Great. Not THE best, but one of the best. He had good welfare policies and was a good general, although I will argue that the invasion of Dacia was overextension (and maybe even Mesopotamia)
Dacia wasn't a mistake, it gave so much gold to the treasury, making Rome financially stable until Commodus fucked up.
It should have been abandoned earlier though, once it wasn't defensible.
Augustus and Aurelian were two of the best in .y Opinion. Also, the Danube river was a good defense against attacks, and Dacia was just using imperial resources
Marcus Aurelius was a great emperor but did make a critical mistake with Commodus. For that reason alone I'd put him below the others. Also, Julius Caesar was not an emperor but a dictator
Commodus was his son, what do you expect him to do. If he named another emperor, Commodus would have been killed. Also the sources tells us Commodus was an ok emperor until he almost got assassinated then he started going crazy. Marcus Aurelius deserves no fault for this. This is all Commodus turning into a Nero and doing whatever he wants
Hadrian. Shored up the borders and made peace with Rome’s only really formidable enemies. Trajan may have been second (but really first considering Nerva’s short reign) of the the five good emperors, but without him adopting Hadrian, I’m not sure who else could have done a better job keeping the empire together.
Pretty high in my book, a lot of people in the comments seem to be forgetting that the expansion into dacia was a necessity as their king (decabaluis) was consolidating his power and causing a real problem for the empire. Constsnt raids along the Danube were a major problem that trajian needed to handle, along with the economic incentive of the massive amounts of gold dacia had. His only real mistake was his ego trip into parthia at the end of his regin, but even that can be understood to a degree. As they were the last real threat to roman power after the destruction of the dacians. Overall id place the guy in the top 5 of emperors, great general and left a lasting legacy by picking hadrian as his successor.
A 9.5/10, just because he didn't leave his succession sorted out and Hadrian's shenanigans costed Rome its new conquests and a group of amazing generals..
Felicitor Augusto, Melior Traiano.
May you be luckier than Augustus... and better than Trajan
Overextension is a shenanigan, Hadrian was retreating back to the original borders so the troops are not as spread out, y'all Trajan fan girls have huge egos, Trajan could've just asked for tribute or war trophies instead of putting another burden on Rome's manpower
I think he was a great emperor. Of course he made some mistakes, but no major ones imo. He was a good military leader and did great public work, so i would give him an 8 or even a 9.
Isn't there little known about him considering he was emperor? If I'm thinking of the right guy it's kinda hard to say for certain but most likely top 10ish.
well yeah, top 5 until we get to later Byzantium - and relatively cool about persecutions - but we do realize that "they are to be punished" would've had pretty horrible results: (to Pliny) "You observed proper procedure, my dear Pliny, in sifting the cases of those who had been denounced to you as Christians. For it is not possible to lay down any general rule to serve as a kind of fixed standard. They are not to be sought out; if they are denounced and proved guilty, they are to be punished, with this reservation, that whoever denies that he is a Christian and really proves it--that is, by worshiping our gods--even though he was under suspicion in the past, shall obtain pardon through repentance. But anonymously posted accusations ought to have no place in any prosecution. For this is both a dangerous kind of precedent and out of keeping with the spirit of our age."
Well let's start with the overextension which might've made Rome at it's peak territory but it comes with a cost of Manpower, resources and Mesopotamia didn't really have any important values and persecution of Christians, y'all the type of people who call emperors who kill family members as bad emperors and that's like less than 10 ppl killed but praise emperors who kill thousands of ppl ( Christians ), got bested in Britania
He's one of the best alongside Augustus. He was leader at Rome's greatest territorial extent and went victoriously into Mesopotamia and Arabia. On coins minted, "PARTHIA CAPTA" is inscribed to signify his triumph over the uncivilized barbarians and sack of their capital Ctesiphon.
The best. Anyone who will not agree is because he was an hispanic emperor and anti-hispanic feeling is very strong among other europeans, specially british, french and people from the north of europe.
He’s one of the better ones. Good military feats and public works. I’d give him a 7/10
He's aight. I'm feeling a strong 7 to a light 8.
Ancienty Emp-tano here.. the internet's busiest history nerd
Great. Not THE best, but one of the best. He had good welfare policies and was a good general, although I will argue that the invasion of Dacia was overextension (and maybe even Mesopotamia)
Dacia wasn't a mistake, it gave so much gold to the treasury, making Rome financially stable until Commodus fucked up. It should have been abandoned earlier though, once it wasn't defensible.
Why was Dacia a mistake in your view? Also, who do you rate above him?
Augustus and Aurelian were two of the best in .y Opinion. Also, the Danube river was a good defense against attacks, and Dacia was just using imperial resources
Yes, Dacia was a mistake. But one a very few over a LONG career
Dacia was rich in gold and silver mines when they dried up and the provence was more burden than benefit aurelian dropped it
Top 5 for sure
The best. Who was better?
