Background
His original name was Simon in Greek (or the Hebrew variant Shimon), and he was one of the most prominent of Jesus’ original twelve disciples. Like his brother, Andrew, and another of Jesus’ disciple Philip, Peter was originally from a place called Continue reading Peter, Apostle
The central Mexican city of Teotihuacan came a long way from a small settlement in the Valley of Mexico to a mega-city that rivaled Rome as well as the Han capitals of Chang’an and Luoyang. Teotihuacan reached its peak in 450 BC according to the Bible Timeline Poster with World History. At its height, it was one of the largest New World cities with a population that ranged anywhere between 75,000 and 200,000 people and encompassed an area of 20 to 30 sq km.
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Teotihuacan was a cosmopolitan city, often visited by pilgrims who worshiped at its famed ceremonial centers and merchants for trade. The rich soil of the Valley of Mexico allowed the people to cultivate crops that sustained the large population in the city and the villages that surrounded it; while obsidian, a volcanic glass used in rituals or weaponry was a precious commodity in the long-distance trade between Teotihuacan and other Mesoamerican cities.
The political, military, and trade influence of Teotihuacan at its peak spanned from the city to the Oaxaca highlands to the Maya lowland and highland regions in Mexico and Guatemala. Traces of Teotihuacan’s power were found in the city of Tikal located deep in the Guatemalan lowlands as well as the Maya highland city of Kaminaljuyu. It also influenced the Zapotec capital of Monte Alban. The Maya cities were probably controlled by Teotihuacan’s elite through the pochteca, long-distance traders who were sometimes deployed as spies for their wide knowledge about the cities they visited.
Monte Alban became the capital of the mysterious Zapotec civilization during the Classic Period and at its peak (400 AD), it was one of the largest cities in the southern Mexican highlands. It is recorded on the Biblical Timeline Poster with World History starting around 100 – 200 AD. The population climaxed around 15,000 people. It was at this time when the state was at its most prosperous, characterized by massive structures built, as well as expansion through political alliances and trade.
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The expansion of the Zapotec influence that started centuries before grew steadily during the early Classic Period, which reached the northern Tehuacan Valley in the Puebla region to the southern coast of the Pacific. Forty stone slabs carved with place names that were conquered by the Zapotecs were found in Building J on Monte Alban’s Main Plaza. While Zapotec-style ceramics were found in settlements beyond the Oaxaca Valley—proof of how wide the influence of Monte Alban was at that time.
The interaction and influences were not a one-way street as the distant central Mexican city of Teotihuacan also influenced the Zapotecs (probably through political alliance). Teotihuacan’s influence on Monte Alban could be seen from the remnants of the talud-tablero style of architecture, I-shaped ball court, distinct funerary paintings, and more sophisticated pottery design that was mixed with the Zapotec style of gray ware ceramics.
The city of Tikal in modern-day Guatemala started as a small farming village around 600 BC and gradually grew into a Maya megacity by the first century AD. It competed with the Maya city of El Mirador for domination until the latter’s decline and Tikal filled the vacuum of power left by its neighboring city. Its leaders launched conquests to the surrounding Maya cities for domination, which included Naranjo, Rio Azul, and Uaxactun. This event is recorded on the Biblical Timeline Chart with World History around 378 AD.
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In 378 AD, Tikal was conquered by Siyaj K’ak’ (whose name means “Born of Fire”). Siyaj K’ak’ was originally from the Central Mexican city of Teotihuacan. He took over the city violently as shown by the mutilated and broken stelae recovered from Tikal from this period. He also killed the city’s ruler Chak Tok Ich’aak I or Great Jaguar Paw during this campaign. Now that he had full control of Tikal, he set his sight into Uaxactun, a city 12 miles north of his newly-conquered one.
In the same year, Siyaj K’ak’ invaded the city of Uaxactun, captured its ruler, and executed him as a human sacrifice. The Uaxactun Stela 5 was carved to commemorate Siyaj K’ak’s conquest of the city and not far from the stela was the tomb of several people who were killed during the invasion. The tomb contained the bones of the wives of Uaxactun’s former ruler (one of whom was pregnant), as well as two children. Uaxactun was absorbed by Tikal after this conquest.
