From a debaucherous teenager to the man who ended the Roman Republic, here are 6 of Rome’s
worst emperors
Number 6 Elagabalus Elagabalus became emperor at the age of 14,
following a plot put together by his mother and aunt.
As soon as he took the mantle of ruler, Elagabalus showed utter disregard for Roman values, religious
traditions and sexual taboos.
One historian described his life as “unspeakably disgusting” while historian Adrian Goldsworthy
called him “probably the least able emperor Rome had ever had”.
He was of Syrian descent, and only became known as Elagabalus after his death.
To legitimize his rule, he took the name Marcus Aurelius Antonius Augustus.
The name Elagabalus stemmed from the fact that he’d replaced Jupiter as the leading
god of the Roman pantheon with the Syrian sun god El-Gabal.
As high priest of the deity, he forced others to participate in rites and sacrifices.
The young emperor was married five times.
He continued to have affairs, while married to a Vestal Virgin, which caused outrage among
Romans.
Elagabalus preferred the company of men and described himself as the “wife” and “queen”
of his chariot driver.
He would reportedly prostitute himself to men in the imperial palace, many of whom were
forced to play their part.
For an emperor, at that time, such behavior wasn’t tolerated.
He estranged the common people, the Senate and the Praetorian Guard.
He was ultimately assassinated by his guards, at age 18, and replaced by his Praetorian
prefect.
Before we continue with our list, answer this question.
What’s Emperor Elagabalus, a notorious prankster, credited for inventing?
Is it the a.
Air horn b.
Vampire teeth c.
Stink bomb d.
Whoopee cushion Let us know what you think in the comments
section below and stay tuned to find out the right answer!
Number 5 Caracalla Ancient sources present Caracalla as a tyrant
and as a cruel leader.
He’d inherited the throne alongside his brother, Geta, whom he had killed in front
of their mother.
He then ordered the massacre of all of Geta’s supporters.
Caracalla was described as a soldier first and then an emperor.
He seemed to only care about the military, as he assumed it was the only force that could
depose him.
Caracalla became obsessed with Alexander the Great, mimicking his style.
He organized 16,000 of his soldiers in Macedonian phalanxes.
This was done despite the fact that the battle formation had been made obsolete by the Roman
army.
Caracalla heard a legend that Aristotle had poisoned Alexander.
He subsequently entered a school in Alexandria and persecuted Aristotelian philosophers.
This wasn’t, however, his worst crime against the city.
Its inhabitants put on a play, mocking the emperor and the killing of his brother.
When Caracalla got wind of it, he slaughtered the citizens that had come to greet on his
arrival in Alexandria.
He then set his troops loose on the city for seven days of looting and plundering.
Caracalla was ultimately assassinated by one of his soldiers, as he stopped to urinate
on the side of the road.
Number 4 Nero Nero’s path to power was likely cleared
by his mother, Agrippina the Younger.
She’s believed to have played a role in the death of Claudius, Nero’s great-uncle
and predecessor.
A few years later, Nero had her killed as he resented the control she exerted over him.
Nero had his first wife, Claudia Octavia beheaded.
He then had her head brought to Rome and showed it to his second wife.
Some sources claim that Nero kicked his second wife to death, while she was pregnant with
their child.
Aside from these horrific acts, Nero’s rule was characterized by tyranny and extravagance.
In 64 AD a great fire consumed almost two thirds of urban Rome.
Some historic sources claim that Nero had ordered men to start the fire, so that he
could rebuild the city in his image.
It’s even said that he watched and sang from a tower as Rome burned.
Whether this is true or not, Nero did have a massive palatial complex built on the charred
remains of the city.
It was called Domus Aurea, and the cost of its construction was supported by heavy taxation
throughout the empire.
Nero blamed the fire on the city’s Christian community.
Thus began the first mass-persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire.
Many were arrested, beaten, tortured and executed.
It’s said that Nero would have Christians set on fire to light the gardens of his palace
and revel in the smell of their burning flesh.
In 422, historian Augustine of Hippo mentioned that Christians believed that Nero was, or
would return, as the Antichrist.
Some scholars argue that 666, the number of the beast in the “Book of Revelation”,
is code for Nero.
