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152-416: Gaius Caesar ( / ˈ s iː z ər / ; 20 BC – 21 February 4 AD) was a grandson and heir to the throne of Roman emperor Augustus , alongside his younger brother Lucius Caesar . Although he was born to Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia , Augustus' only daughter, Gaius and Lucius were raised by their grandfather as his adopted sons and joint-heirs. He experienced an accelerated political career befitting

304-517: A Sibylline oracle that called for the Games to be celebrated every 110 years, and a new reconstruction of the Games' Republican history which placed a first celebration in 456 BC. Before the Games themselves, heralds went around the city and invited the people to "a spectacle, such as they had never witnessed and never would again". The quindecimviri sat on the Capitol and in the temple of Apollo on

456-595: A theocracy . According to George Ostrogorsky , "the absolute power of the Roman emperor was further increased with the advent of Christian ideas". This became more evident after the Muslim conquests of the 7th century, which gave Byzantine imperialism a new sense of purpose. The emperor was the subject of a series of rites and ceremonies, including a formal coronation performed by the Patriarch of Constantinople . The Byzantine state

608-509: A 50-year period that almost saw the end of the Roman Empire. The last vestiges of Republicanism were lost in the ensuing anarchy. In 238, the Senate attempted to regain power by proclaiming Pupienus and Balbinus as their own emperors (the first time since Nerva ). They managed to usurp power from Maximinus Thrax , but they were killed within two months. With the rise of the "soldier emperors",

760-474: A cavalry division). Having been designated consul, he was allowed to give his opinion to the senate. Lucius, three years his junior, was granted the same honours after the appropriate interval had elapsed. Following the death of King Herod of Judaea in 4   BC, his sons Antipas and Archelaus both came to Rome with their own copy of Herod's will to plead their case as to why they each deserved to inherit their father's kingdom. Augustus, as usual, declined

912-456: A cold reception on the isle of Samos . Tiberius was alienated at the meeting, by the behaviour of both Lollius and Gaius' centurions. Suetonius further wrote that Tiberius wrote to the Emperor that Lollius should be replaced. Lollius' rivalry with Tiberius continued even after Gaius and his entourage reached Syria. Lollius strove to turn Gaius against Tiberius; Gaius, in any case, had no affection for

1064-536: A court title bestowed to prominent figures of the government, and lost even more relevance after the creation of the title sebastokrator by Alexios I Komnenos . Despite this, its regular use by earlier emperors led to the name becoming synonym with "emperor" in certain regions. Several countries use Caesar as the origin of their word for "emperor", like Kaiser in Germany and Tsar in Bulgaria and Russia . After

1216-632: A cure for his children's illness and was supernaturally instructed to sacrifice on the Campus Martius to Dis Pater and Proserpina , deities of the underworld. Some ancient authors traced official celebrations of the Games as far back as 509 BC, but the only clearly attested celebrations under the Roman Republic took place in 249 and in the 140s BC. They involved sacrifices to the underworld gods over three consecutive nights. The Games were revived in 17 BC by Rome's first emperor Augustus , with

1368-535: A family name ( nomen ), styling himself as Imp. Caesar instead of Imp. Julius Caesar . However, the nomen was still inherited by women (such as Julia the Younger ) and appear in some inscriptions. After the death of Caligula , Augustus' great-grandson, his uncle Claudius was proclaimed emperor. He was not an official member of the Julia gens , but he was the grandson of Octavia , Augustus' sister, and thus still part of

1520-403: A few revolts he had to suppress as a result of the nationalist party. On 9 September, Abbadon, the leader of the rebellion, invited Gaius into the fortress to speak with him. It proved to be a trick, and Gaius was wounded in the confrontation. He had to be carried away by his outraged lieutenants. His forces promptly laid siege to the city and captured the fortress after intense fighting. At first

1672-419: A figure had appeared to them in a dream and told the family to sacrifice to Dis Pater and Proserpina . Upon digging, Valesius found that an altar to those deities was buried on the site, and performed the ritual as instructed. Celebrations of the Games under the Roman Republic are poorly documented. Although some Roman antiquarians traced them as far back as 509 BC, some modern scholars consider that

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1824-657: A further level of complexity to the alternation of sacrifices between Greek and Roman deities by addressing the Greek deities under Latin names. Each sacrifice was followed by theatrical performances. Once the major sacrifices were over, the days between June 5 and June 11 were devoted to Greek and Latin plays, and June 12 saw chariot racing and displays of hunting. The Games continued to be celebrated under later emperors, but two different systems of calculation were used to determine their dates. Claudius held them in AD ;47 to celebrate

1976-510: A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty , with the Roman Senate allowing him to advance his career without first holding a quaestorship or praetorship , offices that ordinary senators were required to hold as part of the cursus honorum . In 1 BC, Gaius was given command of the eastern provinces, after which he concluded a peace treaty with King Phraates V of Parthia on an island in

2128-469: A new caesar . Each pair ruled over a half of the Empire, which led to the creation of a Western and Eastern Roman Empire , a division that eventually became permanent. This division had already a precedent in the joint rule of Valerian / Gallienus and Carus / Carinus . Diocletian justified his rule not by military power, but by claiming divine right . He imitated Oriental divine kingship and encouraged

2280-506: A pressing issue. The aurei and denarii issued in 13–12   BC made clear the Emperor's dynastic plans for Gaius and Lucius. The luxurious rural villa-estate at Ossaia near Cortona was owned by Gaius and Lucius Caesar. Their father was no longer available to assume the reins of power if the Emperor were to die, and Augustus had to make it clear who his intended heirs were in case anything should happen. To learn about military affairs, he accompanied Tiberius in his campaign against

2432-679: A protectorate. Before Rome could deal with the Parthians in Armenia, it would first need to make its Syrian legions available, which were still tied down in Palestine. In order to free up the legions there, the Kingdom of Judaea was divided among the sons of Herod the Great. One half remained under Archelaus, while the other half was subdivided between his brothers, Antipas and Philip . This served to restore stability to

2584-532: A regime in which the notion of legitimacy is as absent as that of the Augustan principate". Imperial propaganda was often used to legitimize or de-legitimize certain emperors. The Chronicon Paschale , for example, describes Licinius as having been killed like "those who had briefly been usurpers before him". In reality, Licinius was the legitimate emperor of the West (having been appointed by Galerius ), while Constantine

2736-473: A symbolic sale, and named both Gaius and Lucius his (personal) heirs. It is unknown what their father thought of the adoption. Their adoptive father initiated them into administrative life when they were still young, and sent them to the provinces as consuls-elect. Augustus taught Gaius and Lucius how to read, swim, and the other elements of education, taking special pains to train them to imitate his own handwriting, mostly by himself. Shortly after their adoption in

2888-556: Is known as the Dominate , derived from the title dominus ("lord") adopted by Diocletian . During his rule, the emperor became an absolute ruler and the regime became even more monarchical. The emperors adopted the diadem crown as their supreme symbol of power, abandoning the subtleties of the early Empire. Beginning in the late 2nd century, the Empire began to suffer a series of political and economic crises, partially because it had overexpanded so much. The Pax Romana ("Roman peace")

