|
In ancient Rome, the period of time between 96
AD and 180 AD is often referred to as that of the "Five Good
Emperors", because the five men that came to power during this
period brought the Roman Empire a strength and prosperity unseen
since the days of Octavian. They were to be the last great emperors
before the decline and fall of the empire. It was the manner of their
selection that allowed the empire to prosper, for each of the five
emperors was chosen based on skill and experience, rather than made
emperor through blood ties or civil wars.
Prior to appointment of the first of the
"five good emperors", the empire had found itself in dire
times. Constant civil war over the position of emperor left the
people demoralized and vulnerable, with an unsteady government to
protect them. This changed in 69 AD when Flavius Vespasian was
victorious in his civil war and was proclaimed emperor. He stabilized
the government and put the people's mind at ease. This was not to
last however, and his second son Domitian took the position of
emperor in 81 AD. Domitian's cruelty and eccentric desires inspired a
disgust among the public that is rumored to have rivaled Nero's. The
public was fearful of another aftermath of civil war however, so
rebellions were few and far between. Domitian was eventually murdered
in 96 AD, leaving the empire with no leader to turn to.
With the murder of Domitian, the blood line to
the throne was ended, and no generals were in position to take
control. This gave the senate the opportunity to choose a suitable
new leader. Marcus Cocceius Nerva was chosen to be that leader, a
long time Flavius supporter with a strong history as a senator with
influential political ties. He was already 66 when he became emperor,
and had no sons to carry on the title. He was to remain in office
only two years, but would create a tradition that would keep the
empire strong for the next 84 years.
In reality, Nerva's short time in power kept him from making any
major changes to Roman society. He was labeled as a great leader
mainly due to comparison from the previous emperor the people had
been subjected to. Most of the changes he put into effect were merely
repairing the damage that Domitian had caused before him. In the two
years that he reigned he put forth a number of budget changes,
allotting more to the poor of Italy and refusing to have gold or
silver statues made of himself. He also swore before the senate to
never execute it's members. It was the at the end of his life,
however, that Nerva truly made his mark on Rome and provided the
means for it to be a strong society for years to come.
In the past, the method of passing along the title of emperor had
primarily been through shared bloodlines, whether the emperor's son,
nephew, or a far more removed connection. However, Nerva had no sons
to pass his title on to. Instead, he nominated a successor that had
already proven himself in the Roman system. He adopted Marcus Ulpius
Trajanus as his heir.
Trajan was an understandable choice as successor
to the throne. He was currently commanding the troops on the Rhine,
and already held a high level of respect from the armies of Rome. He
was 46 by the time he became emperor in 98 AD, and already had plenty
of past experience. He is remembered as a quiet military man of high
ability and character. Trajan stayed in the Rhine and Danube regions
of the empire for a few years, strengthening defenses and assessing
loyalties, before finally returning to Rome in 100 AD. Although his
style of rule had many similarities to the cruel and eccentric
Domitian's, Trajan's good nature and respect for his former superiors
won him great favor and respect.
Trajan's new ideas and attitude provided Rome with a terrific boost
to both the economy and it's military conquests. Taking note of the
poor financial situation the empire was in, Trajan put forth new
ideas for profit, rather than the usual taxation of the masses or
confiscation and fines. Instead, he cut down on the spending for
unneeded luxuries in both his imperial household and public
departments, as well as weakening monopolies to help free trade
flourish. These measures generated a vast public wealth that no other
rule had previously achieved.
Trajan was still a soldier at heart, however, and the economic boost
could hold his interest for only so long. It was during Trajan's
reign that the empire's borders reached their greatest extent,
although they were lost again almost immediately afterwards. Trajan's
first conquest was against the Dacians in modern-day Romania, who had
been raiding within the borders of Rome under the command of their
king, Decebalus. In 101 AD, Trajan organized his first expedition
against the Dacians. He bridged the Danube and marched on the Dacian
capital with frightening ferocity. Decebalus submitted, but then
reverted to his old ways almost immediately after. Trajan was forced
to take to the field against him once again and Dacia was conquered
in 106 AD, it's leader choosing suicide over Roman execution.
Another campaign of conquest was started in 113 AD when the Parthians
placed a king in Armenia without Rome's approval. Although it is
likely Trajan's personal ambitions were likely also a factor, this
was reason enough to depose the Parthians of any might that could
begin to rival Rome's. Over the next three years he took Armenia,
marched south east across Mesopotamia and Assyria, ending at the
Persian Gulf. Although he wished to move against Parthia further,
uprisings in the newly acquired land and his own failing health
forced him to retreat back to Italy, leaving the east in the hands of
his successor, Hadrian. Trajan never made it back to Rome, dying in
Cilicia in 117 AD.
