Monarch Profile: Emperor Otho

Between the fall of the original Julio-Claudian dynasty and the rise of the Flavian dynasty there was a year of turmoil in the Roman Empire. 69 AD would be remembered as the “Year of the Four Emperors”. Following the downfall and death of the Emperor Nero in 68 AD the first to achieve power was Galba, a military commander in Spain put forward by a rebel governor in Gallia. One of his supporters was General Marcus Salvius Otho who had thought to succeed Galba when the old man passed away. Otho was born in Ferentium (today Ferento) in southern Eturia on April 28, 32 AD. He came from an old Etruscan family, high born but which had fallen on hard times over the generations and lost their aristocratic status. However, by faithful service to the empire their fortunes began to revive. Otho’s grandfather became a senator and his father became a consul of Rome. In his youth, Otho was a boyhood companion of the young Emperor Nero and, not surprisingly given that, was known for his lavish lifestyle. However, Otho and Nero had a falling out due to their competition for the attentions of the lovely Poppaea Sabina. Otho married her but a jealous Nero forced them to divorce and she became the second wife and Empress of Emperor Nero while Otho was sent away to be governor of Lusitanian (Portugal).

Naturally, Otho had rather mixed feelings about the downfall of Emperor Nero, last of the original Julio-Claudian Roman emperors, recalling their close friendship but then also their bitter parting. Ten years after taking up his post in Lusitania, he threw his support behind the old general Galba. As Emperor Galba had no natural heirs (his two sons having predeceased him), Otho expected to be his successor. When Galba instead adopted Piso, a young aristocrat, as his heir, Otho felt betrayed. An opportunity to seize power for himself was also clearly coming about as Galba had won few supporters with his reputation for greed and cruelty. He was certainly a harsh character but he was not so much greedy as he was foolishly parsimonious. Fiscal conservatism was needed after the extravegance of Nero but Galba was frugal beyond the point of common sense such as when he refused to pay the Praetorian Guard their expected bonus on the announcement of his adoption of Piso. Keeping the Praetorians well paid and happy was something most emperors recognized as an absolute necessity. Many Roman elites were also unimpressed with Piso as a future ruler, knowing very little about him. Otho saw his chance and seized it.

Otho was able to easily win the Praetorian Guard to his side and on the morning of January 15, 69 when Galba went to worship at the Temple of Apollo on the Palatine Hill, Otho slipped away, carried in a closed litter, to the Praetorian camp where the troops proclaimed him Emperor of Rome. Bravely or foolishly, Galba chose to go out personally to confront the rebels and he was killed by a soldier of the XV Legion in the Forum. Piso fled to the Temple of Vesta but was dragged out by Otho’s partisans and killed as well. It was a bloody but short business and the nasty spectacle rather put the senate off from the newly proclaimed Emperor Otho but, nonetheless, they confirmed his status and voted him the traditional powers and offices of the Emperor of Rome. As a ruler, he showed great ability but many seemed unwilling to give him a chance, having a negative opinion of him fixed in his mind, whether from the way he seized power, his former friendship with Nero or his reputation for being vain and extravagant as a young man. His rule was not unchallenged and would not last long, yet, it is rather unfair that he is so often overlooked and he showed considerable talent and ability as monarch.

However, those who had already made up their mind to dislike Otho were able to find fault in almost anything. He had thinning hair and so wore a wig, kept his body hairless and was always clean shaven, so many predisposed to dislike him accused him of being excessively vain. He restored the statues of Emperor Nero and appointed some of his officials to high office again, which critics took as a dark sign of a return to days best forgotten. His offer to share power with his chief rival were also portrayed as a sign of weakness. In fact, his outreach to the memory and former officials of Nero were simply an effort to maintain a sense of continuity and to win over loyalists of the late emperor (despite his current reputation, there were quite a few who fervently supported Nero). His offer to share power was likewise not a sign of weakness but a genuine effort to avoid a damaging civil war. That rival was Aulus Vitellius, a general who had been proclaimed emperor by his troops on the Rhine frontier. Most of the empire submitted to Otho but Hispania and Gallia (Spain and France) gave their loyalty to Vitellius.

In another effort to avert war, Emperor Otho proposed to marry the daughter of Vitellius but the general refused the match and with his legions marching south, Otho had to look to the defense of Italy. The problem was that the bulk of his army, the Danube legions, could not reach Italy before Vitellius did. So, Emperor Otho sent his advance guard north to try to hold the rebel legions at the Po River while dispatching another force by sea to land in southern France as a diversion. His plan was to delay Vitellius long enough for the Danube legions to arrive and then fight a hopefully victorious battle that would secure his throne. Emperor Otho left Rome on March 14 to take personal command of his forces, establishing himself at Bedriacum, about 20 miles east of Cremona. Rebel troops under Caecina entered Italian soil first and camped outside Cremona. The other rebel division under Valens arrived later and together they outnumbered the forces of Emperor Otho almost 2-to-1. His advisors urged him not to give battle until the Danube legions arrived but the rebel troops began building a bridge across the Po and Emperor Otho could not wait and do nothing while it was completed, allowing Vitellius to march directly on Rome.

On April 14, Emperor Otho sent his troops forward into the first Battle of Cremona and, not surprisingly, outmatched and greatly outnumbered, they were soundly beaten. Emperor Otho was not on the scene but at Brixellum where he received word of the defeat the following day. He was beaten and knew it. He had nothing left to resist Vitellius, the Danube legions would be too late and if he fled, Italy would be ruined by war. He decided there was no other choice, for the good of Rome, but to do the honorable thing and take his own life. That evening he called together his family and friends, told them to look to their own safety and then went to bed. He awoke the next morning, April 16, and stabbed himself to death at dawn. The three-month reign of Emperor Otho had come to an end. The nature of his death surprised many people, particularly those who had always thought of him as the self-indulgent youth he had once been. They were impressed by his sacrifice and, looking back, even critics of the monarchy in general, as Tacitus tended to be, could not but be impressed by how he had ruled and how he met his end. The famous historian wrote, “Otho, contrary to everyone’s expectation, made no dull surrender to luxury or ease; he put off his pleasures, concealed his profligacy, and ordered his whole life as befitted the imperial position”.

The loyal soldiers of Emperor Otho were very moved by how he had fallen on his own sword in order to spare Italy the horrors of civil war and when his funeral fire was lit a number threw themselves upon the flames to die alongside their emperor. It is a shame that he is not better remembered. Although not surprising, given the brevity of his reign, Emperor Otho was the victim of prejudice. He came to the purple in a violent way that was certainly out of order but does anyone truly doubt that Galba’s troops would not have killed Nero had he not done the job himself after being taken? He had brought down an unpopular emperor who had himself come to power by doing the same. Unlike his predecessor, Emperor Otho, during his brief term, ruled with considerable fairness and wisdom. When he knew the end had come, he gave up his own life rather than see others killed in a hopeless battle. In the ranks of the “lesser” Roman emperors, he deserves to be remembered as one of the good ones. His successor, Emperor Vitellius, also did not last long on the throne and made a bad impression from the start. He lasted longer than Otho did but before the year was out was defeated by the Flavian revolt, dragged out of hiding, tortured, executed and thrown in the Tiber. Emperor Otho had certainly exited in a more noble way.

Beware the Ides of March

On this day in 44 BC Gaius Julius Caesar, duly elected Dictator of the Roman Republic, was assassinated by a group of conspirators. Read my thoughts on the assassination here and a profile on Julius Caesar here.

It was a dramatic sign of how far fallen the Roman Republic already was, striking down the greatest leader of the day because his success made others fearful of him. His murder set events into motion which led to the founding of the Roman Empire and, oddly enough, the conspirators, fearing a potential king, created a dynasty of emperors.

