Rome: Augustus to Marcus Aurelius Quiz

Answer: Claudius

Claudius reigned for 13 years and proved to be a very good general. He invaded Britain and died in 54 AD.

Answer: False

He rarely was in Rome because he didn't want to deal with the unrest there. In fact, he never went back to Rome after 19 AD.

Answer: 24 BC

He was never declared emperor however, as there was no name for the position he was given. He was just supreme ruler. Tiberius was given the actual title of "emperor" called Princeps.

Answer: True

Believe it or not, Tiberius was actually not liked at the end of his reign by the public or some of the politicians. They actually welcomed Caligula. What a blunder!

Answer: Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus

He was the brother of Nero and the uncle of Tiberius.

Answer: Gaius

As with a lot of inter marrying in Roman times, Augustus only produced one daughter (Julia) whose husband was expected to become heir. He died prematurely and so Agrippa, Augustus best friend, was forced to divorce his wife and marry Julia. They produced five children (three sons and two daughters) and Augustus adopted two grandsons Gaius and Lucius both of which died early in their lives.

This forced Augustus to adopt Tiberius as his heir, which he did not want to do, but had no choice.

Answer: 3

He was raised by Agrippina thereafter, the same Agrippina that frustrated Tiberius during his reign.

Answer: False

Although he is considered one of the twelve Caesars, he has no direct relation with Julius Caesar's family.

Answer: Kicked to death

Her name was Poppaea and she was kicked to death by Nero, who had fallen in love with her after stealing her from Otho when he (Nero) was emperor. This was one of the main reasons why Otho wanted revenge on him - which he never got because Nero committed suicide.

Answer: Claudius

Vetellius used his father's position to advance his career. He became the third emperor in 68 and lasted the longest of all emperors of that year except Vespasian. Vitellius reigned for a little under nine months.

Answer: Reate

He was a member of the Flavian family and also considered to be one of the 12 Caesars. In modern Italian Reate is known as Rieti and lies to the north of Rome.

Answer: Domitian

He reigned for only two years and was very fluent in Greek and an excellent politician.

Answer: False

He was a political outcast and was arrested and put under siege by Vitellius. Even his father refused to give him a political position until late in Vespasian's reign.

Answer: false

Nerva helped to further establish and solidify the system of emperor adoption and successorship. His heir, Trajan, was one of the most military ambitious generals of all time, but that's another story. :)

Answer: Trajan

Trajan conquered most of Mesopotamia, all of Dacia, and the Parthian empire along with Armenia.

Answer: Germany

He never conquered Germania although there were plans to conquer it during Marcus Aurelius' reign.

Answer: True

He was so well liked by the people that he often went to homes and palaces without his gaurd.

Answer: Stroke

He fell ill while besieging the city of Hatra and died in Cicilia shortly after. Hatra, in present day Iraq and was the capital of the first Arab kingdom.

Answer: True

Hadrian ruled during one of Rome's greatest periods of history. His successor was Antoninus Pius.

Answer: 23 years

He founded the dynasty of the Antonines which included himself, the great Marcus Aurelius, and Commodus.

Answer: Dacian revolt

He proved a more than able commander and streched the empire almost further than Trajan had. He retook Mesopotamia and Parthia after Hadrian withdrew from them. He then came up with a campaign to change the course of history: an invasion of Germany. But like Augustus and Trajan, he died before he could begin his campaign.

He told his son to vow he would continue the campaign, but Commodus, instead of invading, made peace.

Answer: 166

This later proved to be a very bad decision by Marcus Aurelius, one of his most serious mistakes.

Answer: PaternusTigidius Perennis

He killed a lot of people and then was killed by his wrestling partner Narcissus in 192.

Answer: He didn't have one

This was the single worst flaw of any Roman emperor. He never declared an heir, which caused the emperorship to go up for auction.

Answer: True

People actually stood outside the emperor's palace and bid for the emperorship. The first emperor to win was Didius Julianus, the second emperor after Commodus. He did not reign very long because he had no support among the people or in army. He was exiled by the Senate when Septimus Severus marched on Rome in 193.