Hang On... Which Roman Was That Exactly? Quiz

Answer: Caligula

Caligula, who was formally known as Gaius (Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus) was the third Roman emperor. He only ruled for a short time - from AD 37 until AD 41. Caligula was the son of a Roman general called Germanicus, who was known as being a reasonably popular and competent man.

Caligula is probably best known for his excesses and madness. Among his less appealing characteristics were his penchant for killing people at will, his very perverse sexual appetites and his exorbitant spending patterns. However, historians actually now view Caligula as a rather tragic figure. When his father died at just 33 years old, his mother became embroiled in a feud with Tiberius. Tiberius had Caligula's mother and two brothers exiled and they all died either in prison or exile - without Caligula ever seeing them again.

When Caligula later became Emperor, he did find his three sisters. His favourite sister, Julia Drusilla, died suddenly at age 21 in 38 CE, absolutely devastating Caligula. His remaining two sisters, wanting power for themselves, plotted Caligula's death and were subsequently exiled. A lot of Caligula's paranoia was attributed to these events.

However it is said that the most drastic change to Caligula's personality occurred when he came down with a 'brain fever' which put him in a coma for three months just seven months into his reign. Before this occurred, Caligula was actually loved by both the Romans and the Senate alike. He was responsible for improving infrastructure and public transportation, abolishing unnecessary taxes, and giving help to many who had been previously wronged by the previous emperor, Tiberius.

However, after Caligula returned from his 'invasion' of Britain, dragging behind him his own soldiers in chains who were pretending to be British prisoners, some people started to get suspicious. As his madness and paranoia increased, many wondered if Caligula was really the right man for the job. After deciding he wasn't, the Praetorian Guard, the Senate and the equestrian order conspired to murder Caligula. He was stabbed to death, along with his wife and one-year old daughter in 41 AD. He was 28 years old.

Answer: The Colosseum

Many think of Julius Caesar when they think of the Colosseum, however Julius Caesar had actually been dead for over a hundred years when the gates to the Colosseum opened in 80 AD.

The structure wasn't always called the Colosseum either. Instead it was originally known as the Flavian Amphitheater. This is because it was commissioned by the Emperor Vespasian and finished by his sons Titus, and Domitian - who were part of the Flavian dynasty. Vesparian, who reigned from AD 69 to 79, was the victor in the civil wars that took place after Nero's death in 68 AD.

According to historians, the Colosseum was built by Vespasian to try to make the Romans forget about their hatred of Nero and focus on fun. To this end, Vespasian built the Colosseum on an area that had previously contained Nero's artificial lake. The very first games went on for 100 days and included more than 3,000 gladiator fights.

The Colosseum stands at 160 feet tall and encompasses, end to end, six acres. The structure, which had the capacity to seat 50,000 people, could be emptied of people in literally minutes, thanks to its 80 exits. Entry to the Colosseum and any entertainment within it was completely free for all Romans citizens. However, this didn't mean everyone could sit anywhere. There were four distinct areas within the Colosseum and where you sat depended on your social standing. Also, former gladiators, actors and gravediggers were banned from the Colosseum. The Colosseum acted as a theatre of games and sport for around 350 years.

Unlike many of the Roman emperors, Vespasian died of natural causes at age 69. His last words were reportedly 'I suppose I am now becoming a god'.

Answer: Hadrian

Publius Aelius Hadrianus (or Hadrian) became Emperor of Rome in 117 AD and remained so until his death in 138 AD. He became the emperor when the wife of Trajan declared Hadrian the next emperor, even though historians believe that Trajan had never actually officially declared Hadrian to be his heir apparent.

It seemed that a good choice had been made though. Hadrian is considered one of the 'five good emperors of Rome,' a term coined, by the way, by Niccolò Machiavelli in 1503. Hadrian is said to have been a remarkable man, who was both intelligent and talented.

Hadrian was known to have had a very hands-on approach, connecting well with both locals and soldiers. He was often out of Rome touring the provinces, so he could meet the locals under his rule. One of his stipulations though was that an army should always be at the ready. To this end, he was known to raise false alarms just to see if his army was ready for surprise attacks.

Hadrian was also a great admirer of Greek architecture and endeavoured to incorporate this style into Roman edifices. Apart from rebuilding the Pantheon somewhere between 118-128 AD, he was also involved in building the Temple of Venus and Roma which is believed to have been the largest temple in ancient Rome. Most famously of course, he also built Hadrian's Wall, a wall which marked the northern boundary of Roman Britain. This 73 mile structure was ordered by Hadrian when he visited Britain in 122 AD. Ten percent of the wall stills remains today.

