Who was the best Roman emperor?

Question

I'm talking before the fall of Rome in 476. Who do you think it was? In my opinion it was Trajan. He expanded the empire to its greatest extent, including Dacia and Parthia.

Answer 1

Augustus - The first Emperor

Answer 2

Julius Caesar was not an emperor people!

I don't know who the BEST was (I also favor Trajan in many respects). I'll throw my vote to Domitian, who I think is certainly the most maligned emperor. The surviving literary criticisms really don't stand up against epigraphical and archaeological evidence. He seems to be the victim of the elite classes and a hero of the army and the general public. You know, the Roman legions on the Rhine, Danube, and the eastern frontiers almost marched on Rome when he was assassinated.He seems to have been both a shrewd military commander and a generous ruler who, contrary to Tacitus' claims, actually increased the state treasury (see Syme for arguments on this).

Answer 3

Who was the best Roman emperor ?
I vote for :

Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus (245–312)
He was Roman Emperor from November 20, 284 to May 1, 305. Diocletian brought to an end the “Crisis of the Third Century”. He established an autocratic government and was responsible for laying the groundwork for the second phase of the Roman Empire, which is known variously as the “Dominate” (as opposed to the Principate instituted by Augustus), the “Tetrarchy”, or simply the “Later Roman Empire”. Diocletian’s reforms helped ensure the survival of the Western Roman Empire for another two hundred years, and the survival of the Eastern Roman Empire for another thousand.

Answer 4

I'll vote for Hadrian. He expanded and secured the borders, made the economy stronger than it had been in almost a century, was for his time religiously tolerant (a terrible misjudgment about how much Middle Easterners liked circumcision caused a really bloody war, but... you live you learn), built beautiful buildings (and paid for them), kept the trade routes safe and the bread and food moving through the empire, and settled a lot of major infighting through diplomacy and threats. Much of his greatness was undone by his physical illnesses and the resulting power vacuum of his final years, but no emperor was so great his successors couldn't undo everything he'd done in nothing flat (the big problem with absolute power).

Answer 5

The best Roman Emperor was Marcus Ulpius Traianus (98-117 AD).

Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus, commonly known as Trajan (September 18, 53 – August 9, 117), was a Roman Emperor who reigned from 98 until his death in 117. Born into a wealthy patrician family in the Hispania Baetica province, Traian rose to prominence during the reign of emperor Domitian, serving as a general in the Roman army along the German frontier, and successfully crushing the revolt of Antonius Saturninus in 89. On September 18, 96, Domitian was succeeded by Marcus Cocceius Nerva, an old and childless senator who proved to be unpopular with the army. After a brief and tumultuous year in power, a revolt by members of the Praetorian Guard compelled him to adopt the more popular Trajan as his heir and successor. Nerva died on January 27, 98, and was succeeded by his adopted son without incident.

As a civilian administrator, Trajan maintained good relations with the Roman Senate, and is best known for his extensive public building program, which reshaped the city of Rome and left multiple enduring landmarks such as Trajan's Forum, Trajan's Market and Trajan's Column. It was as a military commander however that Trajan celebrated his greatest triumphs. In 101, he launched a punitive expedition into the kingdom of Dacia against king Decebalus, defeating the Dacian army near Tapae in 102, and finally conquering Dacia completely in 105. In 107, Trajan pushed further east and conquered Nabatea, gaining the short-lived province of Arabia Petraea. After a period of relative peace within the Empire, he launched his final campaign in 113 against Parthia, advancing as far as the city of Susa in 116, and expanding the Roman Empire to its greatest extent. During this campaign Trajan was struck by illness, and late in 117, while sailing back to Rome, he died of edema on August 8, in the city of Selinus. He was deified by the Senate and his ashes were laid to rest in the Mausoleum of Augustus. He was succeeded by his first cousin once removed Publius Aelius Hadrianus—commonly known as Hadrian.

As an emperor, Trajan's legacy proved to be one of the most enduring in the history of the Roman Empire, and in reputation second only to that of Augustus. Every new emperor after Trajan was honoured by the Senate with the prayer felicior Augusto, melior Traiano, meaning "may he be luckier than Augustus and better than Trajan".

Answer 6

Trajan is a good choice, but Marcus Aurelius may be better;
he was a true "philosopher-king" -- except that he failed in the
end by picking his rotten son, Commodus, as his successor.
I like Claudius perhaps the best -- an intellectual, who was also
a very effective ruler....

Answer 7

Trajan could be considered one but another thatI think was equally amazing is Caesar Augustus

Answer 8

Marcus Aurelius

Answer 9

Caligula wanted to make his horse Consul, so I think he was the best... at craziness.

Answer 10

Claudius, in my opinion.

-Em