Curated playlist
Roman emperor-consuls
- Constantine II (emperor)Roman emperor Constantine II was erased from official records after his death.
- LiciniusLicinius, a peasant's son, co-wrote the Edict of Milan with Constantine. Later Constantine erased his laws.
- TiberiusMobs shouted "To the Tiber with Tiberius" when Rome's second emperor died.
- Constantius ChlorusThe Roman emperor Constantius Chlorus never heard the name Chlorus. Byzantine-era historians coined it after he died.
- Theodosius ITheodosius I was the last Roman emperor to rule the whole empire alone.
- GallienusRoman emperor Gallienus was stabbed outside Milan after a false report of an enemy breakout.
- VespasianEmperor Vespasian taxed urine, then held a coin under his son's nose and asked if it smelled.
- CaracallaRoman emperor Caracalla was stabbed by a soldier while stopping to urinate on a road. He had turned 29 that very day.
- Septimius SeverusIn 193, soldiers at Carnuntum acclaimed Septimius Severus emperor after Rome's guard killed Pertinax.
- AugustusAt nineteen, Augustus accepted a dead man's will and took Julius Caesar's name.
- 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.
- NeroEmperor Nero was crowned winner of a chariot race he did not finish.
- Lucius VerusRome had its first two equal emperors in 161. Marcus Aurelius refused to rule unless Lucius Verus got equal powers.
- Claudius GothicusAn ancient legend says Emperor Claudius Gothicus once knocked out a horse's teeth with one punch.
- HadrianWhen Antinous drowned in the Nile, Emperor Hadrian wept, and then founded a city in his honor.
- Justinian IJustinian I nearly fled Constantinople by sea during the Nika riots. His wife Theodora refused to leave, and he stayed.
- DiocletianRetired emperor Diocletian answered a plea to return in 308 by talking about his cabbages.
- GaleriusGalerius, a cattle-herder's son, became a Roman emperor. In 311 he ended the persecution of Christians he had pushed.
- MaximianRoman emperor Maximian retired when ordered to, then came back twice. His last try in 310 began with a false claim.
- CaligulaEmperor Caligula once rode a horse across a floating bridge more than two miles long.
- ArcadiusRoman emperor Arcadius was named co-ruler by his father before he turned five. Others steered his reign.
- Maximinus ThraxRoman emperor Maximinus Thrax never once visited Rome during his entire reign. His own soldiers killed him in 238.
- TitusEmperor Titus reportedly died saying, "I have made but one mistake." No one agrees what it was.
- 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.
- Antoninus PiusEmperor Antoninus Pius ruled Rome for 23 years and likely never came within 500 miles of a legion.
- CommodusRoman emperor Commodus was strangled in his bath by his own wrestling partner. He was thirty-one years old.
- HonoriusTen-year-old Honorius inherited the western Roman Empire and lived to see Rome sacked.
- AurelianA forged list of officials marked for execution got Roman emperor Aurelian killed by his own officers.
- Valerian (emperor)Emperor Valerian became the first Roman emperor captured alive in battle. Persia's Shapur I took him at Edessa in 260.
- ElagabalusElagabalus became Roman emperor at fourteen and was dead before nineteen. His own grandmother arranged his murder.
- MacrinusMacrinus became Roman emperor without ever entering the Senate. He then ruled from Antioch and never visited Rome.
- Gordian IIIGordian III became Roman emperor at just thirteen years old.
- MaxentiusEmperor Maxentius ended the persecution of Christians in his lands at least five years before the Edict of Milan.
- Severus AlexanderSeverus Alexander was ruling the Roman Empire alone by age thirteen.
- Julian (emperor)Emperor Julian was raised Christian, yet became Rome's last pagan emperor. He was a nephew of Constantine the Great.
- ValensRoman emperor Valens died in 378 and his body was never found.