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Imperator Invictus
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Topic: Greatest Emperor Posted: 12-Aug-2004 at 21:12 |
The first AE forum theme that I remember is back!
The greatest emperor is not one who just had a memoriable reign, an
admirable personality, a glorious commander, or a skillful
administrator, but one with the best combination of such
characteristics. Here are my nominations:
Augustus
Achievements: The first
emperor, Augustus stablized the empire after years of civil war into
the Pax Romana, two centuries of peace and prosperity. Augustus was a
modest emperor compared to later standards: he gave power to his
subordinates and called himself the "frist of the senate", rather than
an an absolute ruler. As the first emperor, he set a lasting
foundation. He sponsored many public bulding projects, restoring old
temples and building new ones. He organized the empire effectively and
brought Roman literature to a golden age. Augustus "found Rome brick
and left it marble".
Shortcomings: Augustus himself
was not a particularly charismatic military commander on the field and
had to leave the work to his subordinates.
Claudius
Achievements: He became the
protagonist of the novel and miniseries "I Claudius". The sucessful
invasion of Britian was during his reign. He was a supporter of justice.
Shortcomings: He was paranoid during his initial part of his reign and his wives took control.
Trajan
Achievements: A most skillful
commander, Trajan brought the Empire to its greatest territorial
extent. He conquered Dacia, in which his vicotries are displayed in his
famed column. Then, he invaded the Parthian Empire, capturing its
capital and deposing its king. Although he lost the siege at Hatra and
had to withdraw, no Roman Emperor would conquer as far to the east as
he did. At Rome, he is known for being fairly tolerant to Christians
and building a forum and bath. Future Emperors were wished to be "More
fortunate than Augustus and better than Trajan". He was the only
pre-Christian emperor to be given a place in paradise by the Medieval
poet Dante.
Shortcomings: His campaign in
Mesopotamia against the Parthians was cut short not only by a rebellion
there, but also a significant one within the eastern proviinces.
Hadrian
Achievements: Hadrian strengthened the defenses by withdrawing Trajan's
eastern conquests and building the Hadrian Wall in Britian. He was a
competent ruler and oversaw many building projects, particularly the
Parthenon. Hadrian traveled throughout the empire, but particularly to
Greece, as he was fond of Greek culture. He was by all means a learned
emperor, much of a poet and scholar. Finally, Hadrian started the
fashion of Emperors with beards.
Shortcomings: Hadrian's reign was noted for a major Jewish rebellion,
in which half a million Jews were killed. He himself was not a popular
ruler, as he comitted many murders during his reign. Personally, He
would not be on my top 7 list, but I realize that he is well noted.
Marcus Aurelius
Achievements: He was a most intellectual Emperor, who wrote the
"Meditations" on Stoic philosophy. He was also the first Emperor to
share rule (with Verus). Generally, he was a good manager of the
Empire, even in war.
Shortcomings: Without doubt, he dissastrously named Commodus the heir
to the Empire. He turned out to be one of the worst emperors, and it
began a growing tradition to have the son inherit the throne from his
father. Commodus was already named co-emperor (Augustus) before Marcus'
death.
Septimius Severus
Achievements: One of the greatest commander-emperors; he was also the
first Emperor of african origin. severus gained the throne through
force and continued to campaign against foreign and other "rebellious"
leaders. His sack of the Parthian capital was one of the main reason
for the collapse of the dynasty. Severus made many improvements to the
military and skillfully manipulated its power for his rule, but also
funded many building projects in Rome.
Shortcomings: Septimius Severus ruled with cruelty and brute force,
which his sucessor followed. He named both his son co-Emperors, and
this really did not turn out well. The son who murdered the other
became known as one of the worst emperors.
Aurelian
Achievements: The time before
Diocletian was one of great chaos of continual civil wars and
"pretender uprisings". The Low came when Britian, Gaul, and Spain broke
off and formed its own "Gallic" Empire. In the East, Zenobia of Palmyra
conquered everything from Asia Minor to Egypt. Barbarians from the
north took advantage and broke through. Aurelian came to power and
defeated both the Gallic and Palmrene empires, reuniting the Empire and
earning the title "Restorer of the World". Without doubht, he was
arguably the greatest commander-emperors. The Aurelian Wall of Rome
bears his name.
Shortcomings: his reign only lasted 5 years before he was assasinated. Civil unrest resumed.
Diocletian
Achievements: Stablized the
empire after the "Barracks emperors" period and offered the empire a
completely new organization with 2 Augusti and 2 Caesars,
decentralizing the power and degrading the status of Rome in favor of
other cities of the "tetrarchy". He was also the first to resign from
power.
