The Five Good Emperors of Roman Empire

Introduction

The five good emperors were very rich emperors who successively ruled and prospered during their reigns; from the period 96-180 AD These five emperors were “Trajan, Nerva, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius.” They were called such because they managed to get support to take care of the affairs of the state (Birley 1).

Discussion

Marcus Cocceius Nerva was the first of those great emperors who reigned from AD 96-98. Well-behaved and self-willed, Nerva promised to deal fairly with the Senate and never mercilessly slaughter its members. Trajan was the second emperor who ruled from 98 to 117 AD. and who began to kill all the leaders who dishonored Nervo. Trajan was particularly known for being extremely generous in providing many public services such as infrastructure repairs (Rose 1978).

The third of the five great Roman emperors was “Aelius Hadrian” who reigned from AD 117-138. He first stopped Trajan’s attempts at expansion and then abandoned military conquests, but at the same time did not take care of the provinces.

The fourth emperor was Antonius Pius, who reigned from AD 138-161. Antony was very successful because he had no interest in conquering other kingdoms because his goal was to restore the senate (Gibbon 1993).

The last of those five good emperors ruled ‘Marcus Aurelius’; who reigned from AD 161-180. His reign faced many hardships due to warfare and financial difficulties. All these five great emperors succeeded during their reigns; which led to the important recognition of the Pax Romana. The purpose of this study is therefore to find out which of these five good emperors were unique and why their era marked the peak of the Pax Romana (Rose 1978).
Antony Pius, one of the five good emperors in Roman history, was born in AD 86. From 133 to 136 AD, Antony was appointed governor of the government of Asia, which later earned him great respect from the emperor Hadrian, who made him a member of his council after his return from the war with Israel; because he had great experience in administrative and management skills. On 25 February 138 AD, Antony usurped Hadrian’s throne (Rose 1978).

Antony was very rich during his reign in the Roman Empire because he restored the status of the Senate without losing its powers. Antonio was a builder, and that ability helped him strengthen the machinery of capital and create a bureau of standards that influenced the construction of the infrastructure of the kingdom. (Gibbon 1993).

He was strongly pressed by the whole world, which wanted him to help them in many different ways; which showed that he satisfied many people. He also had various buildings in different cities such as Rome, Antinum, Lorium and Cieta. to whom he was very generous with his resources and encouraged the wealthy to do the same (Grant 1988).

During the reign of Antonio Pius, creativity was sought in vain in the ideology developed during his reign. Anthony later died peacefully after a short illness on March 7, 161 AD. in Lorium. Overall, Antony was an incredible administrator for his time, and his reign was characterized by peace and tranquility that suggested a time of prosperity. Antonius later succeeded Mark Aurelius on the throne of the Roman Empire; after which he called him Caesar after being appointed governor (Gibbon 1993).

One of the most remarkable common characteristics between the five good emperors was this; they all managed to win the support of the people and united the country well, unlike their predecessors, who did not fulfill their mission. (Grand 1988).
Another important thing that characterized and distinguished the five good emperors was their excellent relations with the state and adopted followers; because they made their best choices based on the achievements of followers, not just family and personal relationships (Botsford 2009).

Significantly, these five good emperors were so unique in their power that they could not be compared with their predecessors. First, one thing that all these emperors did was correct the mistakes made by their predecessors. In effect, this meant that the emperors learned what had failed in their predecessor and used the same as a springboard to take them to greater heights. Their reign was also characterized by a remarkable state of peace; there were also less radical ones, the Tyracli and the Madman, which were very important tools and policies aimed at ensuring their continued power and also the prosperity of Rome (Bunson 199
).

Historians consider the period from 96 to 180 as the peak of the Pax Romana because it was the period that marked the end of warfare and peace was experienced after that time. In fact, this was the period in which the death of Marcus Aurelius was the last of the five good emperors (Birley 1).

Conclusion

Research has shown that the five good emperors were emperors who ruled prosperously in the Roman Empire from 96 AD. to 180 AD That era also marked the peak of the Pax Romana.