Rome reached its glorious peak under 5 remarkable Emperors who didn’t just inherit power; they earned it.

This is the fascinating story of the 5 Good Emperors of Rome.

And how one tragic decision ended their golden era.

A Roman History Thread🧵 Why were they called the “5 Good Emperors”?

From 96 to 180 AD, Rome was ruled by five men whose reigns marked one of the Empire’s most prosperous eras.

Peace. Stability. Wise leadership.

Here’s why their story is so remarkable, and how it ended in tragedy.

Roman Emperor of the Week: Claudius
Rome's 4th Emperor.

He stammered, he limped, he was mocked as a fool; until the Pretorian Guard made him Emperor.

Here's the story of Claudius, the "unlikely Emperor" who surprised everyone.

A Roman History 🧵 Name: Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus
Lifespan: 10 BC – AD 54
Reign: AD 41 – AD 54
Came to power: After Caligula’s assassination, found hiding behind a curtain—and hailed as emperor by the Praetorian Guard.

Roman Emperor of the Week: Caligula

The mad emperor. His reign was short, chaotic, and soaked in infamy. Was he a madman, a monster, or a misunderstood emperor trapped in myth?

Here’s the story of the rise and fall of Rome’s notorious 3rd emperor: Caligula

A Roman History🧵 👤 Name: Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus → “Caligula” (little boots)
🗓 Lifespan: AD 12 – AD 41
👑 Reign: AD 37 – AD 41
📈 Came to power: After Tiberius’s death, as his adopted grandson and popular heir

Roman Emperor of the Week: Tiberius

Rome's reluctant Emperor. He never wanted to rule Rome. He did everything he could to avoid it.

But when Rome needed a successor to Augustus, he answered the call.

Here’s the story of the second Roman emperor: Tiberius.

A Roman History🧵 Name: Tiberius Claudius Nero → Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus

Lifespan: 42 BC – AD 37

Reign: AD 14 – AD 37

Came to power: As Augustus’s adopted son and heir, after a lifetime of military and political service

Roman Emperor of the Week: Augustus

Rome's 1st Emperor, he famously found Rome a city of brick and left it a city of marble.

Here’s the story of Gaius Octavius, better known as Augustus, and how he reshaped Roman history.

A Roman History 🧵 Name: Gaius Octavius → Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus → Augustus

Lifespan: 63 BC – AD 14

Reign: 27 BC – AD 14

Came to power: After Julius Caesar’s assassination, defeating rivals in a brutal civil war

The year: 390 BC
The Place: Rome
The Situation: Bad. Very bad.

Rome was under invasion by Gallic tribes and on the brink of collapse. They needed a miracle to survive. And they got one.

This is the story of how Rome was saved by the unlikeliest of heroes.

A Roman History 🧵 In the early 4th Century BC, Rome was experiencing conflict with a new and unfamiliar enemy: the Gauls.

The Gauls were a collection of Celtic tribes who lived in the area Rome called Gallia; covering much of modern day France, Belgium, and Germany.

From a small village by the Tiber to the world’s most powerful empire.

Kingdom. Republic. Empire. Collapse.

Here’s the epic story of Rome, told in one thread. /🧵🏛️ The Founding of Rome - April 21, 753 BC

The founding of Rome is the stuff of legends — literally.

According to Roman myth, Rome was founded by Romulus, a direct descendent of the Trojan prince Aeneas.

He and his brother Remus were raised by a she-wolf after being abandoned by the Tiber river.

The proscription of Cicero was one of the most tragic events of the late Roman Republic.

Why was Cicero, a former Consul and respected member of Roman politics, selected to be proscribed?

Let's do a deep dive into the proscription of Cicero.

/A Roman History Thread 🏛️🧵 Let's set the table of the people and events that led to the proscription of Cicero.

The year is 43 BC. In a tumultuous series of events following the assassination of Caesar, Mark Antony, Lepidus, and Octavian (later known as Augustus) have formed an alliance to advance their political agendas.

The Late Roman Republic was, pound for pound, the most fascinating period of Roman History.

No other time in long history of Rome had such a high density of impressive and captivating individuals.

Let's explore the incredible figures from the Late Roman Republic. /🏛️🧵 For purposes of this thread, we will look at the people involved in the events starting with Caesar crossing the Rubicon in 49 BC and ending with the battle of Actium in 31 BC.

This period has the highest density of of fascinating people in the late Roman Republic.

The years 96 AD to 180 AD were the best in all of Roman History.

During this glorious era, five men ruled Rome to unprecedented heights of prosperity.

Let's journey back to the height of the Pax Romana and explore The 5 Good Emperors of Rome /🏛️🧵 Who Were the 5 Good Emperors of Rome?

The reign of the Five Good Emperors of Romespanned 84 years from 96 to 180 AD. Here are the emperors and their respective reigns:

• Nerva (96–98 AD) – 2 years
• Trajan (98–117 AD) – 19 years
• Hadrian (117–138 AD) – 21 years
• Antoninus Pius (138–161 AD) – 23 years
• Marcus Aurelius (161–180 AD) – 19 years

These were five emperors who made up the lion's share of the Nerva-Antonine Dynasty, along with Luciius Verus (Marcus Aurelius' brother by adoption) and Commodus (Marcus Aurelius's son)

69 AD was the most tumultuous year in the history of the Roman Empire.

In one year, four different men held the title of Emperor. When it started, Rome was in chaos. When it ended, Rome returned to stability.

