there were very few lives in Antiquity like that of a Roman Emperor the power to rule over
millions access to anything money can buy and the immediate fulfillment of Any Given command surely
Emperors must have lived very happy lives but as the saying goes with great power comes great
responsibility Wars have to be won disasters need to be mitigated people have to be fed and all that
has to be done with the highest efficiency all the while a watchful eye has to be kept
on potential Rivals usurpers and Rebels the Roman philosopher Cicero compared such a life to having
a sword hanging right above your head and ready to fall at any moment for the tiniest of mistakes
in this video we will cover all the pleasures and difficulties of an Emperor's life and perhaps you
could ask yourself if such a life would even be desirable for you today's video is sponsored by
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wonderium today regardless of the omnipresent threats the life of a Roman Emperor was one of
unlimited luxuries and Pleasures especially if he was born into the Imperial family as the Supreme
Authority reigning over a huge part of the Known World his wealth knew No Boundaries as did his
power to indulge himself in all the pleasures and activities out of the reach for the common people
even for us today it's impossible to imagine the full extent of the phrase everything money can
buy but we can go over how various Roman emperors made use of this power Commodus founded hundreds
of Gladiators and exotic animals to fight and die in the Coliseum he personally is said to
have killed dozens of lions with javelins and shot off the heads of ostriches with crescent-shaped
arrows Caligula built himself two extravagant floating pleasure palaces filled with Gardens
and luxuries the largest ship was 73 meters or 240 feet in length Nero built himself a palace
in the very hearts of Rome complete with a private Lake and Gardens to top it all off his dining hall
had an enormous dome which powered by water was constantly rotating day and night but these were
the most outgoing emperors others enjoyed the benefits of a quiet peaceful retirement but were
still surrounded by impressive luxuries Hadrian built himself a huge Palace in the latest Roman
architectural design and had a ready supply of beautiful servants and fine works of art
Diocletian always eager to seclude himself from public eyes built a huge Palace in what is now
a modern split in Croatia to find a peaceful place to enjoy his scarce free time while he
was tirelessly reforming the Empire as you can tell Emperors enjoyed their time as they saw fit
but there would always be exaggerated rumors of excesses and over-indulgence in various Pleasures
after all the emperor's private life was always in the public eye and at the center of Gossip
so it was a good idea to keep a minimum level of ostentation like exotic pets expensive clothing or
rare pieces of art at the same time nobody would follow a stingy Emperor who dressed like a common
plebayan or lived a quiet life let's just say there was a fine line to stay on and every person
had a different opinion on where this line must be depending on their morals so there was really
no way to please everyone what an emperor could do to please the people is develop and improve civil
buildings which was very expensive the Empire's finances didn't have a yearly budget but it relied
on the income generated by Warfare and expansion supplemented by taxation to make ends meet if the
Imperial treasury happened to be in good shape a wise Emperor would let his imagination run loose
with new temples repairing existing structures and building new infrastructure Augustus would
always brag how he transformed Rome from a city of brick to a city of marble and Hadrian built
his famous Mausoleum and repaired many Asian monuments perhaps the most famous in this regard
were the flavians who gave up spoils from Judea to construct the Coliseum these constructions
not only kept thousands of urban workers and contractors employed which gave a consequential
economic benefit to the rest of the city but also displayed the prosperity of the Empire to the Mass
this in turn enhanced the image of its ruler and his fine taste in architecture if such
Titanic undertakings were also complemented by distributions of free oil and bread to the
people along with magnificent spectacles and games an emperor had little to fear
from the masses as long as the Imperial treasury could keep up with the expenses
keeping the populace happy was a matter of spending but there were some people for whom
it mattered very little all they wanted was a share in the management of the Empire and the
emperor in turn always needed help in this matter but the trick was finding the right people to
do it after all a ruler is only as good as the people he delegates work to for it is them who
actually run the whole empire it may seem very easy but appointing the correct officials was
often a nightmarish task for an emperor not only the correct man for the job had to be found but
it also had to be befitting of his dignity and social rank to ensure that the balance of power
was maintained if an equestrian is promoted to governor of the province of Mauritania it would be
a huge honor for him but if the same promotion was made to a senator it would be somewhat offensive
as Mauritania was considered a less important Province to govern and hardly a promotion for
a senator thus the emperor must be familiar not only with the hierarchy of social classes but
also of provinces cities and ranks or else he risks making enemies too soon angry Senators
could be Troublesome in the future as not only did they dominate the higher echelons of the social
hierarchy but they also administered provinces LED Legions and had a fair amount of authority
in matters of State in short a wise Emperor had to respect the Senators and their old Republican
institution even though he outranked them a good example for this is trajan who made sure
to consult the senate for a permission to begin the dacian wars even though he had all the power
to not even bother with them trajan's modesty was rewarded when the Senate immortalized him with the
title of best emperor of Rome an extreme opposite example comes from Emperor Caligula who apparently
elevated his horse to the position of Consul above the Senate but it would be the Senators who would