Monarch Profile: Emperor Claudius II

The Roman emperor known as “Claudius the Goth” was born on May 10, 214 AD in the province of Illyricum (roughly modern Croatia) and he would be the first of several accomplished Illyrian emperors. Although he has been widely praised, at least by many secular historians, his actual record would leave more than a few wondering why. Which, of course, is not to say that he was a disaster but simply that his achievements may have been a bit exaggerated due to other motives by those penning the history books. He had a distinguished record as a soldier and earned steady promotion to major military commands during the reigns of Emperor Valerian and Emperor Gallienus. When Gallienus was assassinated near Milan in September of 268, the army considered Claudius to be the obvious choice to succeed him. There was certainly public support for such a move and the Roman senate found nothing objectionable about him. He was not far away at the time, commanding the reserves at what is now Pavia, Italy and he immediately took charge and seized Milan and executed Aureolus, commander of the Dalmatian cavalry who had defected to the enemy in the Gothic War that was being fought and who had killed Gallienus. However, as no other conspirators were punished, some have always suspected that Claudius himself may have been party to it.

In any event, measures were taken to ensure unity rather than a spirit of retribution. The newly declared Emperor Claudius II successfully petitioned the senate to deify the late Emperor Gallienus and ordered that there be no persecution of his loyalists. Emperor Claudius II remained at the front to continue the war against the Goths, though having taken Milan he had to first move north to confront another barbarian invasion, this time the Alemanni, (southern Germans) who were pouring across the Alps into northern Italy. After a decisive victory at Lake Garda, and wintering in Rome, Claudius II returned to the front and led a successful campaign against the Gothic invaders, earning the title “Gothicus Maximus”. However, there were Roman defeats as well, particularly in Thrace where the Goths won a considerable victory. However, the Roman legions were placed in a commanding position for victory due to the outbreak of a terrible plague that devastated the Gothic forces. Unfortunately for Emperor Claudius II, the spread of disease knew no preference between Roman and barbarian and the same plague claimed his life as well. Emperor Claudius II died in camp in August of 270.

During his reign, much of the Roman Empire that had fallen away was reclaimed but about as much was also lost. As Roman fortunes rose in the west, they fell in the east. Gaul had broken away previously and tried to set up a rival power under its own line of Gallic emperors and Claudius II sent Roman forces to reclaim at least southern Gaul east of the Rhone River. Hispania (Spain) had fallen to the Goths but had finally shaken off their rule and pledged loyalty to Rome once again, which was certainly a great benefit and left Claudius II well placed to launch a more ambitious campaign to restore Roman rule to the whole of Gaul. However, he was then preoccupied by the Gothic invasion and even more alarming was the news from the east where the famous Queen Zenobia had come to power (in what is now Syria) and advanced as far as Ankara in Turkey. The following year her forces conquered Egypt, cutting Rome off from its most vital source of grain. Obviously, that was a situation that left little time for dreams of Gallic conquest. The first priority of the Emperor was to secure Italy and defeat Zenobia so as to prevent food shortages in Rome that would be ruinous. However, before any of that could be done, Claudius II had departed this life.

Having no children of his own, Claudius II was succeeded by his brother who became Emperor Quintillus. According to the official history of the Roman emperors, the two also had another brother named Crispus whose daughter, Claudia, was the mother of Emperor Constantius Chlorus who was the father of Emperor Constantine the Great, the first Christian Roman Emperor. If so, this would be somewhat ironic given that one of the things Claudius II was praised for by some of the senatorial class was in being a more strictly pagan Roman emperor who began enforcing religious laws with more vigor than had previously been the case. Of course, some have also argued that this genealogical connection was a forgery, something invented by the partisans of Emperor Constantine to give him a more illustrious imperial family history. In such cases, it is virtually impossible to prove with absolute certainty which side is correct in its assertions.

One other incident occurred that makes Emperor Claudius II rather noteworthy and that concerned some trouble of a religious sort. Persecution of Christians was rather intermittent in the Roman Empire, with periods of fierce persecution being followed by long periods when anti-Christian laws were relaxed or left un-enforced. Some of these laws were being enforced in the reign of Claudius II and there was a certain Roman priest who came to the attention of the authorities. He had become well known for administering the sacraments in violation of the law, particularly it seems for secretly marrying Christian couples. He was arrested but still carried on converting people to Christianity. Severely beaten and stoned, the priest did not die and was brought before Emperor Claudius II. Rather than beg for his life, he tried to convert the Emperor to Christianity! That did not happen and due to his persistence he was ordered to be beheaded. While awaiting execution he converted the blind daughter of the governor of his prison to Christianity and while praying for her, her blindness was healed. The grateful girl would remain faithful to his memory for the rest of her life, long after the priest was martyred on February 14, 269, cherishing a last, small note he had written to her, which the healing power of Christ enabled her to read, which ended with the words, “from your Valentine”.

A happy St Valentine’s Day to all from The Mad Monarchist

Lessons from Honorius

It was on this day in 393 AD that Emperor Theodosius the Great proclaimed his son Honorius "co-emperor" of the Roman Empire. Honorius was only eight-years old at the time but he would go on to have one of the most disastrous reigns in Roman imperial history, a far cry from that of his father. Emperor Theodosius had reunited the Roman world, being the last caesar to rule both east and west, defended the frontiers, established Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire and generally had quite a glorious reign. Emperor Honorius, on the other hand, would preside over the first sacking of Rome by the barbarian hordes when Alaric the Visigoth captured the Eternal City in 410 AD. How could this have happened?

There were many contributing factors of course but one that stands out was the lack of an effective commander to lead the Roman legions against the enemy. Yet, such a man had existed previously in the reign of Emperor Honorius and that was the vociferous warrior Stilicho. A 'Romanized' barbarian himself (he was half-Vandal), Stilicho had defended Italy from the barbarians with remarkable ability, rushing from one danger point after another to defend the Italian heartland of the Roman Empire from attack after attack. He was one of the most remarkable generals of Roman history. He was also the Emperor's former guardian and his father-in-law. However, a particular dishonest official managed to convince Honorius that Stilicho was plotting against him and so Honorius had Stilicho executed. Thus the Roman Empire lost its most talented general at a time when such a man was sorely needed.

What lesson can be learned from this? The lesson is compounded by the fact that this was not an isolated incident. Later, Emperor Valentinian III had another talented Roman general, Flavius Aetius, executed. It was Flavius Aetius who defeated Attila the Hun at the Battle of Chalons-sur-Marne. The point is that, in its declining years, the Roman Empire had ceased to value men of talent and proven success. On the contrary, such men were plotted against by lesser men who feared them because of their talent. They saw them as rivals rather than as valuable assets to defend the Roman world. We can see, with the sack of Rome, where such selfish attitudes ended. Today, it seems many have the same mindset, glorifying the mediocre and treating the talented and successful with contempt rather than appreciation. This is something that should be stopped, otherwise we shall all end up like Emperor Honorius, bereft of talent and with an empire crumbling around him.

The Last Lights in the Encroaching Darkness of Imperial Rome

The Roman Empire under Theodosius the Great

It was on this day in 461 AD that the Roman Emperor Majorian was deposed by Ricimer, one of the German barbarians who had adopted Roman customs and rose to prominence as a military commander. Barbarian commanders like Ricimer were not uncommon at that time; some being good (like the civilized Vandal Stilicho who helped prop up the teetering Roman Empire with his considerable skill) and others being bad (such as Odoacer who presided over the removal of the last Western Roman Emperor). However, Emperor Majorian is a much better figure to focus on. Unfortunately, very few are familiar with his inspiring story and he is usually relegated to a mere brief mention in most history books, simply listed among the last of the Roman emperors in the west during a period of rapid decline before the supposedly inevitable collapse. This has given many people the mistaken impression that, for quite some time previously, the Roman Empire was doomed to collapse and in the midst of one, long, downward spiral.

