Rulers of the Roman Empire Trivia Quiz

The first of the Roman Emperors, kicking off the Julio-Claudian dynasty in 27 BC, Caesar Augustus (or Octavian) ruled the Roman Empire for four decades before his death of natural causes (other Emperors wouldn't be so fortunate). Related to Julius Caesar, Augustus was considered a strong leader and a natural figure to fit the role of Emperor, inheriting his predecessor's army and diplomatic ties and managing to expand the empire deep into Africa (around the Mediterranean).

His step-son, Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus, would ascend upon his passing, ruling for another two decades.

Following the murder of Caligula, it was Claudius, his uncle, who reigned in the Roman Empire from 41 AD to 54 AD, put into that position by the Praetorian Guard who, with the Senate's approval, were very likely responsible for the death of his predecessor. Claudius' most important accomplishment during his thirteen year reign was likely his expansion northwest, bringing the empire to what would eventually become Great Britain.

His establishment of Camulodunum, now Colchester, marked the first stake for Roman growth there. Claudius' reign would end with murder; it's believed his wife poisoned him in an attempt to push her son, Nero, into the Emperor role.

The last of the five Julio-Claudian Emperors, Nero ascended when his step-father, Claudius, was poisoned. He would end up ruling a month less than his predecessor (but, still, for thirteen years), doing so from a very young age and gaining the scorn of the senate for the duration.

Historians believe that Nero was responsible for starting the Great Fire that destroyed a huge swath of central Rome in an effort to build his own private palace. Reconstruction of the city started shortly after, reshaping what the world would come to know as Ancient Roman architecture, still seen today in the ruins of the Forum. Nero committed suicide after being deemed a public enemy by the senate, and what followed was tumult in 69 AD as four potential emperors vied for the role.

When the Year of the Four Emperors (69 AD) passed by and Vespasian seized power, he ushered in what would become the Flavian Dynasty and his immediate successor was Titus Caesar Vespasianus Augustus, his biological son. Titus only managed to rule for two years, only taking up the mantle from his father upon his passing before, in turn, dying himself (also of natural causes). That being said, he managed to hit a particularly notable period of time in the Roman Empire, managing to see the Colosseum, started during the beginning of his father's reign, to completion.

He also happened to be the ruler to deal with the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, only a short distance south around the Bay of Naples. He would be succeeded by his brother, Domitian, who would be emperor longer than Vespasian and Titus combined.

The second century AD brought in the Nerva-Antonine Dynasty, immediately proceeding the Flavian Dynasty, and after this was ushered by the short-term reign of Nerva Caesar Augustus, Trajan would rule for nearly two decades (98 AD to 117 AD). Born in what is now Spain, Trajan was the first emperor to take the role from outside of what would become Italy and he would find strength in growth, managing to build significant elements of Central Rome while expanding the Empire to some of its largest capabilities; no Emperor beyond him would be able to expand Rome's reaches much further.

He would pass away of complications due to a stroke while traveling home from what is now modern Turkey. With his death, Rome's stake in Mesopotamia would also come to an end.

The cousin of Emperor Trajan, Hadrian took the position upon Trajan's passing and put an end to Rome's continual expansion to the east. On the western front, Hadrian is perhaps best remembered for Hadrian's Wall, a literal seventy mile barricade created in Britannia to mark the limit of Roman expansion in what is now Northern England.

His impact was historically notable, but in his own time he wasn't highly regarded by his contemporaries. He invested in Roman infrastructure and the preservation of noteworthy buildings (the Pantheon being a notable example) before eventually naming Antoninus Pius, his adopted son, as his successor in 138 AD.

A philosopher at the core, Marcus Aurelius filled the role of emperor for a span of nineteen years, taking the title after Antoninus Pius in 161 AD. Notably, Marcus Aurelius' time as emperor faced immense hardship as the Roman Empire engaged in fierce battles and dealt with the aftermath of a plague. Nonetheless, Marcus Aurelius was known as a Stoic; his "Meditations" is seen, even in contemporary times, as a critical philosophical text.

He would pass away of natural causes in 180 AD and be succeeded by his son, Commodus, who would actually share the title with his father for the last four years of his life (from 176 to 180 AD).

193 AD was a tumultuous time in the Roman Empire. Known as the Year of the Five Emperors, the position was overtaken by usurpers and aristocrats, most of whom barely cracked the two month mark in their reign. Ultimately, the senate had Didius Julianus killed and the role was taken by Septimius Severus, ushering in the Severan Dynasty for nearly five decades.

The first two of those decades fell under Septimius Severus who, in his time leading the Roman Empire, not only became the first non-European emperor (he was born in what is now Libya), but led wars in Africa and Britannia to expand the Empire to its fullest.

As several short-lived dynasties persisted through the third century AD, Diocletian was the first in what was regarded as the Late Roman Empire. It was Diocletian who, seeing the difficulty in ruling an expanse as large as the Roman Empire, split the emperorship in two, leading the eastern half himself and giving the western half to Maximian, ruling in tandem until both of them abdicated in 305 AD. Diocletian was also a key figure in the persecution of Christianity in this era.

It was his choices that would come to shape public response and Rome's future forever.

The era of Christian persecution came to an end with the Constantinian Dynasty and the ascension of Rome's first Christian emperor, Constantine I, who made sweeping changes to the Empire's military, economy, and borders. Constantine I overtook several others vying for Emperor in a small handful of civil wars and subsequently supported the church, building houses of worship in Jerusalem and what he would establish as Constantinople, a choice that would form the Byzantine Empire.

His new approach to Rome would set it on a path that would have socio-political consequences to the present day.