Teotihuacan, located in what is now central Mexico, was one of the most powerful cities in the New World. At its peak, it extended its influence over the distant Maya highlands. According to the Bible Timeline with World History, this occurred around the beginning of the 3rd century AD. Particularly the cities of Tonina in Mexico, as well as Kaminaljuyu and Iximche in Guatemala.
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Kaminaljuyu was one of the cities that saw the rise and influence of Teotihuacan, a massive Maya city located in the central highlands of Guatemala. Traces of the Esperanza culture (an offshoot of Teotihuacan) were found in the excavation of Kaminaljuyu. The architectural style of talud-tablero (sloping and vertical panels) and its burial practices are a prime example. It was possible that the immigrants or invaders from central Mexico brought with them their own architects so that a replica of the structures of Teotihuacan were built in Kaminaljuyu.
The Esperanza culture burials in Kaminaljuyu was a treasure trove of information about Teotihuacan influence in the Maya highlands. Recovered from the tombs were Teotihuacan-style pottery, a combination of Maya and Teotihuacan pottery, and pottery from the neighboring Maya lowland region (Peten). A slate mirror from the Veracruz culture, jade jewelry, shells, metates, and other artifacts were also recovered from the tombs. Up to what extent it exercised its influence over these cities is still being debated by Maya historians.
The pre-Columbian Huastec civilization flourished near the coast of the Gulf of Mexico in what is now the state of Veracruz. It is not as popular as other Mesoamerican civilizations, but it is no less as intriguing as the Olmec, Maya, Zapotec, Aztec, and other Mesoamerican civilizations. The Huastec cities shared many traits with other civilizations which include the construction of pyramids, ball courts, plazas, not to mention canal systems that allowed the people to improve the cultivation of food in a tropical environment. This is recorded on the Bible Timeline with World History starting around 325 AD.
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One of the major cities of the Huastec civilization was El Tajin with a sizable population at its peak. To support the needs of the people who lived in or near the city, the surrounding areas were used for the cultivation of Mesoamerican food staples such as maize, squash, and beans. Elevated canals were constructed to divert fresh water and irrigate the raised fields as shown by the canal systems located in areas under the control of El Tajin.
Santa Luisa in Veracruz was one of the food production centers which supplied these staple foods to the people of El Tajin. With the construction of canal systems and catchment terraces on the hills. The Huastec also used the canals to distribute surface run-off from flooded areas to irrigate their fields.
Background
Rome was at its lowest point during the rule of the Military Emperors (235-284 AD according to the Bible Timeline with World History). In a period of 49 years, fourteen people held the title of emperor, most of whom seized and consolidated their powers through their command of the military. The years of the soldier emperors were characterized by instability, civil war, political turmoil, and poverty. It was also a period when the Germanic tribes and Rome’s long-time nemesis, the Persians, stepped up their invasion of Roman territories.
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The rule of the Military Emperors and the weakness that came with it was the result of a combination of complex problems that hounded the empire for a long time. The population of Rome decreased after the repeated invasions of the Germanic tribes and Persians. At the same time, the bad financial policies the previous leaders imposed took its toll on the empire and its citizens. The rulers themselves depended on the military to keep them in power, but the high cost of maintaining a private army and the lack of available Roman soldiers pushed them to recruit men from the outlying provinces. This policy was problematic, as the new soldiers who were not of Roman descent, were not compelled to loyalty.
As Rome’s economy slowed down, trade also declined and many workers remained unemployed. Corruption, tax evasion, and inflation were also rampant. Farmers abandoned their lands and became tenants to larger ones instead. Others chose the life of banditry if being a tenant farmer did not work out.
Soldier Emperors
The first of the soldier emperors was Maximinus Thrax who rose as emperor in 235 AD. He was chosen by the Praetorian Guard and confirmed by the Roman Senate. Maximinus was born in a village in Thrace from parents who were peasants. He started his career in the army during the reign of Septimus Severus. Coup attempts were frequent during his reign, but he was capable enough as an army commander as he helped drive back the Germans who invaded the Roman frontier.
