# The most important Roman emperors

From Augustus to Romulus Augustulus: the emperors who made, and unmade, the Roman Empire. Who was the greatest?

- 0 votes · 17 items
- Feb 16, 2023 · Simona Palmieri
- https://even.best/en/l/1750/the-most-important-roman-emperors

## Top 17

1. **Augustus** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — 27 BC-AD 14. The first emperor, who began the Pax Romana.
2. **Tiberius** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Augustus's successor, who long ruled from Capri.
3. **Caligula** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Remembered for his excesses; assassinated in AD 41.
4. **Claudius** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — He conquered Britain.
5. **Nero** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The fire of Rome in 64 and the Domus Aurea.
6. **Vespasian** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Founder of the Flavian dynasty; began the Colosseum.
7. **Titus** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Opened the Colosseum in AD 80; reigned during the eruption of Vesuvius.
8. **Trajan** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The first emperor born in Hispania; the empire reached its greatest extent.
9. **Hadrian** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Hadrian's Wall, the rebuilt Pantheon and Hadrian's Villa.
10. **Marcus Aurelius** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The philosopher emperor, author of the "Meditations".
11. **Commodus** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Son of Marcus Aurelius, who loved to fight as a gladiator.
12. **Septimius Severus** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The first emperor of African origin, born in Leptis Magna.
13. **Caracalla** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Granted citizenship to all free men of the empire in 212.
14. **Diocletian** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Created the tetrarchy to govern an empire that had grown too large.
15. **Constantine the Great** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Legalised Christianity and founded Constantinople.
16. **Theodosius I** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The last to rule the united empire; made Christianity the state religion.
17. **Romulus Augustulus** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The last Western emperor, deposed in 476.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.