No mention about Zenobia being a descendant of Cleoptatra? Unlikely Heliogabal, she was actually the MOST well-known descendant of the Queen-Pharaoh, even by her own contemporaries... as well as by native Egyptian nationalists who welcomed the Palmyrene Empress with open hands, even crowning her new legitimate Pharaoh under the name of her ancestress.
@@ptolemeeselenion1542 Yes she was a claimed descendant of Cleopatra. There is however, no full known line, or further evidence that she actually was. I am not saying she wasn't though. Fabricated and claimed descent was very common and sometimes this descent was accepted by people, which is not necessarily evidence that it is true. We simply do not know and it seems like we cannot know.
@@ptolemeeselenion1542 With Zenobia there is also a political angle to likening her to Cleopatra, as Cleopatra was an enemy of Rome, thus Zenobia's opponents could use that as slander too.
I always thought the way Roman Emperors came to power was fascinating since it doesn’t cleanly fall into any category we’d probably associate with emperor/king making throughout history. It’s like bloodlines did matter but to varying degrees and sometimes not at all
If someone managed to get elevated to the purple and hold the empire safe from the external enemies, internal rebellions,ambitious generals, senatorial conspiracies, praetorian shenanigans, and civil unrest, then that person was be fitted for the job. If not, then his days were numbered. It is more interesting to know why they survived or get killed rather than why they were elected.
It was a meritocratic (in abroad sense) but also dynastical principle. New rulers always tried to form their own dynasties, because that's the "natural" thing to do to preserve power, but since the legitimacy did not come FROM the dynasty, the could be overthrown with relative ease.
@CipiRipi00 I don't think the principate was ever intended to be meritocratic. The mindset of the roman aristocracy (of which Caesar and Augustus were members) revolved around thir gens (dynasties) and family ties, as can clearly be seen in the first part of the chart. However, since the roman state was officially still a republic and the power of the ruler only came from an agglomeration of republican titles, offices and competencies, the dynasties themselves did not carry the same sacral/inherited legitimacy as in later times. They were important for the rulers when they chose their successors, but on their own they could not withstand political or military opposition. When the former emperor's grip on power had been weak, his son usually wasn't able to prevail, as can be seen during the crisis of the third century. Clarification: So it was meritocratic by accident, not on purpose. Only Diocletian tried to create a truly meritocratic, non-dynastic system, and he failed spectacularly. The dynastic mechanic was too strong, but it also never became the sole principle of power. The "meritocracy of force" always remained a factor, even in the Byzantine Empire. A dynasty was never safe on its own, only if the current ruler was strong enough.
One small correction: The so called "five good Emperors" did not really chose their successors following a new meritocratic principle. This is mostly a narrative constructed by later historians. The succession by adoption was accidental, not really on purpose. Those Emperors had no sons, so they were forced to adopt other people as their successors. However as we can see, they had family ties with each other and as as soon as one of them, Marcus Aurelius, had a son, he reverted to the dynastic principle.
And it all went down immediately. God; nepotism sucks. Humanity failing to actually integrate meritocracy is a painful loss. I wont act as if I couldnt relate to a father wanting to give the fruits of his hard work to his son; but when it comes to politics and power dynamics... it has basically never proven to be a good idea..
@@EinFelsbrocken The concept of nepotism only makes sense in an environment in which personal ties are, at least formally, not important - in other words in an abstract meritocracy. But that would've been a rather strange concept to these people back then. Of course the roman republic included meritocratic elements, but family ties were still the most important element of securing power. It has been this way for most of human history (and it is still relevant today, just look at North Korea, Azerbaijan, Nicaragua, etc., etc.). That's the point I was trying to make, this wasn't a meritocracy that failed because of dynastic nepotism, it was dynastic continutity that was temporally distorted by an accidental meritocracy.
>Be Roman Emperor >Be a Good Roman Emperor >Waste your life and well being for the good of Empire >Give 0 (Zero) "Ø" fucks who is going to be your successor >Accidental succeed by another good Emperor 5xCombo Legit 💯💯 fr fr No 🧢🧢💊 Definitely believable argument, I applaud thee
Not just one, but two. Zenobia, another direct descendant of Cleopatra, "usurped" the control of much of the oriental provinces of the Roman Empire by 270 CE. Her Palmyrene Empire lasted for three years.
The Emperors thought, "Yeah, the Pr*etorians killed so many emperors before, but THIS time, they'll be loyal! ....right?" That was the way of things until Diocletianus decided to abandon them and adopt a new guard. And Constantinus abolished them in favor of the Palatini.
In Civilization V, whenever your units get promoted, either through combat or from buildings/wonders, you can click the "edit" next to their name before you select a promotion, to permanently change the unit's name. I'd always name my Giant Death Robots after Roman Emperors.
I'm honestly surprised Marcellus isn't on the chart... he was Augustus' nephew and was originally considered to be his Heir, but he died from an illness when he was only 19, in 23 BC
Also Agrippa Postumus. Another son of Marcus Agrippa and Julia the Elder. Another missed opportunity is Cornelia, Julius Caesar’s wife was the granddaughter of Sulla.
@@Cheemsarion sorry, did Julia the Elder other name was Octavia? From what i know Octavia was Agustus two sisters. The one who marry Agrippa was Marcella (daughter of Octavia the Younger) and later Julia the Elder (daughter of Augustus)
@@passerby7112 I made a mistake I meant to say Julia the Elder not Octavia. Julia and Agrippa had 5 children. Gaius Caesar, Julia the Younger, Lucius Caesar, Agrippina the Elder, and Agrippa Postumus.
