Classics 2480 - roman emperors final

Golden Age of Emperors

whats considered the peak of roman emperors (and for some the peak of human civilization)

spans from Nerva to Marcus Aurelius

Edward Gibbon

(1737 - 1794) Author of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, credits golden period of emperors as height of human population

Nerva Accession

leaders of the conspiracy against Domitian needed someone to put into the seat, they went to many people before approaching Nerva, all of whom rejected it.

Nerva

96-98, first of the good emperors

Nerva ancestry

born in Narnia, italy

Nerva Career and early life

Lots of administrative experience

Given triumphal ornaments in 65CE by Nero

Consul in 71CE with vespasian and again in 90CE with domitian

Helped suppress the pisonian conspiracy

Nerva Character

Hard to know long term, but humble, refused to have statues of himself made

Merciful, almost to an fault

Allowed himself to be pushed around

Nerva Treatment of the people

Provided food for all children of rome

Outlawed circumcisions and castration

Nerva treatment of the senate

Referred to the senate a lot

Declared amnesty for majestas trials

Refused to accept anonymous accusations

But still had a lot of plots against him

Crassus plot and Aelianus

Crassus Plot

Plot against Nerva led by Calpurinus Crassus, who tried to bribe the army into revolting against nerva and making him emperor

Instead of punishing him, Nerva handed him a sword at an gladiatorial game to dare him into trying to kill him himself, then exiled him

Aelianus plot

plot against nerva led by Casperius Aelianus, the praetorian prefect at the time who rallied the guards into kidnapping nerva in revenge against the assassins of Domitian

Nerva ended up condemning the assassins

Nerva buildings and relation to the city

Spent most of his reign in the Gardens of Sallust, opened up the imperial palaces to the public

Finished the Forum transitorium

Didn't have a lot of time to build

Nerva Finances and Taxes

Reduced taxes

Auctioneer off imperial property to raise fund

removed the jewish tax

Nerva Wives and relations

Had an wife and family but didn't make them his heirs

Nerva death

Died of a fever in the gardens of sallust less than 2 years after becoming emperor

Nerva succession

In response to the Aelianus conspiracy, he adopted Trajan to be his heir

Valued the security of the empire over his own family because Trajan was his own blood

Calpurinus Crassus

roman senator who plotted against Nerva but only exiled, not killed for his crimes

later killed by hadrian for another attempted coup

forum transitorium

placed between Augustus' and Vespasian's Forums, known also as forum of Nerva because Domitian died before he could finish it

Trajan

98-117, second of the great 5, one of the GOATs

Trajan ancestry

Born in spain in 53CE but was of roman blood

father was the governor of syria

Trajan Career and early life

Extensive military career, really successful

Had been an military tribune,

Legionary officer under his father

Commanded the legio VII Gamina in 89

Domitian put him in charge of dealing with the saturninus conspiracy

Also had administrative experience

Consul in 91 under domitian

Governor of syria under Nerva

Trajan Character

Policy of humility, didn't want to be viewed as better than everyone

Saw himself as just an man who had been given an difficult, important job

Told the senate that they could kill him if he ruled badly

Had an proclivity for young men, charming, was always kind to them

Was given the title "Optimus Princeps" meaning best ruler, and accepted it because it spoke to his character and skill mostly

Optimus Princeps

Title given to Trajan meaning "best leader"

Trajan Accession

Appointed by nerva based on his merits

Was in Cologne when Nerva died, took the seat from there

Toured Panonia, Nesia and other provinces along the Danube before heading to Rome

Entered rome on foot in civilian clothing

Trajan treatment of the people

Very loved and popular

Wanted the people to see him as one of them

People really liked the baths he built

Created an grain dole for poor children of rome

Trajan treatment of the senate

One of his first declarations was that he would protect good m en but punished those who had pressured and disliked Nerva (which is weird because they were the ones who pressured Nerva into naming him Heir)

Trajan military

super good

Won against Decabalus in the Dacian wars from 101-102 and 105-106, made Daia an province of Rome

Faught against the Persian in various parthian campaigns from 113-117

Claimed armenia in 114 and mesopotamia in 115, took the persian capital, Ctesiphon, in 116

