Rome had seen many leaders step up to the plate in order to rule over Rome with absolute power. There were many who only wanted to exercise their power over the people, those who only wanted the army’s strength, and those who only wanted to advance the senate and laws than help the people or watch the army. However, there were a few emperors who were able to rise above these issues and bring about a seemingly peaceful time in Rome. I have chosen the three, in my opinion, best emperors of Rome, who were able to take command of Rome and make a huge impact. The three emperors that I chose were Sulla, Julius Caesar, and last but not least Augustus. Sulla may come as a surprise when the title of best emperor is thrown around, but to me, I feel that regardless of the negative that Sulla had surrounding him during his reign, he wasn’t a terrible leader at all. Yes, he may have taken over Rome with violence, and even killed thousands with his proscriptions, and even took away the free grain that really helped sustain the lives of the poor, but he accomplished many things that would help overshadow such negative actions. Sulla was a reformer, he had idea after idea piled up for Rome that he felt needed to change. He was able to gain a tight grip on Rome unlike Marius and Cinna who might have wished for such a privilege. It was quite obvious to see that “unlike his predecessors, he possessed a clear vision of the reforms required in his opinion to return the state to its old
In conclusion, Claudius was a very good emperor since a very young age. He helped a lot of people and also many communities/towns. When something bad happened he knew what to do and then saved the day. He was a very important ruler, that changed a lot of things and did a lot of good
Julius Caesar, a Roman general, dictator, and leader, is considered to be one of history 's most influential and powerful rulers to this day, in which his rise to power, conquest of Europe, and controversial downfall all remain to be told during modern days. The play Julius Caesar written by William Shakespeare, portrays the events leading up to Julius Caesar’s assassination, and how those who conspired against him banded together and plotted Caesar’s demise. Many of those conspirators assassinated Caesar due to his quick rise to absolute power, his “acts” of disrespect against the senate such as his failing to stand to receive the title of becoming a “god,” and pure jealousy and anger towards Caesar’s success and rule over the Roman empire. Caesar, an ambitious man, was able to conquer many lands and peoples for Rome through successful military campaigns in which he became one Rome’s best generals due to the amount of successful battles he had won and the amount of blood he had shed for Rome’s expansion. However, Caesar’s trait of ambitiousness would prove to be a double edged sword.
Additionally, emperors were focused on their own safety and public peace which corrupted their discipline. The emperors also spent more time dealing with religious conflicts and focused more on luxury. (Document 8) This means the emperors didn’t focus on bigger problems such as forces invading Rome.
Throughout the period of Roman emperors, there were many good emperors who brought wealth and prosperity, but there were bad emperors who brought terror and poverty. Emperor Titus Augustus was one of the emperors who brought wealth and prosperity. He had one of the most popular rules, even though he only ruled for about 3 years. He was, also, nicknamed the “darling of the human race” by Suetonius (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica). Although Emperor Titus had a short rule, he brought wealth and prosperity, thus making his rule have a positive impact on the Roman Empire.
Unfortunately for the Roman Empire, most of the emperors were not favored by the people of Rome in their years of decline. According to Document A, about 22 emperors ruled Rome in a span of 50 years without including the time of 260 to 268 BCE which there is no recorded information about. Out of the 22 emperors, about 90% of the emperors were assassinated. Another factor that contributed were suicides. As The Roman Empire weakened, there were many invaders aiming to assassinate the emperor. Therefore certain emperors chose to take their own lives before anybody else could. Now with the confusion and violence from the poor leadership in Rome, the once-prosperous-empire was coming to it’s
This world has seen many great leaders and emperors but two of them standout a little more than the others. Their names are Julius Caesar and Napoleon Bonaparte. Both men were highly respected and greatly feared. They also ran great empires that spanned over thousands of miles. They wanted to rule and conquer anything they could. They have many similarities and differences in the way they ruled and conquered. Their empires were so big that there came a time where they couldn’t control it and their reign came to an end. Julius Caesar and Napoleon Bonaparte have molded and shaped the way rulers and leaders should rule over
17 out of 19 emperors died of in battle, or being assassinated. If one emperor died, another emperor would be elected. Going back to war outbreaks, the war was clearly so disastrous, that the emperor would also even had to fight as well. 13 out of 17 were assassinated, 4 out of 17 were killed in battle. The roman army is supposed to protect Rome, and the people living in Rome. But with this much changes in leadership obviously this explains how negligent and lazy the roman army was. The roman army left the military in danger, the emperor in danger, and also the citizens of Rome in
Rome could have likely grew and lasted for a lot longer than it did. It faced many problems and challenges that they overcame. It had one of the most powerful armies in the world of that time. Rome started to decline due mainly to inner weaknesses and problems.
When Rome is brought up, most people think about powerful rulers. But near the end of Rome the rulers were not liked nor good ruler. From 235(common era) to 285 (common era), 22 rulers ruled Rome. (Document A) 13 of the 22 rulers during that time period were assassinated. (Document A) In this 50 year time period, four emperors were killed in battle. (Document A) Since Rome was so
When we think about the historical significance of Rome, it comes down to its leaders and how these leaders ruled in their era. Confidence, commitment, inspiration, intuition, and creativity, are all essential traits that a ruler must possess. In my opinion, no one has demonstrated these important characteristics better than Caesar Augustus, or better known as Octavian. Octavian showed how good of administrator he was, which was well needed after years of civil strife and social unrest. On the other hand, military genius, Julius Caesar, was lacking in administrative qualities which infect, lead his era to have a period of civil war and bloodshed.
Have you ever waged war against your wife? Caesar Octavian Augustus did. Augustus was a great leader. Leaders are necessary because they need to show leadership amongst the people and unite the people as one doing anything to keep them safe. Caesar Octavian Augustus was one of Rome’s greatest leaders by showing that at the age of 19, he can rule one of the most powerful nations by any means including war (http://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/augustus.html)
The Roman empire consisted of many great rulers, some were exceptional, but others were insane. The first sole ruler was a man named Octavian, who was later on named Augustus. After a century of war he restored Rome to all of its glory and managed to sustain peace throughout the land, however, he had to create a new system for the government to run on. In the first years he did not declare himself a dictator, in order to avoid past conflicts, he instead concealed his power. Augustus did not only fix the government, but he also made many military achievements too, such as creating permanent bodyguards and city police.
The emperor was already the most important man but this wasn’t enough for him. He wanted to be seen as a supreme spiritual leader. Augustus just wanted to be worshipped as a god himself. He re-established traditional social rules and religious rituals, sacrificing animals to Rome’s gods. In 12 AD he made himself Pontifex Maximus, the chief priest of Rome and his strategy had worked.
In ancient history there have been many great leaders who had saved the Roman Empire from destruction and demise. The leaders and heroes of the Roman Empire are countless, but one leader stands out from all the rest. Augustus Caesar’s contributions to Roman history helped make Rome the dominant empire we know of today. Augustus Caesar was without a question the greatest political leader in the history of the Roman Empire.
Augustus, during his reign as emperor proved effective in ruling through the ideas he implemented to solidify his country. Tacitus stated “nullo adversante” which translates into English “Wholly unopposed” (http://janusquirinus.org/Quotes/QuotesHome.html) this identifies the effectiveness of his reign and the strength he had politically over Rome. Important actions such as the creation of religious and moral reforms, the constitutional agreement and the implementation of the building programme all succeeded in creating stability within the Roman Empire.