The emperors

Augustus (Octavian) 27 BC-AD 14

Tiberius AD 14-37

Gaius ('Caligula') AD 37-41

Claudius AD 41-54

Nero AD 54-68

Galba AD 68-69

Otho AD 69

Vitellius AD 69

Vespasian AD 69-79

Titus AD 79-81

Domitian AD 81-96

Nerva AD 96-98

Trajan AD 98-117

Hadrian AD 117-138

Antoninus Pius AD 138-161

Marcus Aurelius AD 161-180

Lucius Verus AD 161-169

Commodus AD 180-192

Pertinax AD 193

Didius Julianus AD 193

Septimius Severus AD 193-211

Caracalla AD 211-217

Geta AD 211

Macrinus AD 217-218

Elagabalus AD 218-222

Alexander Severus AD 222-235

Maximinus AD 235-238

Gordian I AD 238

Gordian II AD 238

Pupienus and Balbinus AD 238

Gordian III AD 238-244

Philip the Arab AD 244-249

Decius AD 249-251

Trebonianus Gallus AD 251-253

Aemilius Aemilianus AD 253

Valerian AD 253-260

Gallienus AD 253-268

Claudius II AD 268-70

Quintillus AD 270

Aurelian AD 270-275

Tacitus AD 275-276

Florianus AD 276

Probus AD 276-282

Carus AD 282-283

Numerian AD 283-284

Carinus AD 283-285

Diocletian AD 284-305

Maximian AD 286-305 AD 307-308

Soldiers, scholars, dreamers and schemers
An A-Z of 20 non-emperors who make their mark on the empire

Agrippa
Marcus Agrippa is a brilliant military commander, who leads Octavian's forces to victory against Mark Antony at the battle of Actium and serves him faithfully when he becomes the emperor Augustus.

Agrippina
Mother of Nero, who tries to rule Rome through her son and is eventually murdered by him.

Cassious Dio
A senator who was consul in 205 and 229, Cassious Dio is the author of a long and detailed history of Rome from its foundation to the reign of Alexander Severus.

Cicero
Brilliant statesman, scholar and orator, who dominates the Senate in the late Republic. He exposes the conspiracy to overthrow the Republic by the senator Catiline in 63 BC, and although he is out of Rome at the time of Julius Caesar's assassination, he is executed on 7 December 43 BC.

Horace
One of the leading poets favoured by Augustus, under the sponsorship of Maecenas. See Arts.

Jesus
The historical Jesus – considered to be the son of God by his increasing number of adherents, and who gives rise to the Christian Church – may have been born in 4 BC. At the time, and for most of the next 300 years, the Romans regard him as no more than the founder of yet another troublesome Jewish sect.

Jupiter
Head of the Roman pantheon of gods, his temple stands on the Capitoline Hill in Rome. The gods are the biggest of all the 'movers and shakers' in the Roman empire: refuse to sacrifice to them at your peril, as the Christians find out. See Imperium.

Livia Drusilla
Wife of Augustus and mother of Tiberius, Livia is one of the most powerful women of the ancient world. She is believed to have plotted and poisoned her son's route to the imperial purple; some even say that, in the end, she poisons Augustus himself.

Livy
A leading historian of Rome, Titus Livius is born in 59 BC and dies in AD 17. He writes a 142-volume history of Rome from its founding to the battle of Actium.

Petronius
Author of the Satyricon, the oldest surviving novel, Petronius was a favoured member of Nero's court until he was forced to commit suicide after being suspected of involvement in a plot against the emperor. See Arts.

Pliny the Elder
An important writer and encyclopaedist, and an authority on science. He dies in AD 79 while observing the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Not to be confused with:

Pliny the Younger
A Roman official and nephew of Pliny the Elder, he publishes nine books of letters.

Plutarch
Born in AD 46, he writes 227 works, the most famous of which are Bio paralleloi ('Parallel Lives'), recounting the noble deeds of great Roman and Greek men, and Moralia, a series of essays on ethics and other topics.

Romulus
Suckled by wolves, he is the legendary founder of Rome (supposedly in 753 BC). The fact that he has to outwit his own brother, Remus, for control of the new settlement doesn't seem to bother the Romans, who regard trickery and conspiracy as a normal part of the art of statecraft.

Seneca
A leading philosopher, Seneca is exiled by Claudius for adultery with Caligula's sister. He returns to Rome in AD 49 and becomes Nero's tutor. He is forced to commit suicide for his part in an alleged conspiracy in AD 65.

Suetonius
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (AD 75-160) is the author of De Vita Caesarum ('Lives of the Caesars'), covering 12 rulers of Rome from Julius Caesar to Domitian.

Tacitus
Born around AD 56 and consul in AD 96, Tacitus's Annals and Histories are one of the main sources of information about Rome in the 1st century AD.

Virgil
Virgil is the most famous writer of the Augustan age. His best-known work, the Aeneid, which first appeared in 19 BC, is an epic poem based around myths concerning the founding of Rome. See Arts.

Vitruvius
Marcus Vitruvius Pollio is author of De architectura, a 10-volume guide to all aspects of architecture and construction materials and techniques, which first appeared in about 35 BC.

Zenobia
In AD 271, Zenobia, the queen of Syria, who claims descent from Cleopatra, proclaims herself 'queen of the east' and invades Egypt. The emperor Aurelian eventually captures her capital Palmyra, but Zenobia escapes on a camel. She is captured as she reaches the Euphrates. Paraded in golden chains on a golden chariot through the streets of Rome in AD 274 in what is said to be the most spectacular triumph ever seen in the city (see Arts), she is allowed to live out her days with her children at Hadrian's palace at Tivoli.

'It is impossible to enumerate her war-like preparation ... Every part of the wall [of Palmyra] is provided with two or three ballistae, and artificial fires are thrown from her military engines.' Aurelian, complaining that Rome is contemptuous of his warring against a woman (Zenobia)

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