Maximinus’ popularity plummeted when he increased taxes during his reign. He was so unpopular the Romans in the province of North Africa pushed the senate to proclaim the proconsul Gordian I as emperor. This was granted (with his son Gordian II as co-emperor because of his father’s advanced age). However, Capelianus, the governor of the province of Numidia and loyal ally of Maximinus, killed Gordian II in the Battle of Carthage. The elderly Gordian killed himself after hearing of the tragic end of his son.
After the death of Gordian and his son, the senate decided to give leadership to senators Balbinus and Pupienus while Maximinus was still emperor. Maximinus decided to return from Pannonia to confront the new “emperors.” Maximinus was killed by the soldiers of the Second Parthian Legion while he and his troops besieged the Roman city of Aquileia.
Balbinus and Pupienus were suspicious of each other from the start of their reign. It escalated into full-blown mutual hatred as the months passed. Both were unpopular with the Roman soldiers from the preferential treatment they gave to the German guards. Because of this, they were assassinated when the Praetorian Guard stormed the palace. This was only stopped when the German bodyguards decided to attack. Their antagonism of each other was so great that until the last minute, Balbinus and Pupienus argued on what they should do during the attack. Gordian III, the teenage grandson of Gordian II, replaced them and was approved by the Senate, the Roman soldiers, and the people.
The new Roman emperor Gordian III married the daughter of the prefect of the Praetorian Guard Timesitheus. She then ruled Rome on Gordian’s behalf. His father-in-law died years later and the young emperor was left to face on his own the Persian king Shapur I who invaded Mesopotamia. Philip the Arab, one of the prefects of the Praetorian Guard (the other being his brother Priscus, also an important official), led the battle in Mesopotamia as a regent of Gordian III. The young emperor died later on in Mesopotamia under questionable circumstances. It was said that Philip fabricated intrigue to have Gordian removed from the position of emperor. While in a foreign land, had him murdered, and sent a letter back to Rome that the previous emperor died of an illness. Philip had himself proclaimed by the Senate as emperor right after Gordian’s death and had the tragic boy emperor deified.
Philip proved himself a competent military leader when he negotiated peace with Shapur instead of an engagement in a long war that would have further strained the Roman economy. It was during Philip’s reign that Rome celebrated its 1,000th anniversary. However, the Germanic tribes invaded the Roman frontier in the north once again and Philip was forced to send Decius, a former senator, and consul, to counter the attacks. Decius was hailed as the emperor by the soldiers in the Danube front and he defeated Philip soon after to become the sole emperor.
Decius was known for two things: the bolder, more frequent invasion of Goths into the Roman territory and his persecution of Christians. He was killed in the Battle of Abritus against the Goths along with his son and co-emperor Herennius Etruscus. Decius was followed by his younger son, Hostilian, as emperor, but he would later die by the plague of Cyprian. Trebonianus Gallus, a general and co-emperor with Decius, took over. Gallus reigned only for a total of two years and he made his son, Volusianus, a co-emperor. His rule was marred by the invasion of the Persians in Armenia and the Goths in the Danube.
They were defeated by Aemilian, the governor of Moesia. He was proclaimed emperor soon after. Gallus was assassinated by his own troops while they stationed in the Upper Rhine. Then they proclaimed their commander, Valerian, as the new emperor. Aemilian reigned only for three months and he was killed by his own soldiers when they were on the brink of defeat by Valerian’s troops in a battle near Spoleto.
Valerian divided the responsibilities of the emperor between himself and his son, Gallienus. The father led the troops that fought successfully in the east while Gallienus became commander of the Roman legion in the west. But Valerian was forced to retreat and negotiate with Shapur when a plague cut off the size of his army. Unfortunately, Shapur decided to kill the bodyguards who went with Valerian and he became the first Roman emperor taken as captive.
