Senate
  from a province outside of Italy and employed
  freed slaves

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Claudius Contd

• Cowering behind curtain when chosen as emperor
• Birth defect/seizure gave him deformed physique,
  shaking head, strange expressions, stammering
  speech
• Problem with drinking, gambling, women
• Fourth marriage was to his niece

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Nero (ruled 54-68 AD)

• Took over at 16
• Musician and actor
• Popular with the poorsponsored public festivals
  and handed out cash
• Unpopulardrained the treasury, excessive charges
  of treason
• Commanders in the provinces rebelled and brought
  down regime, Nero commits suicide

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Nero Contd

• Killed his mother numerous senators who he felt
  threatened by (195)
• Confiscated peoples estates
• In disguise, roamed streets at night, mugging,
  stealing sexually assaulting people
• Divorced exiled first wife-married mistress,
  had head of ex brought to new wife
• Kicked pregnant wife to death
• Blamed for burning down Rome to build his estate
  - Known for Devil Went Down to Georgia

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More Nero!!!

• First to persecute Jews Christians
• Trapped people in his own concerts for days at a
  time
• Abandoned by all, stabbed himself in throat
  before he was captured

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The Pantheon
Once a temple to Roman gods, today the Pantheon
is a Christian church
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Hadrians Wall
Many stones have been removed for other building
projects
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The Colosseum
An amphitheater capable of seating 50,000 (often
used for gladiatorial contests)
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Inside the Colosseum
Underground vaults and tunnels were used to house
animals and slaves
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The Appian Way
This was the first major Roman road - it
connected Rome with SE Italy
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Roman aqueducts
This Roman-built structure is in modern-day
France and was powered by gravity (descended only
17 meters over 31 miles)