Roman emperors

Augustus, (Octavius) 1st Roman Emperor

63 BCE

the Roman Senate granted Octavian the name Augustus, meaning "the exalted." They also gave him the legal power to rule Rome's religious, civil and military affairs, with the Senate as an advisory body, effectively making him Emperor.

Tiberius, 2nd Roman Emperor

42 BCE

Tiberius was one of Rome's greatest generals, whose campaigns in Pannonia, Illyricum, Rhaetia and Germania laid the foundations for the northern frontier.

Claudius, Roman Emperor

10 BCE

the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy.

Galba, Roman Emperor

3 BCE

He was the first emperor of the Year of the Four Emperors. Galba's primary concern during his brief reign was in restoring state finances,

Vespasian, Roman Emperor

9

Vespasian was the founder of the short-lived Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Roman Empire between 69 AD and 96 AD.

Caligula, Roman Emperor

12

more commonly known by his nickname Caligula, was the 3rd Roman Emperor who reigned from 16 March 37 until his assassination on 24 January 41.

Nero, Roman Emperor

37

Nero was the last emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero became emperor with the consent of the Praetorian Guard.

Titus, Roman Emperor

39

Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, thus becoming the first Roman Emperor to come to the throne after his own biological father.

Domitian, Roman Emperor

51

Domitian was the third and last emperor of the Flavian dynasty. Domitian's youth and early career were largely spent in the shadow of his brother Titus, who gained military renown

Trajan, Roman Emperor

53

Born in Spain, he was the first non-Italian to become head of the empire. Trajan served in the East, in Germany, and in Spain.

Hadrian,14th Roman Emperor

76

He re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus

Antoninus Pius, 15th Roman Emperor

86

He was one of the Five Good Emperors in the Nerva

Marcus Aurelius, 16th Roman Emperor

121

As a young man he advanced through the cursus honorum—the customary succession of offices

Commodus, Roman Emperor

161

He also ruled as co-emperor with his father Marcus Aurelius from 177 until his father's death in 180.

Caracalla, Roman Emperor

188

A member of the Severan Dynasty, he was the eldest son of Septimius Severus and Julia Domna.

Valerian, Roman Emperor

193

He was taken captive by Sassanian Persian king Shapur I after the Battle of Edessa, becoming the first Roman Emperor to be captured as a prisoner of war,

Philip the Arab, Roman Emperor

204

He was born in present-day Syria to a Syrian father, and went on to become a major figure in the Roman Empire

Aurelian, Roman Emperor

214

Born in humble circumstances, he rose through the military ranks to become emperor. During his reign, he defeated the Alamanni after a devastating war.

Diocletian, Roman Emperor

244

Diocletian was one of the few emperors of the third and fourth centuries to die naturally and the first in the history of the empire to retire voluntarily

Constantius Chlorus, Father of Constantine the Great

250

He was the father of Constantine the Great and the founder of the Constantinian dynasty.

Constantine The Great, Roman Emperor

272

Best known for being the first Christian Roman emperor, Constantine reversed the persecutions of his predecessor, Diocletian,

Julian the Apostate, Roman Emperor

331

a notable philosopher and author in Greek. His rejection of Christianity, and his promotion of Neoplatonic Hellenism in its place, caused him to be remembered as Julian the Apostate

Theodosius the Great, Roman Emperor

347

Reuniting the eastern and western portions of the empire, Theodosius was the last emperor of both the Eastern and Western Roman Empire.

Jovian Flavius Jovianus

363

General in Julian's army, proclaimed emperor by the troops upon Julian's death

Leo I the Thracian, Byzantine Emperor

401

was a Byzantine Emperor who ruled from 457 to 474. He was known as Magnus Thrax (the "Great Thracian") by his supporters

Romulus Augustus

475

His rule never extended beyond portions of the Italian peninsula. Not recognized by Eastern Emperor Zeno.

Justinian I, East Roman Emperor

483

Justinian sought to revive the empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the classical Roman Empire.

Irene of Athens, Byzantine Empress

750

Devoted to the Orthodox Church, she bent most of her efforts to suppressing iconoclasm.

Constantine XI, Last Byzantine Emperor

1404

was the last reigning Byzantine Emperor, reigning as a member of the Palaiologos dynasty from 1449 to his death in battle at the fall of Constantinople.