Roman Emperor PosterYour assignment is to make a poster about your group’s assigned Roman Emperor.

Your task is to present a brief biography of your emperor on your poster. Here are some suggestions for information on your poster.

1. When born and died.2. How did the Emperor originally come to power? 3. How did he help expand and/or protect the Roman Empire? 4. How did he support or improve daily life in Rome? 5. What was his leadership style? 6. Who were his friends and how did they support him? 7. Who were his enemies and how did he deal with them?8. Draw a picture of your emperor.

When finished, your group will present your emperor’s biography to the class.

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Ancient Rome – Biography of Emperor Trajan

Occupation: Emperor of RomeBorn: September 18, 53 AD in Italica, HispaniaDied: August 8, 117 AD in Selinus, CiliciaReign: January 28, 98 AD to August 8, 117 ADBest known for: Considered one of Rome's greatest emperorsBiography:

Trajan is considered one of the greatest emperors in the history of Rome. He ruled for nineteen years from 98 AD to 117 AD. He conquered many lands and grew the Roman Empire to its largest expanse in history. His rule was a time of great prosperity for Rome.

Where did Trajan grow up?

Trajan was born in the Roman province of Hispania (the modern-day country of Spain). His father was a leading Roman politician and general. His mother came from a prominent Roman family. Although we don't know a lot about Trajan's childhood, he likely moved around the Roman Empire while growing up. He spent time in Spain as well as the city of Rome.

Early Career

Trajan followed his father and joined the Roman army. He was a gifted leader and soon rose up the ranks. He served with distinction in various parts of the Roman Empire including Syria. Trajan entered politics and was elected praetor and then consul. He also became a general over a full Roman legion.

Becoming Emperor

While Trajan was serving as governor of Upper Germany, he received a letter from Emperor Nerva. He was being adopted as Nerva's heir and would be next in line for the throne. It was common in Rome for an emperor who didn't have any sons to adopt an adult son as heir. Nerva picked Trajan because he was popular with the army.

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In 98 AD, Nerva died and Trajan became emperor. Trajan didn't immediately return to Rome, but visited the Roman legions to make sure he had the support of the army. He finally returned to Rome a year later and was received by the people and the senate as the new emperor.

Expanding the Empire

Because he had spent much of his life in the army, Trajan was often called a "soldier-emperor". He enjoyed battle and wanted to expand the Roman Empire. His first conquest was the kingdom of Dacia (modern-day Romania). Dacia became an important Roman province bringing wealth to Rome through its gold mines. His second major conquest was the kingdom of Parthia in Asia. He added two new Roman provinces in Asia including Armenia and Mesopotamia.

Building

Trajan also had many public works built throughout the Roman Empire. These works included bridges, aqueducts, baths, roads, public buildings, and canals. He also had a new forum built called Trajan's Forum in Rome.

Death

Trajan fell ill while campaigning in the Middle East. He died in Cilicia on his return to Rome. He was succeeded by his adopted son Hadrian.

Legacy

Trajan was considered one of the best emperors by the Roman Senate. After his death they would honor new emperors with the saying "be luckier than Augustus and better than Trajan."

Interesting Facts About Roman Emperor Trajan

He was the thirteenth Roman Emperor and the second of the Five Good Emperors.

His birth name was Marcus Ulpius Traianus. Trajan's Bridge over the Danube River was the longest arch bridge in

the world for over 1000 years. Trajan helped the poor through a welfare program called the

Alimenta.

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Trajan's column still stands in modern-day Rome. Trajan had it built to commemorate his victory over Dacia.

DiocletianSplit the empire into two huge pieces to

achieve better governmentDiocletian became emperor in an interesting way. When the current emperor died in battle, the Roman Army announced that Diocletian was the new emperor. In 285 AD, Diocletian became the Emperor of Rome. The empire had suffered years of war and famine and instability. Diocletian wanted to change this. Through reforms, he began to re-establish peace.

