Imperators and Emperors

FIFTY-ONE ROMAN RULERS
To use the following table, click on the name or thumbnail coin image of the Imperator or Emperor to bring up his information page. Note that those who share a description box also share an information page; for instance, there is just one page for all six from the "Year of Six Emperors". NOTE: This is still under construction. Feel free to poke around, but many pages are not complete yet. I'll remove this note when it's done.
THE IMPERATORS
	JULIUS CAESAR 49 - 44 BCE	Elected "Dictator for Life" by the Senate, but certain Senators made sure that his reign wasn't very long.
	MARC ANTHONY 43 - 33 BCE	Dealt with Caesar's assassins, then in turn was "dealt with" by Caesar's nephew.
JULIO-CLAUDIAN EMPERORS
	AUGUSTUS 27 BCE - 14 CE	First and longest-reigning Emperor; by the time he died, the Romans took the Imperial system for granted.
	TIBERIUS 14 - 37 CE	Augustus's poorly respected and unhappy heir got the job simply by outlasting all potential rivals.
	CALIGULA 37 - 41 CE	The first of the "Mad Emperors", his name has become synonymous with perversion, cruelty, and excess.
	CLAUDIUS 41 - 54 CE	Club-footed stutterer, believed to be an idiot, he did far better than anyone would have predicted.
	NERO 54 - 68 CE	History is not kind to Nero, and rightfully so, but he fancied himself more of an artist than an Emperor.
CIVIL WAR
	GALBA 68 - 69 CE	Rome had gotten into the habit of having a relative of Augustus as its emperor, but Nero was the last of these in a position to take the reins of empire. His suicide created a power vacuum that was briefly filled by three short-lived Emperors, who didn't do too much beyond proving that one didn't have to be of the Julio-Claudian family to be the supreme ruler of Rome.
	OTHO 69 CE
	VITELLIUS 69 CE
FLAVIAN DYNASTY
	VESPASIAN 69 - 79 CE	On Nero's death, Vespasian headed back toward Rome from Judaea in an ultimately successful bid to become Emperor.
	TITUS 79 - 81 CE	Vespasian's oldest son reigned through some major disasters (including the destruction of Pompeii), but was well liked.
	DOMITIAN 81 - 96 CE	Domitian did not share the popular approval that his father and brother had enjoyed, and was ultimately poisoned.
ADOPTIVE EMPERORS
	NERVA 96 - 98 CE	In ill health and not well respected, Nerva seemed unlikely to live long enough to die of natural causes; but he had an idea ...
	TRAJAN 98 - 117 CE	A conqueror, Trajan extended the borders of empire to their largest extent.
	HADRIAN 117 - 138 CE	Hadrian pulled back on troublesome frontiers and built walls. His one major war was in Judaea, inside Rome's boundaries.
	ANTONINUS PIUS 138 - 161 CE	Adopted as an old man to raise Hadrian's young heirs, Pius reigned for more than 20 years, a much beloved Emperor.
	MARCUS AURELIUS 161 - 180 CE	The chosen heirs of Hadrian had to wait 23 years to inherit. Verus (considered vain and self-indulgent) was content to live in his adoptive brother's shadow, leaving the running of the empire in Aurelius's capable hands.
	LUCIUS VERUS 161 - 169 CE
	COMMODUS 177 - 192 CE	The son of Marcus Aurelius fancied himself a "Roman Hercules", proving the evils of hereditary monarchy.
EMPIRE FOR SALE
	PERTINAX 193 CE	Trying to clean up the mess left by Commodus proved hazardous to Pertinax's health. After murdering him, the Praetorians came up with a fun idea -- put the Imperial title on the auction block. Didius Julianus won, but found that winning it was easier than keeping it.
	DIDIUS JULIANUS 193 CE
SEVERAN DYNASTY
	SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS 193 - 211 CE	In claiming the purple, Severus showed that it could be as dangerous to be his friend as his enemy.
	CARACALLA 198 - 217 CE	When brothers Caracalla and Geta planned on dividing the Empire, mom Julia Domna asked, "How will you divide your mother?" So they abandoned their plan, deciding instead to try resolving their differences through fratricide.