Octavian was never known in his life as "Octavian". We was Gaius Octavius (or simply Octavius) before his formal adoption and the Gaius Iulius Caesar after that. Octavian (or Gaius Iuilius Caesar Octaviannus) is a conventional name
@CipiRipi00 That's the thing: as far as we can tell, it didn't. You're right that according to Roman custom he should've been called Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, but he never was. Probably due to his political need to emphasize his connection to the late Caesar as much as possible. You've correctly presented the logic behind the conventional name, but AFAIK - it's still just convention.
It's not even the most annoying Englification of a Roman General within the second triumvirate. The most annoying is how English speaking people call Marcus Antonius.
Well calling him Gaius Iulius Ceaser while accurate is also very confusing. So we accept Octavian or Augustus as inaccurate but necesary consesions. Although I suppose we could call him Deus fillis, but that might confuse him with Jesus.
@@KKKKKKK777js It'd be Divi Fillius. The OG Caesar was a mortal defied, which makes him a Divi. Deus is for a higher order of gods, not for ex-mortals. Also, on an unrelated note to the other poster, I feel that my point has been misunderstood? "Obviously it's convention, everything about Roman names is" would've made sense if ROMANS called him Octavianus. As far as we can tell though, they didn't - so we gave him that name as a MODERN convention, based on what he should've been called (but WASN'T) according to Roman custom.
I would love for you to explore the longest direct line from a modern person. Essentially how far back can a person trace their ancestry. With no assumptions, names in every place. I am so curious.
I reckon if you looked at the Spanish royal line you could go just about as far back as possible. Links to the Visigoths and the OG Roman Imperial lines. Though really, everybody's family lines all go equally far back, when you think about it. Most Euros can trace their ancestry back to some degree of European nobility, and they're all pretty much interconnected. If one of them can trace their line back to the Romans, they all can, and by extension, so can we.
Diocletian split the empire in 4 for all intent and propose. I know it doesn't last long but it is a bit lazy to jump straight to the West-East separation here. It should happen after Constantine enacts his "brilliant" succession plan.
Well yes but actually no. He split it into 4 administrative zones, but only two were ruled by an Augustus while the other two were ruled by Caesars who were in name still subservient to the Augusti. I suppose they'll go more in depth on the tetrarchy when actually discussing Diocletian in the next episode.
The Five Good Emperors adoption method was really a fluke. All but Marcus Aurelius had no surviving sons. To add: Not choosing Commodus would almost certainly begin a civil war between the Emperor's son and adopted son. But Marcus Aurelius still tried to adopt Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus, a capable general and senior advisor. Pompeianus refused the honor.
Hadrian’s wall was a first-century effort to separate Scotland from England. The 21st-century effort to separate Scotland from England is called Brexit.
A few critiques, Caesar was a part of the Julii Caesares family, and it was Augustus who would go on to found the Julio-Claudian dynasty. The name "Octavian" was only a nickname for Augustus. He was born as Octavius, and Octavian is just the past tense of his name. It was used to distinguish him from his uncle. I love the video, and other than a few tiny unimportant mistakes, the graph is great!
There is a small error in this video - the emperor named Elagabalus was _not_ named Elagabalus in his time. The name was given to him by later scholars to distinguish him from his supposed father Caracalla because both of them had the same regal name; this was not a coincidence either because Iulia Soaemias and Iulia Maesa, mother and grandmother of the young Elagabalus, made up the story of Caracalla being his father to continue the dynasty on the throne and have a better claim on it. The name Elagabalus or Heliogabalus is only mentioned in scholarly works from the 4th century and was kept, as I said, by scholars to better distinguish him from his "father". Elagabaluse's real name was Varius Avitus Bassianus, and his regal name was Marcus Aurel(l)ius Antoninus. By the way, some scholars use Elagabal to name the emperor and Elagabalus for the god. In some languages both are called Elagabal, and some use the supposedly (but wrong) Greek form Heliogabalus.
Interesting point. Considering the Arabic root for Elagabalus being “Elah Al-Gabal” translating directly to “God of the Mountain”, it would seem like a bizarre given name indeed.
They assassinated the emperors because the emperor was not liked by the military or the senate. The emperor as important as he was had not full control over the empire's governament
@@lordfreezer5631 I would think that at some point an emperor would either do their best not to end up disliked and assassinated or would move to get rid of or reform the praetorians is what I meant
You always making topics alive I was very curious about time ago when only reliable source I had was a classic paper encyclopedia xD You're my hero, Matt
I always wonder what goes through those Emperors' minds anticipating possible assassination attempts that were so imminent and often came to their faith.
Sigh. The myth that the "Five Good Emperors" chose their successors by merit. Nope, it was often still good old-fashioned heredity or outright coercion. Nerva was forced at basically sword point by the army to choose Trajan, Hadrian was *Trajan's nearest male relative* and would have succeeded him adopted or not, and Marcus Aurelius was *Antoninus Pius' nearest male relative* and would have also succeeded him adopted or not. The only real adoption situation was for Hadrian to Antoninus Pius, but even then, Antoninus Pius was still like his second or third closest male relative and thus high up in the line of succession.
It was based on merit. It wasn't a pure coincidence that emperors Trajan through Marcus Aurelius were all good emperors. *But as you said*, ONLY for male relatives, or at "sword-point". The only time they had room to make a pick was when there was no son. -Nerva was a lonely loser with no close male line relatives. So the army forced him to name Trajan as his successor. -Trajan had no sons. So when he died, his wife chose the late emperor's first cousin once removed. -Hadrian was (likely) gay and had no children or close relatives. So he was free to choose basically anyone. Antoninus Pius was adopted on the condition of adopting Lucius Verus, Lucius Aelius' (Hadrian's original intended successor) son. -Antoninus Pius was an old man with only daughters. He named Marcus Aurelius, his wife's nephew, as his son. -Marcus Aurelius had a son, Commodus, and therefore had to make him successor, even though he really didn't want to.