Rebellions towards Nero’s sadistic rule and abusive taxes ultimately caused the emperor
to flee the city.
He was tried in absentia, declared a public enemy and sentenced to death by the Senate.
In 68 AD, Nero became the first Roman emperor to take his own life, by forcing his private
secretary to stab him.
Number 3 Commodus The film “Gladiator”, although historically
inaccurate at times, did well to depict Emperor Commodus as a villainous ruler.
But the reality, supported by historical sources, was much worse.
Commodus envisioned himself as the reincarnation of Hercules and had countless statues of him
made in the Greek hero’s likeness.
A megalomaniacal leader, he proclaimed himself the new Romulus and ritually re-founded Rome.
The fleet, Senate and legions were all renamed to include “Commodus” in their name, as
were the common citizens and the city itself.
Historian Cassius Dio wrote a first-hand account of the emperor, describing him as “guileless”
and of “great simplicity”.
Commodus believed himself to be a living god, superior in physical prowess to all other
men.
He’d participate in staged battles in the arena, in which he killed slaves and slaughtered
countless animals.
These acts often horrified the Roman people through their sheer brutality.
People with physical disabilities were tethered together for Commodus to beat to death with
his club while pretending they were giants.
He charged the city of Rome enormous sums, for each appearance in the arena.
Attempts on his life fueled the emperor’s paranoia and Roman citizens were executed
simply for angering him.
One assassination plot was ultimately successful and culminated with Commodus being strangled
to death by his wrestling partner.
Number 2 Caligula After six months of noble and moderate rule,
Caligula became one of the most depraved, bloodthirsty and cruel emperors in the Empire’s
history.
Some historians have attributed this to a disease that the emperor nearly died of and
never fully recovered from.
The word “insane” has been used to describe his rule.
He would spend excessively, put together lavish orgies and demand to be worshipped as a living
god.
Caligula would torture and execute people on a whim.
They were often beaten, burned, flayed, poisoned or suffocated.
He would abuse, sometimes publicly, anyone he wished, including his sisters.
While presiding over a game, Caligula had an entire section of the audience thrown into
the arena to be devoured by wild beasts.
He was presumably bored and didn’t have any more slaves to sacrifice.
Most of Caligula’s ambitious construction projects were in honor of himself.
In 39 AD, he ordered the construction of a floating bridge, which was roughly 2 miles
long.
While wearing the breastplate of Alexander the Great, Caligula rode his favorite horse
Incitatus across it.
There’s even a legend that he made his horse a consul and ordered others to treat the animal
as such.
All his gruesome acts eventually led to Caligula becoming the first Roman emperor to be assassinated.
So, what gag toy was Emperor Elagabalus credited for inventing?
The right answer was d, whoopee cushion.
He’d reportedly use primitive animal-made whoopee cushions, to play practical jokes
on people.
He’d hold dinner parties and place them on the chairs of his guests.
The butt of his jokes included members of the aristocracy, many of whom were reportedly
unamused by the young emperor’s antics.
Number 1 Julius Caesar It may come as a surprise that Julius Caesar
made our list, at number one nonetheless.
He was never crowned emperor and took power as a military dictator.
Yet, those are exactly the reasons why his inclusion was so important.
Caesar’s ascension to power marked the demise of the Roman Republic and enabled the rise
of the Roman Empire.
A brilliant military mind, he waged wars in Britain and Gaul, in which he earned resounding
victories, thus extending Roman influence.
Believing that he’d be tried as a criminal for these unsanctioned wars, he entered Italy
with his legions behind him.
This led to a civil war with Pompey, the leader of the Senate.
Caesar emerged victorious, thereby earning unrivalled power and influence.
In 46 BC, he was appointed dictator for 10 years.
While Caesar was popular with the people, who weren’t opposed to the idea of him as
a ruler, the Senate wouldn’t stand for it.
As many as 60 conspirators, mainly members of Roman elite, plotted his assassination.
On March 15, 44 BC, Julius Caesar was stabbed to death during a Senate meeting.
By then, however, he’d already named Octavian as heir to his name and property.
After he emerged victorious in the subsequent civil war, Octavian became Augustus, Rome’s
first emperor.
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