The 4th and final emperor of the year 69AD. Was commander of the Roman armies in the east. He had been loyal to Otho but now that Otho is dead he sees and opportunity. He gets support of the army of the Danu. And the armies of Vespasion march on Italy. Vespasian is victory, he marches on Rome drags vitellius out of the palace and chops his head of in the Forum. He will restore peace and will establish a new ruling dynasty called the Flavians.

Midterm #2 Flashcards by Tasha Hunte

Caligula

37-41AD
Succeeds Tiberus bc he’s one of the few male members of Tiberus’ family left.
perhaps due to obsequious personality
picked him because he knew that he was insane and maybe his rule would be worse than Tiberius so people would say that Tiberius’s reign was actually good (April 22, Monday week 4 )
came to power in his teens (April 22, Monday week 4)
Lacked military and political experience
Rumored to have conspired with Macro to ascend the throne
1st half of reign: good. no more maiestas trials, state funds for games (gladitorial shows, plays, chariot races) - only the emperor and his family could put on games, senators no longer allowed
2nd half of reign: crazy. believed he was a god (replaced heads on statues of Jupiter with his own), paranoid, always in need of funds (prosecuted wealthy citizens to get $) - Lecture, 4/29
assassinated along with family under the hands of Cassius Chaerea

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Cassius Chaerea

41 AD
Julio-Claudian
prefect of the Praetorian Guard
knew Caligula at young age (older)
sexuality humiliated by Caligula (Suetonius, pg. 175 56.)
would have code words for the legions and Caligula would make these code words sexual or embarrassing to say (April 22, Monday week 4)
Man responsible for the assassination of Caligula

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Claudius

41-54AD
Julio-Claudian
Declared emperor by the Praetorian Guard because they don’t want Rome to return to a Republic
returning to republic meant going back to the frontier and actual fighting; also less pay and far from rome (April 29 Monday week 5)
precedent set: paying/buying loyalty of Praetorian Guard (+15,000 sesterces)
Only remaining member of Julio-Claudian Family. Not seen as a threat because of his stutter. Believed to have exaggerated handicap because it becomes apparent that he is smart and capable once he takes the throne
Conquers Britain - gets a triumph
Rules well and becomes deified after death (poisoned by Agrippina II so Nero can become emperor) - Lecture 4/29

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Pallas/Narcissus

-Tacitus 230-235.
“Narcissus: he was ab epistulis, in charge of correspondence, the most powerful and most obstinately loyal of the Claudian freedmen” (464). “Pallas: he had been a slave of Claudius’ mother Antonia. He was a rationibus, in charge of finances” (464). “Callistus: he had been a freedman of Caligula, who switched his allegiance to Claudius and was almost certainly involved in Caligula’s assassination. He was a libellis, in charge of petitions. He was noted for his prodigious wealth” (464). “… under Claudius it is freedmen like Narcissus and Pallas who seem to be shaping ‘policy’. As a consequence, Claudius does not have the forceful and dominant role of Tiberius” (p. xx).
“Callistus came together with … Narcissus … , and with Pallas, who was then at the height of his influence.” They came together to reveal Messalina’s infidelity to Claudius. Pallas backed out from fear, Callistus backed out due to caution. “Narcissus went ahead, making only one change: in no conversation would he let Messalina have any foreknowledge that she was being charged and who was accusing her” (231). Claudius was informed by witnesses that Messalina had married Silius, and other charges were brought to his attention, forcing him to address them in trail. Narcissus led most of the trial and arrests, and even presented the evidence. All the men involved with Messalina were executed. When Messalina died (by execution or suicide is unknown) Claudius was left extremely depressed. Narcissus was given the position of Quaestor, and was now superior to Callistus and Pallas. Tacitus hints that this decision led to “terrible consequences” (235).