He had some new ideas. One of his best was to get some help running the empire. He decided the Roman Empire was too big for one man to govern. He split the empire down the middle, into two huge pieces. The western half included the city of Rome. The eastern half included Asia Minor. He chose his good friend, Maximian, to rule the Western Roman Empire. He ruled the Eastern Roman Empire. He also assigned two men the role of “Caesar” – assistants to the emperors. Caesars acted like junior emperors. It was a four-headed approach to government. Once he had leaders installed in various sections of the empire, he set about fixing some of the problems that had been facing the empire for many years. Diocletian changed the military system so that men served a term of 20 years. After that, they could retire with honor. He tried to restore the

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treasury with coins that had value and started new taxes on property and on individuals. He tried to restore the Roman religion, which meant he ordered people to return to the temples and worship the gods in the old ways. He believed Christianity was a threat to the Roman way of life. In 303 AD, he ordered the destruction of all Christian places of worship and the death of all Christians. These new edicts seemed to increase the number of followers, not decrease, but Christians were hunted until Constantine became emperor.

In AD 305, twenty years after he took power, Diocletian abdicated (turned over) his job as emperor, and retired to his beloved palace on the Croatian Coast. He believed he had put the Roman Empire back on course.

Peace for a while

Around 280 AD, the Sassanids gradually stopped attacking the Roman Empire so much. They were having civil wars of their own, and the Huns were attacking them from the north. Because the Romans didn’t have to fight in the East so much, they were able to concentrate on the Germans in the North, and managed to push them back for a while. They were also able to end the revolts inside the Empire.

Diocletian and the Tetrarchy

The Romans were helped in this project by having a young, energetic, and very skilled Emperor named Diocletian. Diocletian came to power in 284 AD. Like other Emperors of this time, he was an army general. Diocletian first pushed back the Sassanids and the Germans. Then he ended the revolts. Then he tried to solve the problem of the civil wars between the two halves of the army. Diocletian worked out a system where there would always be two Emperors, and each of these Emperors would have two assistants. This system is called the Tetrarchy (rule of four). When one of the Emperors died, his assistant would move up to being Emperor, and choose a new assistant.

Religious persecutions

Because Diocletian believed that only patriotic unity (everybody working together) would save the Empire, he was against anybody who seemed to be different from most Romans, or different from himself. One noticeable group of foreign immigrants were the Manichaeans, who had fled Bahram’s persecution in the Sassanid Empire and were refugees in the Roman

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Empire. Diocletian, like Bahram, tried to force people not to follow the Manichaean religion anymore. Most Manichaeans either abandoned their faith or fled (back) to the Sassanid Empire. Then Diocletian tried to force people not to be Christians anymore. This time it didn’t work as well – there were more Christians, and they weren’t refugees and didn’t want to move out of the Empire.

ValensTowards the end of the Western Roman

EmpireValens was a military man. When his brother became the emperor of the Western Roman Empire – the half that included Rome – he asked Valens to

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rule the other half, the Eastern Roman Empire. Valens said okay, and moved to Constantinople. When his brother died, Valens took over as senior-Augustus, the main emperor. He put his nephew, another military man, in charge of the Western Roman Empire. His nephew was not in Rome either. He was off, fighting a war.

More trouble was brewing. The Visigoths, the barbarians to the north, were fleeing from the Huns, another tribe. The Visigoths crossed the Danube and entered the Roman provinces to escape the Huns. Emperor Valens said: “Let them stay. What’s the big deal?” So they did. Hundreds of thousands of Visigoths settled in the Danube region of the Roman provinces.

Things might have ended differently if the Visigoths had been treated kindly. Emperor Valens had promised food, shelter and other help to the settlers. But Valens did not keep his promise. The Visigoths were forced to live in horribly crowded conditions, and they were starving. It is not surprising that the Visigoths rebelled. They did not have to cross the vast Danube River to attack. They were already in. To make matters worse, while the Visigoths kept the army busy, the Huns, another barbarian tribe, were free to cross the Danube and enter the Italian peninsula as well. Things were a mess back in Rome.

Valens rushed back to Rome to deal with it. He called upon his nephew to help. His nephew said sure. He’d be right there as soon as he finished the battle he was in. But Valens did not wait. He decided to take on the Goths (Visigoths) by himself. Valens’ army was wiped out, and Valens himself died in the battle in AD 378.

The Roman empire was out of money when Valens became emperor. So much had been wasted by previous emperors. There was nothing left to pay Roman soldiers or even construction crews. The Roman roads were not getting repaired and soon the road network fell apart. Without the road network, food and supplies as well as soldiers could not travel quickly across the empire. The barbarians were starting to take over parts of the Roman empire. To the Romans, anyone who was not a citizen of Rome or who did not speak Latin was a barbarian.