There is a tv series about first roman emperors, its name is "I Cladius" . I learned a lot from it. Also there is book with that name. If you love history i recommend them
Great video & chart. I didn’t know that Trajan through Commodus were all part of the family of Ulpius, by blood or marriage. I’m wondering why we don’t call them the Ulpian Dynasty as all the adoptions were within the family, like with the Julio-Claudians. We could still describe Nerva to Marcus Aurelius as the Five Good Emperors.
This channel is AMAZING! I had been thinking of taking up a Theology class and this really made me decide to actually do it! Thanks for the inspiration! P.S.: I would LOVE to see a chart of the timeline of the six "big" world religions, by region :)
I love these videos. Also, I didn't know Caesarion was murdered - I thought he died of some sickness when he was a kid. Learn something new everyday... This is definitely a chart I'd like to get. Really, all of them, but specifically this one for sure.
All of Cleopatra's offspring, save hers and Mark Anthony's daughter Cleopatra Selene, perished in obscure circumstances or had been strangulated by Octavien. He didn't want any legitimate heir to Caesar (Ceasarion) nor any male heir of Cleopatra that might assemble the Egyptians and poses a threat against Rome (any male child) . He undereestemed Selene. He *severely* underesteemed the wrath of a princess and her mother-- and this partly contributed to the decline of the Roman Empire. Egyptians (and much anyone in the Nile Valley) are like the Corsicans, the Amazulus, the Chinese, the Native Americans and the J--ws: they *never* forget. *Never* forgive.
@@ptolemeeselenion1542 you do realize that Cleopatra's dynasty wasn't Egyptian though? not really sure if the clear-skinned, red-haired descendants of her would really be able to assemble the egyptians. their hold onto power there was already tenuous. but octavian played it safe. regarding selene, she joined an existing dinasty, so that dinasty was able to "claim ancestry" moving forward as a political chip. but it wasn't a dynasty in egypt, it was a whole foreign entity.
In Gilbert and Sullivan's THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE, the Major General sings (in his famous patter song) "I quote in elegiacs all the crimes of Heliogabolous" which is another way of saying "Elagabulus". One wonders how many people in 1879 knew exactly what he was talking about... Eagerly awaiting part 2
It's can be seen as being given the opportunity to kill yourself (which Romans considered honourable) or being executed. Execution came with severe consequences for family inheritence, which forced suicide sometimes could circumvent.
The leadup to the Crisis of the 3rd century was pretty well paved by the time of Septimius Severus. In Marcus Aurelius' reign, the Antonine Plague especially devastated the army, making it worse disciplined and less experienced. Rome greatly struggled to win the Marcomannic War. Raids had become really common, almost reaching Italy at times. The Year of Five Emperors weakened it further. Septimius Severus, while victorious, had to severely debase the silver currency to 50% silver, to pay his massive army, which was needed to keep control, with his equestrian birth (only becoming senatorial later in life). Making the Emperor's legitimacy solely based on the rule of the militarally strong. Caracalla's and Elagabalus' reigns further damaged the economy. Allowing for the Empire to be even weaker. After Severus Alexander's assassination, the events had finally allowed for the Crisis to begin.
Clodius Albinus did not betray Septimius Severus, the opposite happened as Severus was in a way stronger position than Albinus and he wanted his sons as Caesars.
imagine if they pulled one rope instead of just assassinating each other and conquered whole europe we all would speak italian now rather than like about 100 different languages
Nero was not in Rome when it burned. The christians claimed the arson themselves and were not percecuted. He was discredited by the other noble families, because he made them pay for the rebuilding. Later on some katholic priests tried to reframe their early history.
So Galienus was the longest reigning Crisis of the 3 cemmtury emperor not his father . Also Galienus was the last Emperor from family with Senatorial rank Augustus s first heir was Marcellus his newphew by Octavia , Julia married him at first but Marcellus died so she was remerried to Agrippa . Carus had a second son Numerian who was a Co Emperor with Carinus 283-284
Restorer of the world Aurelian did an amazing job in pulling everything together , he conquered France (gaul) And then palmyra(egypt,syria) and also fixed currency debasement all in just 5 years , but he got assasinated because a rumor his accountant/secretary started .
The “Claudian” part of the “Julio-Claudian” dynasty was not so-named for the Emperor Claudius… other way round really. Tiberius was a member of the Claudii family through his father.
They are called "Claudian" because 4 out of the first five emperors descend from the Wife of Augustus, Livia Augusta ... Who, herself was a 'Claudian', because of her illustrious ancestor, an earlier noble Claudius.
Roman Emperor: Son, you will become an Roman emperor Future Roman emperor: thank you father Praetorian , Senate,military leader: No , I don't think so. Proceeded to kill The emperor*
just for context, "dictator" in the Latin/Roman context was basically an appointed leader given short-term limited emergency powers to deal with a sudden threat (usually but not always military or disaster in nature), but the Senate still had checks and balances powers over him (hence the limited powers unless otherwise stated by the collegial body) hence the fear for Julius Caesar's self-declaration as _dictator perpetuo_ was justified, since it endowed him kingly powers that were against the very essence of the Republic (founded after the overthrow of Tarquinius Superbus anf the monarchy, in the aftermath of Lucretia's şēжụăł assault & šụïçıďę) also tho Emperors were _de facto_ monarchs, technically they didn't take the crown as Kings but simply retained the Senate
It’s not Maximus Thrax, it’s Maximinus. Should probably correct this on the poster, otherwise it will be very confusing why Maximinus Daza is called Maximinus II.
Great video as always. Super informative. Much appreciated 👍. I am highly intrigued by your video on how much of the bible is true. Can you pls do the same type of video for the Hindu Epic - Ramayana...
it was in 30 BC that Agustus made the senate hand over what remaining power to him. course the Principate era makes the empire a bit of a constitutional monarchy while the Dominate made it a absolute one.
