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Roman Emperor

43 dated entries naming Roman Emperor, drawn from 43 separate years between 63 BCE and 1237 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

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1st century BC

  • 63 BCESeptember 23 – Augustus, first Roman Emperor (d. AD 14)source
  • 27 BCEJanuary 16 – Octavian formally returns full power to the Senate; they give him the titles of Princeps and Augustus. He accepts this honor, having declined the alternative title of Romulus, thus becoming first Roman emperor.source

1st century

  • 12August 31 – Caligula, Roman emperor (d. 41 AD)source
  • 14August 19 – Augustus, the first Roman emperor, dies and is declared to be a god.source
  • 15In Rome, the election of magistrates passes from the people to the Emperor and the Senate.source
  • 37March 18 – The Roman Senate annuls Tiberius's will, and proclaims Caligula as Roman Emperor, nullifying the joint claim of Tiberius Gemellus. Caligula's attempt to have himself deified creates friction between himself and the Senate.source
  • 39Tigellinus, minister and favorite of the later Roman emperor Nero, is banished for adultery with Caligula's sisters.source
  • 70Later Roman emperor Domitian marries Domitia Longina.source

2nd century

  • 138Antoninus Pius succeeds Hadrian as Roman Emperor, and asks the Senate to confer divine honors for Hadrian.source
  • 169Marcus Aurelius becomes sole Roman Emperor upon the death of Lucius Verus.source

3rd century

  • 211February 4 – Emperor Septimius Severus, having fallen ill, dies in Eboracum (modern-day York) while on campaign in Britain after an 18-year reign. He is later deified by the Senate. His sons Caracalla and Geta succeed him as joint Roman emperors.source
  • 217April 8 – Caracalla is assassinated by his soldiers near Edessa. Marcus Opellius Macrinus, head of the Praetorian Guard, declares himself Roman emperor.source
  • 244Philip the Arab is recognized by the Roman Senate as the new Roman Emperor with the honorific Augustus. He nominates his son Philippus, age 6, with the title of Caesar and makes him heir to the throne; gives his brother Priscus supreme power (rector Orientis) in the Eastern provinces; and begins construction of the city of Shahba (Syria) in the province of his birth.source
  • 251In Rome, Hostilian, son of Decius, succeeds his father, while Trebonianus Gallus is proclaimed Emperor by the troops. Gallus accepts him as co-emperor, but an outbreak of plague strikes the city, and kills Hostilian.source
  • 253The legions who have campaigned against the Goths on the Danube elect Marcus Aemilius Aemilianus as new emperor. He advances on Rome along the Flaminian Way, to meet his opponent emperor Trebonianus Gallus and his son Volusianus. For the most part, generals in the border regions are proclaimed emperor by their armies to halt the invasion of Germanic tribes.source
  • 259Postumus, governor of Gaul, declares himself Emperor, and continues to rule the Gallic Empire until 269, when he is killed by his soldiers.source
  • 273Marcus Claudius Tacitus, future Roman Emperor, is consul in Rome.source
  • 276Florianus becomes Roman Emperor with the support of the Senate, but a general in the east, Marcus Aurelius Probus, usurps power against him. Florianus breaks off his campaign against the Goths and marches east from the Bosporus with support from the Roman legions in Britain, Gaul, Spain and Italy.source
  • 277Probus enters Rome, to have his position as Emperor ratified by the Senate.source

4th century

  • 312October 28 – Battle of the Milvian Bridge: Constantine defeats Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge, becoming the only Roman emperor in the West. Prior to the battle, he reportedly has a vision of a cross (labarum) with the phrase "in hoc signo vinces" ("In this sign you shall conquer"). This encourages him to convert to Christianity.source
  • 320Constans I, Roman emperor (d. 350)source
  • 337May 22 – Constantine the Great, first Christian Roman emperor of the Western Empire (312–324), and of the Roman Empire (324–337), dies in Achyron, near Nicomedia, at age 65, after he is baptized by Eusebius of Nicomedia.source
  • 347January 11 – Theodosius I, Roman Emperor (d. 395)source
  • 350February 11 – Constans I, Roman Emperor;source
  • 355August 11 – Claudius Silvanus, accused of treason, proclaims himself Roman Emperor. After 28 days, Ursicinus arrives from Rome and has Silvanus murdered.source
  • 361November – Constantius II, Roman Emperor (b. 317)source
  • 363June 26 – Battle of Samarra: Julian is mortally wounded in a skirmish and dies from a wound received during the fighting near Samarra (Iraq). Jovian, general of the Guard, succeeds him and is proclaimed Emperor by the troops.source
  • 365September 28 – Procopius revolts and bribes two legions passing by Constantinople. He proclaims himself Emperor, and takes control of Thrace and Bithynia.source
  • 384September 9 – Honorius, Roman Emperor (d. 423)source
  • 385Avitus, Western Roman Emperor (approximate date)source
  • 388Battle of the Save: Emperor Theodosius I defeats Magnus Maximus near Emona (modern Slovenia). Theodosius is in command of an army including Goths, Huns and Alans. Valentinian II, now 17, is restored as Roman Emperor.source
  • 392Flavius Marcian, Roman Emperor (d. 457)source
  • 396Petronius Maximus, Western Roman Emperor (approximate date)source

5th century

  • 401April 10 – Theodosius II, Roman emperor (d. 450)source
  • 407Roman Civil war of 407–415:Constantine III, a general (magister militum), declares himself Roman emperor. To extend his dominion over Gaul and Spain, he takes practically all the Roman garrisons from Britain and crosses the English Channel. Constantine occupies Arles and establishes tenuous authority over Gaul, sharing control with marauding "barbarians". This is generally seen as the beginning of Rome's withdrawal from Britain.source
  • 408May 1 – Arcadius, Roman emperorsource
  • 423August 15 – Honorius, Roman Emperor (b. 384)source
  • 430Julius Nepos, Western Roman Emperor (d. 480)source
  • 450July 28 – Theodosius II, Roman Emperor (b. 401)source
  • 455July 9 – Avitus is proclaimed Roman emperor at Toulouse, and later recognised by the Gallic chiefs in Viernum (near Arles).source
  • 457January 27 – Flavius Marcian, Roman emperor (b. 392)source
  • 480Julius Nepos, Western Roman Emperorsource

13th century

  • 1237November 27 – Battle of Cortenuova: Frederick II defeats the forces of the Lombard League; about 5,000 Lombards are captured. Frederick makes a triumphal entry into the allied city of Cremona in the manner of an ancient Roman emperor, with the captured carroccio (later sent to the commune of Rome), and an elephant. During the winter campaign, Frederick captures the Piedmontese cities of Lodi, Novara, Vercelli, Chieri, and Savona.source

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