Severan Dynasty Research Paper The Severan Dynasty was a short era of the Roman Empire. This particular era ruled the Roman Empire between 193 and 235 AD. It was founded by Roman general Septimius Severus. Severus restored peace, however it did not last long due to the collapse of weak family relationships and political disturbances. The Severan Dynasty was ruled by a total of five emperors, hence the nickname Year of the Five Emperors. The emperors who ruled includes Septimius Severus, Caracalla, Macrinus, Elagabalus, and Alexander Severus. Prior to Septimius’ death, he passed the honor of co-emperor to his two sons. However, his first son, Caracalla, killed Geta. Geta was Severus Septimus’ youngest son. Caracalla committed this murder out of selfishness and the desire to rule alone. Although greedy, Caracalla was an artistic …show more content…
This replacement was planned by his grandmother, Julia Maesa. Severus Alexander was the last emperor to rule the Severan Dynasty. Alexander improved the overall condition of the citizens, which led to his popularity. Unfortunately under the Reign of Alexander, harmony was challenged with threats from Germanic Tribes and the growth of the Sassanid Empire. Unluckily, the Germanic Tribes refused to negotiate. This led to confusion and uproar, resulting in the assassination of Severus Alexander. The Severan Dynasty was overall a fairly helpless empire, due to its large number of rulers. Women were particularly active during this era, as they encouraged their male relatives. Each emperor ruling during this period contributed in a unique way, although each of them were killed at a fairly young age. Septimius Severus, Caracalla, Macrinus, Elagabalus, and Alexander Severus all attempted to rule the Severan Dynasty. Unfortunately each of them failed in one way or another. The Severan Dynasty is remembered for having been ruled by five different emperors in a short period of
Nero was just sixteen when the emperor Claudius died and was named as princeps after he bribed the Praetorian guards to secure his succession. Wary of any rival to his power, he ordered the execution of Britannicus, Claudius’ son with Messalina, as well as the exile Agrippina, his own mother. Nero’s first five years of reign were generally peaceful but he would soon sink to madness after this. He had his own mother killed, became increasingly corrupt, and wasted Rome’s tax money for his vices.
They created chaos in Rome, and forced many Romans to leave their homes. Romulus Augustulus, who many historians consider to be the last Roman Emperor, was deposed in 476 AD. Many historians believe that there were multiple events that led to the fall of Rome, and the deposition of Romulus Augustus is considered one of the key events that contributed
Caesar Augustus: Caesar Augustus, or earlier known as Octavian, was a military commander who later became the emperor of the Roman Empire. His reign lasted from 27 B.C.E. to 14 C.E. His title, Caesar Augustus, implied that he was a ruler with godlike qualities. This marked the end of republics in Rome and the rise of the empire. Augustus was a humble ruler, and seeked to preserve republic values, by refraining from calling himself an emperor, or king. His rule began the Pax Romana, or the era of great peace in the Roman Empire.
As Rome’s government began to change, the leadership became much less consistent. According to a chart compiled from various resources that lists the Roman emperors between 235 BCE and 285 BCE (Document 1), a majority of these emperors ruled for roughly two to three years, however some reigned for as little as or less than a year and some as much as seven to eight years. This constant change in leadership left the Roman army questioning their leadership often times more devoted to their earnings than to the man paying them. These leaders became careless as time went on, as stated in Vegetius’ Concerning Military Matters (Document 2), and the conflicting and constantly changing opinions on military strategy left the rigor and morale of the army in shambles. He states “...because of negligence and laziness, parade ground drills were abandoned, the customary armor began to seem heavy since the soldiers rarely ever wore it.
The preceding emperor, Didius Julianus, had illegitimately bought his way to the crown by inducing the Praetorian Guard to assassinate their former leader, Pertinax. Upon hearing of this, Severus was rightfully angered by the disloyalty of the Praetorian Guard and gained the trust of his army to seize back Rome, becoming sole ruler himself. Upon reaching the city, Severus was prepared for a civil war, but he discovered that Julianus had been betrayed by all; the Senate, the Roman people, and the Praetorian Guard had each declared Septimius Severus sole emperor of Rome. Didius Julianus was later rightfully executed, ending the succession of weak emperors. As emperor, Severus’ next step was to rid Rome of its cancer, the disloyal Praetorian Guard.