Great video! It lets me relive my favorite two history classes in college that were soley about Rome. I did notice you say Caesarion was Caear's biological son, while my professor said he was not convinced of this. I've heard it is disputed but I was wondering your reasoning for accepting him as biological? (Or perhaps is he Titus' son?)
'Elagabalus' is widely considered to have been transgender and someday historians will respect that and call her Marcea Auralea, Imperatrix Romana, instead of the "The El-Gabal One" title given after she and her mother were subjected to damnatio memoriae. It was *not* her sexual behavior that made the guard murder her, and in fact she was having sex with A Lot of them. They killed her because in addition to trying to change the state religion, creating a women's senate with her mom, being 'foreign', not worshiping the traditional pantheon, and being a girl, she freed a slave and married him, naming him the emperor and her his queen. The marriage wasn't official exactly but we don't really know how far she went with that. For a society with strict class divides, upending the social stratification was the last straw. Part of the problem is that so much was destroyed and then what he have comes through an antiquarian filter, so what else she got up to, like the snakes or the flower petal incident, is uncertain. As far as the Roman emperors go she wasn't that bad and is a tragic figure well ahead of her time.
While Severus was born as an Equestrian, he was promoted to senatorial rank by Marcus Aurelius. Macrinus is the first to become emperor as an Equestrian.
I think it might be interesting to return to America and do a succession line if that one Prussian Prince was Monarch of America, as well as a Norton Succession line tree.
I've always thought that the 5 Good Emperors didn't adopt worhty successors because they nobly tried to pick the best candidate for the job, but simply because none of them had surviving biological sons. I 100% Trajan would have happily made his son the next emperor, if only he'd had one. And in fact, notice what happens as soon as one of the 5 Good Emperors DID have a legitimate biological son: he named him the next emperor (Marcus Auelius and Commodus).
Buy the new chart:
usefulcharts.com/collections/royal-family-trees/products/roman-emperors-family-tree
Isn't 'Servilla' a mistake, it should be 'Servilia'
Patiently waiting on the conclusion of the denominations tree
No mention about Zenobia being a descendant of Cleoptatra? Unlikely Heliogabal, she was actually the MOST well-known descendant of the Queen-Pharaoh, even by her own contemporaries... as well as by native Egyptian nationalists who welcomed the Palmyrene Empress with open hands, even crowning her new legitimate Pharaoh under the name of her ancestress.
@@ptolemeeselenion1542 Yes she was a claimed descendant of Cleopatra. There is however, no full known line, or further evidence that she actually was. I am not saying she wasn't though.
Fabricated and claimed descent was very common and sometimes this descent was accepted by people, which is not necessarily evidence that it is true.
We simply do not know and it seems like we cannot know.
@@ptolemeeselenion1542 With Zenobia there is also a political angle to likening her to Cleopatra, as Cleopatra was an enemy of Rome, thus Zenobia's opponents could use that as slander too.
I always thought the way Roman Emperors came to power was fascinating since it doesn’t cleanly fall into any category we’d probably associate with emperor/king making throughout history. It’s like bloodlines did matter but to varying degrees and sometimes not at all
Nepotism to an extent
I think the only time in this period the surviving blood son of an emperor was Britannicus and look what happened to him.
If someone managed to get elevated to the purple and hold the empire safe from the external enemies, internal rebellions,ambitious generals, senatorial conspiracies, praetorian shenanigans, and civil unrest, then that person was be fitted for the job. If not, then his days were numbered. It is more interesting to know why they survived or get killed rather than why they were elected.
It was a meritocratic (in abroad sense) but also dynastical principle. New rulers always tried to form their own dynasties, because that's the "natural" thing to do to preserve power, but since the legitimacy did not come FROM the dynasty, the could be overthrown with relative ease.
@CipiRipi00 I don't think the principate was ever intended to be meritocratic. The mindset of the roman aristocracy (of which Caesar and Augustus were members) revolved around thir gens (dynasties) and family ties, as can clearly be seen in the first part of the chart. However, since the roman state was officially still a republic and the power of the ruler only came from an agglomeration of republican titles, offices and competencies, the dynasties themselves did not carry the same sacral/inherited legitimacy as in later times. They were important for the rulers when they chose their successors, but on their own they could not withstand political or military opposition. When the former emperor's grip on power had been weak, his son usually wasn't able to prevail, as can be seen during the crisis of the third century.
Clarification: So it was meritocratic by accident, not on purpose. Only Diocletian tried to create a truly meritocratic, non-dynastic system, and he failed spectacularly. The dynastic mechanic was too strong, but it also never became the sole principle of power. The "meritocracy of force" always remained a factor, even in the Byzantine Empire. A dynasty was never safe on its own, only if the current ruler was strong enough.
"Killed by his wrestling buddy in a bathtub on New Year's Eve" sound like something I might have read in the news a while ago
Q
One small correction: The so called "five good Emperors" did not really chose their successors following a new meritocratic principle. This is mostly a narrative constructed by later historians. The succession by adoption was accidental, not really on purpose. Those Emperors had no sons, so they were forced to adopt other people as their successors. However as we can see, they had family ties with each other and as as soon as one of them, Marcus Aurelius, had a son, he reverted to the dynastic principle.
And it all went down immediately. God; nepotism sucks. Humanity failing to actually integrate meritocracy is a painful loss.
I wont act as if I couldnt relate to a father wanting to give the fruits of his hard work to his son; but when it comes to politics and power dynamics... it has basically never proven to be a good idea..
@@EinFelsbrocken The concept of nepotism only makes sense in an environment in which personal ties are, at least formally, not important - in other words in an abstract meritocracy. But that would've been a rather strange concept to these people back then. Of course the roman republic included meritocratic elements, but family ties were still the most important element of securing power. It has been this way for most of human history (and it is still relevant today, just look at North Korea, Azerbaijan, Nicaragua, etc., etc.). That's the point I was trying to make, this wasn't a meritocracy that failed because of dynastic nepotism, it was dynastic continutity that was temporally distorted by an accidental meritocracy.
