define "batshit"

Many stories about "mad" emperors were fabrications or exaggerations by political rivals who understood that a story about a Emperor making his horse a senator and attacking the ocean would spread more quickly among the uneducated and easily amused plebs as opposed to a "he made policies I don't like and don't benefit me" stories

They had lead in their wine.

>>920501
Arguably only 2 emperors were insane for sure, Elagabalus (a transgender North African who liked to prostitute himself in the imperial palace) and Commodus (who functionally a giant asshat who was probably a psychopath, given how much he enjoyed killing and watching the act of killing that even surprised the Romans)

Caligula and Nero were likely more spoiled assholes than anything else. Domitian was just a dick to the Senate and christians. Tiberius was just paranoid.


I'd also say that Justinian's successor was insane, considering that he apparently needed to be chained to a bedpost in order to prevent him from gnawing on people later in his life

>>920501
They weren't?

If you were talking about Nero, then maybe a little. But mostly he didn't want the job and only used his power for his own benefit instead of actually ruling.

That's how dynasties go. A strong ruler takes power through war, revolution, or assasination; he gives power to his son who merely tries to imitate his father; and eventually sons who have no innate ability to rule are being groomed into being a ruler and ultimately becoming assholes with no will to rule who think the world revolves around them.

>>920552
Why did good rulers leave such shitty heirs?

>>920552

While the transgender issue is Elagabalus might be exaggerated if not made up, his public marriage to a vestal virgin and trying to change the state religion to the eastern sun god didn't exactly win him many fans

Commodus seems to have been obsessed with popularity to the point where he ignore the actual administration of the Empire

Caligula comes off as insane, but a study of the political climate, expectations and limitations of the 3rd Princeps, many of his actions actually make sense when put in the right context. He just couldn't contend with the pro-republican factions that were already unsatisfied with any Emperor after the final years of Tiberius'

Nero seems to have many of the same issues as Caligula with a bit of Commodus thrown in. His reign lasted longer because Claudius didn't burn all his bridges like Tiberius and left Nero with a more stable political foothold

Domitian was a micromanager who cracked down hard on Imperial corruption. Keep in mind at the time it was expected for wealthy families and officials to skim off the top. Domitian much like Aurelian after him wasn't having any off that shit (Aurelian almost had his memory dammed by the Senate after his death)

Tiberius didn't even want to be Emperor and wanted the Senate to do its job which is why he adamantly denied many of the offices and honors that Augustus "reluctantly" accepted. In the end his Praetorian Prefect killed half of his family in a plot by the other half to grab power that Tiberius had no choice but to crack down on the remainder of his kin that plotted against him.

>>920634
In the case of Caligula, it was supposed to be his older brother Germanicus anyway, if he didn't unfortunately die. And he supposedly would've made an excellent ruler. He was actually idolized as a perfect roman.

>>920634

Just about every single member of the Julio-Cluadian dynasty can be described as second choices or worst.

>Instead of Caesar we get Augustus
>Instead of Lucius or Gaius we get Tiberius
>Instead of Germanicus we get Caligula who was supposed to joint rule with Gemellus
>Claudius was never supposed to be near the throne and only got there because people got tired of Caligulas shit
>Instead of Brittanicus we get Nero

Its a miracle that they weren't actually terrible leaders for the most part. Assuming you believe that most of the defamation of Tiberius, Caligula and Nero is just that.

They really weren't. There were far more sane emperors than batshit ones.

And most of the batshit ones weren't really batshit. They were just immature assholes given too much power at too young an age.