Curated playlist
Roman emperors to suffer posthumous denigration or damnatio memoriae
- Constantine II (emperor)Roman emperor Constantine II was erased from official records after his death.
- HostilianRoman emperor Hostilian may have died of plague or murder. Ancient writers disagree on how the boy died in 251.
- LiciniusLicinius, a peasant's son, co-wrote the Edict of Milan with Constantine. Later Constantine erased his laws.
- GallienusRoman emperor Gallienus was stabbed outside Milan after a false report of an enemy breakout.
- CaracallaRoman emperor Caracalla was stabbed by a soldier while stopping to urinate on a road. He had turned 29 that very day.
- DomitianRoman emperor Domitian was stabbed by a steward who faked an arm injury to hide a dagger.
- Clodius AlbinusClodius Albinus once shared a Roman consulship with the emperor who later had him killed.
- NeroEmperor Nero was crowned winner of a chariot race he did not finish.
- 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.
- Maximinus ThraxRoman emperor Maximinus Thrax never once visited Rome during his entire reign. His own soldiers killed him in 238.
- CommodusRoman emperor Commodus was strangled in his bath by his own wrestling partner. He was thirty-one years old.
- AurelianA forged list of officials marked for execution got Roman emperor Aurelian killed by his own officers.
- Didius JulianusDidius Julianus became Roman emperor by shouting bids over a wall. The Praetorian Guard had put the throne up for sale.
- 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.
- 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.