While Valerian was a prisoner of war in Persia, the Germanic tribes that threatened Rome’s frontiers invaded once again and the perceived weakness of the empire pushed some provinces to declare their own independence. His son Gallienus was murdered by one of his soldiers and Valerian was killed in Persia soon after—a brutal punishment the third century Christians whom Valerian persecuted thought he rightfully deserved.
Claudius II Gothicus, another former soldier, took on the role as emperor after the death of Valerian and Gallienus. He reigned only for more than one year before he died of the plague and was replaced by his brother, Quintillus who reigned only for more than 100 days before he, too, died for unknown reasons. Another soldier, Aurelian, was declared as emperor by his troops. He brought a little of Rome’s former stability back by instilling discipline in the army. He also had a wall built around the city—an acknowledgment that Rome was not the secure city it once was. After a reign of five years, the Praetorian Guard assassinated Aurelian in Thrace.
Six more emperors (Tacitus, Florian, Probus, Carus, Numerian, and Carinus) followed Aurelian and all of them met violent deaths. The rule of the Military Emperors would be replaced by the Tetrarchy (leadership of four people) which started when emperor Diocletian ascended into power.
The Emperors of Adoption were made up of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty rulers who passed the domination of Rome not to their own relatives but through adoption (as the name implies). This is listed on the Biblical Timeline with World History starting around 100 AD. Five of the seven emperors were adopted by the former emperor, with the exception of the first and last ones. This concept was not unique to this dynasty as Augustus adopted his son-in-law Tiberius and Claudius adopted his grand-nephew Nero during the rule of the Julian dynasty.
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Rome was prosperous during the reign of the Emperors of Adoption. The policy of adoption was widely credited for the stability the Romans experienced during this era. This, for the most part, was based on merit—an outright rejection of the Julian dynasty’s preference to blood relatives as next rulers which, most of the time, led to a bloody reign.
Nerva
The assassination of Emperor Domitian became the end of the short-lived Flavian dynasty. He was replaced immediately by former consul Nerva. The Senate had done so because Nerva came from a family of senators and they wanted to prevent another civil war. However, his reign would be short-lived—less than two years—as some of the Praetorian Guards who remained loyal to Domitian threatened him with death. He was spared, but those who took part in the assassination of Domitian were not. Petronius, a prefect of the Praetorian Guard and Parthenius, the former emperor’s chamberlain, were both were quickly killed.
This event shook Nerva to the core; he decided to start the retreat into private life and adopted the governor of Upper Rhine, Trajan, as his heir since he had no sons of his own. Although his rule was too short and wracked with chaos during the earliest months, he was credited as the one who started Rome on the path to stability. On January 28, 98 AD, Nerva died from a fever and Trajan rose as Rome’s new emperor.
Trajan
Trajan was stationed near the Rhine river in Germany when Nerva died. After the news had reached him of the death, he secured the northern borders of the empire before he journeyed back home. It took him eighteen months to wrap this up, and when he arrived in Rome, he ushered in the start of stability and prosperity that characterized the reign of the Emperors of Adoption.
Nerva’s choice was a good one as Trajan was one of the finest Emperors Rome ever had. He focused on the improvement of Rome’s roads, sewage system, and harbors. In addition, he extended the empire’s territories through military campaigns in Asia and Europe. This leadership endeared him to the Roman soldiers as well as its citizens. He was honored with the Trajan’s Column, which depicts his victory in the Dacian Wars. He respected the Roman Senate—the complete opposite of the autocratic Julian dynasty emperors, who frequently disregarded the opinions of the Senate.
The number of Christians rose during the time of Trajan, but so did the oppression of the Jewish population and the revolts that followed. Pliny the Younger, then governor of the provinces of Bythinia and Pontus, wrote to him about how he should deal with the Christians. Trajan’s policy was simple and more lenient than the previous emperors’ as shown by his response to Pliny:
“They are not to be sought out; if they are denounced and proved guilty, they are to be punished, with this reservation, that whoever denies that he is a Christian and really proves it—that is, by worshiping our gods—even though he was under suspicion in the past, shall obtain pardon through repentance. But anonymously posted accusations ought to have no place in any prosecution. For this is both a dangerous kind of precedent and out of keeping with the spirit of our age.”
