The first answer is simple: hereditary rule. For most of this period, emperors were not chosen on the basis of their ability or honesty, but simply because they were born in the right family.

10 Worst Roman Emperors Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at the ten most widely reviled and criticized Roman Emperors. It’s said that Nero fiddled while Rome burned. This probably ...

What was life like in ancient Rome? Find out how Rome began, learn about different Roman emperors and discover what people in Rome did for fun. What was life like in the Roman army? Learn about ...

At this point history took a sharp turn. Shortly before Nerva died, Roman generals had debated who should be the next emperor. They chose Trajan, a former army commander, senator and governor of ...

The "Five Good Emperors" of the Roman Empire (Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius) ruled from 96 to 180 CE, an era often regarded as Rome's golden age. This period is ...

Archaeologists have discovered a hoard of gold Roman coins dating back to the Fourth Century which include the marks of nine emperors ruling between 364 and 408 AD. "This is a major archaeological ...

Eight emperors are shown on the coins. However, three of the coins featured an unexpected ruler–Eugenius, who only ruled the Western Roman Empire from 392 to 394 CE. Eugenius came to power ...

Around 2,500 years ago, the city of Rome was at the centre of a huge empire that stretched from Scotland to Syria. The Roman Empire was based upon enslaved people and citizens. Enslaved people ...

The coins are marked with faces of nine Roman emperors who reigned during the fourth and fifth centuries—including Eugenius, an illegitimate usurper who ruled the Western Roman Empire for just ...