Built an bridge over the tibris and euphrates rivers

Lots of revolts in his time

Jewish revolt with extended all over the middle east

Went with his legions to fight

Some say that he was too ambitious and the empire got too big and unstable

Trajan expansion

Claimed:

much of mesopotamia, took Ctesiphon, built across the Euphrates and Tigris

Mesopotamia

A region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, extremely fertile and good

conquered by Trajan in 115

tigris river

River that flows across a low, flat plain in Iraq and joins the Euphrates River

Euphrates River

one of the two largest rivers in Southwest Asia that flow from the mountains in Turkey to the Persian Gulf

Ctesiphon

Capital city of the Parthian and Persian Empire, it is located on the Euphrates River near modern Baghdad; first captured by Trajan in 116

Trajan Relationship to the city

Spent an lot of time outside of rome fighting on the front lines

But proved that an emperor could serve well from away

Trajan Buildings

trajan forums and markets

Baths of Trajan

Renovated the Port at Ostia

Arch of Trajan

Trajan Forum

last and largest of the great imperial fora built by Trajan in 112CE

Included temple of the divine trajan and the column of trajan

Built from the spoils of romania after the dacian wars

Trajan's Column

a Roman triumphal column in Rome, Italy, that commemorates Roman emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars.

Baths of Trajan

A huge bath house built by Trajan on the lands of the Golden house that has many pools and spa type places. Also included libraries, promenades and entertainment spaces

Trajans port

renovations done to the Port At Ostia that created a new, hexagonal port to increase grain supply

Arch of Trajan

Arch built by trajan in Beneventum to commemorate the opening of his road across Italy

decorated with freezes of his successes, and of freezes of him giving grain to children as he created an grain dole

Trajan Wives and Relations

Slept with a lot of young boys but was always kind to them

Wife Plotina, had no children

Plotina

wife of Trajan, copied his very humble lifestyle and wanting to be seen as one of the people

really liked Hadrian

Trajans Death

Falls ill while fighting Jewish revolt in 116, turns around to return to rome but only makes it to turkey and dies in 117 of an stroke

Trajans succession

Platina and Atianus (the praetorian prefect) wanted Hadrian to be emperor so they secured him

Hadrian was adopted by Trajan before his death to be next emperor

Some beleive that Trajan may have actually died days before it was revealed, and platina hid it so that she could forge documents making him adopt Hadrian so he would be emperor next

Trajan legacy

universally well liked

Hadrian

117-138CE, third of the great 5

The Foreigner

Hadrian ancestry

Born in spain, an outsider and foreigner,

Left his home, italica, at 15 after his parents died

Hadrian appearance

Had an accent which he was regularly mocked for

Hadrian career and early life

Parents die when he's 15, taken in by trajan

Had an long military career under trajan with many victories

Then moved on to administrative positions

Was quaestor, tribune, praetor and consul

Governor of Lower Pannonia and Syria

Hadrian Character

Loved learning and reading

Valued knowledge, culture, education

Very well educated, very smart, wrote an lot

Liked architecture

'Greculous' meaning little greek was his nickname beacuse he loved greek culture so much

Often went to athens

Presided over the greek Dionysiac festival wearing greek clothes

Build an lot there

Was inaugurated into the Eleusinian Mysteries

Was very jealous and would lash out

Inconsistent moods

Killed one of Domitian's architects when he criticized his work

merciful

SHA says that the only reason he was nice was that he was afraid what happened to Domitian would happen to him

Say he was cruel at heart, strict and meddlesome

Eleusinian Mysteries

The cult of the mother goddess Demeter and a very popular Athenian festival celebrated each year for the mother and the maiden, Persephone. This cult promised all its members a blissful afterlife.