3040-586: Is never used. The imperial titles are treated as inseparable of the person, which is reflected in the name Imperator Caesar Vespasianus Augustus . This Lex sometimes related to the Lex regia ("royal law") mentioned in the Corpus Juris Civilis of Eastern emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565), who cites the early 3rd-century writer Ulpian . This was probably a later construct, as its very name, which derives from rex ("king"), would have been utterly rejected in

3192-611: Is often said to have ended with the tyrannical reign of Commodus. His murder was followed by the accession of Septimius Severus , the victor of the Year of the Five Emperors . It was during his reign that the role of the army grew even more, and the emperors' power increasingly depended on it. The murder of his last relative, Severus Alexander , led to the Crisis of the Third Century (235–285),

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3344-510: Is often said to have followed a " Caesaropapist " model, where the emperor played the role of ruler and head of the Church, but there was often a clear distinction between political and secular power. The line of Eastern emperors continued uninterrupted until the sack of Constantinople and the establishment of the Latin Empire in 1204. This led to the creation of three lines of emperors in exile:

3496-508: Is still often regarded as a usurper, similarly to Magnus Maximus , who was briefly recognized by Theodosius I . Western emperors such as Magnentius , Eugenius and Magnus Maximus are sometimes called usurpers, but Romulus Augustulus is traditionally regarded as the last Western emperor, despite never receiving the recognition of the Eastern emperor Zeno . The period after the Principate

3648-399: The pomerium ; and use discretionary power whenever necessary. The text further states that he is "not bound by laws", and that any previous act was retroactively considered legitimate. There is no mention of imperium nor tribunicia potestas , although these powers were probably given in the earlier clauses. There is also no mention of any "imperial office", and the title of "emperor"

3800-567: The Constantinian dynasty , emperors followed Imperator Caesar with Flavius , which also began as a family name but was later incorporated into the emperor's titles, thus becoming Imperator Caesar Flavius . The last use of the formula, rendered as Autokrator Kaisar Flabios... Augoustos (Αὐτοκράτωρ καῖσαρ Φλάβιος αὐγουστος) in Greek, is in the Basilika of Leo VI the Wise (r. 886–912). Originally

3952-673: The Euphrates . Shortly afterwards, he was appointed to the office of consul for the following year, 1 AD. The year after Gaius' consulship, Lucius died at Massilia in the month of August. Approximately eighteen months later, Gaius died of an illness in Lycia . He was married to his second cousin Livilla but they did not have children. In 4 AD, following the deaths of Gaius and Lucius, Augustus adopted his stepson, Tiberius , as well as his sole-surviving grandson, Agrippa Postumus . Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa

4104-516: The Papal States . Pepin's son, Charlemagne , was crowned Imperator Romanorum (the first time Imperator was used as an actual regnal title) by Pope Leo III in Christmas AD 800, thus ending the recognition of the Eastern emperor. Western rulers also began referring to the Empire as the "Greek Empire", regarding themselves as the true successors of Rome. The inhabitants of the Eastern half of

4256-414: The Roman Republic and was given to victorious commanders by their soldiers. They held imperium , that is, military authority. The Senate could then award the extraordinary honor of a triumph ; the commander then retained the title until the end of his magistracy . In Roman tradition, the first triumph was that of Romulus , the founder of Rome, but the first attested use of imperator was in 189 BC, on

4408-744: The Sicambri in 8   BC. The year before, Tiberius' brother Drusus the Elder died on his way back from a campaign across the Rhine . Tiberius was given command of Germania, and waged two campaigns across the Rhine in 8   BC and 7   BC. He marched his army between the Elbe and the Rhine, and met little resistance, except from the Sicambri. Tiberius came close to exterminating the Sicambri, and had those who survived transported to

4560-566: The Tetrarchy the powers of the caesar increased considerably, but following the accession of Constantine I it once more remained as a title for heirs with no significant power attached to it. The title slowly lost importance in the following decades, as emperors started to promote their sons directly to augustus . In the East, the title finally lost its imperial character in 705, when Justinian II awarded it to Tervel of Bulgaria . After this it became

4712-597: The Tiber to drink, heated on an altar of Dis Pater and Proserpina . Assuming that he had to travel to the Greek colony of Tarentum in southern Italy, he set out with his children on the journey. Sailing along the Tiber, he was instructed by the voice to stop on the Campus Martius , at a place which happened also to be called Tarentum. When he warmed water from the river and gave it to the children, they were miraculously cured and fell asleep. When they woke up, they informed Valesius that

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4864-556: The de facto sole ruler of Rome in 48 BC, when he defeated his last opposition at the Battle of Pharsalus . His killers proclaimed themselves as the liberatores ("liberators") and the restorers of the Republic, but their rule was cut short by Caesar's supporters, who almost immediately established a new dictatorship. In his will, Caesar appointed his grandnephew Octavian as his heir and adopted son. He inherited his property and lineage,

5016-422: The emperors of Nicaea , the emperors of Trebizond , and the short-lived emperors of Thessalonica . The Nicean rulers have been traditionally regarded as the "legitimate" emperors of this period, as they recovered Constantinople and restored the Empire in 1261. The Empire of Trebizond continued to exist for another 200 years, but from 1282 onwards its rulers used the modified title of "Emperor and Autocrat of all

5168-546: The fall of the Western Roman Empire , as it was used by rulers such as Theodoric the Great . Ludi Saeculares The Secular or Saecular Games ( Ludi Saeculares ) was an ancient Roman religious celebration involving sacrifices , theatrical performances , and public games ( ludi ). It was held irregularly in Rome for three days and nights to mark the ends of various eras ( saecula ) and to celebrate

5320-408: The proconsuls of the few senatorial provinces and allies such as Agrippa . The governors appointed to the imperial provinces only answered to the emperor himself, who could maintain or replace them at will. The tribunician power ( tribunicia potestas ), first assumed by Augustus in 23 BC, gave him authority over the tribune of the plebs without having to actually hold the office – a tribune

5472-459: The " Year of the Five Emperors ", but modern scholarship now identifies Clodius Albinus and Pescennius Niger as usurpers because they were not recognized by the Roman Senate . Recognition by the Senate is often used to determine the legitimacy of an emperor, but this criterion is not always followed. Maxentius is sometimes called an usurper because he did not have the recognition of Tetrarchs , but he held Rome for several years, and thus had

5624-511: The "Athenians", and 36 crocodiles were slaughtered in the Circus Flaminius . Friends of Augustus had hoped that he would abandon his plan of sending Gaius to the east but, faced with increasing troubles there, he persisted with the plan and dispatched Gaius to Syria at the beginning of 1   BC. The Emperor entrusted Gaius with proconsular authority and had him marry his second cousin Livilla,