He campaigned against Parthia, Armenia, and Mesopotamia, and quashed the Jewish rebellion in Palestine. It was during his time when Rome expanded to its fullest extent, but the brutal repression of the Jews marred his reputation as a good ruler. He personally led a military campaign as far as Ctesiphon against the Parthian empire. He then decided to withdraw his troops and go back to Rome. Trajan, however, would never see Rome again as he died in Cilicia from a stroke at the age of sixty-four.
Hadrian
Hadrian was the governor of Syria when Trajan died, and he hurried to Rome to secure his succession as the new emperor. The Roman Senate had no other choice, as Trajan adopted Hadrian years before. His path to succession was sufficiently greased with generous contributions to the Praetorian Guard.
Much of the Roman world experienced stability and prosperity during his reign, except for Judaea where another revolt boiled over. This was started after Hadrian attempted to build a temple of Jupiter on the grounds of the Second Temple. This revolt was led by Simon Bar Kokhba. However, he and the Jewish forces were up against the more powerful Roman legion. They were first deprived of food, and many were massacred. Then territories of Judaea, Galilee, and Samaria were combined into the province of Syria Palaestina.
The empire’s expansion stopped during the reign of Hadrian, and he had the Romans in Britain construct the famous Hadrian’s Wall to make a clear statement to the Picts and other Celtic tribes from the north. This set the boundary of Rome which should not crossed. It stood twenty feet high and took approximately ten years to finish.
Hadrian died at the age of 62 after a heart attack, but not before he adopted Antoninus Pius as his heir on the condition of the latter’s adoption of the future emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus.
Antoninus Pius
The reign of Antoninus Pius was unexpectedly long—more than what Hadrian had bargained for when he adopted the middle-aged Antoninus Pius as a safer bet instead of his first choice: the younger Marcus Aurelius (who was just 16 at the time of Hadrian’s death). But to Roman citizens’ relief, his reign was generally peaceful though uneventful. With the exception of a big celebration of Rome’s 900th anniversary. He was also named as ‘Pius’ for his reverence to Hadrian and his wife, Faustina—both of whom he deified. Antoninus also smoothed Marcus Aurelius’ path to succession by his adopted son’s marriage to his daughter, Faustina the Younger. He died in 161 AD after a twenty-three-year reign.
Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus
Marcus Aurelius was already forty years old when Antoninus Pius died, and he came to the throne somewhat reluctantly. He had the heart of a philosopher and scholar who, it seemed, was pushed by his adoptive father, Hadrian, and the Roman Senate to take the position as emperor. He lacked the enthusiasm for the role, and he appointed as co-emperor his adoptive brother Lucius Verus.
Marcus Aurelius remained in Rome while Lucius Verus went off to war against Parthian king Vologases IV in Armenia. Lucius’ troops took back Armenia, captured the Parthian city of Ctesiphon, and marched back to Rome. They, however, brought home a more dangerous threat than the Parthians—the plague.
The Antonine plague (most likely smallpox) came with symptoms such as a sore throat, pustules, and fever. It raged in the city for three years and obliterated a great portion of the population including the Roman troops. The tribes on the other side of the Danube river used the opportunity to invade Roman territories in the north. Both emperors decided to head to the front and lead the troops themselves. However, the tribes were repelled even before they reached their destination, so they turned back home. Lucius Verus died on the way back, and Marcus Aurelius buried his adoptive brother with full honors in Rome before he returned to the Danube. It was there, in the chaotic Danube front, that he had the time to think about philosophy and wrote the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius. There, he declared his unhappiness with the burden of being an emperor, but he bore it with saintliness and sense of responsibility that endeared him to the Romans.
Marcus Aurelius broke off the adoption policy that the emperors before him used to secure the succession and appointed his son Commodus as co-emperor at the age of fifteen. He died in 180 AD, possibly from cancer, on the German front.