The Roman Empire lasted about 500 years from about 47 BC to AD 476. It started in Italy and eventually extended throughout Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa. Julius Caesar became dictator for life and was assassinated by the senate, however this began the transfer from a republic to an empire. The Roman Empire grew over time, getting bigger. Although it thrived, it fell around 476 C.E because of major issues.
In this 50-year time period there were 22 emperors, 14 people killed and 3 people that died from natural causes. This was believed to have happened because their empire was losing power. Them losing power made them an easy target for the other empires. Foreign invasions were another problem with the roman empire.
All his hard work was destroyed only after 10 years; it is hard to call this an empire compared to the other empires around during the time, and before and after the time that lasted hundreds of years. His empire was nothing compared to these massive long lasting empires. Alexander the Great did not deserve his tittle as great because he gained power by fear, killed innocent people, and his empire did not stay together long. Alexander the Great started conquering land at the age of 20, and in the process killed thousands of innocent people, used a fear tactic to gain his power, and built a massive empire that did not last very long. Some may see him as great, but if you look a little closer at the details Alexander did more harm then good trying to unite everybody.
The last ruler of Rome was Romulus Augustulus. His father, Orestes, was in the Roman army and worked his way up in power and position. He eventually became so powerful, that he seized control of the government and put his son on the throne. Romulus was too young to rule, so his father was in charge of all the political aspects, while Romulus was the face of the Emperor.
In Document A, it shows 19 Roman Emperors in the 50 years of 235-285 CE. Thirteen of the nineteen leaders were assassinated or possibly assassinated. This perhaps is because of weak leadership or only wanting the power for themselves. Citizens were also upset with how the government was not “not possessing the spirit of former generations” and because of this, it was “ruining the state.” (Doc E)
Augustus Caesar established the Roman Empire in 31 B.C.E. after inheriting the throne from his great-uncle, Julius Caesar. At the time of his rising to power Rome was in shambles due to multiple civil wars. In order to bring unification back to Rome, “Augustus allied with Marc Antony to reunify Rome by killing off most of its enemies in two of the bloodiest battles in the history of the Roman Empire” (Blackwell). Through many hard fought and costly battles Augustus never gave up however, and pushed his forces to keep on fighting.
During the Pax Romana the Roman Empire grew and prospered. Before this time period of great rulers Rome had a lot of corrupt rulers. There were five incredible emperors known as Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antonius Pius, and Marcus Aurelius (Spielvogel 292). Trajan was known as the best ruler. He was a successful and powerful leader.
Alexander became king of Corinthian League by eliminating his enemies. Alexander’s ego and reputation was very important to him. He inherited one of the largest empires by battling and over taking other kingdoms. He used his honorable position to launch a project his father had previously planned. The plan was called “Panhellenic project” and it was to lead the Greeks on a conquest to rule all of the land including Persia.
After his early death at the age of 33, Alexander left behind a vast empire stretching from Greece to northwestern India. In addition to his empire, however, Alexander also left a lasting impression on the world as a military leader and king. Even today Alexander remains a respected historical character, considering that his military strategies are still used in modern warfare. This paper thus attempts to answer the question what lasting impacts Alexander the Great had on future generations. In doing so this paper will examine three aspects of Alexander the Great: his personality, his military skills and, lastly, the resulting cultural impact of his conquests.
The name Romulus Augustus references both the first king and the first emperor of Rome, who were beloved in the eyes of their subjects, and with a monumental name to live up to, it was unfeasible for Romulus Augustus to triumph in the Romans's eyes. Romulus Augustus's one year reign was extraordinarily underwhelming and lacking in any tremendous discoveries or conquests, and much of it was not recorded by historians. As one reflects back on the past Roman leaders, it is clear to see Romulus Augustus, although he indubitably affected Rome in its destruction, had no colossal achievement to put his family into a permanent place of nobility as his father had once outlined. Romulus was born in 463 AD and was the son of Orestes, a major general of the Roman army. Orestes was an assistant to Attila the Hun, but once he died Orestes joined the western army and climbed to a high position.