5776-574: The "shadow emperor". In 476, the Heruli Odoacer overthrew the child-emperor Romulus Augustulus , made himself king of Italy and shipped the imperial regalia to the Emperor Zeno in Constantinople. Historians mark this date as the date of the fall of the Western Roman Empire , although by this time there was no longer any "Empire" left, as its territory had reduced to Italy. Julius Nepos , who

5928-573: The 5th century, there was scarcely a single decade without succession conflicts and civil war. During this period, very few emperors died of natural causes. Such problems persisted in the later Eastern Empire, where emperors had to often appoint co-emperors to secure the throne. Despite often working as a hereditary monarchy, there was no law or single principle of succession. Individuals who claimed imperial power "illegally" are referred to as " usurpers " in modern scholarship. Ancient historians refer to these rival emperors as " tyrants ". In reality, there

6080-612: The 800th anniversary of Rome's foundation, which led to a second cycle of Games in 148 and 248. The Games were abandoned under later Christian emperors. According to Roman mythology told by Zosimus , the Secular Games originated with a Sabine man called Valesius, ancestor of the Valerii . When his children became seriously ill, he prayed to his household gods for their cure, offering to give up his own life in exchange. A voice told him to take them to Tarentum and to give them water from

6232-502: The 800th year from the foundation of Rome. According to Suetonius , a herald's proclamation of a spectacle "which no one had ever seen or would ever see again" amused his listeners, some of whom had attended the Games under Augustus. Under subsequent emperors, Games were celebrated on both the Augustan and the Claudian systems. Domitian held his in AD 88, possibly 110 years from a planned Augustan celebration in 22 BC, and he

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6384-524: The 9th century. Its last known use was on 866–867 coins of Michael III and his co-emperor Basil I , who are addressed as imperator and rex respectively. In the West, imperator was transformed into a monarchical title by Charlemagne , becoming the official Latin title of the Holy Roman Empire . Originally the cognomen (third name) of the dictator Gaius Julius Caesar , which was then inherited by Augustus and his relatives. Augustus used it as

6536-558: The Campus Martius. This inscription has partially survived, and offers information about the ceremonies. The night-time sacrifices were made not to the underworld deities Dis Pater and Proserpina, but to the Moerae (fates), the Ilythiae (goddesses of childbirth), and Terra Mater (the "Earth mother"). These were "more beneficent honorands, who nonetheless shared with Dis Pater and Proserpina

6688-677: The East, the Iberians , and the Perateia ", accepting the Niceans as the sole Roman emperors. However, the Byzantine Empire had been reduced mostly to Constantinople, and the rise of other powers such as Serbia and Bulgaria forced the Byzantines to recognize their rulers as basileus . Despite this, emperors continued to view themselves as the rulers of an "universal empire". During the last decades of

6840-401: The Elder 's marriage to Germanicus . He also was the uncle of Caligula , who was the son of his sister Agrippina. The last emperor of the dynasty was Nero , who was Gaius' great-nephew and the grandson of Germanicus. An annual sacrifice on his birthday was granted in a decree. In 17   BC, his brother Lucius was born. Augustus immediately adopted both Gaius and Lucius from their father by

6992-423: The Elder , who was previously the wife of Marcellus. Agrippa was given tribunicia potestas ("the tribunician power") in 18 BC, a power that Augustus received in 23 BC, and later on was exercised only by the emperor and shared with some heirs (Agrippa, Tiberius). The tribunician power allowed him to control the Senate. Agrippa acted as tribune in the Senate to pass important legislation and, though he lacked some of

7144-432: The Empire always saw the emperor as an open monarch. Starting with Heraclius in 629, Roman emperors styled themselves " basileus ", the traditional title for Greek monarchs used since the times of Alexander the Great . The title was used since the early days of the Empire and became the common imperial title by the 3rd century, but did not appear in official documents until the 7th century. Michael I Rangabe (r. 811–813)

7296-440: The Empire used it regularly. It began to used in official context starting with Septimius Severus , and was first officially adopted in coinage by Aurelian . In the East, imperator was translated as autokrator ("self-ruler"), a title that continued to be used until the end of the Empire. This is the modern Greek word for "emperor" ( υτοκράτορας ). There are still some instances of imperator in official documents as late as

7448-487: The Empire, power was once again shared between multiple emperors and colleagues, each ruling from their own capital, notably during the long reign of John V . Constantinople finally fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453; its last emperor, Constantine XI Palaiologos , dying in battle. The last vestiges of the empire, Morea and Trebizond , fell in 1461. The title imperator – from imperare , "to command" – dates back to

7600-508: The Empire, while later functioning as de facto separate entities, were always considered and seen, legally and politically, as separate administrative divisions of a single, insoluble state by the Romans of the time. In the West , the office of emperor soon degenerated into being little more than a puppet of Germanic generals such as Aetius and Ricimer ; the last emperors of the West being known as

7752-590: The English translation of the Latin imperator , then Julius Caesar had been an emperor, like several Roman generals before him. Instead, by the end of the Caesar's civil wars , it became clear that there was certainly no consensus to return to the old-style monarchy , but that the period when several officials would fight one another had come to an end. Julius Caesar, and then Augustus after him, accumulated offices and titles of

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7904-413: The Games of 249 and the 140s BC were both held because of the immediate pressures of war, and that it was only with the revival in the 140s that they came to be considered as a regular centennial celebration. This sequence would have led to a celebration in 49 BC, but the civil wars apparently prevented this. The Games were revived in 17 BC by Rome's first emperor Augustus . The date was justified by

8056-679: The Gulf of Aqaba, or in Nabataea . It is known that the Nabataean Kingdom later became the province of Arabia , and so, it might be that Gaius conducted his "Arabian expedition" to either support or to discipline the King of Nabataea, Aretas IV . This is probably evidenced by the continuation of coinage in the king's name after Gaius' consulship. Cassius Dio , in a fragmentary notice, mentions trouble in Egypt which

8208-611: The Jews living there. Sometime in the course of his time in the east, Gaius led an expedition into Arabia. Exactly where and for what purpose remains uncertain, though Pliny mentioned it in connection with Aelius Gallus ' exploits in South Arabia . The term "Arabia" is never defined, and the term was used loosely by Roman sources. Various reasons, such as an attempt by Rome to control the incense trade, have been suggested but never proven. Juba II, former king of Mauretania , accompanied Gaius to

8360-549: The Palatine , and handed out to the free citizens torches, sulphur and asphalt , to be burnt as a means of purification. (This may have been modelled on the purificatory rituals of the Parilia , the anniversary of Rome's foundation.) Offerings of wheat, barley, and beans were also made. The Senate decreed that an inscribed record of the Games should be set up in the Tarentum , a site in

8512-510: The Republic, Diocletian established at the top of this new structure the Tetrarchy ("rule of four") in an attempt to provide for smoother succession and greater continuity of government. Under the Tetrarchy, Diocletian set in place a system of two emperors ( augusti ) and two subordinates that also served as heirs ( caesares ). When an emperor retired (as Diocletian and Maximian did in 305) or died, his caesar would succeed him and in turn appoint