In Europe there were five major barbarian tribes - the Huns, Franks, Vandals, Saxons, and Visigoths (Goths) - and all of them hated Rome. Each of the barbarian tribes wanted to destroy Rome. The Barbarians were destroying Roman towns and cities in the outer regions of the empire. The

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only reason that they had not destroyed Rome yet was they spent almost as much time fighting each other as they did Rome.

Emperor Valens had a brilliant idea. He would ally with one of the Barbarian tribes against the others. He promised the Visigoth (Goths) land, slaves and other payment if they would attack the other barbarians and keep order along the Danube River. This might have worked. It had worked in other parts of the Roman empire. But there was a big problem with the idea. Rome was broke. There was no money to pay the Visigoths for their support as Rome had promised.

The Visigoths felt betrayed by the Romans and rebelled. Although Valens was no longer emperor when Rome fell, his actions contributed to the fall of the Roman empire. Most scholars consider that the western Roman empire ended in the year 476 CE.

When the Western Roman Empire fell, it was not the end of the Eastern Roman Empire (renamed the Byzantine Empire). The Byzantine Empire continued for another one thousand years.

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Biography of Constantine the GreatOccupation: Roman EmperorBorn: February 27, 272 AD in Naissus, SerbiaDied: May 22, 337 AD in Nicomedia, TurkeyBest known for: Being the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity and establishing the city of ConstantinopleAlso known as: Constantine the Great, Constantine I, Saint Constantine Where did Constantine grow up?

Constantine was born around the year 272 AD in the city Naissus. The city was in the Roman province of Moesia which is in the present day country of Serbia. His father was Flavius Constantius who worked his way up in the Roman government until he became the second in command as Caesar under Emperor Diocletian.

Constantine grew up in the court of Emperor Diocletian. He got an excellent education learning to read and write in both Latin and Greek. He also learned about Greek philosophy, mythology, and theatre. Although he lived a privileged life, in many ways Constantine was a hostage held by Diocletian to make sure that his father remained loyal.

Early Career

Constantine fought in the Roman army for several years. He also witnessed Diocletian's persecution and murder of the Christians. This had a lasting impact on him.

When Diocletian became sick, he named a man called Galerius as his heir. Galerius saw Constantine's father as a rival and Constantine feared for his

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life. There are stories that Galerius tried to have him killed in many ways, but Constantine survived each time.

Eventually Constantine fled and joined his father in Gaul in the Western Roman Empire. He spent a year in Britain fighting alongside his father.

Becoming Emperor

When his father became ill, he named Constantine as Emperor, or Augustus, of the western portion of the Roman Empire. Constantine then ruled over Britain, Gaul, and Spain. He began to strengthen and build up much of the area. He built roadways and cities. He moved his rule to the city of Trier in Gaul and built up the city's defenses and public buildings.

Constantine began to conquer neighboring kings with his large army. He expanded his portion of the Roman Empire. The people began to see him as a good leader. He also stopped the persecution of the Christians in his territory. Civil War

When Galerius died in 311 AD, many powerful men wanted to take over the Roman Empire and civil war broke out. A man named Maxentius declared himself Emperor. He lived in Rome and took control of Rome and Italy. Constantine and his army marched against Maxentius.

Constantine has a Dream

As Constantine approached Rome in 312, he had reason to worry. His army was about half the size of Maxentius' army. One night before Constantine faced Maxentius in battle he had a dream. In the dream his was told that he would win the battle if he fought under the sign of the Christian cross. The next day he had his soldiers paint crosses on their shields. They dominated the battle, defeating Maxentius and taking control of Rome.

Becoming a Christian

After taking Rome, Constantine forged an alliance with Licinius in the east. Constantine would be Emperor of the West and Licinius in the East. In 313, they signed the Edict of Milan which stated that Christians would no longer be persecuted in the Roman Empire. Constantine now considered himself a follower of the Christian faith.

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Seven years later, Licinius decided to renew the persecution of Christians. Constantine wouldn't stand for this and marched against Licinius. After several battles Constantine defeated Licinius and became ruler of a united Rome in 324.

Building in Rome

Constantine left his mark in the city of Rome by building many new structures. He built a giant basilica in the forum. He rebuilt the Circus Maximus to hold even more people. Perhaps his most famous building in Rome is the Arch of Constantine. He had a giant arch built to commemorate his victory over Maxentius.

