Module 13: The Flavian, Five Good, and Severan Emperors

Flashcards covering the Flavian Dynasty, the Five Good Emperors, and the Severan Dynasty, including key events, terminology, and figures from 69 CE to 235 CE.

$$69\,CE$$

Known as "The Year of the Four Emperors," involving the successive reigns of Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian.

Nero

The Emperor whose suicide in $68\,CE$ ended the Julio-Claudian dynasty.

Galba

The Governor of Spain who rebelled against Nero; he ruled as Augustus from June $8$, $68\,CE$ to January $15$, $69\,CE$ before being assassinated by the Praetorian Guard.

Otho

A friend of Galba and former governor of Lusitania who ruled briefly in $69\,CE$ before committing suicide after losing the Battle of Cremona.

Vitellius

The Emperor supported by the Rhine legions who ruled from April $16$ to December $22$, $69\,CE$ before being beheaded by Vespasian's troops.

Vespasian

Founded the Flavian Dynasty and ruled from $69$ to $79\,CE$; he was a tough soldier known for his irreverent humor and for beginning the Flavian Amphitheatre.

Equestrians

The social class that began to replace freedmen in the civil service and imperial bureaucracy under Vespasian's reforms.

Flavian Amphitheatre

The formal name for the Colosseum, which was begun in $72\,CE$ under Vespasian and opened in $80\,CE$ under Titus.

"Ut puto deus fio"

Vespasian's final words, translated as "I think I'm becoming a god."

Titus

The elder son of Vespasian who ruled from $79$ to $81\,CE$; he destroyed the Temple of Solomon in $70\,CE$ and organized relief for the Mt. Vesuvius eruption.

$$79\,CE$$

The year Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Domitian

The younger brother of Titus who ruled from $81$ to $96\,CE$; a conservative and paranoid ruler who was ultimately murdered and officially damned by the Senate.

Nerva

An elderly, childless Senator nominated by the Senate in $96\,CE$ to succeed Domitian and avoid civil war; he introduced the "alimenta" scheme.

Alimenta

A "baby bonus" scheme introduced by Nerva to help poor farmers and needy children.

Trajan

The first provincial emperor (from Spain) who ruled from $98$ to $117\,CE$ and expanded the Roman Empire to its greatest size.

Congiaria

A gift of $75$ denarii given to each citizen of Rome by Trajan from the Dacian war spoils.

Hadrian

An emperor who ruled from $117$ to $138\,CE$; known for building a wall across northern England and rebuilding the Pantheon.

Diaspora

The scattering of Jews who were banned from Jerusalem after Hadrian destroyed the remains of the Temple of Solomon during the $2^{nd}$ Jewish War ($132$-$135\,CE$).

Antinous

Hadrian's boyfriend who committed suicide in $130\,CE$; he was granted divine honors and had the city of Antinoopolis founded in his name.

Antoninus Pius

A model administrator who ruled from $138$ to $161\,CE$; he built the Antonine Wall north of Hadrian's Wall.

Marcus Aurelius

The Stoic philosopher-statesman who ruled from $161$ to $180\,CE$; his reign was marked by long wars and a plague, signifying the beginning of Rome's "Decline & Fall."

Commodus

The natural son of Marcus Aurelius who ruled from $180$ to $192\,CE$; he famously appeared as a gladiator and identified himself with the god Hercules.

Didius Julianus

The man who won the imperial throne in $193\,CE$ after the Praetorian Guard auctioned it off; he was murdered after a few months for failing to pay the guard.

Septimius Severus

A North African ruler who founded the Severan Dynasty ($193$-$211\,CE$); he allowed soldiers to marry and spoke Latin with a Punic accent.

Caracalla

The son of Septimius Severus who murdered his brother Geta, granted citizenship to all free people to raise taxes, and emulated Alexander the Great.

Macrinus

The first Moorish and first non-Senatorial Emperor; he was the Praetorian Prefect involved in the plot to murder Caracalla.

Elagabalus

A Syrian-supported religious fanatic who ruled from $218$ to $222\,CE$; he replaced Roman gods with the Eastern Sun God cult of Heliagabalus.

Julia Mamaea

The mother of Alexander Severus who, along with his grandmother, provided stable rule and dominated the young emperor's reign.

Alexander Severus

The last emperor of the Severan Dynasty who was murdered by his army in $235\,CE$ after bribing German tribes to withdraw.