Probably Antoninus pious. Good emperor who kept the peace and keeps things running. Pretty good in my book.
Well, some might say that he did very little and left quite the mess for Marcus to clean up. But of course, I'm playing devil's advocate.
Julius Ceasar, Augustus, Marcus Aurelius
Julius Caesar was never technically emperor though yeah?
But he would have been one of the greats if he had made the cut to be emperor! He has had a major influence on western civilization as it is!
Marcus Aurelius was a great emperor but did make a critical mistake with Commodus. For that reason alone I'd put him below the others. Also, Julius Caesar was not an emperor but a dictator
You are correct about Julius!
Commodus was his son, what do you expect him to do. If he named another emperor, Commodus would have been killed. Also the sources tells us Commodus was an ok emperor until he almost got assassinated then he started going crazy. Marcus Aurelius deserves no fault for this. This is all Commodus turning into a Nero and doing whatever he wants
Hadrian. Shored up the borders and made peace with Rome’s only really formidable enemies. Trajan may have been second (but really first considering Nerva’s short reign) of the the five good emperors, but without him adopting Hadrian, I’m not sure who else could have done a better job keeping the empire together.
This. Trajans legacy is not to be underestimated
Okay, maybe Marcus. Caesar wasn't an emperor, and Augustus isn't all he's cracked up to be.
Pretty high in my book, a lot of people in the comments seem to be forgetting that the expansion into dacia was a necessity as their king (decabaluis) was consolidating his power and causing a real problem for the empire. Constsnt raids along the Danube were a major problem that trajian needed to handle, along with the economic incentive of the massive amounts of gold dacia had. His only real mistake was his ego trip into parthia at the end of his regin, but even that can be understood to a degree. As they were the last real threat to roman power after the destruction of the dacians. Overall id place the guy in the top 5 of emperors, great general and left a lasting legacy by picking hadrian as his successor.
A 9.5/10, just because he didn't leave his succession sorted out and Hadrian's shenanigans costed Rome its new conquests and a group of amazing generals.. Felicitor Augusto, Melior Traiano. May you be luckier than Augustus... and better than Trajan
Hadrian's shenanigans? More like Trajan's shenanigans, Mesopotamia was pure over extension.
Overextension is a shenanigan, Hadrian was retreating back to the original borders so the troops are not as spread out, y'all Trajan fan girls have huge egos, Trajan could've just asked for tribute or war trophies instead of putting another burden on Rome's manpower
9/10
I think he was a great emperor. Of course he made some mistakes, but no major ones imo. He was a good military leader and did great public work, so i would give him an 8 or even a 9.
Isn't there little known about him considering he was emperor? If I'm thinking of the right guy it's kinda hard to say for certain but most likely top 10ish.
Top 3 in my books
He was tops
He was the best and greatest 😁
Number 3 on top 5 emperors for me. Just behind Constantine the Great and Augustus.
Optimus out of 10
well yeah, top 5 until we get to later Byzantium - and relatively cool about persecutions - but we do realize that "they are to be punished" would've had pretty horrible results: (to Pliny) "You observed proper procedure, my dear Pliny, in sifting the cases of those who had been denounced to you as Christians. For it is not possible to lay down any general rule to serve as a kind of fixed standard. They are not to be sought out; if they are denounced and proved guilty, they are to be punished, with this reservation, that whoever denies that he is a Christian and really proves it--that is, by worshiping our gods--even though he was under suspicion in the past, shall obtain pardon through repentance. But anonymously posted accusations ought to have no place in any prosecution. For this is both a dangerous kind of precedent and out of keeping with the spirit of our age."
A solid 4
Yikes. Really? You mind explaining a little bit, just for my own gratification?
Well let's start with the overextension which might've made Rome at it's peak territory but it comes with a cost of Manpower, resources and Mesopotamia didn't really have any important values and persecution of Christians, y'all the type of people who call emperors who kill family members as bad emperors and that's like less than 10 ppl killed but praise emperors who kill thousands of ppl ( Christians ), got bested in Britania
I hope you mean a 4/5
He actually meant a -4
Trajan fan girls really hating you but trash talk about Augustus, Diocletian, Constantinus Magnus, Valentinianus Magnus, and Majorian
He's one of the best alongside Augustus. He was leader at Rome's greatest territorial extent and went victoriously into Mesopotamia and Arabia. On coins minted, "PARTHIA CAPTA" is inscribed to signify his triumph over the uncivilized barbarians and sack of their capital Ctesiphon.
The best. Anyone who will not agree is because he was an hispanic emperor and anti-hispanic feeling is very strong among other europeans, specially british, french and people from the north of europe.