Hadrian

Hadrian Accession

Was in syria when Trajan died

Only learned that he was adopted days before trajan's death

Inherited the biggest empire ever with the most territory

First thing he did was send an letter to Rome requesting Trajan be defied then set off for Rome from Syria

Hadrian Treatment of the peopl

Forgave debts to the government, revoked crown taxes,

Spoke a lot about ruling for the people and not for himself

Said rome belonged to the people

Took a lot of efforts to make the people safer (ie walls)

(According to philostratus) he was convinced by Polemon to give ten million drachmas to the city of smyrna

Philostratus

"the Athenian"

Greek sophist

170 AD - 250 AD

Hadrian treatment of the Senate

Vowed he would not kill any senators that that if he did anything contrary to the interest of the senate or people he would kill himself

Refused any maiestas trials

Limited power to freedmen

Began killing in later years, killed an lot of senators and ex-consuls

SHA accuses him of spying on senators

Hadrian war and military activity

Empire was very unstable when he came to power

Jewish revolt, rebellions in Armenia and Mesopotamia, rebellions in north africa, unrest in britain

Took time on his initial journey from syria to rome to gain the support of legions along the way

Gave up land past the Euphrates river to manage revolts there

Put down the rest of rebellions with generals acting for him

Refused to take any accomplishments for himself, gave them all to trajan

Gave an double gift to the soldiers, well like

Consolidated and regulated the military, introduced more discipline

Wanted an better army and empire, not the biggest

Hadrian Buildings and relation to the city

Spent an lot of time travelling around, very little time in rome

Visited nearly every corner of the empire

Wasn't until the last four years of his reign that he stayed in the vicinity of rome

Paid equal attention to the city of rome and whole empire

Transition of mindset to rome as an whole

Rarely took credit for his building

All his buildings he helped design, had the pumpkin domes

built a lot, all over the empire

Hadrians wall, Hadrianopolis, temple of Zeus, pantheon of Hadrian, Hadrians Library, Italica Annex, Pantheon, temple of venus, mausoleum, villa in Tivoli, arch of hadrian

hadrian military reforms

Used his travels to visit legions in person and fix the army

Removed luxury from camps, simplified camps, demanded extra from soldiers and streamlined the army

Enforced an new diet and exercise to keep them healthy

Often spoke very highly of them army, praised them

Showed the military that he cared about them, made him very popular

Hadrians wall

In present day Scotland, built to keep barbarian invaders from Roman Britain. Punctuated with forts, customs stops, signal posts and on either side, a 30 foot moat for added protection. Soldiers were posted on its top which functioned as a road.

Had to give up land to do it, and made it harder for them to advance, but he wanted an stable empire more than an big one

Similar Danube and Rhine mounds and trenches to protect soldiers

hadrian and athens

little greek, loved greek culture and loved Athens

built a lot there

hadrianopolis, temple of the olympian zeus, Pantheon of Hadrian, Hadrian library, arch of hadrian

Hadrianopolis

town outside of athens that dedicated itself to emperor Hadrian, he built it up including Hadrians Arch to demarcate it

Hadrianics

worshippers of Hadrian

Arch of Hadrian

built in Athens in 132CE to demarcate Hadrianopolis from the city, combined greek and roman architecture styles,

Pantheon of Hadrian

built in athens in 130CE

Temple of Olympian Zeus

temple of zeus in Athens regularly destroyed, rebuilt by Hadrian who also added a chryselephantine statue of Zeus to it

chryselephantine statue

A statue inlaid with gold and ivory.

Hadrian's Library

built by Hadrian in Athens in dedication to greek knowledge and learning, built in an very traditional roman way, changed the topography of athens to be more roman

Hadrian Italica Buildings

Never returned to his home town after leading

But added an new walled annex to the city that doubled its size

Also added an amphitheater, baths and other public buildings

The Pantheon

Originally built by Agrippa in rome, hadrian rebuilt it in 125 but left Agrippas inscription

Sourced the marble from across the provinces to symbolize the expansiveness of the empire

Regularly used it to hold court

Temple of Venus

built by Hadrian in Rome in 135 on the grounds of the golden house

He had to move the Collossus of Nero to build it, and changed Neros face

Hadrian Mausoleum

built from 123 to 139, now incorperatedd into the Castel Sant'Angelo, built to replace Augustus' mausoleum which was full or corrupted, or he just wanted to put himself on the map as the new Augustus

Hadrians Villa

Massive villa he had built in Tivoli, ~28km away from Rome, Had the capacity to support the entire empire from there (forum, houses for all the senators

Rooms were dedicated to different locations he had visited and decorated in that fashion

Included the Canopus,

Maritime theatre,

Had great baths to serve everyone who worked there

canopus

a large artificial pool named after the Canopus canal at Alexandria in Egypt running between the Nile and the sanctuary of Serapis