8664-479: The Roman side of the Rhine, where they could be watched more closely. Gaius was elected consul designatus by the Comitia Centuriata in 6   BC with the intention that he should assume the consulship in his twentieth year. The next year, Augustus made him a pontifex , and granted him the right to attend Senate meetings, behold spectacles, and to be present at banquets with senators. Roman support for

8816-421: The Roman state as an autocrat , but he failed to create a stable system to maintain himself in power. His rise to power was the result of a long and gradual decline in which the Republic fell under the influence of powerful generals such as Marius and Sulla . At the end of the Republic no new, and certainly no single, title indicated the individual who held supreme power. Insofar as emperor could be seen as

8968-443: The Roman world among them. Lepidus was sidelined in 36 BC, and relations between Octavian and Antony soon deteriorated. In September 31 BC, Octavian's victory at Actium put an end to any effective opposition and confirmed his supremacy over Rome. In January 27 BC, Octavian and the Senate concluded the so-called " First settlement ". Until then Octavian had been ruling the state with his powers as triumvir , even though

9120-479: The Senate awarded him the appellation of augustus ("elevated"). The honorific itself held no legal meaning, but it denoted that Octavian (henceforth Augustus ) now approached divinity, and its adoption by his successors made it the de facto main title of the emperor. He also received the civic crown alongside several other insignias in his honor. Augustus now held supreme and indisputable power, and even though he still received subsequent grants of powers, such as

9272-522: The Tarentum, and the date was probably changed to the Parilia on April 21. In the case of Antoninus Pius, the games aligned with his decennalia , the celebration of the first ten years of his own rule. By 314, 110 years from the Games of Septimius Severus, the Christian Constantine I was emperor, and no Secular Games were held. The pagan historian Zosimus ( fl. c. 498–518), who wrote

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9424-506: The Triumvirate itself disappeared years earlier. He announced that he would return the power to the Senate and People of Rome , but this was only an act. The Senate confirmed Octavian as princeps , the " first among equals ", and gave him control over almost all Roman provinces for a tenure of ten years. This limitation was only superficial, as he could renew his powers indefinitely. In addition,

9576-496: The West acknowledged the Eastern emperors until the accession of Empress Irene in 797. After this, the papacy created a rival lineage of Roman emperors in western Europe, the Holy Roman Emperors , which ruled the Holy Roman Empire for most of the period between 800 and 1806. These emperors were never recognized in Constantinople and their coronations resulted in the medieval problem of two emperors . The last Eastern emperor

9728-423: The West. The Eastern Greek-speaking half of the Empire had always regarded the emperors as open monarchs ( basileis ), and called them as such. The weakest point of the Augustan institution was its lack of a clear succession system. Formally announcing a successor would have revealed Augustus as a monarch, so he and subsequent emperors opted to adopt their best candidates as their sons and heirs. Primogeniture

9880-451: The accession of her own son Tiberius as heir to Augustus. Roman emperor The legitimacy of an emperor's rule depended on his control of the Roman army and recognition by the Senate ; an emperor would normally be proclaimed by his troops, or by the Senate, or both. The first emperors reigned alone; later emperors would sometimes rule with co-emperors to secure the succession or to divide

10032-462: The administration of the empire between them. The office of emperor was thought to be distinct from that of a rex ('king'). Augustus, the first emperor, resolutely refused recognition as a monarch. For the first three hundred years of Roman emperors, efforts were made to portray the emperors as leaders of the Republic, fearing any association with the kings who ruled Rome prior to the Republic. From Diocletian , whose reformed tetrarchy divided

10184-652: The adoptive son of the long-deceased Marcus Aurelius , hence why he named Caracalla after him. Later Eastern imperial dynasties, such as the Doukai and Palaiologoi , claimed descent from Constantine the Great . What turns a "usurper" into a "legitimate" emperor is typically that they managed to gain the recognition of a more senior, legitimate, emperor, or that they managed to defeat a more senior, legitimate emperor and seize power. Modern historiography has not yet defined clear legitimacy criteria for emperors, resulting in some emperors being included or excluded from different lists. The year 193 has traditionally been called

10336-458: The age of military service to be hung in the Senate House. The caskets containing their ashes were stored in the Mausoleum of Augustus alongside those of their father Agrippa and other members of the imperial family. Both Tacitus and Cassius Dio suggested foul play may have been involved in the death of Gaius and Lucius and that Gaius's step grandmother Livia may have had a hand in their deaths. Livia's presumed motive may have been to orchestrate

10488-536: The age of twenty-three, the young man whom the Emperor considered his heir and sole hope of prosperity had abandoned his prospects of reputation and power in a wild fit of despair and fear. Augustus did his best to cheer him up and convince him to return to Italy. It was in vain: Gaius died in Limyra on 21 February 4   AD. While Gaius was in Armenia, his brother Lucius had been sent by Augustus to complete his military training in Spain. While there, he fell ill and died on 20 August 2   AD in Massalia , Gaul . In

10640-474: The authority based on prestige. The honorific was awarded as both a name and a title to Octavian in 27 BC and was inherited by all subsequent emperors, who placed it after their personal names. The only emperor to not immediately assume it was Vitellius , although he did use it after his recognition by the Senate. Later emperors ruled alongside one or several junior augusti who held de jure (but not de facto ) equal constitutional power. Despite its use as

10792-402: The authority to consecrate buildings, and they did, with their management of the games held to celebrate the dedication of the Temple of Mars Ultor (1 August 2   BC). His youngest brother, Postumus, participated in the Trojan game with the rest of the equestrian youth. 260 lions were slaughtered in the Circus Maximus , there was gladiatorial combat, a naval battle between the "Persians" and

10944-485: The beginning of the next. In particular, the Romans reckoned a saeculum as the longest possible length of human life, either 100 or 110 years in length; as such, it was used to mark various centennials, particularly anniversaries from the computed founding of Rome . According to Roman mythology , the Secular Games began as the Tarentine Games ( Ludi Tarentini ) when a Sabine man called Valesius prayed for

11096-472: The city and Senate of Rome began to lose importance. Maximinus and Carus , for example, did not even set foot on the city. Carus' successors Carinus and Numerian , the last of the Crisis emperors, did not bother to assume the tribunicia potestas either. After reuniting the Roman Empire in 285, Diocletian began a series of reforms to restore stability. Reaching back to the oldest traditions of job-sharing in

11248-400: The continuance of the Republic. The title had already been used by Pompey and Julius Caesar , among others. It was a purely honorific title with no attached duties or powers, hence why it was never used in official titulature. The title was the most preferred by Augustus as its use implies only "primacy" (is in the " first among equals "), as opposed to dominus , which implies dominance. It

11400-538: The creation of a worship cult . Augustus became pontifex maximus (the chief priest of the College of Pontiffs ) in 12 BC, after the death of the former triumvir Lepidus . Emperors from the reign of Gratian (r. 375–383) onward used the style pontifex inclytus ("honorable pontiff"). The title of pontifex maximus was eventually adopted by the bishops of Rome during the Renaissance . The last known emperors to use

