Week 5: Daily #9

Question: Were the Julio-Claudians really as bad as they seem?

I do not think that the Julio-Claudians were really as bad as they seemed. Each of them may have been crazy and insane during their life, but the good things that they each did in their lifetimes made up for their insanity. Despite their insanity, they helped Rome become a very strong and powerful empire when they were each emperor of Rome. The first emperor of this dynasty was Augustus. When Julius Caesar died, Rome needed this fierce leader who could fill in for Caesar. Augustus did just that. As emperor, Augustus ruled through patronage, where he was loyal to his military and also the Roman senate. Many people started to respect Augustus with his loyalty as emperor. Augustus’s style of rule became a model for all later imperial governments. Tiberius was the second emperor in this dynasty. Even though he is known for throwing people off cliffs for his amusement, he helped Rome drastically with military. Tiberius was one of the greatest Roman generals of all time. While the third emperor in this dynasty, Caligula, was an insane tyrant of Rome, he initiated the construction of two new aqueducts in Rome and he constructed structures that were for the good of the people. The fourth emperor, Claudius, was inexperienced as a leader but he constructed fantastic buildings and structures all over Rome and he began the conquest of Britain. The fifth emperor, Nero, showed insanity when he played his fiddle during the Great Fire of Rome. But Nero was focused on trade with Rome and with negotiating peace with the Parthian Empire, avoiding a possible war with them. So even though the emperors in this dynasty were a bit crazy and insane with their power, they each made positive contributions that helped Rome grow as a whole.