Five Good Emperors



Five Good Emperors

Introduction

In the history of Roman Empire, the period governed by Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus, and Marcus is known as the period of five good emperors (AD 96-180). These were the Emperors who ruled the Roman Empire during the most majestic days. The reason for calling them good emperors is the fact that they were successful in winning the cooperation and support of the senate (Koeller, 1996). This essay describes the contribution of these five emperors to the ancient Roman Empire.

The Emperors

Most of the historians consider the period of AD 96-180 a very high point of human history. During the period of five good emperors in the Roman Empire, the distinction between Romans and provincials got nearly diminished. This is due to the fact that Italians no longer dominated the Roman Empire, rather than a large majority of citizens, senators, emperors, and soldiers belonged to the provincial backgrounds (Christopher, 2000). The successor to the emperor was not chosen on the basis of dynastic principle, but on the basis of his tried ability. Thus, the five emperors did not belong to a blood line; the assassins of Domitian principated Nerva (96-98 AD) and the other emperors were adopted heirs (Gill, 2013). Nerva was quite a conservative man as he never put any of the senate members to death. The major features of the Nerva's government included the completion of Dominitan's projects, successful relations with the senate, lavish spending for the purpose of securing good will of people, initiation of system of adopting heirs and attempts he made to ensure that the people begin to dislike the Dominitan.

Trajan (98-117 AD) was the first Roman who became emperor; his family did not belong from Italy but from Spain. Before Nerva elevated Trajan to purple, Trajan had a distinguished career in military. Trajan killed all the leaders of the group who had shamed Nerva. Trajan not only worked for the consolidation of Empire, but also made various efforts for the wars of conquest in Parthia and Dacia. During the rule of Trajan, the Roman Empire along with its Southern and Eastern neighbors saw the flourishing of trade and commerce. In addition, the local aristocrats spent the sums on their cities which were lavish as compared to ever before, and the provinces thrived significantly. The influential Latin writers including Juvenal, Tacitus, Martial, Pliny and Suetonius made the Latin literature flourished ...