11552-571: The daughter of Drusus the Elder and Antonia Minor . Due to Gaius' youth and inexperience, the Emperor had advisors go with him. Among his entourage to the east were: Marcus Lollius as adiutor ("helper"), Publius Sulpicius Quirinus as rector ("guide"), the future historian Velleius Paterculus , Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus (grandfather of Nero), Juba II of Numidia, and future praetorian prefect Sejanus . On his way to Syria, Gaius met with Tiberius, who had abandoned politics and retired to Rhodes . According to Suetonius , Gaius gave Tiberius

11704-540: The death of Julius Nepos in 480. Instead the Eastern emperor Zeno proclaimed himself as the sole emperor of a theoretically undivided Roman Empire (although in practice he had no authority in the West). The subsequent Eastern emperors ruling from Constantinople styled themselves as " Basileus of the Romans" ( Ancient Greek : βασιλεύς Ῥωμαίων , Basileus Romaíon ) but are often referred to in modern scholarship as Byzantine emperors . The papacy and Germanic kingdoms of

11856-433: The decision of 6   BC which named him consul designate. Gaius, who was twenty, had reached Asia, and was probably at Antioch at the time his consulship commenced, where he was organizing an army for the invasion of Armenia and opening negotiations with Phraates in the hopes of securing an agreement. The Emperor did not desire an open war, and the king of Parthia seemed open to peace. Negotiations were probably hastened by

12008-447: The east, but he was confident in Gaius. Gaius made a good choice because his presence represented that of the imperial family – all orders, promises, or threats coming from him were as valid as if they came from the Emperor himself. Nonetheless, he was only eighteen, and therefore too young for the conduct of important business. Before leaving for the east, he and his brother Lucius were given

12160-546: The east. In order to prepare Gaius for his encounter with the Arabs, Juba wrote him a treatise. According to Pliny, the young prince made it as far as the Gulf of Aqaba . It is certain that this expedition happened before his time in Armenia, and, referencing Gaius' cenotaph in Pisa, it is almost certain to have taken place during his consulship. Author and historian John Grainger places Gaius at

12312-617: The emperor derived from an extraordinary concentration of individual powers and offices that were extant in the Republic and developed under Augustus and later rulers, rather than from a new political office. Under the Republic, these powers would have been split between several people, who would each exercise them with the assistance of a colleague and for a specific period of time. Augustus held them all at once by himself, and with no time limits; even those that nominally had time limits were automatically renewed whenever they lapsed. The Republican offices endured and emperors were regularly elected to

12464-476: The emperor was God's chosen ruler on earth, a special protector and leader of the Christian Church, a position later termed Caesaropapism . In practice, an emperor's authority on Church matters was frequently subject to challenge. The Western Roman Empire collapsed in the late 5th century after multiple invasions by Germanic barbarian tribes, with no recognised claimant to Emperor of the West remaining after

12616-530: The emperor's power and authority, he was approaching the position of co-regent. Gaius was born in Rome in 20   BC to Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder. He was a part of the Julio-Claudian dynasty , and was related to all the Julio-Claudian emperors. On his mother's side, he was the oldest grandson of emperor Augustus . He was the stepson of Tiberius by his mother Julia's marriage to him, and brother in law of Claudius by his sister Agrippina

12768-413: The end of the Empire. In the West, the title was also used by Charlemagne and the subsequent Holy Roman Emperors as part of the formula Imperator Augustus . Both Eastern and Western rulers also used the style semper augustus ("forever augustus"). The word princeps , meaning "first", was a republican term used to denote the leading member of the Senate, and it was used by the early emperors to emphasize

12920-441: The failure of the Tetrarchy. This practice had first been applied by Septimius Severus , who proclaimed his 10-year-old son Caracalla as augustus . He was followed by Macrinus , who did the same with his 9-year-old son Diadumenian , and several other emperors during the Crisis. This became even more common from the 4th century onwards. Gratian was proclaimed emperor at the age of 8, and his co-ruler and successor Valentinian II

13072-500: The family. Following the suicide of Nero, the last descendant of Caesar, the new emperor Galba adopted the name of Servius Galba Caesar Augustus , thus making it part of the imperial title. Five days before his murder he adopted Piso Licinianus as his son and heir, renaming him as Servius Sulpicius Galba Caesar . After this Caesar came to denote the heir apparent, who would add the name to his own as heir and retain it upon accession as augustus . The only emperor not to assume it

13224-526: The first celebration well attested as having taken place was that of 249 BC, during the First Punic War . But even the historicity of the later republican Secular games of 249 and 146 is disputed. According to Varro , an antiquarian of the 1st century BC, the Games were introduced after a series of portents led to a consultation of the Sibylline Books by the quindecimviri . In accordance with

13376-412: The first emperor, whereas Julius Caesar is considered the last dictator of the Roman Republic , a view that is shared by the Roman writers Plutarch , Tacitus , and Cassius Dio . Conversely, the majority of Roman writers, including Pliny the Younger , Suetonius and Appian , as well as most of the ordinary people of the Empire, thought of Julius Caesar as the first emperor. Caesar did indeed rule

13528-417: The granting of tribunicia potestas in 23 BC, these were only ratifications of the powers he already possessed. Most modern historians use 27 BC as the start date of the Roman Empire. This is mostly a symbolic date, as the Republic had essentially disappeared many years earlier. Ancient writers often ignore the legal implications of Augustus' reforms and simply write that he "ruled" Rome following

13680-414: The highest imperial title, it was generally not used to indicate the office of Emperor itself, as ordinary people and writers had become accustomed to Imperator . In the East the title was initially translated as Sebastos , but the form Augoustos eventually became more common. Emperors after Heraclius styled themselves as Basileus , but Augoustos still remained in use in a lesser form up until

13832-445: The highest importance in the Republic, making the power attached to those offices permanent, and preventing anyone with similar aspirations from accumulating or maintaining power for themselves. Julius Caesar had been pontifex maximus since 64 BC; held the offices of consul and dictator five times since 59 BC, and was appointed dictator in perpetuity in 44 BC, shortly before his assassination . He had also become

13984-489: The instructions contained in these books, sacrifices were offered at the Tarentum on the Campus Martius over three nights, to the underworld deities of Dis Pater and Proserpina . Varro also states that a vow was made that the Games would be repeated every hundred years, and another celebration did indeed take place in either 149 or 146 BC, at the time of the Third Punic War . However, Beard, North and Price suggest that

14136-459: The loyalty of most of his allies, and – again through a formal process of senatorial consent – an increasing number of the titles and offices that had accrued to Caesar. In August 43 BC, following the death of both consuls of the year , Octavian marched to Rome and forced the Senate to elect him consul. He then formed the Second Triumvirate alongside Mark Antony and Lepidus , dividing

14288-421: The main title of the emperor. According to Suetonius , it was "not merely a new title but a more honorable one, inasmuch as sacred places too, and those in which anything is consecrated by augural rites are called "august" ( augusta ), from the increase ( auctus ) in dignity". It was also connected to the religious practice of augury , which was itself linked to Rome's founding by Romulus , and to auctoritas ,