@@untruelie2640 I agree with everything you said; I guess I just had to vent for a second there 😅
You'll have to provide a source for that since almost all classical historians would disagree with what you just said.
>Be Roman Emperor
>Be a Good Roman Emperor
>Waste your life and well being for the good of Empire
>Give 0 (Zero) "Ø" fucks who is going to be your successor
>Accidental succeed by another good Emperor 5xCombo
Legit 💯💯 fr fr No 🧢🧢💊
Definitely believable argument, I applaud thee
So a descendant of Cleopatra did end up ruling the empire she and Mark Antony had dreamed of, it just took 200 years
Not just one, but two.
Zenobia, another direct descendant of Cleopatra, "usurped" the control of much of the oriental provinces of the Roman Empire by 270 CE. Her Palmyrene Empire lasted for three years.
Alas Octavian didn't get their vile spawns
Wait what?!
You get assasinated. You get assasinated. You get assasinated. And even you get assasinated.
Oprah: "Everyone gets a-----sinated today!!!"
Man, never have I realized just how bad a decision it was to choose Commodus as your successor.
The Praetorian Guard: Murdered numerous previous emperors, including the last one.
The new emperor: "Ah, yes, let's keep these guys close."
The Emperors thought, "Yeah, the Pr*etorians killed so many emperors before, but THIS time, they'll be loyal! ....right?"
That was the way of things until Diocletianus decided to abandon them and adopt a new guard. And Constantinus abolished them in favor of the Palatini.
@@aaronTGP_3756 "Then Constantinus a" what
They are the well armed militia the 2A envisioned
It's more a hot potato than a family chart.
Lmao.
Matt, Jack's and your analysis really converged into one clear historical point of view on the Roman Empire.
In Civilization V, whenever your units get promoted, either through combat or from buildings/wonders, you can click the "edit" next to their name before you select a promotion, to permanently change the unit's name.
I'd always name my Giant Death Robots after Roman Emperors.
Y'all remember when Tiberius razed the American capital with the aid of Koreans in 367 AD
@@InvadeleYogurt Was too busy focusing on the Shoshone Empire dispatching its first Privateers to attack Cardiff.
Roman Emperor: You are my Praetorian Guard, my bodyguards essentially.
PG: Splendid, when shall we turn you into a body?
😂😂
I'm honestly surprised Marcellus isn't on the chart... he was Augustus' nephew and was originally considered to be his Heir, but he died from an illness when he was only 19, in 23 BC
Also Agrippa Postumus. Another son of Marcus Agrippa and Julia the Elder. Another missed opportunity is Cornelia, Julius Caesar’s wife was the granddaughter of Sulla.
Also wasn't Augustus' maternal grandfather a cousin of Pompey?
@@Cheemsarion sorry, did Julia the Elder other name was Octavia? From what i know Octavia was Agustus two sisters. The one who marry Agrippa was Marcella (daughter of Octavia the Younger) and later Julia the Elder (daughter of Augustus)
@@passerby7112 I made a mistake I meant to say Julia the Elder not Octavia. Julia and Agrippa had 5 children. Gaius Caesar, Julia the Younger, Lucius Caesar, Agrippina the Elder, and Agrippa Postumus.
@@Cheemsarion oh okay , thanks👍
Octavian was never known in his life as "Octavian". We was Gaius Octavius (or simply Octavius) before his formal adoption and the Gaius Iulius Caesar after that. Octavian (or Gaius Iuilius Caesar Octaviannus) is a conventional name
@CipiRipi00
That's the thing: as far as we can tell, it didn't. You're right that according to Roman custom he should've been called Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, but he never was. Probably due to his political need to emphasize his connection to the late Caesar as much as possible.
You've correctly presented the logic behind the conventional name, but AFAIK - it's still just convention.
It's not even the most annoying Englification of a Roman General within the second triumvirate. The most annoying is how English speaking people call Marcus Antonius.
Well calling him Gaius Iulius Ceaser while accurate is also very confusing. So we accept Octavian or Augustus as inaccurate but necesary consesions. Although I suppose we could call him Deus fillis, but that might confuse him with Jesus.
@@KKKKKKK777js
It'd be Divi Fillius. The OG Caesar was a mortal defied, which makes him a Divi. Deus is for a higher order of gods, not for ex-mortals.
Also, on an unrelated note to the other poster, I feel that my point has been misunderstood? "Obviously it's convention, everything about Roman names is" would've made sense if ROMANS called him Octavianus. As far as we can tell though, they didn't - so we gave him that name as a MODERN convention, based on what he should've been called (but WASN'T) according to Roman custom.
Other emperors : Let's practicing polygamy and having many children.
Roman emperors : We don't do that here.
Lol.
polygamy is not similar to concubinage tho, especially if those emperors were from the West
This was a really interesting video and well explained! Well done Matt & The UsefulCharts team!
I would love for you to explore the longest direct line from a modern person. Essentially how far back can a person trace their ancestry. With no assumptions, names in every place. I am so curious.
As am I
My guess would be Charlemagne and his decedents
I reckon if you looked at the Spanish royal line you could go just about as far back as possible. Links to the Visigoths and the OG Roman Imperial lines. Though really, everybody's family lines all go equally far back, when you think about it. Most Euros can trace their ancestry back to some degree of European nobility, and they're all pretty much interconnected. If one of them can trace their line back to the Romans, they all can, and by extension, so can we.
Diocletian split the empire in 4 for all intent and propose.
I know it doesn't last long but it is a bit lazy to jump straight to the West-East separation here.
It should happen after Constantine enacts his "brilliant" succession plan.
