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.

Statue of Roman emperor Hadrian. This intrepid Redditor sorted the emperors into several tiers: Stay Far Away From Me, Ugly, Mediocre, Cute, Hot, Apollo Himself, and Caligula Tier. Subscribe to ...

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 ...

He was murdered in 217 while among his most trusted soldiers, campaigning in the eastern part of the Roman Empire. According to Beard, “he's assassinated while he's having a pee on the road.” ...