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Some of the Most Famous Emperors 1st emperor → added many territories to the

Augustus was the first emperor of . His real name was Octavian but he was given the name '' Augustus by the senate as an honour for his great achievements. He avenged the death of with Mark Antony 27 BC- AD14 before falling out with him. He defeated Mark Antony together with the famous Egyptian queen Cleopatra and thereafter, together with the senate of Rome, created a new constitution for the great empire. Augustus stood at the head of this empire as the emperor. He used his ruled wisely and built roads, aqueducts and buildings. Not only was Augustus the first, but he was most certainly one of the best emperors Rome ever had. 41-54 Conquered Britain. Insane → murdered his mother and his wife and threw thousands of Christians to the lions

Nero is the most notorious Roman of all times. It is most likely that was insane. He came to power Nero because his mother murdered his stepfather emperor Claudius. During his rule much of Rome burnt down in 54-68 the Great Fire of Rome. Helpless to stop the fire, he is supposed to have sung as he watched Rome burn. After this he built himself a magnificent palace on some of the land cleared by the fire. To quell rumors that he had started the fire himself, he blamed the Christians for it and then had many captured and thrown to the lions in the circus. 79-81 Before he was emperor he destroyed the great Jewish temple of in Jerusalem. Great conqueror → empire reached its greatest extent

Trajan is one of Rome's most outstanding emperors. Under his rule the empire reached its largest extent. He Trajan famously conquered the rich kingdom of north of the . Trajan was one of the greatest soldiers 98-117 among the emperors. But unlike many of the later warrior-like rulers, he was also known for his wisdom and dignity, and his humility when dealing with the senate. Alike Augustus, Trajan's reign was a glittering one, during which many public works, roads and harbors were built. He also set up an imperial fund which should look after the poor, especially the children. 117-138 Built 'Hadrian's Wall' in the north of Britain to shield the province from the northern barbarians. 284-286 Split the empire into two pieces - a western and an eastern empire → ruled the east. 1st Christian emperor → united empire & chose capital to be Byzantium, renamed it Constantinople

Constantine the great was the first Christian emperor of the . He defeated all the other would- be emperors and re-united the empire, which had been divided between many rulers. He also decided to Constantine move the capital of the empire from Rome to a town called Byzantium, which he renamed after himself - 307-337 Constantinopolis (Greek for: the city of Constantine). He also called together many bishops for the Council of Nicaea at which the exact nature of the Christian religion was defined → known today as the 'Nicene Creed'. For his many achievements he is known as '' and in the Christian church he is known as 'Saint Constantine'. Romulus Augustus He was the last emperor of western Rome, nicknamed Augustulus, which means 'little Augustus'. 475-476 Last 'great' emperor → conquered many territories, created the 'Justinian Code' & built the church Hagia Sophia.

Under the rule of Justinian, the eastern empire (the west had since fallen to the barbarians) enjoyed a last Justinian flowering. His great generals Belisarius and Narses reconquered many parts of the empire, including the city 527-565 of Rome. So too is Justinian known to have collected the many Roman laws and created a unified code of laws, the so-called 'Justinian Code'. This code formed the basis of all systems of law in the western world. He also built many great buildings in his capital, the city of Constantinople. His most outstanding building is the great church Hagia Sophia, which is the famous mosque 'Aya Sophia' in the Turkish city of Istanbul. Constantine XI The last emperor of Constantinople. He died defending his great city against the Turks. 1449-1453