Emperor Majorian

The truth is that, even in the last period of the Western Roman Empire, there were several bright spots. The reign of Emperor Majorian may have been the last but his was not the first. Because our own times give little reason for optimism, it may be a good time to highlight some examples from history of a people pulling back from the brink of disaster. Since there is very little, in my view, that cannot be learned simply by studying the history of the Roman Empire, it may be worthwhile to take a look back at what so many view as the “decline and fall” of Imperial Rome which actually has several examples of the Roman Empire struggling back from near collapse to reassert the powerful position it had in better times. The final fall seems inevitable to us only because we have the benefit of hindsight. However, actions have consequences and people always have the freedom of choice. If certain people had made different choices in those days, the Western Roman Empire might have continued to survive for quite some time longer. Some historians have dated the “beginning of the end” of the Roman Empire at a ridiculously early date. This should not be so. It is also worth noting that many of these types have a religious prejudice that motivates them with many bending the facts or omitting certain evidence in an effort to make the case that Rome began to fall as soon as Christianity began to really take hold and put down roots.

Emperor Constantine I

One place to start would be late 324 AD. It was then that Emperor Constantine the Great, ruler of the Western Roman Empire, defeated Licinius (ruler of the east) at the battle of Chrysopolis. By this victory, Constantine made himself Emperor of the entire Roman world and having only one man in charge was something the Roman Empire had not seen in a while. Of course, the Roman Empire was not as large as it had been in the glory days of Emperor Trajan, but it was not all that different from the size it had been under the great Augustus and just like Augustus Caesar, Emperor Constantine also worked to restore traditional Roman values and, in his case, encourage Christian values as well with laws against sexual misconduct, ritual prostitution and gladiatorial combat. He won victories over the Franks, the Germans and re-conquered territory in what is now Romania. In fact, his founding of the new capitol city of Constantinople was done, in part, to symbolize the reunion of the eastern and western empires into the one great united Roman Empire of the past. Power and prosperity was restored on such a level that, at the time of his death, Emperor Constantine was preparing a massive campaign for the conquest of Persia. Had he left different instructions in his will or had his sons managed to settle their differences peacefully, the empire of Constantine the Great might have persevered and even reached greater heights in the future than was actually the case.

Emperor Theodosius I

After the death of Emperor Constantine the Great, and the sorry end of the Constantinian dynasty, many have dated the beginning of the fall of the Roman Empire to the defeat and death of the Emperor Valens at Adrianople in 378 AD. However, Rome saw a dramatic revival just after his death in the reign of his successor Emperor Theodosius the Great. Starting out in the east, Emperor Theodosius consolidated his power and dealt firmly with every challenge to his authority, eventually suppressing all opposition in the west and becoming the last Roman Emperor to rule both the east and the west together. There was not much expansion because of the focus on internal enemies and Theodosius is most known for his establishment of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire (despite what many think, Constantine only made Christianity legal, he did not enforce it as the one and only religion) while doing his best to put confine paganism to the realm of history. Emperor Theodosius began to forge a more strongly united Roman Empire with one secular and spiritual government, one emperor and one religion. He restored imperial authority, fended off attacks from external enemies, suppressed internal enemies, suppressed heresy and upheld Christianity. Again, however, after the death of Emperor Theodosius, the Roman Empire again split into the old eastern and western divisions.

After that, things began to go downhill again, though even then, there were men of energy who provided bright spots of hope for Roman civilization. One of those at his funeral was the Vandal-Roman commander Stilicho (who was actually married to the niece of Emperor Theodosius), a man who, mostly during the reign of Honorius, was dashing all over the Roman Empire fending off attacks in Italy, the Balkans and even Africa. Flavius Aetius was another inspiring Roman general who, during the reign of Emperor Valentinian III, gave cause for hope by his stunning victory over the seemingly unstoppable Attila the Hun at the battle of the Catalaunian Fields in 451 AD. However, both Stilicho and Flavius Aetius ended up being the victims of their own success, killed by their own countrymen who feared them because of their ability. This is another lesson the peoples of today would do well to remember; when success is punished rather than rewarded the only inevitable result is that failure becomes the norm.

Emperor Majorian

By the time Emperor Majorian came along (becoming Emperor of Rome in 457 AD), it is true that things were pretty far gone and, in retrospect, we can see that the end was near. Even the Roman emperors were increasingly becoming figureheads while powerful military chieftains or political cliques held the real power. However, Emperor Majorian once again proved that the old Roman virtues had not disappeared completely. At a time when there was little left of the Western Roman Empire beyond the borders of Italy (and even there some areas were precarious), in only a few short years Emperor Majorian succeeded in restoring almost everything that had previously been lost. He put new domestic policies into place but was most occupied with securing Italy and re-conquering Hispania and Gaul. His successful campaigns might well have continued and won back even more had it not been for the betrayal of others and, as stated at the outset, Emperor Majorian himself was finally arrested and deposed by a mutinous leader of the barbarians who were making up more and more of the Roman military. He was Emperor for less than four years and yet, he accomplished amazing things in that short span of time and if loyalty had been a virtue more strongly upheld, he seemed well capable of doing even more, restoring all that had been lost in the years before his reign.

Again, we see a moral failing on display. It was the corrupt political elite who set Emperor Majorian up to be deposed and later murdered because his reforms were forcing them to make sacrifices for the good of the Empire which they were not prepared to tolerate. Like others before him, Emperor Majorian was effectively punished for being too successful. Still, he is a shining example of how much just one driven man can accomplish. The noted author on Roman history Edward Gibbon described Emperor Majorian as a figure, “to vindicate the honour of the human species” which is quite a compliment coming from someone who had very little positive to say about Imperial Rome in its final days. The point is that, it is never too late to try. At some point, we cannot deny, it may be too late to succeed, but that can only be known with absolute certainty after the fact and even when things are falling apart all around us and even if there really is no realistic reason to carry on, we should be inspired by Emperors like Constantine, Theodosius and Majorian who really did seem to turn back the clock. Of course, we could go even further and point to the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian who went quite far toward restoring the whole Roman Empire even after the west had fallen completely.

I have about as gloomy an outlook as one could have and yet, perhaps it is because of my background, the land I was born in, the honored place of a crumbling, old Spanish mission, that just because the odds against you are absolutely insurmountable, it would be absurd to think that was any reason to give up the fight.

Semper Fidelis

Monarch Profile: Emperor Caligula

The young Caesar known as Caligula has the reputation of being the most infamous, twisted and depraved Emperor of Rome; which is quite a statement. There are one or two others that might provide some stiff competition but, there is no doubt that Caligula, in his short reign, would be grossly excessive and set a standard for depravity that few, if any, could hope to match. He became so notorious that despite the fact that he lived 2,000 years ago, reigned for only a few years and despite the fact that the Romans themselves tried to obliterate his memory the name of Caligula is synonymous with insanity, sadism and debauchery to this very day. How many of all the lurid tales are true is open to speculation. That makes any coverage of Caligula rather difficult. There are really only around a couple of sources historians have to go on concerning Caligula and these may well be biased against him. However, the fact alone that so little information about him survived is at least some proof that not all the tales of his wickedness were invented or exaggerated. Still, it is important to keep in mind that we have very little to go on concerning Caligula, what we do have was written by political enemies and may well have been embellished. Everyone should also keep in mind that this was a real man, not a caricature and very little that we know about him can be verified.

Caligula was born on August 31, in the year 12 and his real name was Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus. His father was the very popular Germanicus, who was the adopted grandson of Augustus Caesar and a potential heir to the throne. Caligula was, unlike his predecessor Emperor Tiberius, a blood descendant of Augustus and Julius Caesar as well as Mark Antony and his uncle was the future Emperor Claudius. He earned his nickname while accompanying his parents on military campaigns in Germany where he was adopted as the mascot of the army. His mother would often dress him in a little military uniform which, of course, included the sandals or boots that the soldiers wore and he was soon dubbed Caligula or Little Boots and the name stuck. It should also be pointed out that Caligula always hated that nickname and in later life would inflict the severest punishment on anyone who called him that. To make things more complicated he was not particularly fond of his real name, Gaius, either. Anyway, from an early age he was exposed to the violent intrigues that had long been a part of Roman political life.

