Being a Roman emperor was a dangerous job. It was not uncommon for the emperor to be killed by a king who wanted to remove them from power. They also faced many health challenges, including epidemics and deaths from infectious diseases.
Despite the danger, some emperors were able to achieve a long reign. But which Roman emperor ruled the longest?
“It’s pretty basic at some level, but the questions are actually more difficult than they look,” said David Parnell, a history professor at Indiana University Northwest.
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First of all, you need to define exactly when the Roman Empire is over. The Roman Empire was divided permanently into two parts, 395 AD, and the Western Roman Empire continued until 476 AD. The Eastern Roman Empire, often referred to as the Byzantine Empire by modern historians, continued until 1453, when Constantinople was captured by the Ottoman Empire.
“Now, many people in my field, including myself, have argued that the Byzantine Empire is not a separate empire, but only the Roman Empire,” Parnell said.
If so, Basil II, who ruled from 976 to 1025, will become the longest ruling emperor of Stanislav Drejal, a history professor at the University of South Bohemia in Ceske Bad Giovice, the Republic of Ceske.
The war was constant during Basil II’s reign. He faced a series of civil wars in the first half of his rule, and many wars overseas in the second half, which led to the Eastern Roman Empire conquering everything in Bulgaria.
“He is not a heart-warming rule, but as an exercise in the preservation of emperors and empires, it is unparalleled in Byzantine history,” Oxford University historian Katherine Holmes wrote in her book Basil II and Imperial Governance (976-1025) (Oxford University Press, 2005).
Other candidates for the longest serving Roman emperor
Even if you think that the Roman Empire ended in 476, when the Western Roman Empire fell, the question of who was the longest ruled Roman emperor is still complicated. Some emperors were co-conspirators alongside others, Drejal noted, but some emperors exercised little or no political power, but the emperor was by name alone.
Theodosius II (ruled between 402 and 450), the emperor of the eastern Roman emperor, “may have reigned for 48 years,” Dolegell said. Historical records show that his father, the emperor, shortly after he was born, named him co-host at about 402. Arcadius died in 408, and although Theodosius II became the only emperor, he was still too young to rule for himself. Even if he was old enough to rule, he had a powerful courtier who exercised heavy political influence. “The actual effectiveness of his as a ruler is being debated,” Drejal said.
Considering that the Roman Empire ended in 476 and counts only emperors old enough to rule the entire rule, Augustus (the first Roman emperor) ruled the longest, with the rule of 41 years between 27 BC and 14 BC.
Augustus, known as the Octavian before he won the throne, rose to prominence when his great uncle Julius Caesar named him his successor. After the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC, Octavian formed a victory ruling with Mark Antony and a politician named Lepidus.
Lepidus was removed from power in 36 BC, and a civil war exploded between Octavian and Mark Antony, leading to Antony’s defeat and suicide in 30 BC, the Egyptian pharaoh with children of Antony and Julius Caesar. However, Child Caesarion, heir to Cleopatra and Caesar – was still alive. Unwilling to seize a chance, Octavian kills him to prevent him from becoming a threat to his rule.
In 27 BC, the Roman Senate gave Octavian the title “Augustus” (Latin meaning “respected”).
During his rule, Augustus repaired, renovated and rebuilt the vast buildings and infrastructure of Rome, including the “Chapter of Augustus” written in the UCLA Urban Chapter, the Emeritus Professor of Architecture. The Civil War in the first century BC meant that Roman infrastructure was neglected and needed renovations, Favro noted.
However, Augustus’ rules also led to defeat. During his reign, Augustus tried to expand the Roman Empire to Germany. This ended with a disaster, with three Roman legions wiped out at the Battle of Teutoburg Forest in AD 9.
Ancient writer Suetonius (around 69-122) claimed that Augustus refused to cut his beard or hair for several months after hearing the news. He also occasionally Augustus thrusts his head against the door, “Give me back my legion’s commander who was killed in the battle!” (translated by J.C. Rolf)
Roman Emperor Quiz: Test your knowledge of the rulers of ancient empires
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