have the last laugh when they soon had the emperor assassinated for his tyranny but senators were
not the only ones interested in a share of the Imperial management sitting just beneath them in
the social hierarchy were the equestrians who were the best candidates for any minor or mid-level
posts in the Imperial Administration their class was made up of prosperous businessmen Traders and
landowners and was open to any simple plebeian who excelled in life as a result their class
was meritocratic and could fill a wide range of positions with their Limitless skills from
infrastructural development and financial sectors to Junior military officer ranks and governorships
of minor provinces they were truly the Jack of all trades many equestrians relied on the favor of the
Imperial Courts for promotion and had more to gain from the regime than the Senate the praetorian
prefect is the best example of this by placing a hand-picked equestrian as his chief advisor and
leader of the praetorian Guard an emperor made sure his bodyguard would always support him and
at the same time made him an object of fear and contempt to the Senators however some offices were
better kept in the hands of loyal men regardless of social conventions freedmen being former slaves
of The Emperor's household were perfectly suited for many of these tasks as even in Liberty they
were formally Bound by Family Ties to their former Master the emperor could thus make sure they would
conduct themselves with the utmost loyalty in Zeal all in hopes of further promotion into the
higher levels of administration but this was a solution that had to be used with restraint
because other social classes might feel relegated by lowly Friedman from their share of power lastly
an emperor had to have good provincials and local Aristocrats who acted as a critical Nexus between
the Imperial Administration and local populations these middlemen always had a lot to gain for their
active collaboration with the head of state and would complete tasks like the maintenance of Roads
the Gathering of supplies and various building projects these local Aristocrats also filled
up a sizable share of the junior officers in the legions now that running the empire fires out of
the way how would an emperor secure popularity and the love of his subjects when the vast population
is illiterate and never even saw him the answer is through propaganda many of the best Emperors we
know today were just experts at using propaganda while some of the worst simply had no talent for
it the Divine Augustus for example was known to publicize his name and regime in every corner of
the Empire and silence the achievements of others in favor of his own even denying them of triumphs
he even wrote his own unbiased history of all his achievements which no historian of his time dared
to challenge one such tool of propaganda were coins the currency used daily by every citizen
and no Emperor skipped the opportunity to depict himself as a Victorious General adored by the gods
along with all his titles and achievements statues were also a good choice and there were plenty of
them in all the major cities of the Empire as they allowed the emperor to always be present in
all his Splendor each province also had its Cult of priests dedicated to boosting the emperor's
popularity among the people but all above methods paled in comparison to the following a tour of the
provinces of the Empire citizens could catch a glimpse of the emperor in person and enjoy the
feasts and ceremonies that came along while local Elites could use the opportunity to show their
loyalty and Lobby for a promotion into Imperial Service the emperor Hadrian spent most of his rain
touring many of his provinces a feat for which he is now remembered as the traveling Emperor
he would also fund building projects in various cities to express his love to all its inhabitants
even the distant Legions got a healthy dose of recognition as Hadrian gave public speeches and
awarded talented Soldiers with gifts after all the Loyalty of the legions and praetorians was
critical so it was in the best best interest of every Emperor to dedicate much time and resources
to keeping them happy it's as the dying septimius Severus allegedly advised his two sons before they
succeeded him enriched the soldiers and scored everybody else Severus knew that the worst thing
to happen after his death would be a bloody Civil War for the throne which would offset all of what
he worked so hard for thus every Emperor needed to have a succession plan long before his death
to ensure the Empire's stability would not be jeopardized on his death if no male heirs are
present a suitable candidate had to be chosen or adopted long before old age he should then
be properly educated by teachers pedagogues and philosophers to ensure he is prepared to rule the
Empire the philosopher Seneca played a big role in educating young Nero before he took the throne it
is not enough to just have a successor an emperor must also prove him to be a capable leader he must
accompany the emperor on different campaigns Council meetings and be part of the Imperial
Court's daily routine this will assure everyone that the Empire will be in good hands Tiberius
Titus and trajan for example had earned military victories by the time they became official heirs
to the throne and had a lot of experience with matters of State unfortunately this method was
not always successful as Marcus Aurelius tried the same with Commodus but had little success
in turning him into a capable ruler even with a skilled Heir ready to take over a succession
could still degenerate into a civil war if more than one candidate is present as opposing parties
and armies could support them over others to try to avoid this coins should be minted depicting
both Emperor and Heir together so that all common people and soldiers know their future ruler as you
can see a good Emperor rarely had time to rest and and the job of ruling one of the largest Empires
on Earth never ceased and even if all careful steps are taken there is no guarantee that
some upset Senator praetorian or Governor won't conspire to Rise Against you perhaps all at once
so would you sign up for the life of an emperor or leave that task to someone else let us know in
the comments a special thanks for me goes to our patrons that continue to support us feel free to
join them if you wish to immortalize your name in our videos we hope to see you all in the next one