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Roman Emperors
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The Beginning
! Romulus
! Legendary founder, first king
! Raised by she-wolf, son of Mars
! Founded Rome on Palatine hill, killed Romulus
! Scipio Africanus
! Second Punic War against Carthaginians
! Battle of Ilipa, Zama
! Defeated Hannibal to end Second Punic War
! Sulla
! A tyrant/dictator who gave power to the Senate
! Roman general statesman
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First Triumvirate
! Julius Caesar
! Crossed Rubicon, affair with Cleopatra, died in Ides of March
! Crassus
! Roman general, politician
! One of the richest men in history
! Died in war against Parthinian/Ancient Persian Empire (Battle of
Carrhae)
! Pompey
! Defeated by Caesar in civil war
! Beheaded at Alexandria
! Second Triumvirate: Augustus, Antony, Lepidus
! Octavian defeated Antony, Cleopatra at Battle of Actium
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Emperors
! Augustus: first Roman Emperor, adopted by Julius Caesar
after his death
! Pax Romana
! Restored Senate, legislative assemblies really, a dictator
! Initiated reforms, expanded Roman Empire to Egypt,
Germania, more of Africa, Hispania
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! Tiberius
! Adopted son of Augustus
! Not completely sane, but well-known general
! Liked to throw people he didnt like into the sea. (Island of Capri
later in life, until death)
! Caligula
! Nephew, adopted son of Tiberius
! Father was general Germanicus
! Off the deep end. (crazy)
! Agrippina the Younger was his sister; she was mother of Nero
! Really liked his sister Drusilla.
! Killed in conspiracy w/ Praetorian guard
! Claudius
! Caligulas uncle, Agrippina the Youngers hubby (and uncle)
! She probably killed him.
! His other wife wanted to kill him too
! Biological father of Britannicus began conquest of Britain
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! Nero
! Last of Julio-Claudian Dynasty (thank Jove)
! Son of Agrippina the Younger, stepson/great-nephew of Claudius
! Fiddled while Rome burned
! Persecuted Christians
! Four Emperors 69 AD
! One year: Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and
! Vespasian
! Founded Flavian dynasty
! Campaigns against Judaea
! Built Flavian amphitheater of Coliseum
! Actually succeeded by his on Titus
! Titus
! Arc of Titus
! Completed Coliseum
! Died of fever (after two years)
! Good general, fairly good emperor
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! Domitian
! Cult/personality-type dictator (later vilified)
! Assassinated
! Ruthless but efficient autocrat
! Nerva
! Elected by Senate
! Beginning of Nerva Antonine dynasty
! First of the Five Good Emperors
! Trajan
! Adopted by Nerva
! Trajans Column, and a lot of other building projects
! Rome: Biggest territorial extent
! Actually a pretty good emperor!
! Hadrian
! Also one of the 5GE
! Hadrians Wall
! Liked Greece (esp Athens)
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! Antoninous Pius
! 5GE #4
! Passed throne to son
! Marcus Aurelius
! Stoic philsopher
! Last of the Good Emperors
! Diocletian (284-305)
! reign marked the end of the Crisis of the Third Century
! appointed two emperors to form a Tetrarchy
! Diocletian persecution was Roman Empires largest persecution of
Christians
! First to abdicate
! Constantine I
! built future capital of the Byzantine Empire, New Rome/Byzantium/
Constantinople
! first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity
! issued with Licinius the Edict of Milan, which proclaimed religious
tolerance
! Theodosius I (379)
! effectively made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire
! last emperor to rule over both halves (East and West) of the Roman
Empire
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! Julius Nepos, Romulus Augustus (475, 476)
! considered by different historians to be last Roman emperor of
Western half of empire
! deposed by Odoacer, Germanic soldier who became first King of
Italy
! Justinian I
! most famous Byzantine Emperor
! last Roman Emperor to speak Latin as a first language
! married to Theodora
! sent out famous general Belisarius to reconquer Western half of
Empire
! other important events: Plague of Justinian, building of Hagia Sophia,
Nika riots
! Constantine XI
! last emperor of the Byzantine Empire
! died during the 1453 Fall of Constantinople to Ottoman forces led by
Mehmed II
! Charlemagne, Otto I
! first emperors of the Holy Roman Empire, depending on who you ask
! Charlemagne crowned by Pope Leo III