Greatest Roman emperor
Twenty emperors from Augustus to Justinian: builders, conquerors, philosophers and tyrants. Who ruled best?
Tier list by PairTier · 20 items
- Augustus — The first Roman emperor (27 BC–AD 14), who ended the civil wars and began the Pax Romana.
- Tiberius — Augustus's successor (AD 14–37), an able administrator who later withdrew to Capri.
- Caligula — Emperor AD 37–41, remembered for cruelty and extravagance; assassinated by his guards.
- Claudius — Emperor AD 41–54 who launched the Roman conquest of Britain in AD 43.
- Nero — Emperor AD 54–68 and the last of the Julio-Claudians; ruled during the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64.
- Vespasian — Emperor AD 69–79 who ended the Year of the Four Emperors, founded the Flavian dynasty and began the Colosseum.
- Titus — Emperor AD 79–81 who opened the Colosseum and led relief after the eruption of Vesuvius.
- Domitian — Emperor AD 81–96, an autocratic ruler and builder who was assassinated in a palace plot.
- Nerva — Emperor AD 96–98, first of the 'Five Good Emperors', who adopted Trajan as his heir.
- Trajan — Emperor AD 98–117 who conquered Dacia and brought the empire to its greatest extent.
- Hadrian — Emperor AD 117–138 who consolidated the frontiers, built Hadrian's Wall and rebuilt the Pantheon.
- Antoninus Pius — Emperor AD 138–161 whose long reign was one of the most peaceful in Roman history.
- Marcus Aurelius — Philosopher-emperor AD 161–180 and author of the Meditations.
- Septimius Severus — North African-born emperor AD 193–211 who founded the Severan dynasty and died at York.
- Caracalla — Emperor AD 198–217 who granted citizenship to nearly all free people of the empire and built vast baths.
- Aurelian — Emperor AD 270–275 who reunited the fractured empire and built the Aurelian Walls around Rome.
- Diocletian — Emperor AD 284–305 who created the Tetrarchy and became the first emperor to abdicate voluntarily.
- Constantine the Great — Emperor AD 306–337, the first Christian emperor, who founded Constantinople.
- Theodosius I — Emperor AD 379–395 who made Nicene Christianity the state religion; the last to rule both East and West.
- Justinian I — Eastern Roman emperor AD 527–565 who codified Roman law and built the Hagia Sophia.