14440-429: The man who had contributed, directly or indirectly, to the ruin of his mother. On one occasion, Lollius offered to decapitate Tiberius if Gaius gave the word. Suetonius wrote that it was Lollius' growing influence that compelled Tiberius to plead with Augustus for his return to Rome. The next year, on 1 January, he entered the consulship in absentia with his brother-in-law, Lucius Aemilius Paullus , in accordance with

14592-467: The marginalization of the former heartland of Italy to the empire had a profound cultural impact on the empire and its emperor, which adopted a more Hellenistic character. The Eastern emperors continued to be recognized in the Western kingdoms until the accession of Irene (r. 797–802), the first empress regnant . The Italian heartland was recovered during the reign of Justinian I (r. 527–565), but this

14744-411: The most prominent of them: the consulship and censorship . This early period of the Empire is known as the " Principate ", derived from the title princeps used by the early emperors. The most important bases of the emperor's power were his supreme power of command ( imperium maius ) and tribunician power ( tribunicia potestas ) as personal qualities, separate from his public office. Originally,

14896-455: The murder of Caesar, or that he "ruled alone" after the death of Mark Antony. Most Romans thus simply saw the "emperor" as the individual that ruled the state, with no specific title or office attached to him. Augustus actively prepared his adopted son Tiberius to be his successor and pleaded his case to the Senate for inheritance on merit. After Augustus' death in AD 14, the Senate confirmed Tiberius as princeps and proclaimed him as

15048-447: The new augustus . Tiberius had already received imperium maius and tribunicia potestas in AD 4, becoming legally equal to Augustus but still subordinate to him in practice. The "imperial office" was thus not truly defined until the accession of Caligula , when all of Tiberius' powers were automatically transferred to him as a single, abstract position that was symbolized by his sacred title of augustus . The legal authority of

15200-518: The night-time sacrifices but was joined by Agrippa for those during the day. After the sacrifices of June 3, choirs of boys and girls sang the Carmen Saeculare , composed for the occasion by the poet Horace . This hymn was sung both on the Palatine and then on the Capitoline, but its words focus on the Palatine deities Apollo and Diana, which were more closely associated with Augustus. The hymn adds

15352-636: The nocturnal sacrifices on the Campus Martius now transferred to the Moerae (fates), the Ilythiae (goddesses of childbirth), and Terra Mater ("Mother Earth"). The Games of 17 BC also introduced day-time sacrifices to Roman deities on the Capitoline and Palatine hills. Certain sacrifices were unusually specified to be performed by married women. Each sacrifice was followed by theatrical performances. Later emperors held celebrations in AD 88 and 204, after intervals of roughly 110 years. However, they were also held by Claudius in AD 47 to celebrate

15504-580: The other patrician youths at the dedication of the Theatre of Marcellus . Also in 13   BC, Agrippa and Augustus returned to Rome. Augustus sent Agrippa to Pannonia at the end of 13 to suppress a rebellion. Agrippa arrived there that winter (in 12   BC), but the Pannonians gave up their plans. Agrippa returned to Campania in Italy, where he fell ill and died soon after. The death of Gaius' father made succession

15656-445: The position into one emperor in the West and one in the East , emperors ruled in an openly monarchic style. Although succession was generally hereditary, it was only hereditary if there was a suitable candidate acceptable to the army and the bureaucracy, so the principle of automatic inheritance was not adopted, which often led to several claimants to the throne . Despite this, elements of

15808-410: The powers of command where divided in consular imperium for Rome and proconsular imperium for the provinces . This division became obsolete in 19 BC, when Augustus was given consular imperium – despite leaving the consulship in 23 BC – and thus control over all troops. This overwhelming power was referred to as imperium maius to indicate its superiority to other holders of imperium , such as

15960-450: The presence of Gaius' army in Syria, which threatened Parthia. From every corner, the young consul was visited by envoys offering requests and paying homage. This year, monuments were raised to him and to his brother as the son of Ares or as Ares himself. His inexperience meant he was forced to rely on his companions, namely the unruly Lollius, who had taken advantage of the powers he held, and

16112-448: The protectors of the Church. The territorial divisions of the Tetrarchy were maintained, and for most of the following century the Empire was ruled by two senior emperors, one in the West (with Milan and later Ravenna as capital) and another in the East (with Constantinople as capital). This division became permanent on the death of Theodosius I in 395, when he was succeeded by his sons Honorius and Arcadius . The two halves of

16264-440: The recognition of the Senate. Other "usurpers" controlled, if briefly, the city of Rome, such as Nepotianus and Priscus Attalus . In the East, the possession of Constantinople was the essential element of legitimacy, yet some figures such as Procopius are treated as usurpers. Rival emperors who later gained recognition are not always considered legitimate either; Vetranio had the formal recognition by Constantius II yet he

16416-473: The region, whilst keeping Judaea from becoming powerful. Having settled matters in Judaea, the Emperor decided to deploy an army to Armenia to re-establish its status as a Roman protectorate and to show the eastern world that Rome held dominion over all land as far as the Euphrates . Due to his advanced age, Augustus was unable to travel to the east himself. There were few to whom the Emperor could entrust matters in

16568-461: The republican institutional framework (Senate, consuls, and magistrates) were preserved even after the end of the Western Empire. Constantine the Great , the first Christian emperor, moved the capital from Rome to Constantinople , formerly known as Byzantium , in 330 AD. Roman emperors had always held high religious offices; under Constantine there arose the specifically Christian idea that

16720-406: The reverence of the emperor, making anything related to him sacer (sacred). He declared himself Jovius , the son of Jupiter , and his partner Maximian was declared Herculius , son of Hercules . This divine claim was maintained after the rise of Christianity, as emperors regarded themselves as the chosen rulers of God. The emperor no longer needed the Senate to ratify his powers, so he became

16872-539: The same time, the throne of Armenia had become vacant and, with permission from the Emperor, Gaius placed Ariobarzanes II of Atropatene on the throne. The Romans weren't the only ones interested in Armenia: the Parthians stirred up a revolt among nationalists in the nation. A large force of rebels had occupied the fortress in the city of Artagira . Gaius was drawn into the conflict, and invaded Armenia in late August of 2 AD. He encountered no serious opposition as there were only

17024-454: The second half of the year, Gaius had advanced with his army to the Parthian frontier to an unknown spot and brought Phraates to a final agreement on the proposals, in which he renounced all claims to Armenia and all power over his half-brothers. It was about this time that Augustus passed through Judea and commended Gaius for not offering prayers at Jerusalem, as it would have been provocative to

17176-432: The sole responsibility of the decision. He convened a council of senators, among whom he included Gaius. The council decided to ratify the will brought by Archelaus, which included a large bequest to Augustus and his wife Livia . The cities of Judaea rose in revolt after the procurator , Sabinus, garrisoned Syria Palaestina to guard the tens of millions of sesterces promised to the Emperor. The governor of Syria, Varus ,