Constantinople

In 330 AD Constantine established a new capital of the Roman Empire. He built it on the location of the ancient city of Byzantium. The city was named Constantinople after Emperor Constantine. Constantinople would later become capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, also called the Byzantine Empire.

Death

Constantine ruled the Roman Empire until his death in 337. He was buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople.

Interesting Facts about Constantine

His birth name was Flavius Valerius Constantinus. The city of Constantinople was the largest and richest city during the

Middle Ages until it fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. Today it is the city of Istanbul, the capital of Turkey.

He sent his mother Helena to the Holy Land where she found pieces of the cross that Jesus was crucified on. She was made Saint Helena as a result.

Some accounts say that Constantine saw the Greek letters Chi and Rho in his dream and not the cross. Chi and Rho represented the spelling of Christ in Greek.

He wasn't baptized as a Christian until shortly before his death.11

In the year 326 he had both his wife Fausta and his son Crispus put to death.

Ancient Rome – Biography of Nero Occupation: Emperor of Rome.Born: December 15, 37 AD in Antium, Italy.Died: June 9, 68 AD outside Rome, Italy.Reign: October 13, 54 AD to June 9, 68 AD.Best known for: One of the worst Emperors of Rome, legend has it he played the fiddle while Rome burned.

Nero ruled Rome from 54 AD to 68 AD. He is one of the most notorious emperors of Rome and is known for executing anyone who didn’t agree with him, including his mother.

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Where did Nero grow up?

Nero was born on December 15, 37 AD in the city of Antium, Italy near Rome. His father, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, was a consul of Rome. His mother, Agrippina the Younger, was the sister of Emperor Caligula.

Early Life

While Nero was still a young child, his father died. The Emperor Caligula had Nero’s mother exiled from Rome and sent Nero to be raised by his aunt. Caligula also stole Nero’s inheritance. A few years later, however, Caligula was killed and Claudius became emperor. Claudius was fond of Agrippina and allowed her to return to Rome.

In 49 AD, when Nero was around twelve, Emperor Claudius married Agrippina. Nero now became the adopted son of the emperor. Claudius already had a son named Britannicus, but Agrippina wanted Nero to be the next emperor. She convinced Claudius to name Nero as the heir to the throne. Nero also married the emperor’s daughter Octavia to further secure the throne.

At the age of 14, Nero was appointed to the position of proconsul. He began working alongside Claudius learning about the government of Rome. He even addressed the Roman Senate at a young age.

Becoming Emperor

In 54 AD, Emperor Claudius died. Many historians believe that Nero’s mother poisoned Claudius so her son could be emperor. Nero was crowned Emperor of Rome at the age of 17.

Did he really kill his mom?

Nero’s mother wanted to rule Rome through her son. She tried to influence his policies and gain power for herself. Eventually, Nero got tired of his mother’s influence and refused to listen to her. Agrippina became angry and began to plot against Nero. In response, Nero had his mother murdered.

Becoming a Tyrant

Nero started out as a decent emperor. He supported the arts, built many public works, and lowered taxes. However, as his reign continued, Nero

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became more and more of a tyrant. He had anyone he didn’t like executed including political rivals and some of his wives. He started to act crazy and saw himself more as an artist than an emperor. He spent large amounts of money on extravagant parties and began to perform his poetry and music in public.

Watching Rome Burn

In 64 AD, a huge fire swept across Rome destroying much of the city. One story tells how Nero “played the lyre and sang” while watching Rome burn. Most historians agree that this is not true. However, there were rumors at the time that Nero had started the fire in order to make room for his new palace. Whether this is true or not, no one knows.

Blaming the Christians

Nero needed someone to blame for the fire that burnt down Rome. He pointed to the Christians. He had the Christians in Rome rounded up and killed. They were killed in horrible ways including being burned alive, crucified, and thrown to the dogs. This began the persecution of Christians in Rome.

Building a Great House

Whether Nero started the great fire or not, he did build a new palace in the area cleared by the fire. It was called the Domus Aurea. This huge palace covered over 100 acres inside the city of Rome. He had a 100 foot tall bronze statue of himself called the Colossus of Nero placed at the entrance.

Revolt and Death

In 68 AD, some of the provinces of Rome began to rebel against Nero. Afraid that the Senate would have him executed, Nero committed suicide with the help of one of his aides.

