The term Praetorian derived from the hut of the commanding general or praetor of a Roman army in the field—the praetorium. They were an elite recruitment of Roman citizens and Latins. It was a habit ...
It was suggested by some ancient writers, and accepted by many modern historians, that Roman emperors trusted Knights more than men of senatorial rank, and used the former as a political counterweight ...
Regal era (753 to 509 BC) According to Roman legend, Rome was founded by its first king, Romulus, in 753 BC. However, archaeological evidence suggests that Rome did not acquire the character of a unif ...
Imperatores in the ancient Roman Kingdom When Rome was ruled by kings, to be able to rule, the king had to be invested with the full regal authority and power. So, after the comitia curiata, held to e ...
The princeps senatus was not a lifetime appointment. He was chosen by every new pair of censors (that is, every 5 years). Censors could, however, confirm a princeps senatus for a period of another 5 y ...
Princeps (in this sense usually translated as "First Citizen") was an official title of a Roman Emperor as the title determining the leader in Ancient Rome at the beginning of the Roman Empire. It cre ...
Claudii Pulchri Publius Claudius Ap. f. C. n. Pulcher, consul in 249 BC; ignoring the auguries, he attacked the Carthaginian fleet at Drepana, and was entirely defeated. Recalled to Rome, he nominated ...
Marcus Domitius Ahenobarbus, the future Nero, was born on 15 December 37 in Antium, near Rome. He was the only son of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Agrippina the Younger, sister of Emperor Caligula. ...
Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, emperor from 27 BC to AD 14.Julia Augusta, empress of Augustus, and mother of the emperor Tiberius.Julia C. f. C. n., daughter of Augustus by his second wife, Scribonia ...
The Julii were without doubt of Alban origin, and it is mentioned as one of the leading Alban houses, which Tullus Hostilius removed to Rome upon the destruction of Alba Longa. The Julii also existed ...
Suetonius and the other ancient authors accused Claudius of being dominated by women and wives, of being uxorious, and of being a womanizer.Claudius married four times, after two failed betrothals. Th ...
Claudius was born on 1 August 10 BC at the Sanctuary of the Three Gauls in what is now Lyon, France. He had two older siblings, Germanicus and Livilla. His mother, Antonia, may have had two other chil ...
Caligula's actions as emperor were described as being especially harsh to the Senate, the nobility and the equestrian order. According to Josephus, these actions led to several failed conspiracies aga ...
See Julio-Claudian family tree.Caligula was born in Antium on 31 August 12 AD, the third of six surviving children born to Germanicus and Germanicus' second cousin Agrippina the Elder. Gaius's brother ...
Lucius Aelius Sejanus had served the imperial family for almost twenty years when he became Praetorian Prefect in AD 15. As Tiberius became more embittered with the position of Princeps, he began to d ...