Hadrian died, aged around 62, of what is thought to have been congestive heart failure.

Answer: Nero

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (or Nero) was bought up by his mother, Julia Agrippina, after his father died from a disease when Nero was just three. The fifth Roman emperor, his story is reminiscent of that of Caligula, in that Nero had an unconventional childhood, the start of his reign went quite well, and he died young.

Nero, who has gone down in history as being debauched, unnecessarily cruel, and uncaring (which likely gave rise to the rumour that he simply 'fiddled whilst Rome burned') was, if the stories are correct, not only an absolute tyrant but literally insane. It has to be said though, that he probably didn't stand much of a chance at normality when you consider who he had as a mother: Agrippina the Younger.

Not only was she one of the sisters who plotted, but failed, to murder her brother, Caligula, but both ancient and modern sources describe Agrippina as being ambitious, domineering, ruthless and violent.

After returning from exile following Caligula's murder, it is thought she went on to poison numerous adversaries who stood in her path. Men she is believed to have poisoned included both her second husband, and her third - the emperor Claudius, who was also her uncle.

Seeing herself as regent when Nero came to power, Agrippina reportedly dominated him to the point that Nero eventually made the decision to get rid of her - permanently. This took some time. He first tried poison, but this failed when he realised she had enough antidotes to last until about Christmas 2000. He next arranged for a ceiling to fall on her while she was sleeping. When this failed due to alert workmen (who promptly fixed it) he tried to have her drowned in a boat. Unfortunately for Nero, while everyone else did drown, she swam to safety. Eventually he simply resorted to having her bludgeoned to death.

From this point on, Nero's reign became increasingly erratic. Apparently paranoid, he ruled by fear. Romans had to endure fourteen long years of Nero's rule - much of it including bloodshed and chaos - before Nero was finally declared an enemy of the state. He fled from Rome in disguise and either killed himself (some say he stuck a dagger in his throat) or hired someone to do it for him. Nero was 30 years old at the time of his death in 68 AD.

As an aside: some believe Nero actually instigated the great fire. Whether this is true or not, after the city was razed, Nero appropriated 200 acres of land in the middle of Rome and began work on his 'Golden Palace'. Had this been completed, it would have covered almost one third of Rome.

Answer: Mount Vesuvius erupting

Titus Caesar Vespasianus (or Titus) was the eldest son of Titus Flavius Vespasianus (or Vespasian, commissioner of the Colosseum). Prior to Titus becoming emperor, his father, Vespasian, entrusted him with being in charge of the Jewish war. In 70 AD and after a large campaign, Jerusalem was captured by Titus and his armies. In commemoration of this victory, the Arch of Titus in Rome, which still stands at the entrance to the Roman Forum to this day, was erected.

When Vespasian died in June 79 AD, Titus became his successor. Apart from his victory in Jerusalem, Titus had all the makings of a good emperor. He is said to have been charming, intelligent and easy on the eye. Suetonius in fact called him 'the darling of the human race.'

It would be fair to say poor Titus had a lot to contend with during his reign. He was only two months into this reign in fact, when the devastating eruption of Mount Vesuvius occurred in August 79 AD. Probably the last thing Titus needed after the sudden death of his beloved father, he is nevertheless said to have handled the disaster admirably. He immediately appointed two ex-consuls to coordinate a relief effort and gave generous donations to victims that had been impacted by the eruption. He also personally visited Pompeii twice - once in 79 AD and once in 80 AD.

It was also in 80 AD that a fire broke out in Rome that raged for three days and three nights. It devastated Capitoline hill including the Pantheon, as well as many other areas of Rome. A plague then hit Italy in the same year. 10,000 people per day apparently died during this plague.

Poor Titus died in September 81, perhaps of a fever, but some think his brother, Domitian, who succeeded Titus, may have had a hand in his death. Titus, who was just 41 when he died, did at least get to see the Colosseum - which his father had started - finished.

Answer: Augustus

Caesar Augustus - born Gaius Octavius, but also known as Octavian (before he became emperor) and Augustus Caesar - ruled from 27 BC - 14 AD. This was actually quite a long time when you consider the times. From my research, it would seem many of the leaders of Rome lived in fear of assassination. And they were probably right to do so - from senators to sibling, many craved power - and weren't afraid to murder people along the way to get it.

Augustus though had several things in his favour. For starters he was a benevolent leader who did much for Rome: he built aqueducts, expanded roads, claimed land in Europe and some parts of Asia, and commissioned many important structures. Before Augustus' rule the state had been plagued by a century or so of civil wars. However, under Augustus' rule, a period of stability known as the 'Pax Romana,' (meaning 'Roman peace') was ushered in. This Pax Romana (or as some would call it, 'Pax Augustus') would go on to last for nearly 200 years.