Well yes but actually no. He split it into 4 administrative zones, but only two were ruled by an Augustus while the other two were ruled by Caesars who were in name still subservient to the Augusti. I suppose they'll go more in depth on the tetrarchy when actually discussing Diocletian in the next episode.
Rarely I am so early to UsefulCharts upload 😅 Keep up the good work!
The Five Good Emperors adoption method was really a fluke. All but Marcus Aurelius had no surviving sons.
To add: Not choosing Commodus would almost certainly begin a civil war between the Emperor's son and adopted son. But Marcus Aurelius still tried to adopt Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus, a capable general and senior advisor. Pompeianus refused the honor.
Antoninus Pius has children but is a daughter
Is Pompeianus the inspiration Gladiator?
@@viniciusvyller9458 Part of the inspiration, alongside the wrestler Narcissus.
except for Hadrian he was just gay
@@ultra-papasmurf Not exactly. Today, we would call Hadrian's relationship with Antinous pederastic (between adult man and adolescent boy).
I am so invested in this story; I can't wait for the 2nd episode!
I am currently studying ancient Rome at uni and these videos are so much fun to watch!
Awesome video, can't wait for part 2
Can I just say these videos are calming for my adhd brain
It would be a very dangerous drinking game if one had a beverage for each time someone was assassinated. (One might even get water poisoning.)
😂😂
Love roman history. You should do one for the Seleucid Kings
Or.... all the Diadochi.
Aren’t they Greek?
@@masada2828 Yes. They are all Greeks.
Hadrian’s wall was a first-century effort to separate Scotland from England. The 21st-century effort to separate Scotland from England is called Brexit.
Man you're amazing, 5 minutes in and I've already learned so much things
A few critiques,
Caesar was a part of the Julii Caesares family, and it was Augustus who would go on to found the Julio-Claudian dynasty.
The name "Octavian" was only a nickname for Augustus. He was born as Octavius, and Octavian is just the past tense of his name. It was used to distinguish him from his uncle.
I love the video, and other than a few tiny unimportant mistakes, the graph is great!
NOBODY EXPECTS THE PRAETORIAN GUARD
There is a small error in this video - the emperor named Elagabalus was _not_ named Elagabalus in his time. The name was given to him by later scholars to distinguish him from his supposed father Caracalla because both of them had the same regal name; this was not a coincidence either because Iulia Soaemias and Iulia Maesa, mother and grandmother of the young Elagabalus, made up the story of Caracalla being his father to continue the dynasty on the throne and have a better claim on it. The name Elagabalus or Heliogabalus is only mentioned in scholarly works from the 4th century and was kept, as I said, by scholars to better distinguish him from his "father". Elagabaluse's real name was Varius Avitus Bassianus, and his regal name was Marcus Aurel(l)ius Antoninus.
By the way, some scholars use Elagabal to name the emperor and Elagabalus for the god. In some languages both are called Elagabal, and some use the supposedly (but wrong) Greek form Heliogabalus.
Interesting point. Considering the Arabic root for Elagabalus being “Elah Al-Gabal” translating directly to “God of the Mountain”, it would seem like a bizarre given name indeed.
I'm very surprised the praetorians weren't disbanded at some point considering how often they assassinated emperors...
They assassinated the emperors because the emperor was not liked by the military or the senate. The emperor as important as he was had not full control over the empire's governament
@@lordfreezer5631 I would think that at some point an emperor would either do their best not to end up disliked and assassinated or would move to get rid of or reform the praetorians is what I meant
I physically winced at the way you pronounced "Imperator".
Should be pronounced Im-pera-ter, right? That’s how I’ve always said it.
You always making topics alive I was very curious about time ago when only reliable source I had was a classic paper encyclopedia xD You're my hero, Matt
I always wonder what goes through those Emperors' minds anticipating possible assassination attempts that were so imminent and often came to their faith.
They might starts thinking like the Peaky Blinders.
@@ptolemeeselenion1542 just literal wars, the good part is the innocent masses were kept out of them unlike the English succession (the Roses)
Sigh. The myth that the "Five Good Emperors" chose their successors by merit. Nope, it was often still good old-fashioned heredity or outright coercion. Nerva was forced at basically sword point by the army to choose Trajan, Hadrian was *Trajan's nearest male relative* and would have succeeded him adopted or not, and Marcus Aurelius was *Antoninus Pius' nearest male relative* and would have also succeeded him adopted or not. The only real adoption situation was for Hadrian to Antoninus Pius, but even then, Antoninus Pius was still like his second or third closest male relative and thus high up in the line of succession.
It was based on merit. It wasn't a pure coincidence that emperors Trajan through Marcus Aurelius were all good emperors.
*But as you said*, ONLY for male relatives, or at "sword-point". The only time they had room to make a pick was when there was no son.
-Nerva was a lonely loser with no close male line relatives. So the army forced him to name Trajan as his successor.
-Trajan had no sons. So when he died, his wife chose the late emperor's first cousin once removed.
-Hadrian was (likely) gay and had no children or close relatives. So he was free to choose basically anyone. Antoninus Pius was adopted on the condition of adopting Lucius Verus, Lucius Aelius' (Hadrian's original intended successor) son.
-Antoninus Pius was an old man with only daughters. He named Marcus Aurelius, his wife's nephew, as his son.
-Marcus Aurelius had a son, Commodus, and therefore had to make him successor, even though he really didn't want to.
@@aaronTGP_3756 I'm sorry, but how does being the emperor of the motherfucking roman empire make one a loser? you got some real warped views on life.
There is a tv series about first roman emperors, its name is "I Cladius" . I learned a lot from it. Also there is book with that name. If you love history i recommend them
23:31 Important! His name is Maximinus, not Maximus!
