Throughout the long history of the Roman Empire, many emperors ascended to the imperial throne. While some proved to be able and just rulers, expanding Rome‘s glory, others have gone down in history as the worst of the worst – mad, bad and dangerous to know.
With absolute power over one of history‘s greatest empires, the worst Roman emperors could indulge their darkest impulses and most depraved whims. They slaughtered enemies and innocents alike, bankrupted the treasury, and brought the empire to the brink of ruin, all to feed their oversized egos and insatiable appetites.
So who were the very worst of Rome‘s emperors? While there is much debate, historians tend to agree on this ignoble list of the eight most notorious:
1. Caligula (AD 37-41)
The first on our list is Caligula, whose name has become synonymous with insanity and excess. The great-nephew of Tiberius, Caligula may have had his benefactor killed to claim the throne.
At first, Caligula was a popular ruler, but an illness just months into his reign seems to have unhinged his mind. He began a spree of sadistic killings, ordering executions at a whim. He squandered the state treasury on lavish projects like building a two-mile bridge so he could ride his horse across the Bay of Baiae.
Caligula had delusions of godhood, declaring himself divine and demanding to be worshipped. His infamous excesses included an incestuous relationship with his sister and plans to make his horse a consul. Finally, after plunging the empire into financial crisis, Caligula was assassinated by his own bodyguards.
2. Nero (AD 54-68)
Nero is perhaps the most infamous of Rome‘s bad emperors. He had his own mother killed so he could remarry. His first wife he divorced and executed. His second he kicked to death while she was pregnant.
Nero was an inept ruler who left the empire‘s administration to corrupt favorites. He presided over the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64, and famously "fiddled while Rome burned" (although fiddles didn‘t exist yet). Some believe Nero started the fire himself to clear land for an expanded palace.
To deflect blame, Nero scapegoated the Christians, beginning the empire‘s first persecution. His reign ended in AD 68 when, with rebellions rising, he committed suicide. His death marked the end of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and ushered in a period of civil war.
3. Commodus (AD 177-192)
The son of renowned philosopher-emperor Marcus Aurelius, Commodus proved to be cut from very different cloth than his father. Egotistical and unstable, Commodus believed himself the reincarnation of Hercules. He fought in the Colosseum as a gladiator, but always against weak opponents and wounded animals to ensure he would win.
Commodus‘s delusions of grandeur led him to rename Rome, its legions, and even the months of the year after himself. His erratic and bloody misrule led to civil strife and instability. Finally, his inner circle could take no more, and Commodus was strangled in his bath by his own wrestling partner.
4. Caracalla (AD 198-217)
Caracalla came to power alongside his brother, Geta, but couldn‘t abide sharing. He lured Geta to a peace meeting, only to have him murdered in front of their mother. He then ordered a Damnatio memoriae – the erasure of Geta‘s name from all records and monuments.
As sole emperor, Caracalla was a cruel tyrant. On a visit to Alexandria, he took exception to a satire mocking him. In retribution, he had his troops slaughter 20,000 citizens. Caracalla was finally killed by a soldier he had wronged while urinating at the side of a road.
5. Elagabalus (AD 218-222)
A mere 14 years old when he came to power, Elagabalus quickly proved to be one of Rome‘s worst rulers. His religious fanaticism and sexual excesses shocked even Roman sensibilities.
Elagabalus forced Romans to worship the Syrian sun god El-Gabal and held orgiastic rites in the palace. He married a Vestal Virgin, one of Rome‘s sacred priestesses sworn to celibacy. According to rumor, he prostituted himself in taverns and brothels. His rule became so scandalous that he was killed by his own grandmother and the Praetorian Guard.
6. Maximinus Thrax (AD 235-238)
Maximinus Thrax marked the beginning of the empire‘s Crisis of the Third Century, decades of chaos and civil strife. A brutish military commander of peasant origins, he was the first to seize power without senatorial approval.
Maximinus doubled army pay to ensure their loyalty, bleeding the treasury dry. He persecuted the Christians and warred constantly on the empire‘s borders. When a rebellion rose against him in Africa, the Senate sided with the rebels.
Maximinus sought to bring his war to Rome itself, but the effort drained away the last of his support. His own troops finally killed him, his son, and his top ministers. Their heads were taken to Rome and put on public display.
7. Diocletian (AD 284-305)
Diocletian is a controversial pick, as some credit him with restoring order after the near-collapse of the Crisis of the Third Century. But his methods were often brutal and tyrannical.
Most notoriously, Diocletian began the "Great Persecution" in AD 303, the most severe repression of Christianity in Roman history. He ordered churches demolished, scriptures burned, and priests arrested and forced to sacrifice to pagan gods or face torture and execution. The persecution continued for 8 years until ended by Diocletian‘s successor.
8. Honorius (AD 395-423)
Our final pick is a man whose primary sin was sheer incompetence. Ascending to the throne at age 10, Honorius inherited rule over the Western Roman Empire, while his more capable brother Arcadius got the flourishing East.
Honorius withdrew from Rome to Ravenna, putting his trust in his barbarian generals like Stilicho. He proved totally ineffective as one by one the Western Empire‘s provinces fell to invading tribes.
The greatest humiliation came in AD 410, as Honorius dithered and the Visigoths sacked Rome. According to legend, when officials came to tell Honorius that "Rome has perished", he replied "How is this possible? She just ate out of my hand!" He thought they meant his favorite pet hen, also named "Rome".
Lessons of the Worst Emperors
The reigns of Rome‘s bad emperors hold important lessons. When the ruler is a law unto himself, able to indulge any impulse without restraint, disaster often follows. Absolute power without accountability leads to corruption, cruelty and chaos.
As Lord Acton famously observed, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Madness and excess at the top spreads downward, eroding the institutions and values that hold a society together. Sooner or later, the center cannot hold.
The Roman Empire survived for centuries in spite of its bad emperors, a testament to the enduring strength of Roman institutions and culture. But each mad ruler took his toll, and the empire never fully recovered.
In the end, the story of Rome‘s worst emperors is a cautionary tale. It reminds us that no society, no matter how powerful, is immune to the rot that grows in the heart of power without limits. Restraints and the rule of law may frustrate our leaders. But the alternatives, as Rome learned the hard way, are so much worse.