Augustus was also a hero to many Romans since he was responsible for winning the Battle of Actium in 32 BC; a battle which would eventually see the end of Mark Antony and Cleopatra. As a background to this, Octavian (as Augustus was then known) had had 10 years of rivalry with Mark Antony when he finally convinced the Roman Senate to declare war on Antony and Cleopatra. However, Mark Antony had his supporters too, and some forty-percent of the Roman Senate along with the two consuls, declared their intention to leave Rome to join Antony and Cleopatra.

It is said that the Battle of Actium saw the some of the largest Roman armies ever amassed - some 200,000 troops and 500 ships - on each side - were involved. As the opposing forces were more or less equal, a victory was far from assured for Octavian/Augustus. However, after fierce fighting, and a naval campaign which cut off the supply of food and equipment to Antony's army, Augustus was victorious. Cleopatra and Antony subsequently were forced to withdraw to Alexandria in Egypt. Nearly a year later, Augustus besieged this city until both Antony and Cleopatra had no choice but to take their own lives.

Augustus, who many say was the most successful of all the Roman emperors, was an impressive 75 years old when he died in 14 A.D.

Answer: Claudius

Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (or Claudius) was the ruler of Rome from 41 AD to 54 AD. In terms of the order of emperors, Claudius came to power after Caligula was stabbed to death and before Nero became emperor.

Claudius was the first Roman emperor to be born outside of Italy - in an area that is now designated as Lyon in France. As a result of what is thought to have been a childhood illness, Claudius had several disabilities including a minor limp, a stutter and slight deafness. He was also known to have dribbled and twitched on occasion. According to historians, these disabilities may actually have saved his life. Ostracised by his family and ridiculed by most, he was generally thought of as a dimwitted fool who wasn't threat to anyone.

Claudius, however, was extremely well-read, educated and competent. Not that this had much to do with his becoming emperor - after Caligula's demise he was simply the last surviving male in the family.

Claudius had been the emperor for three years when, in 44 AD, he sought a way to help his rather lackluster military reputation by ordering an incursion into Britain. He and his armies succeeded in conquering southern Britain - which was made up of various tribes and no real leader - fairly rapidly. Back in Rome, Claudius was exalted for his heroic bravery - and for achieving something no emperor before him had managed to attain. On his return from England, the emperor was honored with a triumphal arch called 'The Arch of Claudius', which sadly is no longer standing.

Over his reign, many of Claudius' disabilities disappeared, leaving many to wonder if he had had a plan right from the start. Since he eventually admitted to faking some of these disabilities, it would appear he did have a plan - for self-preservation in a very dangerous environment.

Unfortunately, he perhaps didn't factor into this 'self-preservation' his fourth and last wife, Agrippina the Younger. When Claudius started questioning his decision to make his stepson - and Agrippina's son, Nero - his heir, he may have put a target on his own back. He died after eating a plate of mushrooms in 54 AD, at 63 years old. His last words were 'oh dear, I think I have made a mess'. Most historians agree that Agrippina - poisoner extraordinaire - was responsible for Claudius' early demise. They also think that the 'mess' Claudius referred to was either that he had soiled himself - or that Nero was now free to take the reins of the entire Roman empire.

Answer: Constantine I

Flavius Valerius Constantinus - or Constantine I - was the emperor of Rome from 306-337 AD. Born in modern-day Serbia, he was a ruler from 306 AD, but it was not until 324 AD - and after he emerged victorious in the civil wars against both Maxentius and Licinius - that he became the sole ruler.

Constantine is famously known for his conversion to Christianity in 312 AD. This, it has to be said, was quite the departure when you consider that only a few hundred years earlier, Christians were being horrendously persecuted. Nero, in particular, is cited as torturing them in uniquely horrible ways, including using them as human torches to light his gardens.

It is thought Constantine's conversion was, in part, motivated by a 'vision' he witnessed at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge where Constantine was victorious. During this battle - which took place in Rome in 312 AD - according to his chosen biographer (who just happened to be a bishop) Constantine saw an image of a holy sign which he believed was presented to him by Christ himself. A year after this, Constantine went on to play an influential role in the Edict of Milan - a proclamation which declared tolerance for Christianity throughout the entire Roman empire. Prior to his conversion, Constantine, like many Romans, practised polytheism - the honouring of many deities.

