For Romans, It Was the Best of Times Quiz

Answer: Nerva

Augustus was the first emperor; his rule lasted from 27 BC to 14 AD. Following the death of Augustus, the Empire was often in chaos until the reign of Nerva (96-98) ushered in the period of the "Five Good Emperors." Nerva's reign was the shortest of the five; he is believed to have been in poor health when he came to power, and died of a stroke soon after.

Answer: The Roman Empire reached its greatest size

Trajan, who ruled from 98 to 117 AD, saw the Empire reach its greatest territorial extent under his rule. Future emperors were forced to abandon some of his conquests, as the borders were too difficult or too expensive to defend. Rome never conquered Ireland, or abolished slavery. Christianity did not become the dominant religion in the Empire until the 4th century.

Answer: Dacia

Dacia was located in the northern Balkans, comprising modern day Romania and Moldova, and small parts of other countries. The Dacians were fierce warriors, and represented a serious threat to Rome's borders. Trajan fought two wars against them, the first in 101, and the second in 105.

The Romans brought back huge amounts of gold and silver, and tens of thousands of slaves following Trajan's victory. Trajan's Column, which is nearly 100 feet high, is carved with scenes from both wars. Trajan's ashes were interred in the base of the column in a golden urn, but these were lost when Rome was sacked in the fifth century.

Answer: Debased the silver coinage

In 107 AD, Trajan reduced the purity of the denarius, the main silver coin in use throughout the Empire, from 93.5% silver to 89%, and reduced the weight from 3.04 grams to 2.88 grams. It is not clear why he did this; one theory is that silver was valued higher in proportion to gold by Rome's trading partners, so silver tended to be exported in large quantities. Whatever the reason, Trajan's devaluation started a trend that would have dire consequences. Subsequent emperors continued to debase the silver coinage until by the reign of Claudius II (268-70), the coins contained almost no silver at all. Gold coins tended to retain their proper weight and purity until much later times. Rome never printed paper currency.

The emperor Diocletian tried to impose wage and price controls in the 4th century.

Answer: He was one of the first emperors to wear a beard

Roman men had been clean-shaven since the days of the Republic, but Hadrian wore a full beard. Some say he did this to show his appreciation for Greek culture, others that he grew the beard to hide scars received in battle, or a weak chin. Whatever the reason, he started a fashion that would last for 200 years. Nero is sometimes depicted with a beard, but coins from his reign show that he was clean-shaven for most of his adult life.

By the time of Constantine the Great (307-337) beards were again out of fashion.

Answer: Traveling

Hadrian's travels are famous. In less stable times it would have been risky for an emperor to leave Rome, unless he took the army with him. But Hadrian traveled extensively, and it is said that he visited nearly every province in the Empire. These travels allowed him to inspect the legions, strengthen the Empire's borders, learn first-hand about local problems, and hear the complaints of the provincials.

It was during one of these visits, to Britain in 122, that he ordered the building of Hadrian's Wall, a 73 mile long structure designed to separate the province of Britannia from the barbarian Picts in the north. Parts of the wall are still standing today.

Answer: Judaea

Called the Bar Kokhba revolt, or the Third Jewish War, it lasted for four years and was a test of Roman military strength. There are many theories about the cause of the revolt, but one of the most believable is that Hadrian renamed Jerusalem "Aelia Capitolina," and planned to build a temple to Jupiter on the site of Solomon's temple.

The Jews, under the leadership of Simon bar Kokhba, won some initial victories over the Romans, and succeeded in establishing an independent state that lasted for a few years. Eventually it took 12 legions - a third of the entire Roman army - to put down the revolt.

The Roman historian Cassius Dio wrote that 580,000 Jews were killed during the war. Roman retribution was harsh; the province of Judaea was abolished, and Jews were forbidden to enter Jerusalem.

Answer: It was the most peaceful in Roman history

Antoninus Pius, who ruled from 138 to 161, enjoyed the longest reign since Augustus. His reign was regarded by Gibbon as the pinnacle of the Roman Empire. There were few military problems, aside from some minor revolts and barbarian incursions, the economy was prosperous, and Antoninus was a very popular ruler.

He implemented many social and legal reforms, gave some rights to slaves, and limited the use of torture. One historian observed that the best proof of the effectiveness of Antoninus' rule is that so little happened during his reign that is worth writing about.

Answer: Parthia

Marcus Aurelius was emperor from 161 to 180. He shared the first eight years of his reign with a colleague, Lucius Verus, and became sole ruler upon Verus' death in 169. The Parthians invaded Armenia, a Roman client state, in 161, setting off a war that would last for many years. Marcus Aurelius seems to have had little formal military training, and Lucius Verus commanded the Roman armies during the Parthian campaign, which lasted five years, but eventually resulted in a Roman victory. Unfortunately, the returning armies brought with them a plague, possibly smallpox, which devastated much of the Empire.

In 166, the Marcomanni and the Lombards, Germanic tribes, crossed the Danube River, Rome's traditional border, and other tribes soon followed. Marcus Aurelius would be engaged in warfare on the borders of the Empire against the Germanic tribes for the remainder of his life.

Answer: Named his biological son as his heir

Marcus Aurelius' son was the totally worthless Commodus (yes, the one played by Joaquin Phoenix in "Gladiator"). The other four emperors had not had biological sons, and so were able were able to choose worthy men to succeed them. It is strange that Marcus Aurelius chose to name Commodus as his heir, as he must have seen the bad qualities in his son before he died. Paternal affection must have overcome his love for Rome and his Stoic philosophy. Commodus was such a bad ruler that many believed that he was not Marcus' son at all, and started rumors that his mother had conceived him during an adulterous tryst with a gladiator. Among Commodus' other ideas was to rename the city of Rome after himself.

Although Commodus was assassinated after twelve years on the throne, he left an Empire that was bankrupt and teetering on the brink of chaos.