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Messalina

48 AD
Claudius’ 4th wife
Promiscuous and unfaithful
Executed with lovers (Lecture 4/29)

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Agrippina II

Claudius’ niece and 5th wife, Caligula’s sister
intelligent and conspires against Claudius to secure Nero’s ascension
poisons and kills Claudius in 54 AD (Lecture 4/29)
Nero’s mother

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Nero

54-68
Becomes emperor at 15
1st 5 years of reign: government runs smoothly, Agrippina rules through Nero
Wants to rule on own, tries to kill Agrippina
Many failed attempts: poison, sinking ship, collapsing ceiling (wiley coyote territory here)
Finally hires someone to stab her
Regrets it later
Interests: actor, poet, singer, athlete (competed in Olympic Games)
Poor emperor, stayed in power because he had the support of the soldiers
No military glory of his own - grows concerned about provincial commanders
Asks Corbulo to commit suicide - he does
Asks Galba to commit suicide - he leads a revolt
Lecture 4/29
Rome suffered a great fire during his reign for which many people blamed him. Allegedly, “Nero fiddled while Rome burned”

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Pisonian Conspiracy

A conspiracy to assassinate Nero involving several senators and soldiers. A freed slave revealed the conspiracy to Nero causing all those involved, who might have been involved, or who had connections to those involved were executed or banished. The revealed conspiracy allowed Nero to get rid of several people who he didn’t like and who were a threat to him. Conspirators included: Annaeus Seneca, Gaius Piso, Claudius Senecio, Antonius Natalis, Scaevinus, Epicharis, Subrius Flavus, Annaeus Lucanus, and many others (Tacitus 361-375).

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Cn. Domitius Corbulo

68 AD
Committed suicide because Nero asked him to.
Successful general, Nero was threatened by his military glory. Lecture 4/29

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C. Julius Vindex

“Governor of Lugdunensis, initiated a major rebellion against Nero in 68, which was crushed by Verginius Rufus.” (Tacitus p. 498).. asked Galba to rebel and supported him militarily
(sertonius pg 247) Vindex was governor of Aquitania. Vindex asked galba to rebel and supported him militarily
“ (Cassius Dio, 63.22.1-2). In order to gain support, he declared his allegiance to the then governor of Hispania Tarraconensis, Servius Sulpicius Galba, as the new emperor. Vindex was defeated and killed by the commander of the Germania Superior army, Lucius Verginius Rufus, in a battle near Vesontio (modern Besançon).
By June 68, military support for Galba led to Nero committing suicide. Galba, acclaimed by the Senate, struck coins to commemorate Vindex, to whom he owed his position as emperor.

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Ser. Sulpicius Galba

-68-69 AD
governor of Spain for 8 years
claims principate after forcing Nero to commit suicide
kept power within Guard due to Nero’s failure to rotate generals
attempts to balance the budget made him an unpopular political figure
cuts government spending affecting:
Games (entertainment)
No bonuses for Praetorian Guard (loyalty)
does not recompense conspirators (Nero)

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M. Salvius Otho

69 AD
Governor of Lusitania (Portugal)
wife seduced by Caligula went sent
expected to succeed Galba but taken by surprise by Piso
assasinates Galba and promises Praetorian Guard a bonus once coronated
commits suicide after his troops lose to vitellus to spare Rome further civil war(Suetonius pg 260) the army was still loyal to him and eager to redeem their loss

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A. Vitellius

69 AD
commander of a legion in the Rhine
immediate rival to the throne
proclaimed emperor by PG, like Claudius
Defeats Otho at First Battle of Cremonia
beheads Otho at same forum where he killed Galba (professor)

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Vespasian

The 4th and final emperor of the year 69AD.
Was commander of the Roman armies in the east.
He had been loyal to Otho but now that Otho is dead he sees and opportunity.
He gets support of the army of the Danu.
And the armies of Vespasion march on Italy.
Vespasian is victory, he marches on Rome drags vitellius out of the palace and chops his head of in the Forum.
He will restore peace and will establish a new ruling dynasty called the Flavians.

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Titus

Vespasian’s son
he ruled with his father and was groomed to succeed him
Mt Vesuvius erupted during his reign
Died of natural causes.

