Emperors Behaving Badly
The Julio-Claudians
Where the Trouble Started…
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Augustus unable to produce
heir
Died in 14 CE
"Alas for the Roman
people, to be ground by
jaws that crunch so
slowly!"
Tiberius Claudius Nero
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Augustus’ adopted son
Reigned from 14 to 37
CE
Never wanted to be
emperor
Failed at “playing
Augustus”
Bad Behavior in Public
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Treason trials
Rarely left Rome
Poorly managed provinces,
Spain in particular
Heavy Drinker- Biberius
Caldius Mero
Miser
Neglected Public Works,
Augustus’ Temple, Pompey’s
Theatre
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Theodorus- ‘mud, kneaded
with blood’
Maiestas
Daily executions
Nearly every crime became
punishable by death
Hated the games, cut back
funding
Established Praetorian
Guard, treated them better
than border soldiers
Private Problems
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Private “playhouse”
Pans and nymphs
His ‘minnows’
Few immune from his
desires
Had trouble trusting
people, despised his
mother
Afraid of thunder and
fish
More Succession Problems
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Tiberius withdrawn in
later years
Sejanus
No heir named,
immediate family dead
Two possible heirs,
Gaius Caesar and
Tiberius Gemellus
Died March 16, 37 CE
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus
(Caligula)
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Son of Germanicus, a great
Roman general
Nickname stuck- “little
soldiers’ boots”
Very popular with the masses
and soldiers
Reigned from 37 to 41 CE
“I am nursing a viper in
Rome’s bosom.”- Tiberius
No Problems at First
Caligula appeals to Roman people
 Recalled exiles
 Held banquets and gave many gifts
 Revived Public Works
 However, later in the same year he was
appointed, suffered a “brain fever”
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…Possibly Drove Him Insane
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Ships at Baiae
Replaced heads of statues of
gods with his own
Wore a wig and commoners’
clothes for ‘nightly activities’
Declared himself a living god
Cancelled some holidays
honoring Augustus
Incest- Drusilla
Killed several relatives,
painfully
More Exploits
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Hoped for natural disasters
Hated the handsome
Unfair taxes
‘Gather seashells!’
Stole from Alexander the
Great’s tomb
Created poisons in spare time
Tried to make Incitatus a
senator, leader of cult in his
honor
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Palace on the water
Emptied treasury
Altered the games
unexpectedly
Secretly killed people for fun
Foul language
Had people tortured while he
was eating
Hypocrite
Orgies
Caligula Assassinated…
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41 CE, Caligula violently
stabbed to death
Issue of succession
comes up again…
Augustus took special
measures to ensure that
Tiberius Claudius would
not become emperor
Only one ‘capable’ left
alive
Tiberius Claudius
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Reigned from 41 to 54
CE
Historians have differing
opinions on his character
Generally agreed that he
had some forms of
physical disabilities
Better than the Last Two..
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Erratic court behavior
Paranoid
Easily swayed by others
Killed thirty-five senators
and 300 equites
Gluttony
Sex addict
Bribery
Adopted Nero
Succession Once Again Disputed
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Claudius died in 54 CE
Senate was naturally
concerned with safety
Claudius named his
adoptive son Nero as
heir (Agrippina had a
strong hand in this)
Not many options…
Nero
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Became emperor at age
sixteen
Influenced by Agrippina
and Seneca early in reign.
Ruled from 54 to 68 CE
Promised to rule as
Augustus had
Difficult to discern fact
from fiction.
Nero’s Offenses
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Forced senators to do battle
in the gladiatorial games
Shows he put on were
dangerous at times
Would ignore pleas to return
to Rome
Would don a disguise and
attack men at night
Petty crimes
Forced his friends to throw
him parties
Opened numerous
temporary brothels
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Raped numerous people,
even a Vestal Virgin
Attacked private parts of
men and women bound to
stakes
Emptied treasury
Seized assets of those
‘disloyal’ to him
Matricide
Fratricide
Gruesomely killed aunt
Killed nobility to save
himself
Great Fire of Rome
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64 CE
Strongly suspected Nero
caused fire
“fiddled while Rome
burned”
Lasted six days, seven
nights
Persecution of Christians
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First emperor to do so
Would throw parties lit
by Christians on burning
crosses
Blamed fire on them
Suspicious due to their
strange rituals and
monotheism
End of Julio-Claudians
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Nero committed suicide
in 68 CE
No living male relatives
Start of Flavian dynasty
soon to follow
Rome may never have
truly recovered
Start of Flavian dynasty
under Vespasian
Legacy of Julio-Claudians
The End
“Bear in mind that I can do anything I
want to anyone I want!” - Caligula