Decius ≠ “Dee-shus”
Who doesn't love Crassus' rap in Horrible Histories? He's the wealthy one in the first Triumvirate.
And not a general, unless you count putting down a slave revolt and then getting your ass kicked in your first solo campaign.
Personally the Charles II song is my favourite
“Ran Rome with Pompey and Caesar, they’re more famous than me. But I’m the world’s richest geezer…”
@@kate_cooper THERE'S. NO. ONE
RICHER. THAN. ME!
@@revinhatol I’M MINTED!
Great video & chart. I didn’t know that Trajan through Commodus were all part of the family of Ulpius, by blood or marriage.
I’m wondering why we don’t call them the Ulpian Dynasty as all the adoptions were within the family, like with the Julio-Claudians.
We could still describe Nerva to Marcus Aurelius as the Five Good Emperors.
This channel is AMAZING! I had been thinking of taking up a Theology class and this really made me decide to actually do it! Thanks for the inspiration!
P.S.: I would LOVE to see a chart of the timeline of the six "big" world religions, by region :)
Gonna need more info on death by "a wrestling buddy in the bathtub" !!!
I love these videos. Also, I didn't know Caesarion was murdered - I thought he died of some sickness when he was a kid. Learn something new everyday... This is definitely a chart I'd like to get. Really, all of them, but specifically this one for sure.
Actually he escaped with his real father, a lowly Roman soldier by the name of Titus Pullo 😉😂
All of Cleopatra's offspring, save hers and Mark Anthony's daughter Cleopatra Selene, perished in obscure circumstances or had been strangulated by Octavien.
He didn't want any legitimate heir to Caesar (Ceasarion) nor any male heir of Cleopatra that might assemble the Egyptians and poses a threat against Rome (any male child) .
He undereestemed Selene.
He *severely* underesteemed the wrath of a princess and her mother-- and this partly contributed to the decline of the Roman Empire. Egyptians (and much anyone in the Nile Valley) are like the Corsicans, the Amazulus, the Chinese, the Native Americans and the J--ws: they *never* forget. *Never* forgive.
@@buttercxpdraws8101 That's from the HBO TV show, lol.
@@ptolemeeselenion1542 I know honey, it was a joke lol
@@ptolemeeselenion1542 you do realize that Cleopatra's dynasty wasn't Egyptian though? not really sure if the clear-skinned, red-haired descendants of her would really be able to assemble the egyptians. their hold onto power there was already tenuous. but octavian played it safe. regarding selene, she joined an existing dinasty, so that dinasty was able to "claim ancestry" moving forward as a political chip. but it wasn't a dynasty in egypt, it was a whole foreign entity.
...he was assassinated by his wrestling buddy in the bath tub...
I definitely feel like there's more going on here.
Your videos are SO fascinating!!
Neat lookin chart. Any chance there will be a book of the renewed collection of charts like a while back?
Zenobia also was descendant of Cleopatra and Mark Anthony. Thats why she's important
15:51 finally, the argument has been solved
In Gilbert and Sullivan's THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE, the Major General sings (in his famous patter song) "I quote in elegiacs all the crimes of Heliogabolous" which is another way of saying "Elagabulus". One wonders how many people in 1879 knew exactly what he was talking about... Eagerly awaiting part 2
It was alleged that both Octavius and Brutus were Julius Caesar's illegitimate sons.
Who is here to check what was going on in Rome during ANNO 117?
Should probably rename Mark Antony to Marcus Antonius, Pompey to Pompeius Magnus, they were romans after all.
WOW‼
I just found your channel and I love it! 😍
Thanks for making such interesting content. 🙂👍
You have a new subscriber from Argentina ❣
Otho wasn't defeated... after seeing how many lives would be taken if he continued fighting for the title, he took his own life...
"Aurelian, noooo"
Great video as always
This has to be one of those great You Tube Channels for people who like facts and connecting. Can we have one on Steven Spielberg please.
"Forced to commit suicide" ... Never heard it said like that. Is that kinda like Japanese harakiri?
It's can be seen as being given the opportunity to kill yourself (which Romans considered honourable) or being executed. Execution came with severe consequences for family inheritence, which forced suicide sometimes could circumvent.
@@MCAPrince isn't that similar to ritual suicide by the Japanese?
Lmao.
The leadup to the Crisis of the 3rd century was pretty well paved by the time of Septimius Severus. In Marcus Aurelius' reign, the Antonine Plague especially devastated the army, making it worse disciplined and less experienced. Rome greatly struggled to win the Marcomannic War. Raids had become really common, almost reaching Italy at times. The Year of Five Emperors weakened it further. Septimius Severus, while victorious, had to severely debase the silver currency to 50% silver, to pay his massive army, which was needed to keep control, with his equestrian birth (only becoming senatorial later in life). Making the Emperor's legitimacy solely based on the rule of the militarally strong. Caracalla's and Elagabalus' reigns further damaged the economy. Allowing for the Empire to be even weaker. After Severus Alexander's assassination, the events had finally allowed for the Crisis to begin.
Thanks, Luigi
Bery interesting 😊👍. Best regards from Diocletian's Palace in Split, Croatia!
Clodius Albinus did not betray Septimius Severus, the opposite happened as Severus was in a way stronger position than Albinus and he wanted his sons as Caesars.
SENATE: We don't want Ptolemy to become king
AUGUSTUS: Then let me be Emperor, in name as well
You would think with their history, the emperors would want to be good people so they wouldn't be killed by their guards or friends.
imagine if they pulled one rope instead of just assassinating each other and conquered whole europe we all would speak italian now rather than like about 100 different languages
Nero was not in Rome when it burned.
The christians claimed the arson themselves and were not percecuted.
He was discredited by the other noble families, because he made them pay for the rebuilding.
Later on some katholic priests tried to reframe their early history.
Fabulous. I love your work.