	GETA 209 - 211 CE
	MACRINUS 217 - 218 CE	After possibly participating in Caracalla's murder, Macrinus made one mistake -- he let Caracalla's mother live.
	ELAGABALUS 218 - 222 CE	The High Priest of Syrian god Elagabal, he scandalized Rome with his religious and sexual excesses.
	SEVERUS ALEXANDER 222 - 235 CE	Saved from his mad cousin by the Praetorians, he ruled for 13 years before falling victim to one of his own generals.
THE YEAR OF SIX EMPERORS
	MAXIMINUS I 235 - 238 CE	These six emperors all have something in common: Each was officially recognized by the Roman Senate as being a certified Emperor of Rome. Five of the six have something else in common -- some time during the year 238, they died violently. Having come to power by murdering his predecessor, Maximinus raised taxes enormously to pay his soldiers very well indeed, leading to an uprising in 238 that would see the death of himself and four other Emperors, and would leave the 13 year old Gordian III the sole and only Emperor of Rome. Six years later, in a reprise of the death of Alexander, Gordian III would be murdered by one of his generals.
	GORDIAN I 238 CE
	GORDIAN II 238 CE
	PUPIENUS 238 CE
	BALBINUS 238 CE
	GORDIAN III 238 - 244 CE
EMPIRE IN FREE-FALL
	PHILIP I 244 - 249 CE	He was known for the magnificent celebrations he threw for Rome's 1,000'th birthday -- and little else.
	TRAJAN DECIUS 249 - 251 CE	After a victory, his troops proclaimed him Emperor and compelled him to march against Philip.
	TREBONIANUS GALLUS 251 -253 CE	When Decius fell in battle against the Goths, Gallus was proclaimed Emperor. His reign, though short, was miserable.
	AEMILIAN 253 CE	Proclaimed Emperor by his troops, he lasted three months before his troops killed him to avoid facing Valerian.
BOTTOM AND REBOUND
	VALERIAN I 253 - 260 CE	Valerian and son started putting the pieces of empire back together, making progress against invaders to the east and west. But Valerian is best remembered as the only emperor to die in foreign captivity, and Gallienus as the emperor who couldn't keep large chunks of the Empire from seceding.
	GALLIENUS 253 - 268 CE
	CLAUDIUS II 268 - 270 CE	The most prestigious of Gallienus's murderers, Claudius II "Gothicus" was well liked, but died of plague after a short reign. His brother Quintillus took over for him, but committed suicide when he learned that the soldiers preferred Aurelian.
	QUINTILLUS 270 CE
	AURELIAN 270 - 275 CE	A strong leader, Aurelian stabilized the empire, reclaiming the breakaway eastern and western provinces.
	TACITUS 275 - 276 CE	After Aurelian's murder, Tacitus came out of retirement to don the purple. He had some military successes, but died mysteriously. His half brother, Florianus, became the new emperor -- briefly. One historian described him as the emperor "... who did nothing worth remembering."
	FLORIANUS 276 CE
	PROBUS 276 - 282 CE	Aurelian's general, he rescued Aurelian's gains from the chaos that threatened to erase them on his murder.
	CARUS 282 - 283 CE	The dynasty of Carus and sons started with a successful rebellion against Probus and a glorious campaign of conquest into Persia. But Carus died under odd circumstances; soon, so did Numerian. Diocletian, commander of the bodyguard, accused the Praetorian Prefect, Aper, of murder and executed him. Diocletian was then hailed as Emperor in opposition to Carinus. We'll never know who would have won, because Carinus was murdered by a jealous husband.
	NUMERIAN 283-284 CE
	CARINUS 283-285 CE
TETRARCHY OF DIOCLETIAN
	DIOCLETIAN 284 - 305 CE	Diocletian reformed Rome's tottering monetary system and government. He raised trusted general Maximianus to rule beside him. In a test of his vision, they abdicated simultaneously in 305. Sadly, the new government was not strong enough to long survive the absence of its founder.
	MAXIMIANUS 285 - 305 CE