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Domitian

81-96
Vespasian’s other son
Not groomed to reign which may have given him an inferiority complex leading to …
always working to increase his power, decrease the Senate’s power, and implementing a terror
Assassinated proving paraphrasing his words “even paranoids have enemies”
Last of the Flavian emperors

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Nerva

-96-98
Last of the Roman emperors from Italy.
First of the “five good emperors”
chosen by the Senate
faced a revolt by praetorian guard who invaded his house and killed the slaves who killed Domitian against the emperor’s will so…
he selected Trajan as a successor in part to secure the loyalty of the armies

Trajan

-98-117
First foreign emperor (born in Spain but a Roman citizen of course)
Expanded Roman empire to the maximum it would reach in terms of territory
Defeated Parthia
Rome’s most popular emperor
spent a lot of money building theatres temples etc in Rome and the rest of the the Empire

Dacian Wars

-provided the money trajan used for his public works projects
the roman engineers built a bridge across the danube which broke enemy morale
In the 1st war he subjugates Decebalus, king of Dacia, and quickly conquers Dacia.
In the 2nd war, Decebalus had refused to be servile to Rome and Trajan, so he revolts. Trajan and his engineers built a massive bridge that allowed them to crush the Dacians, Trajan kills Decebalus and installs a Roman as governor.

Parthian War

-114-117 and again in 161-166
in the first one Trajan conquered all the way to the persian gulf and the empire expanded to its peak. Trajan died on his way home from the war.
in the second one soldiers contract a plague which they spread through the empire during Aurelius’ reign
in both cases used Roman heavy infantry against Parthian heavy horse and light horse archers

Hadrian

-117-138
From Spain like Trajan, became a Roman citizen, father died when he was young
was raised by two men: Trajan and Acilius
he becomes emperor after Trajan supposedly adopts him and makes him his heir while on his deathbed.
first thing he does is pay the soldiers, and changes half of the pretorian guard to some of his own men.
decides empire is too big so he gives up the last provinces in the East that Trajan had taken over. would begin to build walls along all of the borders known as the limes, most famous of which was Hadrians wall that went across the northern part of England
spent over a decade traveling across the empire where he listened to all people, rich and poor. during the travels he built roads, aqueducts, churches, and inspected the construction of the limes.
was loved as the people as he modeled himself after Augustus by having a simple life. when he was traveling he would sleep in the same barracks as the soldiers and eat the same food as them which was not common as seen with Caligula. everyone saw him as an equal.
Had a philosopher’s beard.

Antoninus Pius

-138-161
loaned out his money at low interest rate to help as many as possible
pardoned men Hadrian had condemned
peace and prosperity throughout his reign arguably the best time to be a Roman citizen
agreed not to kill senators without a trial (LLC)
well loved by common and noble alike had no reported vices

M. Aurelius

Lived through very difficult times, during his reign Rome suffered through lots or wars and battles.
His reign marks the end of Pax Romana in Rome.
Was adopted by Antinius
Peaceful transition of power from Antinius
He inherited an Empire at the pinnical of it’s strength
Almost immediately bad stuff started to happen and he would spend almost his entire reign dealing with one big disaster after another.
The first big disaster was in 182 the Parthians invaded Rome.

L. Verus

-also adopted by Pius so was Aurelius’ brother
Recovered Armenia lead war against and eventually defeated Parthia
Co emperor with Aurelius but jr co emperor

Marcommanic Wars

-10 german tribes united under the leadership of the marcomanni and invaded the Empire First time foreign enemies were in Italy in 300 yrs (since Hannibal) Driven back 168-174 by Aurelius who had to stop for a year to put down the rebel Cassius Aurelius finished defeating them in 176-180. Most cities in the Empire had no walls so the destruction and looting was tremendous In the 2nd war he took the policy of expanding the empire, and led an onslaught against the Germans. He won many victories and created 2 new provinces. He might have succeeded in conquering the Germans had he not died.