It was believed that Germanicus was the heir to the throne that Augustus preferred though, since he was too young, Augustus adopted Tiberius with the understanding that Tiberius would adopt Germanicus as his heir. Not long after becoming emperor, however, Germanicus died and Tiberius took care to keep Caligula isolated and under his control. He spent many years in what can be described as rather comfortable imprisonment and isolation with only the company of his sisters Agrippina the Younger, Julia Livilla and Drusilla. In time, Caligula would have incestuous relations with all three of them but mostly a long standing affair with his most beloved sister Drusilla. In fact, many believe that his sister Drusilla was the only person Caligula ever truly loved in his life. With this background, Emperor Tiberius summoned Caligula to the island of Capri where Tiberius spent the last ten years of his life and where he was rumored to have become quite nasty and certainly very paranoid. His condition may be explained by the absence of those who had previously moderated him such as his best friend Nerva and his brother Drusus. He wanted Caligula near him both because he feared him desiring to assume the purple early and to prevent anyone else from influencing his adopted grandson and heir.

Caligula was flattering and submissive to his adopted grandfather though he later admitted nearly killing Tiberius himself but kept up his charade of being the loyal grandson because it was in his interest to do so. Tiberius, it seems, was not so totally fooled by this as Caligula might have believed. Some have suggested that he made Caligula his heir specifically because he expected him to prove such a monster that his own reputation would shine in comparison and he is alleged to have once referred to Caligula as a python he was nursing in the bosom of Rome. Certainly many believed that Tiberius would have preferred his heir to be his young natural grandson Gemellus. However, as the son of Germanicus, many believed that Caligula had a legitimate right to the throne and were anxious to see the purple return to the bloodline of Augustus and Julius Caesar, especially as Tiberius had become so unpopular for having so many senators executed. However, in private, the personal sadism of Caligula could be seen by his role in helping Tiberius carry out his duties on Capri. He was known to show great enjoyment at having slaves tortured and executed and gloried in the bloody gladiatorial games that were popular at that time.

Today, looking back, we often wonder how anyone could have actually looked forward to the reign of Caligula; but of course, we have the benefit of hindsight. To the general public of the Roman Empire he seemed like a perfectly normal young man. Many saw him in a sympathetic light because of the death of the death of the rest of his family. Tiberius was unpopular (rather unjustly so) and by then was 78 years old and preparing to die. Hoping that his favored grandson Gemellus might succeed him eventually he named him his heir alongside Caligula in his will. Poor, young Gemellus was likely doomed at any rate but this order certainly sealed his fate. The hour of destiny for Caligula came on March 16, 37 AD when the Emperor Tiberius died. Many believed that Caligula had a hand in his passing though the deed was probably done by Naevius Sutorius Macro, the Prefect of Praetorian Guard who allegedly smothered Tiberius to hasten the accession of Caligula. If reports are true and Macro did murder Tiberius, it did nothing to diminish the popularity of Caligula who the people cheered for ending the life of the man they viewed as a tyrant. With the backing of Macro and the Praetorian Guard Caligula was immediately declared heir to Tiberius and Gemellus was cast aside on the grounds that the late Caesar had been insane when he included Gemellus in his will. That may have been true but it was certainly not the legitimate reason Gemellus was cast aside in favor of Caligula.

Even more so than Caligula this was a moment of triumph for Prefect Macro who had been planning this for some time and that in itself adds credence to his murder of Tiberius. Three years earlier he had been putting himself in a position to befriend and possibly dominate Caligula by encouraging his wife, Ennia, into an affair with the young prince. He had been responsible for the downfall of the previous Praetorian Prefect Sejanus who had been the power behind the throne, so to speak, under Tiberius. Macro had supplanted him in that position and using the sexual talents of his wife now planned to hold the same favored status under the new, young, Emperor Caligula. On March 28, 37 AD the Roman Senate officially voted Caligula to the office of Princeps or First Citizen amidst much rejoicing by the public who greeted their new emperor with cheers. Caligula was also quick to put the vast treasury left by Tiberius to good use in winning greater popularity for himself. He gave the Praetorian Guard a hefty bonus, distributed money to the common people and declared a general amnesty to free all of those imprisoned by the paranoia of Tiberius. Celebrations were held constantly with hundreds of thousands of animals sacrificed in thanksgiving of the accession of the young Caesar the people called their star and their baby. They could not have known that amongst the inner circle of imperial power Caligula already had a reputation for being a great servant but a terrible master.

Nonetheless, the reign of Caligula Caesar was off to a glorious start. The empire was wealthy and at peace, their seemed to be a forgive and forget air about the city and a general feeling that the days of fear and repression were over and a new period of prosperity and kindness at the hands of their handsome, young and generous Caesar lay ahead. And, indeed it was so for the first half year more or less of the reign of Caligula. The people loved him wildly and, indeed, he was to remain very popular amongst the common people of Rome throughout all but the very end of his rather short reign. Caligula, it is often forgotten, was very politically astute and he knew that public image was important; at least as important if not more so than the support of the elite senatorial class. He did his best to appear as the ideal ruler, giving generously to those who had been taxed into poverty, expelling sexual criminals, setting aside the air of fear and paranoia that had preceded him and trying to maintain a closeness with the people through imperial pageantry and ceremony. Free elections were revived to give the people more say in government and gladiatorial games were held regularly to keep them entertained. In short, he did everything that a good Roman emperor was expected to do in order to be popular with the people.

However, Caligula could not hide his more egocentric and vindictive side totally, even at this early date. One of the fortune tellers employed by Tiberius had once said that Caligula had no more chance of becoming Emperor of Rome that he did of riding a horse across the Bay of Baiae. Caligula never forgot this and upon ascending the purple he had a massive pontoon bridge built across the bay, over two miles long, from Baiae to Puteoli. He then mounted his beloved, and soon to be famous, horse Incitatus and donned the breastplate of Alexander the Great and rode across the temporary bridge in order to show his defiance and triumph over the false prophecy that had been made of him. This should have been something of an alarm bell, but the public reacted to it with applause. They loved their Caesar, gloried in his accession and paid no attention to the rather sinister emotions that were behind this act for Caligula. It was a spectacle after all, something to entertain them, a bit outlandish perhaps, but all was well and it was a nice and rather humorous diversion.

Caligula was certainly enjoying himself as emperor. He had survived, he had beaten the odds, he was popular, his throne was secure and he was enjoying the favors of his sister Drusilla whom he totally adored as well as others such as his ongoing mistress Ennia. He adored Drusilla as he adored no other and would have liked nothing better than to marry her. In his increasingly egocentric way he viewed his sister, a blood relative, as being the only person worthy to be his wife and give him children. Obviously impossible and illegal Drusilla herself tried to discourage him as much as she did love him and there is little dispute that she did. Caligula felt safe with Drusilla and she was possibly the only consistent, moderating influence he ever had on his life. However, the blissful days of his early months on the throne came to an end in October of 37 AD. Most likely as a result of his constant swimming, drunkenness and debauchery Caligula fell extremely ill. It was so severe that he thought he would die and the Roman public was overcome with grief and fear that their beloved, young champion might be taken from them so soon.

Of course, Caligula did not die, but any inhibitions he may have had certainly seemed to. When he recovered those in his inner circle especially were to see a different and extremely horrifying Gaius Caligula than they had seen before. The mercy and generosity Caligula had earlier displayed were replaced by extremes of lust and cruelty after he recovered. One of his actions, in 38 AD, was to dismiss and execute his supposed friend Macro who had assured his accession to the throne. He began spending lavishly on wild parties and bizarre expeditions to glorify himself. He built two massive ships; one being a floating temple to the goddess Diana and the other a luxurious palace for himself. In an effort to outshine his deified ancestor Julius Caesar he embarked on an expedition to conquer Britain but got no farther than the English Channel. He then had his troops collect sea shells as spoils of his great victory and demanded a triumph upon his return to Rome. The senate refused on the grounds that he had won no victories and had conquered nothing. Caligula saw this as no excuse and held his own celebration with his subjects dressed as barbarian captives and forcing senators to run alongside his chariot. This was only the beginning of a long list of humiliations he would inflict on the senate as well as every other established institution and tradition in Rome.