In hadrians Villa

Maritime Theatre

a tiny circular vila in a moat that he could draw an bridge up from to get some privacy

Hadrian Laws and Legal Judgements

Banned the execution of slaves without legal charges

Put policies in place to stop people from being sold into gladiator rings or slave rings

Hadrian wives and relations

Was very well liked by Trajan's wife Plotina

Married trajan's niece but had no children

Hadrian Downfall

Had a hemorrhage in later years, led to an major change in personality

Began randomly killing people and senators

Hadrians Death

Died in 138CE with Antonius by his side

SHA says that the senate and people didn't want to deify him, but he was by Antoninus

Antoninus insisted that he be given an proper emperor burial and deified

Hadrian Succession

Had too chose and heir

Left this off until after his stroke, which left little time

First choice was Ceionius Commodus the Elder, who died in 138

Then moved to his second choice, Arrius Antoninus

This was controversial because Antoninus didn't have an lot of political experience and didn't even really want the job

Also forced him to adopt Lucius Ceionius Commodus and Marcus Annius Versus to create and artificial dynasty

Hadrian Sources

Now we use the epitomes of Cassius Dio mostly

Also have the SHA, but they are unreliable later on

Atp their ok

Much of the SHA relies on the writings on Marius Maximus

His original writings no longer exist but they refer to them an lot

Epitomes of Cassius Dio/Dio Cassius

covers history of rome up the the severans, was a senator, very close to everything going on

Dio Cassius

Roman historian writing in the early third century CE

Scripture Historia Augusta

a late Roman collection of biographies, written in Latin, of the Roman Emperors, their junior colleagues, designated heirs and usurpers of the period 117 to 284

Has no named authors, written randomly and looses legitimacy later on

relies heavily on Marius Maximus

Marius Maximus

Third Century historian who wrote a continuation of Suetonius with Latin biographies of the emperors from Nerva to Elagabalus

Lambaesis Inscription

Inscription of an speech given by Hadrian to the garrison of numidia in 128

Really praises them

They loved him so much they erected an column and created an inscription of the speech to honour him

Antoninus Pius

138-161 AD, 4th of the 5 good emperors

Antoninus Pius sources

Cassius Dio is lost for this time so we only have the SHA

Very little on his reign which usually means it was good

Antoninus Pius ancestry

Family was from Gaul but was born in Italy

Antoninus pius appearance

Handsome, strong smart, good public speaker and calm

Antoninus Pius Career

Long and successful administrative career

Quaestor, praetor, consul,

Governor of asia and supervisor of Italy

Close advisor to Hadrian

antoninus pius character

Kind, smart, generous and merciful

Hadrian decided to make him heir after seeing him help an old man into the senate

Antoninus Pius accession

Adopted by Hadrian right before his death

As part of the adoption, he was forced to adopt Lucius Verus and Marcus Aurealius

Antoninus Pius Treatment of the people

Very limited information

Peace and prosperity generally does not make history

Generous to the people

Didn't confiscate any land

Antoninus Pius treatment of the senate

Used no freedmen, only used aristocrats for positions which the senate liked

Only tried one pearson food treason

Didn't execute anyone

Antoninus Pius war and military activity

Some minimal background revolts

But from the lack of documentation surrounding it we can assume that the time was relatively peaceful

Antoninus Pius buildings

Didn't build any monuments or buildings dedicated to himself

Mostly repaired or finished other people's work

Chose to live on his own private lands

Built the Temple of Antoninus Pius and Faustina

Marcus Aurealius built the Column of Antoninus Pius in honour

Temple of Antoninus Pius and Faustina

Originally built by Antoninus and just dedicated to Faustina, was rededicated after his death

was built in the imperial forum

Column of Antoninus Pius

Built my Marcus Aurelius to commemorate Antoninus and Faustina

shows them going up to heaven

Antoninus Pius Finances and Taxes

Sold most of the extravagant lands and palaces owned by the emperor

Didn't use Roman funds for himself and didn't majorly change his lifestyle after becoming emperor

Used the money from the selling of emperor property for the public, had 657 sectarchies in savings

Antoninus Pius Wives and Relations

Close friend and advisor to Hadrian

Married to Faustina

Had an loving marriage

Adopted father of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius

Antoninus Pius religion

Deified