17328-436: The sole source of law. These new laws were no longer shared publicly and were often given directly to the praetorian prefects – originally the emperor's bodyguard, but now the head of the new praetorian prefectures – or with private officials. The emperor's personal court and administration traveled alongside him, which further made the Senate's role redundant. Consuls continued to be appointed each year, but by this point, it

17480-409: The span of 18 months, the planned future of Rome was shaken. The deaths of both Gaius and Lucius, the Emperor's two most favoured heirs, led Augustus to adopt his stepson Tiberius and his sole remaining grandson Postumus as his new heirs on 26 June 4   AD. Many honors were heaped upon Gaius by citizens and city officials of the Empire, including Colonia Obsequens Iulia Pisana ( Pisa ), where it

17632-520: The summer, Augustus held the fifth-ever Ludi Saeculares ("Secular Games"). The adoption of the boys coupled with the games served to introduce a new era of peace – the Pax Augusta . That year his family left for the province of Syria , because Agrippa was given command of the eastern provinces with proconsular imperium maius . Four years later, in 13   BC, Gaius took part in the Trojan games with

17784-418: The title continued to be used for a time, with emperors registering the number of times they were hailed imperator . The title became the main appellation of the ruler by the time of Vespasian . After the Tetrarchy , emperors began to be addressed as dominus noster ("our Lord"), although imperator continued to be used. The appellation of dominus was known and rejected by Augustus, but ordinary men of

17936-525: The title of caesar . The Senate still exercised some power during this period, as evidenced by his decision to declare Nero a "public enemy", and did influence in the succession of emperors. Following the murder of Domitian in AD 96, the Senate declared Nerva , one of their own, as the new emperor. His "dynasty", the Antonine , continued the adoptive system until the reign of Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–180). Marcus

18088-468: The title of consul was Constans II , who was also the last Eastern emperor to visit Rome. It's possible that later emperors also used it as an honorary title, as the office of consul was not abolished until 892, during the reign of Leo VI . During the Dominate it became increasingly common for emperors to raise their children directly to augustus (emperor) instead of caesar (heir), probably because of

18240-418: The title was Junius Blaesus in AD 22, after which it became a title reserved solely for the sovereign. Augustus used Imperator instead of his first name ( praenomen ), becoming Imperator Caesar instead of Caesar Imperator . From this the title slowly became a synonym of the office, hence the word "emperor". Tiberius , Caligula and Claudius avoided using the title, but it is recorded that Caligula

18392-540: The title were Valentinian III and Marcian , in the 5th century. The only surviving document to directly refer to the emperor's power is the Lex de imperio Vespasiani , written shortly after Vespasian 's formal accession in December 69. The text, of which only the second part survives, states that Vespasian is allowed to: make treaties; hold sessions and propose motions to the Senate; hold extraordinary sessions with legislative power; endorse candidates in elections; expand

18544-409: The tribunes, such as sacrosanctity , since 36 BC. With this powers, he could veto any act or proposal of any magistrate, propose laws and convoke the Senate. His sacrosanctity also made him untouchable, and any offence against him could be treated as a crime of treason. The tribunician power was arguably the most stable and important of the emperor's powers. Despite being a perpetual title, it

18696-514: The triumph of Aemilius Paulus . It was a title held with great pride: Pompey was hailed imperator more than once, as was Sulla and Julius Caesar . However, as noted by Cassius Dio , the meaning of the title changed under the new monarchy, and came to denote "the possession of the supreme power". Both Dio and Suetonius refer to Caesar as the first one to assume imperator as a proper name (a praenomen imperatoris ), but this seems to be an anachronism . The last ordinary general to be awarded

18848-424: The twin characteristics of being Greek in nomenclature and without cult in the Roman state". The nocturnal sacrifices to Greek deities on the Campus Martius alternated with day-time sacrifices to Roman deities on the Capitoline and Palatine hills. The key roles were played by Augustus and his son-in-law Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa , in their capacity as members of the quindecimviri ; Augustus participated alone in

19000-507: The vague terms of "second" or "little emperor". Despite having a successful reign himself, Diocletian's tetrarchic system collapsed as soon as he retired in 305. Constantine I , the son of tetrarch Constantius I , reunited the empire in 324 and imposed the principle of hereditary succession which Diocletian intended to avoid. Constantine was also the first emperor to convert to Christianity , and emperors after him, especially after its officialization under Theodosius I , saw themselves as

19152-436: The wound did not seem serious and he was able to complete the pacification of Armenia, a relatively easy task. By the next year, 3   AD, he was entirely prostrated by the effects of his wound, had resigned his command, and withdrawn to Syria from where he informed Augustus that he had no further desire to take part in public life. The eastern campaign had proven severe: his health was weak and his mental balance unstable. At

19304-445: The young prince soon spread through Italy; statues and inscriptions were set up in every district to commemorate the fact that he had been nominated as a consul at an unprecedented age of fourteen. The following year (5   BC), when he attained military age, he assumed the toga virilis , and was introduced by Augustus to the Senate, who declared him as princeps iuventutis ("leader of the youth") and sevir turmae (commander of

19456-654: Was Constantine XI Palaiologos , who died during the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. After conquering the city, Ottoman sultans adopted the title " Caesar of the Romans" ( kayser-i Rûm ). A Byzantine group of claimant emperors existed in the Empire of Trebizond until its conquest by the Ottomans in 1461, although they had used a modified title since 1282. Modern historians conventionally regard Augustus as

19608-415: Was Vitellius , who adopted the name Germanicus instead. Most emperors used it as their nomen – with Imperator as their praenomen – until the reign of Antoninus Pius , when it permanently became part of the formula Imperator Caesar [full name] Augustus . In the 3rd century, caesars also received the honorific of nobilissimus ("most noble"), which later evolved into a separate title. During

19760-502: Was also used to distinguish a junior co-emperor ( basileus ) from his senior colleague ( basileus autokrator ). By the times of the Palaiologos , there were two distinct ceremonies for the accession of an emperor: first an acclamation as basileus , and later a coronation as autokrator (which also included being raised on a shield). These rites could happen years apart. The Eastern Empire became not only an absolute monarchy but also

19912-512: Was always renewed each year, which often coincided with the beginning of a new regnal year (although " regnal years " were not officially adopted until Justinian I ). The office of censor was not fully absorbed into the imperial office until the reign of Domitian , who declared himself "perpetual censor" ( censor perpetuus ) in AD 85. Before this, the title had been only used by Claudius (47), Vespasian and Titus (both in 73). The emperor also had power over religious affairs, which led to

20064-584: Was an early supporter of Augustus (then "Octavius") during the Final War of the Roman Republic that ensued as a result of the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC. He was a key general in Augustus' armies, commanding troops in pivotal battles against Mark Antony and Sextus Pompeius . From early on, Agrippa was trusted to handle affairs in the eastern provinces and was even given the signet ring of Augustus, who

20216-446: Was an office often occupied by the emperor himself, who now had complete control over the bureaucratic apparatus. Diocletian did preserve some Republican traditions, such as the tribunicia potestas . The last known emperor to have used it was Anastasius I , at the start of the 6th century. Anastasius was also the last attested emperor to use the traditional titles of proconsul and pater patriae . The last attested emperor to use