His life at court went from bad to worse. He had the boy Gemellus put to death even though he had gone through the formality of adopting him as his heir. In his drive to have an heir Caligula realized he would have to be married and much as he might wish to marry his sister Drusilla, that was simply out of the question. He married and divorced three Roman noblewomen in quick succession before becoming infatuated with Milonia Caesonia, a notorious prostitute and the illegitimate daughter of another prostitute. She was, reputedly, no great beauty and she already had three daughters of her own but her moral laxity and bedroom antics impressed Caligula at several of his notorious parties and orgies and he would have no other. Many Roman nobles were outraged that the Emperor would marry a woman who was not only a commoner, but illegitimate and a prostitute. Caligula had his mind made up though and the marriage went through. Caligula delighted in shocking Rome with his personal whore and would have her parade around naked in front of his soldiers and pick out favorites for herself. He promised that he would make her empress but only if she gave him a son and heir.

Disaster struck Caligula on June 10, 38 AD when his beloved sister Drusilla died of fever that was rampant in the city. Caligula was heartbroken and went mad with grief. He declared a state of mourning for Rome and gave his sister the funeral of an empress with himself standing in the place of widower. Shortly thereafter he had her deified as the Divine Drusilla, a living representation of the goddess Venus. When, a short time later, Caesonia gave birth to a daughter Caligula named her Julia Drusilla in honor of his sister. One thing that is certain is that without the influence of his sister Caligula became even more unhinged. Human life seemed to stop having any meaning for him and he saw and used people as objects for his own amusement and nothing more. The senatorial class suffered most from his insanity. He set up and tore down consuls without consulting them. He flagrantly raped their daughters and sons and would likewise take their own wives for himself while at public parties. After having his fill of the woman in question he would return to the party and tell her husband and the other guests how she had performed in bed.

Caligula also seemed to have a rather unnatural attachment to his favorite horse Incitatus. In another humiliation for the upper class he would order the senators to hail his horse as they would a superior. He built a palace for his horse with a marble stable and a gold manger and lavished all sorts of jewels and fine garments on the animal. Most famously he once threatened to make Incitatus a Consul of Rome, however, this was not actually a serious suggestion but just another way Caligula had to humiliate the senators and denigrate them by suggesting that even his horse could do their job. This was nothing compared to his most degenerate act of defiance toward the senate. Due to his extravagance the rich treasury left behind by Tiberius was soon exhausted and in order to make money Caligula opened an imperial brothel in his palace and forced the wives of the Roman senators to employ themselves there. Were not the upper classes in utter fear for their lives this would never have worked but Caligula made it so and anyone with enough money could come to the palace and enjoy a few minutes with the wife of a Roman senator. He also levied taxes on marriage, prostitution, use of the courts and other things which began to erode his popularity among the common people of Rome.

Having trampled on such institutions as the family, the military and the republic it is no wonder that religion soon became a target of the maniacal Caesar as well. Whereas Julius Caesar and Augustus had been deified by the senate after their deaths (Tiberius specifically stated he did not want the same treatment) Caligula broke all precedent by demanding that the senate declare him a god while he was alive. The cowering senate did so and Caligula went to great lengths to emphasize his new, divine status. He insisted on the most groveling submission to his person and had the heads of the statues of the various gods in the temples replaced with his own likeness. This brought him into particular trouble with his Jewish subjects who refused to worship him and who had earlier been excused from the cult of the emperor because of their belief in monotheism and spurning of graven images. This led to some rebellions which were bloodily suppressed. Caligula was so enraged by this that he ordered a statue of himself erected in the Temple in Jerusalem, which would certainly have caused a revolution but he was eventually dissuaded after the matter was delayed for a time. Eventually, Caligula would claim that he conversed with the other gods and that he was, in fact, greater than them all, even the king of the Roman gods; Jupiter. Caligula also famously roamed the halls of his palace at night commanding the sun to rise.

By this time most people had little doubt that Caligula, the Emperor of Rome, the commander of all the Roman legions and absolute ruler of virtually the entire known world was completely insane. His orgies and debauchery became notorious and his cruelty and executions of so many nobles had the upper echelons of Roman society quaking with fear and close to their breaking point. The reign of Caligula was no longer the open and tolerant style he had started with but he had now surpassed even his feared predecessor with his tortures and the numbers of those executed for treason; real or imagined. Caligula once famously remarked that he wished all the Roman people had one neck so he could cut off all the heads with one blow. When told that he was becoming hated by his own people who had once loved him, Caligula replied, "Let them hate me, so long as they fear me". And, that they certainly did. He enriched himself by confiscating the property of anyone arrested for treason and when in need of funds he might charge any wealthy Roman with treason. He even made it law that all those who died had to leave something for him in their will. Obviously, this situation could not go on forever and many men in high places began plotting against Caligula so that his reign of terror might come to an end.

It was, remember, the Praetorian Guard which had helped ensure his succession and they had protected him from several previous plots against him but finally his erratic behavior became too much and the Praetorian itself determined to end the life of Gaius Caligula. In particular the plot was the work of Cassius Chaerea (appropriately named) who was the leader of the Praetorian Guard. Their only real opposition was the Germanic Guard who were the personal troops of Caligula and fanatically loyal to him. Otherwise, the Emperor had few friends by this time and many of the nobles, generals, equestrians and senators of Rome were well aware of the plot and supported it though of course they were too afraid to be actively involved. The end for Caligula came on January 24, 41 AD while Caligula was berating a group of actors set to perform in a celebration for the Divine Emperor Augustus. Chaerea and the other soldiers fell upon him as he cried for help, stabbing him some thirty times. This was not mere assassination however, the Praetorian intended to wipe the seed of Caligula from the earth forever and troops were dispatched to kill his wife Caesonia and his young daughter Julia Drusilla who allegedly inherited the viciousness of her father and bit and clawed at the soldiers before they smashed her head against a wall. The Germanic Guard arrived too late to save their master though they went on an enraged, murderous rampage after that killing anyone they came across, the guilty and innocent alike. With that last act of savagery, the reign of Caligula Caesar had come to an end.

The Praetorian Guard then elevated Caligula's uncle Claudius as the next Emperor of Rome as he was literally the only male member of the imperial family left alive at this point. He had been overlooked for so long because most everyone considered him a simple idiot, yet, he soon became Claudius Caesar and was a quite successful Roman emperor. As for Caligula, the Romans did their best to eradicate his memory from all public view. His statues were defaced or destroyed completely and many materials from his reign were destroyed. The nightmare was over and everyone wanted to forget as quickly and as completely as possible. Yet, in spite of the concerted effort to erase Caligula from public memory, his story remains infamous to this very day. Try as they might the world has never forgotten the bloody, perverse reign of the Emperor known as Little Boots nor is it very likely to. His misdeeds are world famous, yet he was still popular among some of the common people even at the time of his death. He is known for his madness, excess and insanity yet he was also known to be very persuasive, logical and even quite eloquent at times. More is unknown about him that what is known and that also adds to the interest there has always been concerning Caligula. Was his story a case of absolute power corrupting absolutely or was he driven insane by the deaths of so many of his loved ones? We will never know these answers but if anything is certain it is that the world will never forget the bizarre and depraved life of Gaius Caligula.

Monarch Profile: Emperor Claudius

Amongst all the emperors of Rome, Claudius has a very unique story; the malformed fool who became the ruler of the world, so it is no wonder that he has been the subject of a great deal of literature and even his own television series (which is quite good despite being littered with historical inaccuracies). Claudius was only the fourth Roman emperor and the first to be born outside of Italy. He was born Tiberius Claudius Drusus on August 1, 10 BC in Lugdunum or what is now Lyons, France. His father was Drusus, the son of Livia Drusilla by her first husband, with whom she was already pregnant when she married the Emperor Augustus. Likewise, on his maternal side, he had illustrious ancestry as well, his mother Antonia being the daughter of Mark Antony and Octavia, the sister of Caesar Augustus. Yet, despite this lofty lineage, Claudius was a disappointment from the very beginning -even his mother was not terribly fond of him. When he was simply sitting still one might not notice anything wrong with him but when he moved it became very noticeable that something was not quite right and his disabilities would mark him as the object of shame and ridicule for most of his life.

