C Is For Caesar Trivia Quiz

Answer: Constantine the Great

Constantine held the title Imperator Caesar Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus Augustus. Born in 272, Constantine rose to the court of Diocletian and witnessed the persecution of Christians in 303-305. At that time Constantine did nothing against the persecution. But when he was promoted to one of the four rulers of the Roman Empire, he spoke out against persecution, and he legalized Christianity in the Edict of Milan in 313.
Constantine was appointed Caesar (junior emperor) in the west in 306. In 309 he was promoted to augustus (senior emperor) in the west, and from 312 onwards he was the undisputed leader of the western half of the Roman Empire (Britain, Gaul, Iberia and Italy). In 324 he added the Eastern half and ruled the whole Roman empire until his death in 337.
Constantine converted to Christianity only late in his life, and was baptized on his deathbed.

Answer: Claudius

In 41 AD members of the Senate had killed Emperor Caligula, mostly because of the random executions of wealthy citizens and high officials Caligula ordered. After the murder, rioting troops killed several members of the Imperial family. But a certain faction of the Pretorian Guard discovered Claudius hiding behind a curtain, and decided to proclaim him the next Emperor - the fourth Emperor after Augustus, Tiberius and Caligula. Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (as was his official title) never served in the army: a clubfoot caused a severe limp.

He also was partially deaf, what made him seem a dim-witted person. During his youth, Claudius enjoyed doing historic research. As soon as Claudius as was Emperor, he started judicial and administrative reforms.

Answer: Caligula

Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus is better known as Caligula ("little soldier's booth"), for in his youth he enjoyed the company of the Roman soldiers. Caligula was born in 12 AD (known to the Romans as 765 AUC) and succeeded his great-uncle Tiberius in 37 AD. Caligula started his reign with a number of spectacular festivals and some reforms that were joyously received.

But two events marked a drastic reversal: Caligula became seriously ill, and he soon also felt the need for extra finances to fund his various undertakings. So when he was Emperor only for six months, he started random executions of wealthy citizens (so he could confiscate their fortunes) and making very peculiar utterances.

At one time he would have declared that his horse Incitatus could fulfil the duties of a dignitary, which was misquoted by later historians as if Caligula had really have appointed his horse a priest, a consul or a senator.

Answer: Constantine II

Imperator Caesar Flavius Julius Constantinus Augustus, as was his full title, was the eldest son of Constantine the Great. Constantine II was born in 316. His father already gave him the title of Caesar (junior emperor) the next year, although at that point it had merely a symbolical value.
Constantine II was named the commander of Gaul in 326, when he was only 10 years old. And a few years later, in 330, he gained the epithet Alemannus, probably because his armies defeated the invading Germanic tribe.
On the death of his father, Constantine II became Augustus (senior emperor) in the west (Gaul, Britain and Iberia), jointly with his brothers Constans (Caesar of Italy, Dalmatia and Africa) and Constantius II (Augustus of the eastern provinces, including Asia and Egypt). One of his cousins, Dalmatius, became Caesar over Greece and Thracia. But the family quarrelled a lot, and finally Constantine II died in an ambush whilst feuding with Constans.

Answer: Caracalla

Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus was the full title of the Emperor better known as Caracalla. He was born in 188 and made co-emperor in 198. In 211 Caracalla became sole Emperor after the death of his father Septimius Severus.
Caracalla started building new baths in Rome: the well-known Baths of Caracalla, although probably designed under Septimius Severus' rule and completed only after Caracalla's death.
The Parthians were a constant threat to the Roman Empire. So Emperor Caracalla proposed a marriage with the daughter of Artabanus V, hoping to unify the both Empires under one single control - the Roman, of course. Artabanus V rejected and in the ensuing war Caracalla was killed by one of his own soldiers.

Answer: Constantine III

Imperator Caesar Flavius Claudius Cosntantinus Augustus is the full title of Constantine III. About his early life no reliable sources exist. In 406 the Britanic troops revolted, and chose a new emperor of the West. At first, they went for Marcus and then for Gratian, but neither was not satisfactory for the army and thus were killed. Finally the legions chose Flavius Claudius Constantinus, whom they bestowed the title of Emperor of the West in 407. From that time onwards, this former general is known as Constantine III. Constantine III received news of various Germanic tribes crossing the Rhine and invading Gaul.

He amassed all Britannic troops (but for some local camp commanders) and crossed the Channel. Later historians regard this as the end of Roman rule in Britain.

The Augustus (senior emperor) of the west, Honorius, at first tried to inflict a military defeat on Constantine, but finally recognised him as Caesar (junior emperor) of the West. After the civil war was reignited, Constantine III was beheaded in 411.

Answer: Commodus

Imperator Caesar Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus Augustus was his full title, but luckily we need only remember him as Commodus.
Commodus was born in 161, one of the 14 children of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Marcus Aurelius appointed his son Commodus as joint emperor in 177, and on Marcus Aurelius' death in 180 Commodus was the sole son to inherit the imperial prerogatives.
Commodus hastily made peace with the tribes on the north of the Danube, and concentrated on the internal conflicts. Indeed: several plots were made against him, and he crushed them vigorously.
Commodus admired the gladiator games, and even spent several hours in the arena himself as a gladiator - a practice deemed unworthy of an Emperor.
In 192 Rome suffered a major fire (as many cities were prone to in those times). Commodus decided not only to rebuild Rome, but also to rename it Colonia Lucia Annia Commodiana. Furthermore he redesigned the calendar, naming every month after one of the names he used for himself.
At last his family members became fed up with his behaviour, and they had him killed in his bath as the year 193 was near.

Answer: Carinus

The mid Third Century was a very unstable period in the Roman Empire, with at least 25 Emperors in 50 years. In 276 the governor of the eastern provinces, Probus, took the title of Emperor. But he was killed by his own troops when Carus revolted in 282. Carus, the next Emperor, shared the Empire almost immediately with his eldest son Carinus.

After Carus' death in 283, Carinus and his brother Numerian took over. Numerian died in 284, and Carinus confronted the revolting Diocletian in 285. Sources contradict each other about the outcome of the ensuing battle, but in any case Carinus died - either killed in battle or assassinated by a jealous commander. Diocletian then spread the rumour that Carinus had married nine women during the one year he stayed in Rome.

Answer: Constans II

Constantine III took the title Augustus (senior emperor) of the West in 407. Constantine III had at least two sons: Constans II and Julianus. (Legend states he also fathered Uther Pendragon, the father of King Arthur).
Constans II was in a monastery involved with certain studies, when his father raised him to the title of Caesar (junior emperor) of the West. Two years later, Constantine III and Constans II shared the title of Augustus of the west, while conducting war on Honorius - the official Augustus of the West.
The civil war between Honorius and the Constantine family ended in 411, when both Constantine III and Constans II were executed.

Answer: Claudius Gothicus

Claudius Gothicus was born Marcus Aurelius Valerius Claudius in 214. When he took over the Roman Empire in 268, he added the titles Imperator Caesar and Augustus, so his full regnal name was Imperator Augustus Marcus Aurelius Valerius Claudius Augustus.
Soon after securing the throne, Valerius Claudius travelled to the Danube and soundly defeated the invading Goths. Here he earned his epithet Gothicus. Claudius Gothicus then travelled further north and battled the Alemanni. But on his way to fight against the Vandals in Pannonia (eastern Austria) he fell ill and died.