Spineless Roman Emperors... who are they?

Question

Rome prided itself in its military might and expected its leaders to be strong military leaders. Men like Caesar, Trajan, and Scippio Africanus were typical of roman leadership.

However, Rome shared its load of spineless leaders who would not have known the difference between Armor and 'Amor. Nero comes to mind.

Name a few of Rome's leaders that did not possess classic Roman military skill over the legions.

(please site sources if you have any)

Answer 1

Claudius only played spineless in order to escape execution by Caligula. He was actually one of the greatest emperors in Roman history, and nothing like Caligula or Nero. Although I wouldn't claim them as 'spineless,' just insane. Domitian is another, Commodus, Caracalla, and perhaps the worst, Elagabalus.

Hadrian was a very good emperor, but he was not a fighter. He withdrew from Mesopotamia (annexed by Trajan) and built various walls (Hadrian's Wall in Britain for instance) to keep the barbarians out.

Of course there's Honorius, who fled Rome when the Goths came to town. And finally, Romulus Augustulus, the last emperor of the West, who was tossed off the thrown by Odoacer, the Germanic chieftain, and thus earns a place in history as being the man who let Rome fall. It's not really his fault though. The system by that point didn't allow for great men like Caesar and Trajan. It just didn't produce those kinds of leaders anymore and hadn't for centuries.

Some of the good Roman sources include Suetonius, Tacitus, Josephus, Plutarch, and then later church fathers who wrote on the fall of Rome like Augustine and Gregory.


And Caesar, Trajan, or Scipio were in no way equated with Hitler. This is a popular post-modern perspective based on the fact that Caesar did order mass-killings of the Gauls during sieges, but it in no way is equal to the concentration camps, slave labor camps, and overall genocide ordered by Hitler. If you compare Caesar to Hitler, you must do the same for MacArthur, Patton, or whomever is in charge of the military in Iraq.

Answer 2

Rome was and is a city. Ascribing human concepts to a city is a problem of thinking. A city has no pride. A city has no thoughts. A city has no feelings. Believing what others "project" onto objects is false belief system that is bound to have anyone in trouble.

Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece died off. Modelling our societies after them will only lead to the same ruin.

Oh, and I would add Claudius and Caligula to your list.

Answer 3

The one emperor besides Nero comes to mind. His name was Elagabalus, a guy who became an emperor when he was a kid. The guy was a real character.

Answer 4

"Spineless" is the wrong word. What you mean is COMPASSIONATE and KIND. Ceasar, Trajan and Scippio were mass murderers like Hitler. You don't need any courage to give orders and send young men to their death. They were not "strong", they were simply cruel, inhuman and immoral cowards who didn't value human life.

Answer 5

just nero comes to mind