Commodus

-180-192 son of marcus Aurelius an emperor like caligula and nero one of the worst disasters to befall Rome Discontinues the campaign against the Germans Rome’s decline and fall start with him performed as a gladiator which was inappropriate pursued pleasure and instigated a terror and had many vices Believed he was Hercules. Was assassinated, much like Nero.

Insulae

were apartment buildings. they are non existent in rome today. the tallest was known to be 13 stories high. the first floor would usually be stores and restaurants, the second floor would be residential, the best floors were usually 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. These floors were bigger, were built with better material (stone and concrete), had better amenities like ovens, running hot/cold water, and bathrooms. The higher floors the worse as they typically were smaller with no running water and no bathrooms. Were made of flimsy material and had to walk all the way up since there were no elevators. these buildings could collapse. Fires were also a problem.

Domus

- house. only the super wealthy could afford these homes. in all of Rome there were only 1832. most of these would be built on one of the seven hills. Palatine hill would be the most exclusive, but would slowly be taken over by the emperors. The homes had more sunlight than the insulaes were also a lot quieter and safer. Domus were built on the outside of the property, like the insulae, around an atrium. Had a huge opening in the center called the atrium where the family history would be displayed normally with the masks of the deceased. Here they would spend most of their free time together. Could have hundreds of slaves, running cold/hot water, bathrooms, and had a view.

Subura

the valleys between the hills where most of the population lived, like in manhattan. 20% of the land was Subura, and nearly all 1 million residents lived here.

Palatine Hill

- Palatine hill would be the most exclusive of the seven hills of Rome, most houses of famous romans were built here, but would slowly be taken over by the emperors.

Sesterces

- was the most common coin in Rome that was made of silver. It is estimated that the common Roman made about 1000 sesterce a year, which more than half would go to rent alone. 4 ass make 1 sesterce, 4 sesterce make 1 denari, 4 denari make 1 aureus.

Vicus

- meant the neighborhood. are by street with smaller alleyways connected to them. Streets were crowded. Aqueducts played a big role in the development of the vicus as it allowed the supply of water. All Romans streets were paved. Had an incredible sewer system that was flushed out by the aqueduct.

Thermae

- were bathhouses. were privately and publicly owned, the public ones owned by the state were the largest. many emperors built bathhouses to show to the citizens that they cared about their subjects. some had a fee but most were free. they had swimming pools, gyms, restaurants, and libraries. In the eyes of the common people this was a great place to go as it would be a place to socialize and be in the same room as the very wealthy. As Chrissanthos said “you can’t tell how rich a man is when he has no clothes on”.

Circus Maximus

- were the chariot races were held. there were professional race teams that were named after colors. blue and green were the most popular. there was free speech as the emperor would be there. it was a chance to speak directly to the emperor and influence his decisions.

Colosseum

was built by Vespasian. gladiator games would be held here, plays, and recreations of famous battles. Seats 50000

Pliny the Younger

-Suetonius’ patron | governor of Pontus and Bithynia 110-111 AD under trajan

Seneca

Roman philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work humorist, of the Silver Age of Latin literature. He was tutor and later advisor to emperor Nero. He was forced to commit suicide for aiding in the Pisonian conspiracy to assassinate Nero, the last of the Julio-Claudian emperors. He was probably innocent.

Plutarch

Roman author who made comparisons on the lives of famous romans with famous Greeks. NOT one of our primary sources for this quarter.

Suetonius

- Roman citizen from wealthy North African family wrote a history of first 12 roman emperors. had access to imperial archives and was in charge of imperial mail wrote both good and bad things which cost him this access and watered down his later writing -Kicked out of office by Hadrian, who became prideful about what was being written.

Tacitus

- He was a senator during the Flavian dynasty Roman citizen from a wealthy family. -Wrote the Annals, the Germanicus, and the histories. -Lived during the reigns of Nero to Trajan. Which embittered him about the fall of the republic, made him critical of the Julio-Claudian emperors and affected his writings.