So Galienus was the longest reigning Crisis of the 3 cemmtury emperor not his father .
Also Galienus was the last Emperor from family with Senatorial rank
Augustus s first heir was Marcellus his newphew by Octavia , Julia married him at first but Marcellus died so she was remerried to Agrippa .
Carus had a second son Numerian who was a Co Emperor with Carinus 283-284
Restorer of the world Aurelian did an amazing job in pulling everything together , he conquered France (gaul)
And then palmyra(egypt,syria) and also fixed currency debasement all in just 5 years , but he got assasinated because a rumor his accountant/secretary started .
The “Claudian” part of the “Julio-Claudian” dynasty was not so-named for the Emperor Claudius… other way round really. Tiberius was a member of the Claudii family through his father.
Thank you. This is really clear and interesting
Shout out to the pretorian guard for guarding the emperors from living
Cleopatras line goes on at least until the crisis of the 3rd century, wow.
7:03 “nice, neat line of succession” -shows a jumbled mess of arrows-
They are called "Claudian" because 4 out of the first five emperors descend from the Wife of Augustus, Livia Augusta ... Who, herself was a 'Claudian', because of her illustrious ancestor, an earlier noble Claudius.
Useful Chartman strikes again!
Roman Emperor: Son, you will become an Roman emperor
Future Roman emperor: thank you father
Praetorian , Senate,military leader: No , I don't think so.
Proceeded to kill The emperor*
😂😂
just for context, "dictator" in the Latin/Roman context was basically an appointed leader given short-term limited emergency powers to deal with a sudden threat (usually but not always military or disaster in nature), but the Senate still had checks and balances powers over him (hence the limited powers unless otherwise stated by the collegial body)
hence the fear for Julius Caesar's self-declaration as _dictator perpetuo_ was justified, since it endowed him kingly powers that were against the very essence of the Republic (founded after the overthrow of Tarquinius Superbus anf the monarchy, in the aftermath of Lucretia's şēжụăł assault & šụïçıďę)
also tho Emperors were _de facto_ monarchs, technically they didn't take the crown as Kings but simply retained the Senate
It’s not Maximus Thrax, it’s Maximinus. Should probably correct this on the poster, otherwise it will be very confusing why Maximinus Daza is called Maximinus II.
Also: Servilia, not Servilla.
Great video as always. Super informative. Much appreciated 👍.
I am highly intrigued by your video on how much of the bible is true. Can you pls do the same type of video for the Hindu Epic - Ramayana...
I noticed how you avoided saying Pupienus LOL
it was in 30 BC that Agustus made the senate hand over what remaining power to him. course the Principate era makes the empire a bit of a constitutional monarchy while the Dominate made it a absolute one.
Can you do the gates family tree ?
I’m talking about the gates family from the national treasure movies for those who are curious
Yes.
@@ptolemeeselenion1542 you watching the new national treasure series?
Great video! It lets me relive my favorite two history classes in college that were soley about Rome. I did notice you say Caesarion was Caear's biological son, while my professor said he was not convinced of this. I've heard it is disputed but I was wondering your reasoning for accepting him as biological?
(Or perhaps is he Titus' son?)
Just a small correction: te correct name of the emperor who rule from 235 to 238 is Maximinus Thrax, not Maximus Thrax
I clicked the link to buy the new chart so fast the video hadn't even loaded.
New fear unlocked: getting brain infection from fly going up my nose
'Elagabalus' is widely considered to have been transgender and someday historians will respect that and call her Marcea Auralea, Imperatrix Romana, instead of the "The El-Gabal One" title given after she and her mother were subjected to damnatio memoriae. It was *not* her sexual behavior that made the guard murder her, and in fact she was having sex with A Lot of them. They killed her because in addition to trying to change the state religion, creating a women's senate with her mom, being 'foreign', not worshiping the traditional pantheon, and being a girl, she freed a slave and married him, naming him the emperor and her his queen. The marriage wasn't official exactly but we don't really know how far she went with that. For a society with strict class divides, upending the social stratification was the last straw.
Part of the problem is that so much was destroyed and then what he have comes through an antiquarian filter, so what else she got up to, like the snakes or the flower petal incident, is uncertain. As far as the Roman emperors go she wasn't that bad and is a tragic figure well ahead of her time.
I believe that Gordian II and Gordian III were direct descendants of Antoninus Pius through his daughter Aurelia
One quick correction - Macrinus was not the first equestrian emperor, Severus actually was
While Severus was born as an Equestrian, he was promoted to senatorial rank by Marcus Aurelius. Macrinus is the first to become emperor as an Equestrian.
Like the video really enjoyed it 💯🔥
I think it might be interesting to return to America and do a succession line if that one Prussian Prince was Monarch of America, as well as a Norton Succession line tree.
Seems like the real “emperor” at any given point in this timeline is whoever is head of the Pretorian Guard 😂
I've always thought that the 5 Good Emperors didn't adopt worhty successors because they nobly tried to pick the best candidate for the job, but simply because none of them had surviving biological sons. I 100% Trajan would have happily made his son the next emperor, if only he'd had one. And in fact, notice what happens as soon as one of the 5 Good Emperors DID have a legitimate biological son: he named him the next emperor (Marcus Auelius and Commodus).
incredible video as always!
I feel like the Roman Emperor is something like a military dictator in modern understanding
P good analogy
Can't wait for part 2!!! How do you connect past royalty to their current heirs?
29:26
*_To be continued..._*
caracalla didn't actually have geta assassinated, he murdered geta himself, in front of their own mother
savage
You should do the family tree of Kit Carson! :D Love ur videos❤ Great stuff! 👍🏼
Hi, can you do popes family tree?
Popes are elected, so they usually aren't related.
The general that took power after the death of Alexander Severus was named "Maximinus Thrax", not "Maximus Thrax".