Who is your favorite Roman Emperor? Mine has to be Domitian, fuck the Senate.
Marcus Aurelius
/thread
DYK that the Emperors had an imperial cult? And that anyone who didn't worship the emperor as a god would be put to death?
What is this, North Korea? Talk about hubris...
>>520053
I don't know desu Augustus started the empire but Mehmed II made constantinople great again.
>>520951
I like him not only because was he one of the "Good" rulers, but that he redpills us on our insignificance
>>520951
If he was such a great Roman Emperor why did he break the adoptive tradition of his post-Nerva predecessors and saddle the empire with his piece of shit son?
>>520951
Aurelian's before/after shots
/thread
Aurelian. For the Byzantines I'll have to go with Alexios Komnenos, even if he fucked up at Dyrrhachion and with the V*netians.
>>521068
The "adoptive tradition" they had was tradition because Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus didn't have any living sons by the time they died. In fact, I can't think of any emperor that chose someone over their living son that didn't have it blow back in their face.
Augustus - Nero: No living sons, all chose some other close relative but Nero whose death led to civil war.
Vespasian: Won the civil war, chose his son Titus. Titus died and chose his brother Domitian. Domitian dies without a son, the senate chooses Nerva.
Nerva - Antoninus: No living sons. Trajan's insanely popular and takes over after Nerva. Trajan's wife pushes for Hadrian since they liked him and Hadrian was just about his nephew. Hadrian doesn't like girls, chooses Antoninus as long as he promises to then choose Aurelius and Lucius Verus as heir. Antoninus delivers.
Aurelius: Literally only the second to have a son available to succeed him and so becomes the second to choose his son to succeed him.
Commodus is batshit insane, has no son anyway and civil war erupts after he's finally assassinated. The winner, Septimius Severus, then chooses his almost equally batshit insane son Caracalla to succeed him when he dies.
The first person to not choose their readily available son to succeed themselves as ruler is Constantius and Maximian at the urging of Diocletian. Know what happens next? Both of their sons Maxentius and Constantine just ignore the orders. Maxentius seizes Rome, Constantine declares himself emperor. As you probably already know Constantine wins after a few civil wars.
>>521216
cont.
Now Constantine can be fully blamed for his succession plan. He had sons, five of them actually. He decides the best course of action is to leave the empire divided five ways for each of them. Constantius II orders a Red Wedding-esque massacre in Constantinople after his father's funeral that sees his mother's half of the family almost all killed so the five-way devolves to a three-way real fast. Constantius II eventually comes out on top of his other siblings, and Julian, his cousin/nephew?, succeeds after he revolts.
After that mess it's pretty much all just familial lines until the barbarians start propping up puppet emperors.
>>520951
Shit tier tbhfam baka
>>520053
Alexios I Komnenos
Julian
>>521382
muh paganism
Caligula. Because who doesn't love dinner and a show?
Marcus Aurelius. Not for any of his qualities as a ruler, but simply because he wrote something I found worth the time to read.
>>521385
>defending the religion of weakness
Christian cuck pls go
>>521415
>the religion of weakness saved and preserved the Roman Empire for 1000 years
Don't you have some trees to fuck or something?
>>521418
>the Greek abomination
>Roman Empire
Entertain me more Sun God worshipper
>>521427
>The Roman Empire isn't Roman
Tell me more Charlemagne
![1920px-Julien_crowned_Emperor_in_Cluny_in_February_360[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/dB0swr1.jpg "1920px-Julien_crowned_Emperor_in_Cluny_in_February_360[1].jpg")
Julian the Apostate
>>521415
>muh tough pagan religion
>>521435
>not calling out neo-pagans
I can't, i know a few irl, ill shit on them wherever i find them
>>521385
>tfw Julian persecuted the early church by removing their tax-exemption status, attempting to rebuild Jerusalem's Temple, and preventing their schools from using the works of Homer to demonstrate their inferiority compared to the gospels
Must have been hell
>>521447
>not calling out neo-pagans
We call that shitposting, it makes everything worse.
Also would you prefer it if he takes up a more modern form of polytheism, like Hinduism, or are you just bothered that he isn't Christian?
>>521435
What i hate the most is when retarded edgy neckbeards shit on Christianity because:
>Muh weakness
>muh decline of Rome
>Muh Roman pagan virtue and honor
They have this idea that Rome went from a stern, virtuous, pious society into a a decadent feminine shithole over night when Christianity became the official religion, ignoring the fact that before Christianity the Roman Empire was a clusterfuck of cults, mostly foreign along with the Imperial cult that divided the Roman Empire. The Roman religion and Roman society of the Early Roman Republic were long gone by then. Christianity unified and preserved the Empire for a thousand years after the fall of Rome.