After Trajan's death, Publius Aelius Hadrianus
was named as his successor. It is unknown whether Trajan had
previously named Hadrian, or the decision was made by Trajan's wife
after his death. In either case, the eastern armies had already
hailed Hadrian as their new emperor, and the senate was quick to make
it official. Hadrian had accompanied Trajan in many of his military
conquests, and had been left in charge of the Rhine when Trajan had
left for Rome. Hadrian acted as Trajan's second in command during the
war against Parthians, and was an understandable choice for the
soldiers to rally behind. Before his visit to Rome for the
deification of his predecessor however, four men of power that Trajan
had put in command throughout the empire were executed by orders of
the senate. Although Hadrian claimed no responsibility, suspicion
haunted him for the rest of his life.
Hadrian proved to be a much different man than his predecessor,
however. Hadrian's ideas of strengthening government and not
overstretching the empire's resources were a direct contrast to
Trajan's expansions. Where Trajan saw marauding barbarians that could
be conquered by his armies, Hadrian saw an untamed frontier that
would prove to costly to hold. In his bid to strengthen the empire as
a whole, he ordered the land that had been taken in the Parthian
campaign to be abandoned, and instead fell back to the Euphrates
river in current day Turkey. He theorized that the only way to defeat
Rome's enemies was to maintain organized efficiency, a skill which
the barbarians lacked. He also believed that the empire would be best
protected by declaring it's borders on either natural or man-made
boundaries. It was in the spirit of this belief that he had a massive
wall built along the empire's northern border in Britain. Hadrian's
wall, as it is called, has come to represent his stronghold ideal.
The great expanse of the empire had proved difficult in maintaining a
connection from the government of Rome to the outer territories,
leaving those territories to be governed more by local leaders than
Rome itself. Hadrian differed from other emperors in this respect,
spending much of his time visiting the outer regions of the empire
and inspecting the military garrisons spread throughout. For although
calm, his rule was not entirely peaceful. During his reign he made an
enemy of the Jewish people by forbidding their religious practices
and by building a shrine to the god Jupiter on the site of a
previously razed ancient Jewish temple. The Jews raised against him
in anger, prompting Hadrian to order the eradication of fifty Jewish
fortresses and almost a thousand villages.
In his later years, Hadrian became less popular with the people,
garnering the image of a cruel man who no longer held the best
interests of Rome as his primary concern. This image was further
validated by his first choice as successor, Lucius Aelius Aurelius
Commodus. Lucius Aelius had very few qualifications for the job, and
Hadrian was believed to have selected him for only his good looks.
Lucius soon died however, and Hadrian was left to his next choice for
successor, a far more qualified man named Antoninus. Hadrian died
that same year in the June of 138 AD at his imperial villa.
Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus,
or Antoninus Pius as he would later be called, proved to be another
bastion of stability for the empire. Antoninus had been born into a
family of powerful politicians, and had followed his ancestors
example to the fullest. He had already reached consulship by the time
Hadrian was declared emperor, and he was soon made an administrator
for the new emperor. During this time, he served what many would have
considered a full career under Hadrian. After the death of Hadrian's
would-be successor, Antoninus proved a prime choice for heir. Hadrian
adopted Antoninus, and in return Antoninus adopted Hadrian's nephew
by marriage, Marcus Annius Verus, a youth with whom Hadrian had spent
considerable time, as well as the original successor's orphaned eight
year old, Lucius Ceionius Commodus.
Antoninus' reign brought 23 years of peace to an empire that had been
undergoing political upheavals and wars for centuries. It was this
lack of major changes that made his reign such a successful one. His
major social works included finishing many of the projects that
Hadrian had started, continuing the suppression of spending on
extravagant luxuries, and giving gifts and public games to the people
and men whom distinguished themselves to the empire. Holding an
interest in law like many of his predecessors, he formed legislation
for the protection of slaves, as well as furthering a number of
family protection laws. After his wife died in 141 AD, he dedicated a
program in her memory that offered loans to farmers, and then donated
the funds that were generated from it to orphaned girls. Also, during
numerous disasters and famine, Antoninus was known for providing oil,
grain, and wine free to those affected, through his own private
funds. Acts like these prompted the Senate to bestow the name
"Pius" on their dedicated emperor.