Commodus
If there’s one emperor who could compete with Caligula and Nero when it comes to madness and corruption, it would be Commodus, the son of the saintly Marcus Aurelius. He was the direct opposite of his father. It was rumored that Marcus Aurelius was not his father and that he was the product of his mother’s affair (of which there were many) with a gladiator.
As the son of an emperor, Commodus received the best possible education Rome could offer its citizens. But all the years of education was useless as he neglected Rome during his reign and gave the duties of the emperor to his favorites. He devoted his life to leisure and gladiatorial contests where he displayed excessive brutality to wounded soldiers, people with disabilities, and animals. It appeared that he sank deeper into insanity when he proclaimed that he was the reincarnation of Hercules, and he walked around the city dressed in a lion cloak with a club (just like the Nemean Lion of Hercules’ Twelve Labors). He also executed those who conspired to assassinate him in 182 AD, including his older sister Lucilla.
He neglected his duties and spent so much money on these gladiatorial contests that the Roman economy was strained during his reign. The people finally had enough and in 192 AD, he was poisoned by his concubine Marcia and his chamberlain Electus in his bath. When this failed, they brought in Narcissus, his wrestling partner and had Commodus strangled to death.
Year of the Four Emperors
The death of the tyrant Nero signaled the end of the domination of the Julian dynasty over the Roman world. This led to the Flavian Dynasty starting around 69 AD according to the Biblical Timeline Chart with World History. As the rule of one dynasty ended, competition rose among Roman factions once again to see who would dominate this vast empire. One of those who were successful (temporarily) was the ex-consul Galba, who also had the backing of Roman troops. He was supported by Otho, the governor of Lusitania and the ex-husband of Nero’s wife Poppaea, who offered his own troops in addition to Galba’s.
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Galba was removed from the position of Imperator when Roman soldiers who supported him switched sides to Otho. This was due to Galba’s failure to pay them for their support. He was killed in the Roman Forum, and he was replaced with his former ally Otho, whom the Senate immediately confirmed as princeps as well as imperator. However, it seemed that Otho was never destined for happy endings. As soon as he came to rule, a rebellion brewed within the troops stationed in the German territory of the empire under the command of a general named Vitellius. After a reign of just three months as emperor, Otho’s troops were defeated at the Battle of Cremona, and he committed suicide to avert a full-scale civil war. Otho was replaced by Vitellius, who, unfortunately for Rome, was cut from the same cloth as the overindulgent emperors before him. He dissolved the Praetorian Guard and installed his own loyal men to protect him, which earned the anger of those who lost their positions. Like Galba and other Julian emperors, he also indulged in vice excessively which earned resentment of the soldiers who fought for him. The unhappy Roman legions from the east decided to support Vespasian, then governor of Syria, to replace Vitellius as imperator.
Vespasian
Meanwhile, as governor, Vespasian succeeded in putting down a rebellion in Judaea led by the Jewish rebels called the Zealots. He and his son Titus had driven the rebels into Jerusalem, and his troops (without Vespasian himself) marched to Rome to help him to the throne. Vitellius’ troops were defeated in Cremona by Vespasian’s troops, and they later caught up with Vitellius and killed him. Vespasian was proclaimed as princeps by the Roman Senate. However, he waited until the rebellion in Judaea was successfully quashed before he traveled to Rome to accept his new position. Before he left for Rome in 70 AD, Jerusalem was only a shadow of its former glory; the city walls were broken down and the Second Temple was destroyed by fire.
Vespasian showed his shrewdness when he reshuffled the commanders of the troops to prevent them from banding against him. Additionally, he lowered taxes and did not use treason trials to condemn his enemies. These strategies were so effective that the Roman empire was generally peaceful and stable under his rule. With the exception of the province of Judaea where a revolt reached its climax in the fortress of Masada. The members of the Sicarii, an extremist branch of the Zealots, were besieged by the Romans in the fortress of Masada for years. When the fortress was finally breached, the rebels (along with their families) committed mass suicide. Judaea and the whole of Palestine became provinces of Syria soon after.
