The document summarizes the Julio-Claudian emperors who ruled Rome from 27 BC to 68 AD. It describes Augustus as Rome's first emperor who brought peace and prosperity after the civil wars. Tiberius was an able but reserved ruler who lived in seclusion on Capri in his later years. Caligula was initially clement but went insane, tormenting and killing people. Claudius extended Rome's borders by invading Britain and strengthened the bureaucracy. Nero had little interest in ruling and faced plots and rebellions before committing suicide.

1. Julio – Claudian
Emperors
Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero

2. AUGUSTUS
- originally named Gaius Octavius, Augustus was
born in Rome on Sept. 23, 63 BC
- first Emperor of Rome from 27 B.C. – 14 A.D.
- restored “unity and orderly government” after
nearly a century of civil wars
- presided over an era of peace, prosperity, and
cultural achievement known as the Augustan Age.
- he was the grandnephew of Julius Caesar

3. TIBERIUS
- Emperor from 14 – 37 A.D.
- “efficient, tenacious administrator and general”
- “reserved, unapproachable replacement for the popular, charismatic
Augustus.”
- adopted by Augustus and forced to divorce his beloved wife and marry
Augustus’ daughter
- Tiberius came to power with great ambivalence and found little
happiness in the course of his reign. He was an able ruler, but his reign
was clouded by conspiracies and a degenerating relationship with the
Senate.
- As a result, for the last decade of his reign he lived in seclusion on the
island of Capri. [Source: Discovery Education]

4. CALIGULA
- Emperor from 37-41 A. D.
• real name was Gaius Caesar (12-41),)
• the grandnephew of the Roman emperor Tiberius.
• His early life in military camps earned him the nickname Caligula (Lat., "Little Boot") because of his
small military shoes.
• Tiberius named his grandson, Tiberius Gemellus (19-38), and Caligula joint heirs to the throne, but the
Roman Senate and people chose Caligula as sole emperor.
• Caligula adopted Gemellus as his son but later had him murdered. A clement ruler for the first six
months, he became a vicious tyrant after a severe illness. Historians believe that he probably went
insane.
• he squandered his fortune on public entertainment and building projects; banished or murdered most
of his relatives; had people tortured and killed while he dined; made his favorite horse a consul;
declared himself a god; and had temples erected and sacrifices offered to himself. In 41 he was
assassinated by his guard. [Source: Discovery Education]

5. CLAUDIUS
- Emperor from 41-54 A.D.
- The scholarly, crippled Claudius came to power at the age of 51,
following the assassination of his nephew Caligula.
- Certainly the most “competent and productive” emperor since
Augustus, Claudius extended the empire’s borders by conquering
and annexing Britain.
- Internally, Claudius strengthened the state by extending
enfranchisement and state offices to provincial Romans, and by
reorganizing the imperial bureaucracy.
- In later years, his power was undermined by failing health and by
his scheming wife. Not long after adopting his wife's son Nero,
Claudius died, perhaps the victim of poison. [Source: Discovery
Education]

6. NERO
- Emperor from 54-68 A.D.
- Like his uncle Caligula before him, Nero had “little talent or interest” in the exhaustive
tasks of the office he inherited.
- His mother Agrippina ruled during his minority and was eclipsed soon afterwards by
Nero’s astute advisors Seneca and Burrus.
- As fear of plots (real and imagined) increased, Nero’s popularity decreased.
- He had his mother assassinated, and later, Seneca.
- The great fire that destroyed much of Rome was unlikely to have been caused by Nero,
but his ambitious plans for building a new palace in the ruins fueled suspicions.
- Nero fled, and committed suicide when the Praetorian guard abandoned him after the
armies in the provinces rebelled and named their generals "emperor.” [Source:
Discovery Education]

7. NERO
- Emperor from 54-68 A.D.
- Like his uncle Caligula before him, Nero had “little talent or interest” in the exhaustive
tasks of the office he inherited.
- His mother Agrippina ruled during his minority and was eclipsed soon afterwards by
Nero’s astute advisors Seneca and Burrus.
- As fear of plots (real and imagined) increased, Nero’s popularity decreased.
- He had his mother assassinated, and later, Seneca.
- The great fire that destroyed much of Rome was unlikely to have been caused by Nero,
but his ambitious plans for building a new palace in the ruins fueled suspicions.
- Nero fled, and committed suicide when the Praetorian guard abandoned him after the
armies in the provinces rebelled and named their generals "emperor.” [Source:
Discovery Education]