What exactly was wrong with Claudius? We have descriptions but can only speculate as to the underlying cause. In fact, given what a competent emperor he eventually became, some have suggested there was never much wrong with him at all and that he was simply very adept at ‘playing the fool’ in order to survive. That is a tempting idea but it is beyond the realm of probability that he could have kept up such an act for so long from the very beginning of his life. Claudius was a mess to look at. He walked not so much with a limp (as often described) but an overall uneven balance, jerking his limbs and lurching back and forth. He had a very pronounced speech impediment, tended to drool at times, always seemed to have a runny nose and, according to some, was also hard of hearing and prone to twitch. All of this tended to put people off as did his habit of telling odd jokes that no one but him seemed to understand or find amusing. Still, the image some have of Claudius as the locked away, shy, disabled innocent is totally incorrect. The family were embarrassed by him and did not like to appear in public with him, but Claudius was no introvert. As he got older he enjoyed drinking, gambling and womanizing as much as any other privileged Roman youth.

It is also true that if Claudius was less than perfect physically, there was certainly nothing wrong with him mentally (though one of the popular explanations for his symptoms is cerebral palsy). He was a very intelligent man, was very well read and (in another aspect that makes me partial to him) was a historian, writing histories of the Etruscans who preceded the Romans; as well as the greatest enemy the Roman Republic ever faced: the Carthaginians. He was also no less ambitious than the other members of his family but he was intelligent enough to know that power was not to be taken lightly and he appreciated the dangers that went along with it and even the pursuit of it. Some have attributed this to his witnessing of the rest of his family killing each other off in palace intrigues until Claudius was the only one left. However, this is easy to exaggerate and usually goes back to the story that the Empress Livia (aka Julia Augusta, Claudius’ grandmother) was a murderess who had half the imperial family poisoned. An entertaining story, but one with no facts to back it up. As far as we can tell most of those who died in the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius were simply the victims of time and chance and nothing more.

All that being said, it certainly helped Claudius remain unscathed that most viewed him as a simple-minded fool who was no threat to anyone. Rather than a possible contender for the purple, he more often seemed to be viewed as a victim for ridicule and jokes. He had kept fairly distant from actual politics until being named consul by his nephew Gaius, aka the Emperor Caligula. He was more than up to the job but we may never know if he was appointed consul because of his intellect or as some sort of joke along the lines of Caligula famously appointing his horse to high office. Whatever the case, it was fortunate for all that Claudius survived to become Emperor of Rome and that his boat was not swamped in the tidal wave that brought down his nephew.

As most know, I am a big fan of Imperial Rome and an ardent defender of the original Julio-Claudian dynasty. For some, they have a bad reputation even to this day, but the facts rarely match the gossip that has become accepted “fact”. Augustus Caesar was a colossus and truly one of THE great men of history. Emperor Tiberius, while he did get a little nasty at the end, was a great soldier, a dutiful man and a capable ruler. Even Emperor Nero was not without his good points and while he, on the whole, deserves most of his bad reputation, a great deal has been exaggerated. Emperor Claudius we are just coming to, but then there is Caligula. With him there really is not much to say, the man was a horror. One day I may go into his story but for right now, suffice it to say that the end of the reign of Caligula was an extremely low point for the imperial monarchy. Not only was the Emperor murdered, his wife was murdered, his little daughter was murdered, his statues were smashed and his name was blotted out of the record books. His nearly four years in power were a nightmare that most wanted to forget. Claudius was by then 50-years old and was, supposedly, found hiding behind a curtain after this bloodbath and expected to be killed just like his nephew. However, a member of the Praetorian Guard found him and they hailed Claudius as Emperor of Rome.

The downfall of Caligula had been seized upon by the senate as an opportunity to take back power and restore the republic. They hoped that the urban cohorts would back them but the Praetorian Guard had already declared Claudius the new emperor (again, some suggest as a joke to highlight their own power) and Emperor Claudius solidified their allegiance with a generous bribe. When the urban cohorts defected to Claudius and the monarchist camp it was clear that the senate had been checked and republican rule would not be returning. In this, Claudius has often been portrayed as a hapless pawn but that is certainly not true. He knew what he was doing and worked quickly and cleverly to secure his newfound position. Despite what some romantics may think, a return to the republic would not have been good for anyone. True, there had been plenty of intrigue and bloodshed since the beginning of the reign of the Caesars but this was almost exclusively within the imperial family and household. Under the republic, the same had gone on but on a far wider scale, involving coalitions of senators and generals with their own armies, devastating the Roman world from end to end. For Rome, the empire meant peace and stability.

To reassert imperial authority, Emperor Claudius first had the murderers of his nephew Caligula executed. Caligula had become an insane, perverted, sadistic nightmare on two legs, but he was an emperor and the law had to be upheld. Still, Claudius was astute enough to know that most viewed the assassination of his predecessor as a good thing and only those who had done the actual killing were put to death. To show that things would be different, Emperor Claudius destroyed his nephew’s stockpile of poisons, returned confiscated lands, burned the criminal records, repealed the laws which awarded the emperor the property of anyone convicted of treason and put an end to treason trials altogether. It was a smart as well as benevolent move to make. Because of what happened to his nephew, Emperor Claudius was also downright paranoid when it came to his personal security, but not without reason and when someone did act against him Claudius could be just as harsh as Tiberius had been.

Perhaps the biggest problem Claudius had was his wife, the infamous Messalina. She soon became notorious for both arranging the murder of those who displeased her as well as immense amounts of adultery. As usual, malicious writers were quick to embellish Messalina to epically wicked proportions with stories of her as a murderous nymphomaniac, poisoning or framing for some capital offense those who would not share her bed, of her organizing wild orgies and even working at a brothel under an assumed name. It remains something of a mystery how all of this went on (though the more lurid tales are probably fabrications) without Emperor Claudius taking action. They say the husband is the last to know, but surely someone so paranoid about plots and intrigue would have had some clue. Was he aware but willingly ignorant or was he perhaps so enamored of his beautiful young wife that he refused to believe the evidence in front of him? Whatever the case, Messalina became ever more brazen in her behavior until she finally went too far and actually married one of her lovers while the emperor was away. Claudius thought it a plot to overthrow him but, if it was, it came to nothing. He was rushed to the Praetorian Guard camp and Messalina and her lover were promptly executed, though unlike her accomplice, the empress was not allowed to see her husband for fear that she might melt his resolve and convince him to spare her life.

It was really for the best as she was the greatest piece of “evidence” cited by those who believed that Emperor Claudius was a weak man who was ruled by his wife and his closest officials. This, however, is largely false and was likely “sour grapes” on the part of the traditional governing elite who were upset that Claudius filled high offices with freedmen (emancipated former slaves) who were often extremely intelligent and capable and whom he felt he could trust more than the usual power-hungry elite. It is also untrue that Emperor Claudius was some sort of republican at heart. He had no qualms about continuing the monarchy and, indeed, during his reign, further centralized power at the very top. He did, though, take a great interest in the justice system, often presiding over cases himself, and seeing that the government functioned smoothly. He is often criticized for his love of the games but in this he was no worse than any other average Roman of his time. His odd habits and paranoid behavior kept him from being as popular as he might have been but he gained a huge boost when his armies completed the conquest of Britain, the greatest expansion of Roman power since the imperial era began. He may have cut an odd figure at his triumph afterwards but all Romans took pride in the achievement.