Constantine, of course, is perhaps better known though for building a new imperial residence at a city called Byzantium in modern-day Istanbul. Initially renamed to 'New Rome', Constantine significantly enlarged the city and then changed its name in 330 AD to 'Constantinople'. A 'second Rome', this city became the capital of the Roman Empire following the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD. Constantinople would be the capital of the Roman Empire right up until 1453 AD when it fell to the Ottomans and was renamed Istanbul.

Constantine died in 337 AD of unknown causes at the age of 65. Just before he died, he asked to be baptised in the River Jordan, since this is where Christ is said to have been baptised.

The Arch of Constantine, a triumphal structure dedicated to Constantine for his victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge, still stands in Rome today.

Answer: Commodus

Caesar Marcus Aurelius Commodus Antoninus Augustus (or Commodus) jointly ruled with his father, Marcus Aurelius from 177 AD until the latter's death in 180 AD.

Rulership did not always pass to a biological son, and in fact Commodus' ascension to power was the first time a child that was specifically raised to be an emperor, became one. Unfortunately this gave Commodus a sense of self-entitlement few could imagine. From a young age, Commodus was thought to have been a tyrant. When he was just 12, it is said, he ordered a servant be thrown into a furnace when he deemed his bath water 'not hot enough' for his liking. (Luckily the servant survived when other servants managed to trick Commodus.)

Commodus' interests as emperor lay mainly in sports, sex and spending the empires' fortunes. As with many Roman emperors, power seemed to go to Commodus' head. He sprinkled gold dust into his hair so all around him would be bedazzled, had 600 concubines (women and men) and he became convinced he was the god Hercules.

This belief culminated in Commodus fighting everything and anything in the Colosseum, from elephants to gladiators, much to the horror of the senate. Many of his fights were unfair - he would engineer fights that made him look good - and the gladiators he fought allowed him to win. Adding further to the grief of the senate, Commodus fought hundreds of times, charging the empire vast sums of money each time.

During his reign Commodus had emptied the treasury and ordered the executions of countless enemies, allies, Senate members and family members. By the time he had ruled solely for 12 years, the Romans decided they'd had enough. In 192 AD and at the age of 31, Commodus was poisoned, but when this didn't work, he was killed by a wrestler who held Commodus under water while he was taking a bath. (Hopefully the water was an 'adequate temperature' for his death!)

Unfortunately, Commodus' brutal misrule for so many years came at a high price to the empire - the stability and prosperity the Roman empire had spent the previous 84 years painstakingly establishing, was over - for the time being anyway.

Answer: He built two defensive walls

Gaius Julius Caesar, or Julius Caesar, was a Roman statesman and general. Never an emperor per se, he was the dictator of the Roman Republic from 49 BC to 44 BC.

Born in Rome itself, Julius Caesar enjoyed a very strong military reputation and rightfully so. He was the first man to defeat the Gauls - people the Romans were terrified of, believing they were barbarians. Caesar had a string of victories in the Gallic Wars under his belt when he came up against a confederation of Gallic tribes who were giving one last-ditch effort to expel the Romans. The tribes had decided to unify in order to stand a better chance and had appointed a man named Vercingetorix as their leader.

Unfortunately all did not go well for Vercingetorix and his 80,000 troops, and in 52 BC Julius Caesar had manoeuvred them into a siege situation at a place called Alesia, which is in modern-day France. Julius Caesar was happily laying siege to this man and his army - the siege couldn't last long with 80,000 people who needed food - when he received news that Vercingetorix had reinforcements arriving within the month.

Trapped between Vercingetorix in his fortified position, and with a large advancing army of reinforcements, Julius Caesar promptly built two walls around his men - one to keep the besieged Gauls in, and another to keep the Gallic relief force out. This must have been terrifying for the Romans in the middle.

However, Caesar managed to build not only some 25 miles of fortifications with towers at regular intervals, but a trench for the soldiers with booby traps in front, as well as an anti-cavalry moat. (My local council has trouble building a roundabout in two months. Just saying...) To describe this event accurately would take a book, but, against all odds, Caesar did win the day, and this event more or less signified the end of the Gallic Wars. A very grateful Roman Senate issued Caesar with a thanksgiving of 20 days for his victory at the Battle of Alesia and the Gallic Wars which had started in 58 BC.

Julius Caesar's military prowess and achievements did make him a very rich and very powerful man. This possibly should have been enough. However, when Julius Caesar decided to make himself 'dictator for life' (basically crown himself the king of Rome) people who were concerned about the amount of power and arrogance he had gained, decided to act. Caesar was stabbed 23 times in 44 BC by members of the Senate. Unable to survive this, he died immediately on the Ides of March. He was 55 years old.