Let's explore Rome's Year of the 4 Emperors 🏛️🧵 The reason why it was called The Year of the Four Emperors is quite clear.

In 69 BC, for different men held the title of Roman Emperor:

Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian.

Never in the Roman Empire had power shifted hands so quickly.

When he was born, his name was Octavian.

When he died, his name was Augustus.

The story of how a distant relative of Julius Caesar beat the odds to become the first Emperor of Rome. /🏛️🧵 Gaius Octavius Thurinus was born on September 23rd 63 BC in the city of Rome, on the Palentine Hill, very close to the Roman Forum.

Even though we know him as "Octavian", technically his name was Octavius.

Caligula is at the top of every "Rome's Worst Emperors" list.

Surprisingly, his reign started off well, but then it took a turn for the worse.

What happened?

Let's do a deep dive into the reign of the mad Emperor; Caligula. / 🏛️🧵 Who was Caligula?

Caligula was the 3rd Roman Emperor in the Julio-Claudian dynasty (succeeding Tiberius and preceding Claudius) and his reign only lasted four short years from 16 March 37 AD - 24 January 41 AD. He was born Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus on August 31, 12 AD.

He came from an excellent bloodline. His father was Germanicus, a famous Roman general and grandson of Mark Antony. His mother was Agrippina the Elder, the granddaughter on Augustus.

The name we know him by, Caligula, was actually a nickname that stood for "little boots." This nickname was given to him by the soldiers of his father's army, due to the miniature military boots he wore as a child. The name stuck, but he reportedly disliked it as an adult.

Caligula was assassinated by the Praetorian Guard on January 24th 41 AD. Why was he assassinated by the soldiers whose job was to protect him? More on that later...

From whispers of power to cries of despair.

The famous last words of Roman Emperors. /🧵 Augustus

Rome's first Emperor Augustus died on August 19th 14 AD. Ancient historians hint that he was poisoned by his wife Livia. His last words refer to the role he played as Rome's first Emperor.

The movie Gladiator II introduces the characters of Caracalla, Geta, and Macrinus to the Gladiator franchise.

The movie got the names right, but it is full of historical inaccuracies.

Here's the actual story of these three figures from Roman History. /🧵 Caracalla and Geta were the sons of the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus, who founded the Severan dynasty.

The Roman Empire it's share of bad Emperors.

But nine of them were particularly vile.

Tyranny, debauchery, madness, murder: it's all on display with these worst of the worst Emperors of Rome. /🧵


Tiberius

Dynasty: Julio-Claudian

Reign: 17 September 14 – 16 March 37 (22 years, 5 months and 27 days)

Bio:

Tiberius Claudius Nero, was the second Roman Emperor. Adopted by Augustus, he was a skilled military commander and administrator. Tiberius initially maintained the stability of the empire but became increasingly reclusive, ruling from Capri in his later years. His reign is marred by the notorious maiestas (treason) trials, driven by paranoia and political intrigue. Tiberius’ governance set important precedents for Roman imperial administration, but his legacy is overshadowed by his perceived tyranny and the brutal suppression of perceived threats to his authority.

Why he's on the list:
• Didn't want to be Emperor in the first place
• Abandoned Rome and self-exiled himself to Capri
• Did unspeakably bad things on that island
• Extremely paranoid
• Unjustly killed several people through his "Treason Trials"

Nobody knew how to celebrate a victory quite like ancient Rome knew how to celebrate a victory.

When a military commander returned from a victorious campaign, the entire city of Rome was treated to a spectacle.

Let's relive ancient Rome's most glorious victory celebration. /🧵 Ancient Rome observed military victories with ceremonies designed to honor the victorious military leader, inspire loyalty among Roman citizens, and celebrate the might of Rome.

Of all the ceremonies, one stood out as the most magnificent...

Some people think that Marcus Aurelius was a doomer.

Not even close.

Need proof?

Here are 10 beautifully uplifting passages from Meditations / 🧵 1/ "To be like the rock that waves keep crashing over. It stands unmoved and the raging of the sea falls still around it."

Ancient Rome was a brutal period in history, fraught with violence, conflict, and warfare.

But there was a 200 year period of Roman History where chaos took a back seat to order.

Let's explore the most glorious time in Roman History. 🧵 The period in Roman History I am speaking of is the Pax Romana.

This phrase is Latin for "Roman Peace" and refers to a long period of peace and stability across the Roman Empire.

Throughout Roman History, pirates ruled the seas, wreaking havoc and terrorizing Roman citizens.

But in 75 BC, they picked the wrong Roman to mess with, and things turned out bad for them. Very bad.

Who did they kidnap and what grisly fate did they meet? 💀🧵 When we think of pirates, ancient Rome may not come to mind.

But pirates were a significant problem throughout Roman history.

Piracy ran rampant due to lack of a centralized naval force to combat them.

"Only one in ten will get this."

If you're one of the other nine, this thread is for you.

Let's explore the dark side of Roman History and do a deep dive into ancient Rome's most brutal form of discipline. 💀🧵 The practice I am referring to is Decimation.

It was extreme, it was viscous, it was savage. What was Decimation? When was it performed? Under what circumstances?

Read on, if you have the stomach for it.