Emperor Claudius also sought to bring the provinces of the Roman Empire outside Italy closer together and he was unusually generous in granting citizenship and appointed non-Romans to the senate (something extremely rare but not unprecedented as Julius Caesar had done the same). Unfortunately, women continued to be a problem for him. After the heartbreak and betrayal he felt over Messalina, Claudius had no desire to marry again but he was finally persuaded to accept his niece Agrippina (the younger sister of Emperor Caligula) as his wife. For Claudius, this proved a big mistake. Gossip soon began to circulate that Agrippina was simply Messalina “part two”. Her schemes, however, were mostly devoted to securing the succession of her son from a previous marriage over that of Britannicus, the son of Claudius and Messalina. She was ultimately successful and her son, by then known as Nero, was given the title “Prince of Youth” and married to Claudius’ daughter Octavia. With that done, Agrippina arranged for Emperor Claudius to be poisoned and he died on the night of October 13/14 54 AD. He was succeeded by his step-son, Emperor Nero, just as Agrippina had planned though she might have regretted her efforts before it was all over.

After his death, Emperor Claudius was deified, the first emperor since Augustus to be so honored (not counting the self-deification of Caligula) and yet, despite being declared a god, one still has the impression that Emperor Claudius was not as appreciated as he should have been. He was a brilliant man, despite his disabilities, and for about thirteen years was a very capable emperor, a learned man and a man who took his duties and responsibilities seriously. He wrote his own autobiography (which has unfortunately been lost) and he took great care to ensure the survival of the Roman Empire and the imperial monarchy at a time of great crisis because he wanted peace and moderation to reign throughout the world. He wrote about caring for sick slaves and, of course, caused controversy by giving power to his freed slaves. His jokes may not have been funny and he may not have cut a fine figure but he was a good man, he kept order in Rome and the provinces, improved the infrastructure, left behind some magnificent buildings, expanded the empire by conquering Britain and the world was better off for his reign.

Favorite Royal Images: A Roman Emperor

Emperor Constantine the Great

Beware the Ides of March

Happy Birthday Rome!

A look back at:

Augustus Caesar

The Centrality of Rome

Today in Royal History

Today in 347 AD the future Roman Emperor Theodosius the Great was born. He would go on to be the last Roman Emperor to rule both the east and the west as well as making Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire and banning pagan rituals.

Trasimene and Relativism

It was on this day in 217 BC that the Roman army of Flaminius was ambushed and wiped out at the battle of Lake Trasimene by the Carthaginian forces of the great general Hannibal. For the strict monarchists, there is no dog in the fight. Carthage and Rome were both, at the time, republics (though both were founded as monarchies). However, as everyone knows I am a Roman partisan and so this is a sad event to recall for me while taking nothing away from Hannibal who was a very talented and audacious military man.

The lesson I take from battles of the Punic Wars like Trasimene (in which Carthage won) is how different the world might well be if it had been Carthage that had rose to dominate the western world instead of Rome. Relativism is all the rage today, be it cultural or moral, but those are sympathies that I do not share. Yet, even modern Christians can look at Carthage and Rome and shrug their shoulders since both were pagan. Not me. They were both pagan, true enough, but that does not mean they were both the same. Although the odd fringe existed as in any religion, the paganism of ancient Rome was pretty tame when compared to the paganism of Carthage where they were sacrificing little children in the most horrid way possible. No two people, nations or cultures are the same nor are they equal and the fact that all may have value does not mean that any one is as good or bad as another. For myself, I am quite grateful that the Romans learned a lesson from their defeat at Trasimene and went on to eventually win the war for supremacy against Carthage rather than the reverse.

Monarchist Destinations: The Pantheon

Obviously, there are many, many monarchist destinations throughout Rome and Italy, but if I had to choose one where you get the most ‘bang for your buck’ (so to speak) it would probably have to be the Pantheon, officially now the Church of St Mary and the Martyrs or, more popularly, Santa Maria Rotonda. Still, many people continue to refer to the building as the Pantheon, though there are conflicting stories as to why it came to be called that. Probably no other monarchist destination in Italy so well combines the glory days of the two monarchies that ruled a united Italy; the Roman Empire and the recent Kingdom of Italy. The place where it was built was on or near a temple built by General Marcus Agrippa, who was the right-hand-man of Emperor Augustus. However, the structure as it exists today was build by the great Roman Emperor Hadrian. Although purported to be a rebuilding of the original temple it was really an almost totally new structure and design.

The Pantheon was built between 118 and 126 AD and was one of the most magnificent of the many buildings constructed by Emperor Hadrian and one the great emperor was quite fond of as he often held court there. The central dome that dominates the structure is still the largest free standing concrete dome in the world, even 2,000 years after it was built. In 609 AD Emperor Phocas of the East Roman Empire legally ceded the building to the ownership of Pope Boniface IV who consecrated it as a church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the martyrs. The Pope had requested that the Byzantine Emperor give the building to the Church so that this sacred place where once the pagan gods were worshipped could be transformed into a house for the worship of the Christian God. This was extremely significant as the rededication of the building as a church is probably the only thing that saved it from going the way of so many other Roman monuments that were destroyed in various invasions (most people don’t know that a great many of the relics of ancient Rome were not ruined in ancient times but in the dark ages or even the Renaissance period).

Given this new purpose for the Pantheon, it is remarkable just how little was changed after it became a Catholic church. Some of the things that were changed were later restored with probably the biggest difference being the removal of all the pagan statuary which would, of course, have been rather inappropriate (to say the least) for a Christian place of worship. However, it is still, to a very large extent, in much the same condition as it was when Emperor Hadrian built it. No doubt because of the connection with the glorious days of ancient Rome, the Pantheon eventually became famous as a place where the most famous Italians were brought to be buried. When the country was reunited as the Kingdom of Italy the Pantheon was where the ancient and modern Roman Caesars came face to face.

Along with many famous painters, composers and architects also entombed in the Pantheon are the first two Kings of Italy and one Queen: Vittorio Emanuele II, Umberto I and his wife Queen Margherita. Also, although he is buried in Egypt where he was exiled, King Vittorio Emanuele III has a memorial lamp burning for him at the tomb of his father as it had been intended for all the Kings of Italy to be buried there. The area is quite a spectacular monument, combining the ancient and the modern by showing the arms of the Royal House of Savoy surmounted by the Imperial Roman eagle. Also, in a wonderful display that still enrages republicans, loyal Italian monarchists still hold a voluntary vigil over the tombs of their kings. The republican government might have put a stop to this but, as the building is still a working church (where mass is still held on special occasions) they have no say in the matter and the Catholic authorities have allowed the monarchists to continue.

Monarch Profile: Emperor Romulus

The Roman Empire was an institution so influential and truly historical that, in many ways, the world refused to let it die. The Eastern Roman Empire lingered on until the fall of Constantinople in the 15th Century under Emperor Constantine XI while in the west, the Roman Empire was restored in 800 AD as the Holy Roman Empire which survived until the 19th Century when it was dissolved by Emperor Francis II in 1802 under pressure from Napoleon Bonaparte. However, the one area which most fascinates is the old Western Roman Empire which ended, rather ingloriously, with the overthrow of the young Emperor Romulus Augustulus in 476 AD. His reign was short, almost insignificant in perspective, but also extremely interesting.

It is one of the strange twists of history that the last Emperor of Rome was also the son of a man who once served the single greatest threat the Roman Empire had ever faced, namely; Attila the Hun. Known as "the Scourge of God", Attila's right hand man during his invasions was a man named Orestes. It was Orestes who later became a Roman general himself, though by this time, the once mighty Western Roman Empire had been reduced to most of the Italian peninsula and a small holding in the south of Gaul. Ruling at this time was the Emperor Julius Nepos, appointed in 474 by the Emperors of the East, Leo and Zeno, though he himself was not very strong and it was Nepos who appointed Orestes to the post of Patrician and Master of Soldiers for the Western Empire.

Obviously, this was not a wise decision on the part of Nepos as when the Emperor ordered the new Patrician to march against Gaul, the ambitious Orestes immediately marched into Ravenna on August 28, 475, forced Nepos to flee to Dalmatia, and made his son Romulus Emperor two months later on October 31. The new monarch was probably around 10 to 14-years-old and would not have been able to count on significant international recognition were it not for the fact that the Emperor Leo of the East, who had appointed Julius Nepos, had died the previous year. Because of his youth, the new Emperor was nicknamed "Agustulus" or "the little Augustus" by those around him. The real power continued to be with his father Orestes who effectively ran the empire, or what was left of it, in the name of his son.