Vespasian died of natural causes in 79 AD, and his son Titus was confirmed as heir immediately.
Titus
Titus was the commander of Roman troops during the time of the First Jewish-Roman War. He had a reputation for ruthlessness in dealing with his enemies. This cruelty was probably out of necessity as he made a complete turnaround when he was proclaimed as princeps. His administration was orderly, and Rome was stable during the first few months of his reign. Unfortunately, disaster after disaster struck Rome during Titus’ short reign.
First was the eruption of Mount Vesuvius which killed more than two thousand people. Then the fire which ravaged a great section of Rome, and finally, an epidemic which took the lives of what remained of the refugees. Titus had reigned for three short, yet tragic years before he died of a fever at the age of forty-two in 81 AD.
Domitian
The Praetorian Guard and the Roman Senate had no choice but proclaimed Domitian as imperator and princeps upon the death of his brother Titus. He was a just ruler who weeded out corruption in the government. He also policed public morals to the point of severity (he had a Vestal Virgin buried alive when he discovered her affairs). He proclaimed that he was now “Lord and God” of the Romans and issued an order that he should be addressed in both titles. Although he was not as cruel as the emperors that came before him, this rigidity choked the Roman citizens who gradually resented his tight-fisted administration.
This resentment would finally push his own chamberlain, his niece, and the leader of the Praetorian Guard to conspire against him. In 96 AD, Domitian was stabbed to death by Stephanus, the steward of his niece Flavia Domitilla whose husband Domitian executed for atheism.
According to the Bible Timeline Chart with World History, the Julians ruled Rome around the time of Christ. Listed below are the names of those that reigned under that name, followed by a summary of each one. Each one ends up worse than the next and wickedness soon leads to their downfall.
Augustus (Octavian)
The assassination of Julius Caesar left Rome without a clear ruler. Various claimants (including Caesar’s adopted nephew Brutus, his general Mark Antony, and his grand-nephew Octavian) fought for power. Octavian (later called Augustus) emerged as the clear winner in this three-way contest for domination of Rome in 30 BC (four-way if Mark Antony’s former ally Lepidus was included).
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But there was one thing that stood in the way of Octavian’s total rule of Rome: its Senate. It was likely that he would need to say goodbye to his ambition of dominating Rome if he were to go openly against the Roman Senate. He pretended to respect it and in return, the Senate allowed him to remain as consul. He also received extraordinary powers over the provinces as well as the troops that were stationed there. Octavian was allowed to create the Praetorian Guard, which seemed like a simple group of bodyguards at first, but it eventually grew to be his own private army.
The Senate gave Octavian the title of Augustus in 29 BC. Although his official title was still that of a consul, he had all the powers of an emperor. He invented the title “princeps” which means “first one or leader”; a word that would later evolve into the word “prince”. The one thing that did not work out well for Augustus was his lack of an heir as he had no sons of his own. So he had his daughter marry her cousin Marcellus (who died after a year) and to a man named Agrippa (who also died) to produce the son that would be his heir. His quest for an heir led Augustus to marry Julia off to Tiberius, her stepbrother, but this was unsuccessful too. Julia’s sons with Agrippa died young while the youngest was so vicious that the possibility of making him an heir was out of the question. The only one left to be his heir was his stepson Tiberius and Augustus gave him more power as he aged. Tiberius was proclaimed as proconsul and princeps by the Senate, and Augustus died in 14 AD.
Tiberius
Augustus’ stepson Tiberius was well into middle age when he was confirmed as Rome’s princeps. He followed Augustus’ lead and repeatedly declined the recognition as head of state so he would not look too anxious for power. He finally accepted, when he saw the Senate’s exasperation with what looked like his humility. He was soon confirmed as the new head of state. Tiberius chose his nephew, Germanicus as his heir instead of his own son, Drusus. However, the death of Germanicus left him no choice but to make his son as the new heir. When Drusus died, Tiberius became despondent and left Rome for the island of Capri where he indulged in vice with other people.