>>521435
Just having fun familiar
>>521475
>Christianity unified and preserved the Empire for a thousand years after the fall of Rome.
I would contend that this is just going in the opposite direction. The western empire declined due to a multitude of factors and the eastern empire continued likewise due to a multitude of factors. I don't think Christianity was substantial in either case, and the people that would most vocally claim it either way almost assuredly have an ideological reason for doing so.
>>521467
>Also would you prefer it if he takes up a more modern form of polytheism, like Hinduism, or are you just bothered that he isn't Christian?
I would prefer it if they started being normal functioning members of society and stopped being cringy autists. They post photos of them shirtless with their fat stomachs drinking mead and with poorly made swords in fucking forests. They are roleplaying faggots who always shit on Christianity for the same reason people shit on Christianity here. Im from the Balkans, these "Slavic pagans" want to get in touch with the religion of their ancestors, whilst shitting on Christianity, not knowing that their ancestors were Christian for over a thousands years and converted to Christianity in a matter of a century or so after the Slavs arrived in the Balkans. Yet Christians are the evil weaklings who worship a semite on a stick. They mix in elements of Roman, and of course Viking paganism in everything they do.
>>521484
>I would contend that this is just going in the opposite direction. The western empire declined due to a multitude of factors and the eastern empire continued likewise due to a multitude of factors.
I completely agree, don't get me wrong, im not a zealous Christian or something, im not even religious, its just that, when someone says Christianity destroyed Rome and caused the decline, the thread turns into a hugbox for neckbeardoos crying about Christ and Christian weakness.
>>520053
Claudius and Titus. Julian's cool too.
>>521373
I actually liked John more.
Probably a tie between Augustus and Trajan. I'd say Augustus just edges it out, as he used his power to actually legally reform the empire, and if course set up the Principate
Which ever one killed and persecuted the most Christians. Christians were basically the equivalent of degenerate liberals.
>>522176
Why didn't they just jump the lions? With a big enough group like that they could probably take them
>>522181
Probably a combination of fear/self preservation and praying for deliverance. Besides, in the painting there's more big cats entering the arena
>>522176
All that killing was one of those "remember the six millions" moments at the same level as "remember the inquisition"
>>522417
I love this picture. It looks like someone butthurt who finally gets his way.
>>522176
Be careful, your fedora might fall off.
>>520053
Fuck emperors. My favorite consul would be the one and only gaivs jvlivs
>>521056
To be fair, it started out organically. Augustus even objected to it, and insisted that if he was to be worshiped he should share a shrine with the personification of Rome as a whole.
>>521582
He's pretty underrated desu, if only he hadn't gotten cocky about hunting. His approach to reclaiming Anatolia would've been a lot better in the long run than Manuel's.
>>520053
I AM THE SENATE
>>520053
theodosius masterrace
>>520951
Why didn't you just save the pic?
diocletian is my favourite but it seems like hes never mentioned on this board
>>522181
They couldn't.
>>524446
You mean Theodosius the Pussy Bitch who was raised to the purple explicitly to fight the Goths, failed disastrously, had the command of Illyricum stripped from him by no less a bitch than the Emperor Gratian (because even HE could do a better job of it), who slunk of to Constantinople and had to beg Themistius out of retirement to write speeches about how he totally could have wiped the Goths off the face of the earth, but just didn't want to right now? Who settled barbarian foederati under their OWN commanders WITHIN the frontiers of the empire for the first time, which would lead to a crippling rebellion only twenty years hence?
>But muh church reforms
Who called an ecumenical council to deal with the scourge of Arianism which was still openly being practiced WITHIN Constantinople no less more than a generation after his death?
Who left two non-entity sons as rulers of the empire just to absolutely make sure Rome was utterly cucked?
Bitch please
>>522181
nah
>>520053
gaius julius ceasar
What do you guys think about Majorian?
>>527760
this wojak is better desu senpai
>>527760
Never haerde of him before. Seems like a cool guy, though.
>>521407
Underrated post
>>527760
the last true emperor will always be in my heart.
>>522181
it's a 100 brock lesnars vs 10 gorillas scenario
Only instead of Brock Lesnar you have starved and beaten prisoners
Hadrian
>>524446
3 9 0
9
0
Where my V E S P A S I O N niggaz at?
This is an excellent podcast about the emperors if you're interested
itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/emperors-of-rome/id850148806?mt=2
Julian the Apostate.
Last real roman emperor.
>>521152
Aurelian isn't Aurelius senpai
>>529075
That would be Constantine XI
Theodosius is myhusbando
>>529275
Why was he so based?