Orestes attended to diplomatic efforts first, in actions that in hindsight seems quite a bit like obsessing over details in the face of disaster. He secured recognition for Emperor Romulus from the Eastern Empire and negotiated peace treaties with the German princes ruling in Spain, Africa and Gaul. While this ensured peace for a few years, at least from these individuals, the throne of Romulus was far from secure and such diplomatic efforts amounted to little more than making beds in a burning house.

During this era, the decay of the once mighty Roman Empire was in its final stages, and a clear indication of the depths to which Rome had fallen is how few Romans there were who could actually bestir themselves to fight for the Empire. The Roman military now consisted of barbarians of various tribes, acting as mercenaries, who had no real loyalty to Rome or the young Emperor Romulus but who expected to be paid. These men, fierce, brutal and increasingly exasperated, were Orestes' biggest problem. Gold coins were struck and distributed in Rome, Milan and Ravenna bearing the image of Romulus Augustulus but these few tokens were nothing compared to what the barbarian mercenaries were demanding.

In 476, when Orestes to give land to the assorted Heruls, Scirians and Torcilingi who were demanded compensation for their service, they dropped all semblance of loyalty to the young Emperor Romulus and turned instead to the German chieftain Odoacer. Odoacer, himself a "barbarian" of mixed Scirian and Hunnish ancestry, was somewhat more shrewd and promised the disgruntled soldiers all that they had been denied by Orestes if they would support his own ambition to become king. Seeing the opportunity for something as better than a certainty of nothing, they made an official agreement with Odoacer on August 23, 476 and immediately turned to attack Orestes, hardly bothering at all about his son who actually sat on the imperial throne.

Orestes came out to meet them but was forced to retreat to Pavia, which soon fell to Odoacer. The barbarians closed in on Orestes near Piacenza and on August 28, captured and beheaded him. With that victory, the power behind the throne was gone, and in effect, the campaign was all but over. Odoacer moved on to Ravenna where he killed the Emperor's uncle, Paulus in late August or early September. Once the city was taken, Odoacer turned his attention to the nominal ruler, Emperor Romulus Augustulus. Sources differ over how Odoacer reacted to the boy. Some imply that he was harshly removed and banished, barely escaping with his life. Others say that the chieftain took a liking to the hapless, young monarch. According to one source, because of his youth and handsome appearance he decided to depose Romulus rather than execute him and then sent the former emperor into exile in Campania with his family where he paid him an annual pension of 6,000 solidi. However, Odoacer also forced Romulus to formally abdicate his position, sending a "letter of resignation" to Emperor Zeno of the Eastern Empire, effectively recognizing Constantinople as the one and only capital of the Empire.

If true, this may have been due to the fact that the Emperor Julius Nepos in Dalmatia, who still considered himself the true Western Emperor in exile, was plotting to regain his throne in Italy. In fact, the message from Odoacer seeking recognition of his claim to be King of Italy arrived in Constantinople on the very same day as a message from Emperor Nepos seeking Byzantine money and troops to help in reclaiming his lost dominions. Not wishing to further endanger the shaky imperial hierarchy, Emperor Zeno decided to back the man his predecessors had placed on the throne and advised the envoys from Odoacer to deal with Nepos as the Western Emperor and seek his rank of Patrician from him before Zeno would confirm it.

Of course, Nepos was never able to retake his throne and the Western Roman Empire formally came to an end after the ten month reign of Romulus Augustulus. By then, nothing remained with Odoacer in command of Italy and the few holdings in Gaul rapidly taken in by the Visigoths. In point of fact though, the boy best known as "the last Roman Emperor" might not have been so were it not for the attraction of his name, recalling the legendary co-founder of Rome, allowing for a nice illustration of the Roman civilization coming full circle from one Romulus to another. In actuality, Emperor Romulus was the pawn of his father and nothing more, a usurper who had taken the throne from the legitimate Emperor Nepos who continued to claim Italy from his base in Dalmatia for the rest of his life. Little is known of the young emperor's life in exile. He sent the imperial regalia to Emperor Zeno, who recognized Odoacer as King of Italy, but it seems that he continued to be at least somewhat active, founding the monastery at Lucullanum with the support of his very religious mother.

Favorite Royal Images: Paying Homage to the Emperor

I hope somewhere in the depths of the nether-regions Brutus was forced to watch

Beware the Ides of March!

Even more than 2,000 years after the fact the infamous “Ides of March” are still burned into the collective memory of the western world. People still mention it and, even more shocking, a fair number of people know what it was all about. That was when Julius Caesar was assassinated. Especially in the English-speaking world much of this is due to the pervasiveness of Shakespeare. I know people who have never read a word of it, who know absolutely nothing about Roman history and yet they still know, “It was Greek to me”, “Et tu Brute” and “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears”. That is the extent to which a political murder 2,000 years ago has permeated our culture. What is more, the divisions that existed in the twilight of republican Rome around the death of Caesar are still with us today. Some still view Brutus, Cassius and company, but Brutus in particular, as heroic champions of liberty. Others still view Brutus as the arch-betrayer, his name synonymous with treason against a friend, a benefactor and a father figure. Some still view Caesar as a tyrant and the symbol of tyranny while others view him as a heroic leader, a visionary determined to save and restore his country and one of the greatest men in history. As we have discussed here recently, so much of that period, from so long ago, is still with us today.

It is no secret where my own sympathies lie on that occasion and I would find it rather hard to grasp why any monarchist would take the side of the conspirators though I suppose there are some who do. For myself, there can be no justification, politics aside, of men like Cassius and Brutus in particular for murdering their duly elected dictator. It helps that I see no terror in the idea of his becoming a monarch as they did. However, I can see them as nothing other than the most despicable of villains, again, regardless of politics, for a very simple reason. In the civil war between Caesar and Pompey, Brutus took the side of Pompey against Caesar, who had been like a father to him (indeed some have speculated Caesar may have been his actual father) and yet Caesar gave strict orders that Brutus was not to be harmed and once Caesar was victorious he quickly forgave Brutus when he could easily have killed him, embraced him again and even appointed him to high office in his efforts to bring about reconciliation. In the same way Cassius had fought fiercely against Caesar in the civil war yet, when Caesar captured him, he spared his life and also appointed him to high office.

In short, they quite literally owed their lives to Caesar. He had every opportunity and reason to kill them. They were at his mercy and yet he spared their lives only to have them conspire against him and finally assassinate him. They could have opposed him for political reasons, agree with them or not, and fought him with all of their strength. However, to give up, seek his pardon, accept his mercy and benefit from Caesar only to then turn against him and murder him is, to me, far beyond the pale and blackens them no matter what sort of ideals they claimed to be advancing in doing so. If they truly felt that strongly about it they should have fought on to the death or refused to cooperate with Caesar, refuse his hand of friendship and accept execution if necessary. The fact that republican revolutionaries ever since have lionized these men, of course, does little to recommend them in my sight either. Rather, on the Ides of March, I think of how the murderers ultimately paid for their crime, eventually, with their own lives, how Caesar was honored and became even greater after his death and the new era that came after him. As the famous New Zealand historian of ancient Rome Sir Ronald Syme said, “Pietas prevailed, and out of the blood of Caesar the monarchy was born.”

Again this year I also cannot help but mention that it was the Ides of March that marked the downfall, though not the death, of another great man called Caesar and that was Czar (Caesar) Nicholas II, Emperor of Russia who was forced to abdicate on this day, marking the end of the Romanov reign in Holy Russia. Beware the Ides of March indeed and may the martyred Czar pray for us and the restoration of his beloved country.

(A note on this one: I liked this series though there were of course many inaccuracies, such as here -Caesar was not killed in the "Senate House" but the Theatre of Pompey and he did not die immediately but lingered for several hours.)