In 31 BC, Tiberius brutally suppressed a rebellion led by the commander of the Praetorian Guard, Lucius Aelius Sejanus. Tiberius had the commander and his family killed along with hundreds of people who he thought had plotted against him. It was during Tiberius’ rule when Jesus of Nazareth upset the Jewish religious establishment with his teachings. He was later crucified under Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect of Judea, at the insistence of the Jewish high priests.
Tiberius lapsed into a coma after an injury to his shoulder, and his doctor gave him only a day to live. His intended successor, Caligula, was proclaimed as the new emperor but to their surprise, Tiberius recovered and asked for something to eat. Macro, the commander of the Praetorian guard and supporter of Caligula, smothered him with blankets to prevent a confusing and embarrassing situation.
Caligula
Caligula was the son of Tiberius’ nephew Germanicus, and he became emperor in 37 BC after Tiberius’ death. Rome breathed a sigh of relief when Caligula gave amnesty to political prisoners and initiated tax reforms even after he was given extraordinary powers by the Roman Senate. It seemed that peace was within reach during the reign of Caligula—the opposite of the turbulent years during Tiberius. Unfortunately, this peace would not last as Caligula was no less vicious as his predecessor and great-uncle Tiberius (even worse).
Murder, promiscuity, cruelty, and vice were ever present during Caligula’s reign; he did not even spare the members of his own family from his cruelty. The news of his madness persisted after he lavished gifts upon his prized horse, Incitatus, and wanted to appoint him as consul. Years later, Caligula got rid of the consuls as well as the Senate, which made Rome under the authority of an autocrat. His excessive cruelty continued and by 41 AD, he was murdered by the Praetorian Guard along with his wife and daughter.
Claudius
Caligula died without an heir, but his uncle, Claudius, had bribed the Praetorian Guard to support him in his ambition to be proclaimed as princeps. The Praetorian Guard had a lot to lose if they did not support him, so he was confirmed as princeps, high priest, and emperor days after the death of Caligula. Unfortunately for Rome and Claudius’ enemies, he was as vicious as the past emperors. He executed many of Rome’s senators and noblemen. The Roman troops were also successful in putting down the rebellion in Britain during Claudius’ reign.
Claudius had his wife, Messalina, executed after the discovery of her affair with another man and her part in a plot against him. He then married his niece Agrippina, adopted her son from a previous marriage, and renamed the boy as Nero. The emperor named the young boy as his heir, but the ambitious mother decided to poison Claudius after this to secure the position for her son.
Nero
Nero was just sixteen when Emperor Claudius died, and he was named as princeps after he bribed the Praetorian guards to secure his succession. Wary of any rival to his domination, he ordered the execution of Britannicus, Claudius’ son with Messalina, as well as the exile of Agrippina, his own mother.
Nero’s first five years as emperor were generally peaceful, but insanity seemed to run in his family, and he sank to the same corruption that affected the emperors before him. He had his own mother killed, became increasingly corrupt, wasted Rome’s tax money on his vices, and resumed the notorious treason trials started by Caligula. In addition, the Roman troops in Britain also went on a rampage and cruelly suppressed the tribes that lived there. Because of this event, the Celtic queen Boudica took her revenge by killing off the Roman troops stationed in Camulodunum (modern Colchester). She and her allies were eventually defeated, but the Romans in Britain reconsidered their views of the local tribes after this event.
Back home, Nero became more erratic, and his insanity became worse during the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD. The Christians, long been a target for persecution, became Nero’s scapegoat for this event, and he punished them with a renewed viciousness that repelled the Romans even further. It was also during this time that the apostles Peter and Paul were condemned to death in Rome. Nero turned so mad that he killed his wife Poppaea (who was pregnant at that time) during a rage and had a young boy castrated afterward so he could marry him.
The Romans finally had enough and in 68 AD, the Praetorian guards conspired against Nero to get rid of him. According to Roman biographer Suetonius, he stabbed himself to death after he was forced to flee Rome. The death of Nero ended the reign of the Julians in Rome which was soon followed by the Four Emperors and the Flavian Dynasty.