20368-401: Was by definition a plebeian , whereas Augustus, although born into a plebeian family, had become a patrician when he was adopted into the gens Julia . By adopting the role of a tribune, Augustus was presenting himself as the representative of the common man and the protector of democracy. As always, this was not a sudden grant of power; Augustus had been receiving several powers related to

20520-503: Was decreed that proper rites must be observed by matrons to lament his passing. Temples, public baths, and shops shut their doors as women wept inconsolably. To commemorate his brief life, a cenotaph was erected on the Limyrus River at Limyra in Lycia. Posthumously, the Senate voted honours for the young Caesars, and arranged for the golden spears and shields the boys had received on achieving

20672-455: Was followed by Septimius Severus in AD 204, 220 years from the actual Augustan celebration. On both occasions, the procedure used in 17 BC was followed closely. Antoninus Pius on 21 August 148 and Philip I in 248 followed Claudius in celebrating the 900- and 1000-year anniversaries of Rome's foundation, respectively. These involved rituals at the Temple of Venus and Roma instead of

20824-453: Was for the crime of extorting presents from kings ( regnum muneribus ) that Lollius lost the friendship of Gaius and drank poison. Pliny says he amassed a fortune from his crimes and that, as a result, his granddaughter could afford to wear jewelry worth 40,000,000 sesterces, a considerable amount of money. The death of Lollius was fortunate to Tiberius, after which Gaius consented to his return to Rome and consequent return to Roman politics. At

20976-515: Was forced to bring in the legions from Syria to restore order. At the same time, King Phraates IV of Parthia had seized Armenia with the help of Armenian nationalists, and expelled Tigranes IV , the king installed by Rome. Historian Ferrero speculates that Phraates may have been hoping to use Armenia as a bargaining chip to secure the release of his sons who were held captive by the Romans. Roman supremacy in Asia depended on its possession of Armenia as

21128-419: Was hailed imperator by the Senate on his accession, indicating that it was already considered an integral part of the dignity. It was not until the late reign of Nero , in AD 66, that imperator became once more part of the emperor's nomenclature. Virtually all emperors after him used the praenomen imperatoris , with only a few variations under his successors Galba and Vitellius . The original meaning of

21280-426: Was no distinction between emperors and usurpers, as many emperors started as rebels and were retroactively recognized as legitimate. The Lex de imperio Vespasiani explicitly states that all of Vespasian's actions are considered legal even if they happened before his recognition by the Senate. Ultimately, "legitimacy was a post factum phenomenon." Theodor Mommsen famously argued that "here has probably never been

21432-496: Was not relevant in the early Empire, although emperors still attempted to maintain a familiar connection between them; Tiberius , for example, married Julia the Elder , making him Augustus ' son-in-law. Vespasian , who took power after the collapse of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and the tumultuous Year of the Four Emperors , was the first emperor to openly declare his sons, Titus and Domitian , as his sole heirs, giving them

21584-407: Was overthrown and expelled to Dalmatia in favor of Romulus, continued to claim the title until his murder in 480. The Eastern court recognized this claim and Odoacer minted coins in his name, although he never managed to exercise real power. The death of Nepos left Zeno as the sole emperor of a (technically) reunited Roman Empire. The Roman Empire survived in the East for another 1000 years, but

21736-412: Was proclaimed emperor at the age of 4. Many child emperors such as Philip II or Diadumenian never succeeded their fathers. These co-emperors all had the same honors as their senior counterpart, but they did not share the actual government, hence why junior co-emperors are usually not counted as real emperors by modern or ancient historians. There was no title to denote the "junior" emperor; writers used

21888-413: Was replaced with dominus ("lord"); the use of princeps and dominus broadly symbolizes the differences in the empire's government, giving rise to the era designations Principate and Dominate . The title is still found in some later sources, however. The poet Claudian , for example, describes Honorius as having been raised from " caesar " to " princeps " (instead of augustus ). The title survived

22040-491: Was reportedly holding towns, individuals, and even sovereign princes for ransom. After Gaius opened negotiations with Phraates, Lollius offered the Parthian king certain concessions in return for money. Preparations for the war continued into the spring and summer of 1   AD, at which point there had been a successful breakthrough in negotiations. As Phraates was not willing to go to war, he agreed to evacuate Armenia and abandon his brothers who were still in Roman captivity. In

22192-551: Was reverted by the end of the century. Rome technically remained under imperial control , but was completely surrounded by the Lombards . Africa was lost to the Arabs in the early 7th century, and Rome eventually fell to the Lombards in 751, during the reign of Constantine V . The Frankish king Pepin the Short defeated them and received the favour of Pope Stephen II , who became the head of

22344-408: Was seemingly on his deathbed in 23 BC, a sign that he would become princeps were Augustus to die. However, as soon as he recovered, Augustus began to show he favored his nephew, Marcus Claudius Marcellus , then just 19. However, Marcellus died of an illness that had spread throughout the city of Rome that year. With Marcellus gone, Augustus arranged for the marriage of Agrippa to his daughter Julia

22496-545: Was suppressed by a tribune of the Praetorian Guard. It is very likely this man was part of Gaius' entourage, but other than that nothing is known of him. In the year following his consulship, in spring, he had held a meeting with Phraates on the bank of the Euphrates, in which a banquet was held to celebrate a peace treaty. It was here that Phraates, offended by Lollius, disclosed the guardian's secret negotiations to Gaius. It

22648-482: Was the first emperor to actually use the title of "Roman emperor" (βασιλεύς Ῥωμαίων, Basileus Romaíon ). This was a response to the new line of emperors created by Charlemagne – although he was recognized as basileus of the Franks . By the 9th century the full imperial title became " basileus and autokrator of the Romans", usually translated as "Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans". The title autokrator

22800-409: Was the first emperor to rule alongside other emperors, first with his adoptive brother Lucius Verus , who succeeded jointly with him, and later with his son Commodus , who was proclaimed co- augustus in 177. Despite being the son of a previous emperor and having nominally shared government with him, Commodus' rule ended with his murder at the hands of his own soldiers. From his death in 192 until

22952-602: Was the real "usurper" (having been proclaimed by his troops). There were no true objective legal criteria for being acclaimed emperor beyond acceptance by the Roman army , which was really the true basis of imperial power. Common methods used by emperors to assert claims of legitimacy, such as support of the army, blood connections (sometimes fictitious) to past emperors, distributing one's own coins or statues, and claims to pre-eminent virtue through propaganda, were pursued just as well by many usurpers as they were by legitimate emperors. Septimius Severus notably declared himself as

23104-408: Was the title used by early writers before the term imperator became popular. In his Res Gestae , Augustus explicitly refers to himself as the princeps senatus . The title was also sometimes given to heirs, in the form of princeps iuventutis ("first of the youth"), a term that continued to be used during the Tetrarchy . In the era of Diocletian and beyond, princeps fell into disuse and

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