Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa: Rome’s greatest #2.

Without Agrippa, Octavian would never have become Augustus.

He was a general, statesman, builder, and engineer; Rome's Renaissance Man.

Let’s give Agrippa the attention and appreciation he deserves. 🏛️🧵 Agrippa and Octavian were friends from a young age.

When Julius Caesar adopted Octavian as his heir, Agrippa became his right-hand man.

Where Octavian lacked military genius, Agrippa supplied it in abundance.

On this day in AD 14, Rome’s first emperor, Augustus, died.

Was it natural causes? Or poison at the hands of his wife, Livia? The death of Augustus is one of Rome’s great unsolved mysteries.

Let’s unravel the mystery of Augustus’s final act. 🧵 Augustus had ruled Rome for over 40 years.

He ended the chaos of civil wars, reigned with near-absolute power, and carefully shaped an image as Princeps—“First Citizen,” not king.

But behind the curtain, he was every bit a monarch.

Roman Emperor of the Week: Otho

Rome's 7th Emperor.

In the chaos of the Year of the Four Emperors, his reign lasted just three months before he took his own life.

This is the brief, dramatic reign of Otho, the emperor who chose death over civil war. Name: Marcus Salvius Otho Caesar Augustus
Lifespan: AD 32 – AD 69
Reign: January – April AD 69
Came to power: Backed by the Praetorian Guard after Galba snubbed him as heir.

In the mists of early Roman history, a mysterious old woman appeared before Tarquinius Superbus, the last king of Rome.

She carried nine scrolls, and offered to sell them to the proud King for a great price.

What Tarquinius did next shaped the future of Rome. 🧵 Tarquinius laughed in her face. The price she demanded was absurd.

Without a word, the sybil burned three of the scrolls before his eyes. She then offered him the remaining six scrolls -- for the same price.

Roman emperors weren’t just powerful.

They were downright weird.

Here are 10 of Rome’s strangest, most bizarre, and utterly absurd emperors. 🧵 Caligula — The Sea Conqueror

Declared war on Neptune, god of the sea.

Ordered his soldiers to attack the waves and collect seashells as “spoils of war.”

A new low in military strategy.

Rome wasn’t just built on legions, wars, and conquests. It was built on the words of its most prominent icons.

And long after Rome fell, those words live on.

Here are the greatest quotes from Roman history and the moments that made them immortal. 🏛️🧵 “Alea iacta est.” – Julius Caesar

“The die is cast.”

49 BC. Caesar crosses the Rubicon, defying the Senate and plunging Rome into civil war.

No turning back.

Roman Emperor of the Week: Galba

The 6th Emperor of Rome.

Galba seized the throne after Nero’s death.

Within seven months, he was murdered by the very guards who put him in power.

Here’s the short, bloody reign of Galba, the first emperor of the Year of the Four Emperors. Name: Servius Sulpicius Galba Caesar Augustus
Lifespan: 3 BC – AD 69
Reign: June AD 68 – January AD 69
Came to power: Governor of Hispania Tarraconensis who rebelled against Nero and was proclaimed emperor by the Senate.

For years, one man ended every single speech in the Roman Senate with the same words:

Carthage must be destroyed!

This is the story of Cato the Elder.

The man who wouldn’t rest until Rome’s greatest rival was reduced to ash and rubble. 🧵 Marcus Porcius Cato (234–149 BC), better known as Cato the Elder, was a Roman statesman, orator, and moralist.

He was tough, frugal, and obsessed with preserving Rome’s old-school values.

For nearly 500 years, Rome was a Republic.

Then, in 27 BC, it all came crashing down.

How did a centuries-old system, built to prevent one-man rule, end with Augustus crowned Emperor?

Let’s break down the Fall of the Roman Republic.

A Roman History 🧵 Rome began as a monarchy, ruled by kings.

But in 509 BC, Romans had enough. They overthrew their last king and founded the Republic.

The goal was clear:

No one man should ever rule Rome again.

The Late Roman Republic had the highest concentration of fascinating people in human history.

Between Caesar crossing the Rubicon and Octavian rising as Augustus; Rome was home to history's biggest icons.

Let’s meet the larger-than-life characters of the Late Republic. 🏛️🧵 We will focus on the explosive period between:

⚔️Caesar crossing the Rubicon (49 BC)

🛡️And the Battle of Actium (31 BC)

This 18-year stretch was literally a "who's who" of intriguing characters. History books are filled with their names. Their stories are the stuff of legend.

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.