Important Late Roman Emperors - Click on the audio icons to hear mini-lectures about each emperor
Maximinus Thrax |
Maximinus Thrax was the first of what historians call the "Soldier Emperors" or the "Barracks Emperors".
He was despised by the Senate in Rome, who backed several challengers to oust him. Like most of Rome's
rulers during the Crisis of the Third Century, he reigned for only a short time before being murdered. His name, "Thrax", refers to his birthplace, Thracia, in modern-day Bulgaria.  | 
Aurelian |
One of the most capable emperors during the third century crisis. Aurelian reconquered the break away
provinces to which historians refer as the Gallic and Palmyrene empires. To safeguard Rome in the event
of another such incursion, Aurelian orderd the construction of a ring of defensive walls around the imperial capital, which today
are known as the Aurelian Walls. |
Diocletian |
Diocletian is important for the many reforms he enacted which stabilized the empire and brought it
out of the Crisis of the Third Century. The period from Diocletian's
reign on is referred to as the Dominate to
distinguish it from the Augustus' Principate. Ironically, the famous historian
Edward Gibbon refers to Diocletian as a "second Augustus" for the way he reshaped the Roman Empire according to his vision. | 
Constantine I |
Constantine reconsolidated power after Diocletian's Tetrarchy collapsed. Constantine was Rome's first Christian emperor, and
issued the Edict of Milan proclaiming the toleration of Christianity. Constantine also moved the Imperial capital to the
city of Byzantium(in modern-day Turkey), which he renamed Constantinople in his own honor. |
Theodosius I |
Theodosius not only made Christianity the official religion of the empire, but was the last to rule over a united one. He was made emperor following the death of the emperor Valens at the battle of Adrianople, in which the Goths decisively defeated the Romans. | 
Romulus Augustulus |
The last Roman emperor in the West, Romulus Augustulus, was just a boy when he was made emperor by his father, Orestes, with the help of
the Germanic Chieftan Odoacer. In 476 AD, Odoacer deposed the boy emperor when Orestes refused to pay him, sent him into exile, and proclaimed himself King of Italy rather than a Roman emperor. He ruled for less than a year, and historians do not even know when he died. By an amazing historical coincidence,
the last emperor of Rome had the same name as the legendary figure who founded the city in 753 BC. |
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