>>520053
>My actual favorite
Either Tiberius or Trajan
>My meme favorite
Maximinus Thrax, he was a big guy, for you
Fuck the Empire, glory to the Republic.
And on that note, Claudius is the best emperor.
>>520053
>all these people not saying the greatest living man in recorded history
Augustus is also very acceptable.
[spoiler] inb4 "Gaius Julius wasn't an Emperor" [/spoiler]
[spoiler] He was [/spoiler]
>>529794
what did maximinus thrax do?
>>531440
He was a big guy.
Modern history obsessed pleb here, what's the best political history of Ancient Rome to convert me to actually liking ancient history?
>>534578
I would go with Caesar's rise to power, his conquest of Gaul, and how he took over the senate etc etc, the civil war that followed his death, that Octavian won and was crowned Augustus for is also quite good.
>>534578
12 caesars?
Or its comic book form "I Claudius" / "Claudius the God" or the BBC teleplay?
>>521068
STFU he was the first emperor of the bunch that HAD a son. That's such a reductionist answer to why Rome fell that allows us to look past its serious structural flaws.
>>534578
It's all really interesting really. The parts where they assassinate emperor after emperor is pretty lame tho
>>521440
Constantius II was better. Julian was a retard who tried to turn Rome back to a time that was long dead and decided to start a war in Persia because... well, just because.
>>527760
Maybe he would've been able to kick the Vandals out of Africa but I don't think Rome would've ever held it. And you had assholes like Ricimer who were too corrupt/ambitious anyway.
>>535359
I doubt he cares, julian was a pagan so that makes him the best, its the "muh paganism" plebs you are talking to, julian could have fucked his mother and ruined the empire, but because he was pagan he was le greatest roman emperor.
>>520053
Non, fuck the empire, and long live the Republic.
Adolf Hitler
>tfw scotfuckinshits think they can stop my Rome being great again
>>521216
>Commodus
Good thing Maximus Decimus Meridius killed him in a gladiator fight
That guy was such a fuck boi
>>522423
You would be butthurt too if you had those pesky Bulgarians messing up your lawn.
>>536162
It's kind of funny. When I was listening to History of Rome, Mike obviously didn't seem to think to highly of Constantius II but listening to the episodes about him he went from an emperor I was unfamiliar with to one who I ended up with a lot of respect for.
He was basically besieged by enemies on all sides with Persians in the east and different uprisings in the west and was pretty adept at handling them and getting them back under control without leaving himself screwed over when one or the other happened. He had a temper and could make rash decisions but it didn't seem to negatively affect the Empire overall. Plus he helped pacify the Rhine/Danube frontiers. And then when Julian was hailed emperor by his troops, Constantius had the good sense to step down because he was at the end of his life anyway ensuring a smooth transition of power.
I honestly think that in better times he'd be seen as a pretty good emperor.
>>521059
kek
Justinian II the Based
Which one kept plenty of boipussy on the side?
>>535359
>long dead
hardly
>>524451
>>538029
Hadrian
Here's what the boypussy looked like
>>536551
>Bon appetit
>>538058
Hadrian is a wonderful man.
>>538058
Is that Benedict Cumberbatch?
>>522176
Wait so what is degenerate then? You do know that a lot of Romans participated in homosexual acts before Christianity took root right? Also abortion wasn't an issue. Unless you are speaking strictly of how the poor and women were treated.
Majorian or Aetius.
>>529814
>And on that note, Claudius is the best emperor.
You mean Pertinax, right ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwawoAH9h2Y
>>540980
Ancient Christians are the same as modern day liberals. They have almost nothing but contempt for the old ways and seek to change everything so it will work for them and soon after they gain power they constrict he previous culture. The Roman emperor Gratian removed the Altar of Victory from the Roman senate and now Christian crosses are removed from Chruches.
Also Christians and marxists follow the ideas of a Jew.
>'Rome cut of the heads of Christians and yet they continued to reappear in one way or another. Something similar happens with Marxists.' Augusto Pinochet
>>529833
>Tfw modern Europe is the eternal Roman empire under an immortal Julius Caeser
>>526696
>any of that shit
>not just theodosius the master politician that died in a battle he won against an equal enemy that lasted several days.
Diocletian is my fav tbqh family
>>520053
Augustus (Octavian). He stood up to the corrupt, deficient senate and exterminated Caesar's killers, starting and exemplifying the Golden Age of Rome.
>>521056
>I'll take nearly every single centralized Classical and Ancient civilization for 300, Alex.
>>521056
I've read that it was more of a way to show your devotion to the current Emperor; i.e. look how much we venerate your glorious ancestors (adopted and otherwise)
>>538029
Tiberius may have, though who knows how much of that is slander from Suetonius.