Unlike Hadrian before him, Antoninus spent most of his time in Rome
proper, bringing the strength of the government back to it's original
home. He claimed that he didn't want to burden the outer territories
with the cost that entails housing an emperor. Antoninus was only
able to do this because of the information that Hadrian had gathered
before him. Only two major changes were made to the empire's borders
during his reign, an expansion and strengthening of the eastern
boarder in upper Germany, and a fortified earthen wall constructed
some distance north of Hadrian's Wall in Britain. From his position
in Rome, Antoninus was also able to thwart a Parthian attack on
Armenia by personally writing the Parthian king a letter of warning.
In preparation for his passing of the empire to his two pre-appointed
heirs, his daughter was married to Marcus Aurelius in 145 AD, and
both of the young men had already held the consulship numerous times.
Antoninus' stable empire had also proved helpful in providing a large
surplus for which the two successors could rely on. Antoninus died in
161 AD, having provided the empire with a period of safety,
prosperity, and sanctity that could quite possibly be the greatest it
would ever see.
After Antoninus' death in 161 AD, Hadrian's
plans for the future of the empire were soon put into effect. Marcus
was the unopposed choice for new emperor, and he immediately named
his brother Lucius co-emperor. Although both had been given a similar
education, Marcus proved to be a far more responsible leader than his
younger brother. Marcus had a love of philosophy, but was often
forced to sacrifice his personal desires for the best interests of
the empire. He believed that his responsibility was to Rome first,
everything else was unimportant in comparison. His brother did not
share this self-limiting lifestyle however, and often used the
resources available to him to pursue enjoyment and luxuries when his
attention was needed elsewhere. This became apparent to the elder
Marcus when he sent Lucius to oversee the war against Parthia in 162
AD. Unlike during Antoninus' reign, the enemies of the empire were
quite active during this period, with Parthia making another attempt
at Armenia and Germanic tribes rallying together against Rome in the north.
In the east, Lucius, who had very little military experience, spent
the majority of his time entertaining himself at cities far from the
front lines. Realizing the gravity of the situation with the
Parthians, Marcus also dispatched some of Rome's greatest military
figures along with Lucius, giving command of the forces in Syria to
Avidius Cassius. Under the command of these great men, Rome's army
devastated the Parthian kingdom. The Parthians capitulated in 166
after four years of desperate losses. The victory over Parthia was
short lived, however, as a plague spread across the empire. The
emperors did their best to control the disease, and offer aid to
those effected by it. However, another war was soon to break out,
diverting the rulers' attention once again.
To the north, a collection of German tribes allied together against
the empire, making themselves a major threat to the safety of the
Roman people. The two emperors quickly conscripted an army and
marched to defend the empire in 168 AD, Marcus attending to this war
in person. Lucius Veras died the next year, after a supposed peace
with the barbarians. However, the German tribes broke the peace and
crossed the Danube, laying siege to a city in Roman territory. Marcus
began a slow war of dividing and conquering the tribes that was
interrupted in 175 AD when Avidius Cassius claimed himself to be a
new emperor. Marcus begrudgingly traveled to Syria, only to find
Cassius killed before he arrived. Marcus soon returned to the German
front with his son Marcus Aurelius Commodus Antoninus. Marcus died at
the front in 180 AD, leaving both the war and the empire in the hands
of his 16 year old son. This was to be the first time in over 80
years that the title of emperor was passed to someone chosen by blood
rather than adopted on account of ability, and would prove to end the
period of great rulers.
The passing of leadership to Marcus' son,
Commodus, proved to be a fatal step in the future of the Roman
empire. He immediately offered peace with the barbarians, forgoing
his father's war for the safety and luxury that the city of Rome
could provide him. An agreement was reached, and the reputation of
Rome was forever weakened. Commodus proved to be another Nero
incarnate, put into a position of power too young and without the
proper training and experience. Commodus' crazed megalomania was a
sure sign that the golden age of the empire was over. He was
assassinated in 192 AD, plunging the empire once again into civil war.
Although each of these emperors had a different way of managing the
empire, a shared goal made them all effective emperors. Each of these
men realized the importance of the empire over themselves, and each
was willing to make sacrifices in order to strengthen it. The
continuing of the line by adoption rather than by blood allowed the
best candidates to be selected, ensuring that the likes of Domitian
and Nero, youths simply born into the power of emperor, could no
longer threaten the empire.
The seemingly coincidental lack of imperial sons
had provided emperors selected for competency and destined to
succeed. This provided a haven for the empire from the civil wars and
internal conflicts that had been tearing it apart since it's earliest
days. Within this shelter, the empire grew and prospered, and reached
the greatest expanse of territory, power, and influence that it, or
arguably any other country in the world, would ever see again. |