The 3 Nicest Roman Emperors

Further ReadingThe 10 Major Events That Led To The Fall Of The Roman Republic

Throughout the history of the Roman Empire there have been several emperors who were exceptionally nice. This was highly uncommon as a Roman emperor would have to enforce their will upon the Roman people and senate. However, 3 emperors stand out as being the nicest Roman Emperors of all time.

In the entirety of the Roman Empire there are 3 Roman Emperors who were the nicest. First, Emperor Titus in 79 AD was known for being particularly nice and loved by all. Second, Emperor Nerva in 98 AD was known for being particularly nice to the Roman people and senate. Third, Emperor Antoninus Pius who in 138 AD is known for being particularly nice to everyone in the Roman Empire.

Out of these three Roman Emperors Titus is often portrayed as being the nicest Roman Emperor of all time.

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Without further ado, here is an article going over the 3 nicest Roman emperors.

Emperor Titus: 79-81 AD

Born30th of December, 39 AD
Died13th of September, 81 AD
Famous Quote“As for the emperors who are dead and gone, they will avenge themselves in case anyone does them a wrong, if in very truth they are demigods and possess any power.”
Known ForCompleting his fathers massive building projects, helping the sufferers of Mount Vesuvius
Region of WorldRome, Italy, 1st century AD
Further ReadingEmperor Titus: The 3 Things That Made Titus A Good Emperor

By far one of the nicest Roman Emperors of all time is Emperor Titus. After the death of his father Emperor Vespasian in 79 AD Titus would be crowned the Roman Emperor.

The rule of Titus is known to be particularly generous and fair when compared to previous Roman emperors such as Caligula. One of the first things that Emperor Titus did upon becoming the Roman Emperor was putting an immediate halt to all treason trials.

These treason trials had caused Rome to fall into a state of political anarchy as factions would form and falsely accuse other senators of plotting against the emperor and Empire.

Not only did Titus put a stop to the treason trials he would publicly punish informants who attempted to slander other politicians. These informants would be banished from Rome.

On top of this Emperor Titus instituted a series of laws which sought to prevent Romans from being tried for multiple sentences for one crime. Previous Roman emperors would try a Roman for breaking numerous laws when they only broke one. This would drastically increase the total sentence and punishment.

Primary sources surrounding Emperor Titus detail him as being especially generous with both his time and money. Titus would seek to help people all across Rome with both donations of money and resources.

Under the reign of Titus all Romans could spend time with the Emperor who would give his time freely. Primary sources state that Titus would overpromise his time spent with the Roman citizens. Titus was known for not letting a Roman leave him without having some sort of hope for the future of Rome. (8.1)

When Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD Titus would dedicate a significant amount of imperial resources to helping the victims of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

The Roman historian Suetonius lived during the time of Titus. In his writings Seutonius would state that Titus would be depressed if he did not help a Roman during his day stating “Friends, I have lost a day.”

As such one of the 3 nicest Roman Emperors was Emperor Titus of the Flavian Dynasty.

Emperor Nerva: 96-98 AD

BornNovember 8th, 30 AD
Died27th of January, 98 AD
Famous Quote“I have done nothing that would prevent me laying down the imperial office and returning to private life in safety.”
Known ForRestoring some degree of freedom to the Roman people, pausing the treason trials, helping to stop a Roman financial collapse
Region of WorldRome, Italy, 1st century AD
Further ReadingEmperor Nerva: The 3 Things He Is Known For

The 2nd of the 3 nicest Roman emperors is Emperor Nerva who ruled from 96-98 AD.

Emperor Nerva came to power after the death of Emperor Domitian in 96 AD. Nerva was a skilled administrator and an effective leader who had served his entire life in the Imperial bureaucracy of the early Roman Empire.

When Nerva came to power he decided to remove several of the autocratic policies that were common under Emperor Domitian.

The first of these policies was to remove the treason trials that Domitian had used to control the Roman senate and people. On top of this Nerva promised that under his reign no Roman would be tried on false charges.

After removing treason trials Nerva then granted amnesty to those who had been exiled under Domitian while returning all private property taken to the families.

Emperor Nerva then implemented a new taxation policy on large landholders across the Roman provinces. This new tax would then in turn be used to help some of the poorest Roman citizens in the Empire.

On top of this Emperor Nerva then decided to cut the 5% inheritance tax upon Roman families. After this Nerva then cut all taxes on religious institutions across the Empire.

Emperor Nerva also decided to cut the lavish spending programs on games and other unnecessary forms of public entertainment. Upon doing this Nerva also decided to begin to melt down all Imperial statues to pay for the betterment of the Roman people.

As such Emperor Nerva today is known as one of the nicest emperors of Rome. Nerva created a fiscally responsible Roman Emperor that helped to cement the Roman Empire for centuries to come.

Emperor Antoninus Pius: 138-161 AD

Born19th of September, 86 AD
Died7th of March, 161 AD
Known ForSaving senators sentenced by Hadrian, legal reforms across the Empire,
Region of WorldRome, Italy, 2nd century AD
Further ReadingEmperor Antoninus Pius: 3 Reasons He Is Remembered Today

One of the 3 nicest Roman Emperors of all time would be Antoninus Pius who ruled from 138-161 AD.

After the death of Emperor Hadrian in 138 AD Antoninus Pius would become the emperor of Rome. Antoninus Pius would be known as one of the greatest Emperors of Rome as he lived during a rare time of peace and prosperity for all Roman citizens.

Antoninus Pius over the course of his reign would save senators sentenced to death by Hadrian. This is the reason that historians believe he was given the title of Pius.

Under the reign of Pius no senators were unjustly tried for treason against the state. Further, Pius was known to take those who plotted against him and turn their actions into examples of how he can turn the other cheek and rule justly.

Further, Emperor Antoninus Pius was known to care deeply for his subjects. Over the course of his reign he would use the imperial treasury to pay for several large scale public building projects that served to provide for Roman’s around the Empire.

On top of this Pius would implement several legal measures that sought to protect Romans from unjust laws and punishment. Antoninus Pius would pass legislation that encouraged the freedom of slaves. Further, Pius believed that all Romans should be treated as innocent until proven guilty.

All of these legal reforms helped to drastically increase the overall public wellbeing during the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius. As such he is remembered as one of the nicest Roman Emperors of all time.

Conclusion

There you have it; an entire article dedicated to the 3 nicest Roman emperors.

Each of these Roman emperors are remembered as being some of the best leaders of all time. Each one of them would implement policies that helped to protect and serve their subjects. As a result of this historians remember them as being incredibly nice when compared to their peers.

Here at The History Ace I strive to publish the best history articles on the internet. If you liked this article then consider subscribing to the free newsletter and sharing around the internet.

Further, you can check out some of the other articles below.

Sincerely,

Nick

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