Shortcomings: He failed to stop
the inflation. Without doubt, Diocletian was consequential. Whether his
reorganization was sucessful is another story. It's up to you to
decide. I'd say that the long term separation of the East and West was
necessary for the survival of the Empire, but his specific system of
the tetrarchy collapsed due to humanly greed.
Constantine
Achievements: He was a great
military emperor who won many victories, eventually cumulating to power
over the entire empire. Constantine founded Constantinople and
legalized Christianity.
Shortcomings: Without arguing
whether or not his reforms were good or not, he did have some other
flaws: his sucessors were poor and engaged in a "family feud"; the army
started decling rapidly into barbarianism.
Edited by Imperator Invictus
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Tonifranz
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Posted: 12-Aug-2004 at 21:25 |
Augustus, without a doubt.
He renewed Roman civilization from the chaos of the late republic.
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Imperator Invictus
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Posted: 12-Aug-2004 at 21:31 |
Augustus is a good choice, but the "Barracks Emperors"
period in which Aurelian was in and Diolcetian ended was by far more
chaotic than the late republic. Between that period, the late
empire, and the late republic, I would say that the late republic was
the least chaotic.
Edited by Imperator Invictus
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Tonifranz
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Posted: 12-Aug-2004 at 22:01 |
By the way, Imperator Invictus, do you know the achievements of Antoninus Pius, Princeps from 138-161? I know very little about him, and I saw little being written about him?
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Jr_Capablanca
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Posted: 13-Aug-2004 at 04:50 |
Hello!
And why isn`t Vitellius or Nero on the list??? No, seriously now, i think I vote for Augustus.
/Capa
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Posted: 13-Aug-2004 at 06:23 |
Probus
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TJK
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Posted: 13-Aug-2004 at 06:27 |
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Cornellia
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Posted: 13-Aug-2004 at 06:46 |
My vote definitely goes to Augustus.
With peace and prosperity restored, Augustus reigned for 41 years before dying a month short of his 76th birthday. The foundation of the Principate had been set and Augustus became the model for all succeeding emperors. Tact and discretion had created a basis for imperial government far strong than could have been forged by naked power alone.
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Felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas
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boody4
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Posted: 13-Aug-2004 at 11:07 |
Trajan is da' man!
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Keltoi
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Posted: 13-Aug-2004 at 12:28 |
Trajan was simply an amazing emperor. He accomplished so much that no one else could.
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Dawn
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Posted: 13-Aug-2004 at 14:24 |
Augustus was my choice.
His political ablity gained his control of most if not all of the officies of rome without bloodshed and hardly a fight.
One of Claudius major abilities was his use of the imperial buraucray. Through freed man that he apointed he ran the empire allthough those same freedman cause much hard feelings for him.
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Tobodai
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Posted: 13-Aug-2004 at 14:40 |
I have always been a Trajan fan.
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I have learned to hold popular opinion of no value."
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Arkhanson
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Posted: 13-Aug-2004 at 15:39 |
why Hadrian is so important for roman empire ?
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Lannes
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Posted: 13-Aug-2004 at 16:04 |
Originally posted by Imperator Invictus
Shortcomings: Septimius Severus ruled with cruelty and brute force, which his sucessor followed. |
But he was still regarded as a hero by the people. My vote goes to Severus, with Vespasian as a close second.
Edited by Lannes
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τρέφεται δέ, ὤ Σώκρατης, ψυχὴ τίνι;
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Temujin
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Posted: 13-Aug-2004 at 16:45 |
Octavian and Constantine, voted Octavian
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Posted: 13-Aug-2004 at 18:16 |
I voted for Octavian Augustus
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Dari
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Posted: 14-Aug-2004 at 14:54 |
Why isn't Ceaser on the list?
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Posted: 14-Aug-2004 at 14:56 |
Because he wasn't an emperor I think
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Lannes
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Posted: 14-Aug-2004 at 16:07 |
Originally posted by MixcoatlToltecahtecuhtli
Because he wasn't an emperor I think |
He was elected as dictator and then dictator for life, but no term as emperor.
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τρέφεται δέ, ὤ Σώκρατης, ψυχὴ τίνι;
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Posted: 14-Aug-2004 at 16:44 |
Originally posted by Lannes
Originally posted by MixcoatlToltecahtecuhtli
Because he wasn't an emperor I think |
He was elected as dictator and then dictator for life, but no term as emperor.
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The word for emperor in most languages are derived from Julius Caesar's name. The Roman historian Suetonius who wrote the history of the first twelve "Ceasars" started his book with Julius. Julius Caesar commanded Roman legions and held therefore the title Imperator. But modern historians do not regard him as an emperor because the republic came back after his death and it was up Augustus to finish the job.
My vote by the way vent to Marcus Aurelius.
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