Curated playlist
1st-century Roman consuls
- VespasianEmperor Vespasian taxed urine, then held a coin under his son's nose and asked if it smelled.
- DomitianRoman emperor Domitian was stabbed by a steward who faked an arm injury to hide a dagger.
- ClaudiusA soldier found Claudius hiding behind a curtain and declared him emperor.
- TitusEmperor Titus reportedly died saying, "I have made but one mistake." No one agrees what it was.
- VitelliusVitellius ruled Rome for just eight months in AD 69. His last words were "Yet I was once your emperor."
- GalbaRoman emperor Galba refused to pay the Praetorian Guard, and it cost him his life.
- OthoRoman emperor Otho stabbed himself the day after losing a battle. He had ruled for just 91 days.
- NervaIn October 97, Roman soldiers besieged Emperor Nerva's palace and took him hostage.
- TrajanTrajan, born in a small Spanish town without baths or a theater, became Rome's emperor.
- GermanicusRomans began mourning Germanicus before the Senate ordered it. He died in Antioch in AD 19, aged thirty-three.
- SejanusA letter read aloud to the Senate brought down Sejanus, the second man in Rome.
- FrontinusFrontinus began fixing Rome's water supply by ordering maps of every aqueduct. They showed pipes tapped by thieves.