Interesting Facts About Roman Emperor Nero

His birth name was Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus. Nero’s two main political advisors were the prefect Burrus and the

philosopher Seneca. He killed his second wife, Poppaea, by kicking her in the belly.

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One of his favorite things to do was drive a chariot. He may have competed in chariot races himself.

The year after Nero died is called the “Year of the Four Emperors.” Four different emperors each ruled for a short time during the year.

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Ancient Rome – Biography of Augustus(Ducksters.com)

Occupation: Emperor of RomeBorn: September 23, 63 BC in Rome, ItalyDied: August 19, AD 14 in Nola, ItalyBest known for: The first Roman Emperor and establishing the Roman EmpireReign: 27 BC to 14 AD

Augustus was born on September 23, 63 BC in the city of Rome. At the time, Rome was still a republic governed by elected officials. His birth name was Gaius Octavius Thurinus, but he was usually called Octavian until later in life. His father, also called Gaius Octavius, was the governor of Macedonia. His mother came from a famous family and was the niece of Julius Caesar.

Octavian grew up in the village of Velletri, not too far from Rome. His father died when he was just four years old. His mother remarried, but Octavian was sent to be raised by his grandmother Julia Caesaris, Julius Caesar’s sister.

Early Career

Once Octavian became a man, he began to get involved in the politics of Rome. Soon he wished to join his Uncle Caesar in battle. After a few false starts, he was able to join Caesar. Caesar was impressed with the young man and, as he had no son of his own, made Octavian the heir to his fortune and name.

Julius Caesar is Killed

Upon defeating Pompey the Great, Caesar became dictator of Rome. Many people worried that this would be the end of the

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Roman Republic. On March 15, 44 BC, Julius Caesar was assassinated.

Octavian was away from Rome when Caesar was killed, but he immediately returned upon hearing the news. He found out that he had been adopted by Caesar as his heir. Octavian began to gather political support in the Roman Senate as well as military support in the form of Caesar’s legions. He soon was a formidable power in the city and was elected to the position of consul.

The Second Triumvirate

At the same time, others were trying to fill the void of power left by Caesar’s death. Marc Antony, a famous general and relative of Caesar, thought he should be dictator. He clashed with Octavian until they agreed to a truce. Together with a third powerful Roman named Lepidus, Octavian and Marc Antony formed the Second Triumvirate. This was an alliance where the three men shared supreme power in Rome.

Battles

Eventually, the Triumvirate began to battle each other for power. In many of these battles, Octavian’s friend and general, Marcus Agrippa, led his troops into battle. First Lepidus was defeated and his troops came over to the side of Octavian. Marc Antony allied himself with Queen Cleopatra of Egypt. At the Battle of Actium, Octavian’s troops defeated Antony and Cleopatra’s armies. Upon their defeat, Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide.

Ruler of Rome

With Marc Antony dead Octavian was the most powerful man in Rome. In 27 BC the Senate gave him the title of Augustus and he would be known by this name for the rest of his life. He became the ruler and emperor of Rome. The basic government of the

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republic, such as the Senate and other officials, was still in place, but the emperor had the ultimate power.

A Good Leader

When Augustus became emperor, Rome had experienced many years of civil war. He brought peace to the land and began to rebuild much of the city and the empire. He built many roads, buildings, bridges, and government buildings. He also strengthened the army and conquered much of the land around the Mediterranean Sea. Under Augustus’ rule, Rome once again experienced peace and prosperity.

The next 200 years were years of peace for the Roman Empire. This period is often called the Pax Romana, which means “peace of Rome”. Augustus is often given credit for establishing the infrastructure that led to such a long period of peace.

Death

Augustus ruled up until his death in 14 AD. His step-son, Tiberius, became the second emperor of Rome.

Interesting Facts about Caesar Augustus

Augustus did not call himself king, but used the title Princeps Civitatis, which meant “First Citizen”.

He established a standing army for Rome where the soldiers were volunteers who served for a term of 20 years. This was different from the early temporary armies made up of Roman citizens.

The month of August is named after Augustus. Prior to this the month was called Sextilis.

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Augustus rebuilt much of the city of Rome. He said on his deathbed that “I found a Rome of bricks; I leave to you one of marble”.

He established a permanent fire-fighting and police force for the city of Rome.

Diocletian

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Valens

Constantine20

Trajan

Nero21

Augustus

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