Roman Emperors Timeline

Timeline of Roman Emperors

(the dates the Emperors ruled)

27 BC-14 AD: Augustus Caesar "The first Roman Emperor"

14-37 AD: Tiberius "The Emperor who trusted Sejanus and lived in Capri"

37-41 AD: Caligula "The Evil Emperor who proclaimed himself a god"

41-54 AD: Claudius "The bumbling Emperor who married the infamous Messalina"

54-68 AD: Nero "The mad tyrant who blamed the Christians for the burning of Rome"

68-69 AD: Galba "The old man the first in the Year of the four Emperors"

69 AD: Otho "The greedy ruler who lasted just three months" 

69 AD: Vitellius "The man who killed his dissolute son" 

69-79 AD: Vespasian "The Emperor who built the Colosseum" 

79-81 AD: Titus "The Emperor who destroyed the temple in Jerusalem"

81-96 AD: Domitian "The evil emperor who murdered thousands of Christians"

96-98 AD: Nerva  "The first of the Five Good Emperors" 

98-117 AD: Trajan "The Emperor who left the legacy of Trajan's market and Column"

117-138 AD: Hadrian "The Emperor who built Hadrian's Wall" 

138-161 AD: Antoninus Pius "The Excellent Emperor" 

161-180 AD: Marcus Aurelius "The Philosopher, last of the Five Good Emperors"

161-169 AD: Lucius Verus: Joint Rule with Marcus Aurelius

177-192 AD: Commodus "More savage than Domitian, more foul than Nero".

193 AD: Pertinax "The Emperor who was murdered by the Praetorian guard"

193 AD: Didius Julianus "The man who paid to become Emperor"

193-194 AD: Pescennius Niger "The Black Emperor"  

195-197 AD: Claudius Albinus  "The Emperor who made a bad deal..."

193-211 AD: Septimius Severus "Emperor who increased the Praetorian Guards to 50,000"

198-217 AD: Caracalla "The common enemy of mankind." 

209-212 AD: Geta "The hated brother of Caracalla..."  

217-218 AD: Macrinus  "The Praetorian guard who killed Caracalla..."

218 AD: Diadumenian "The Boy-Caesar - killed when he was 10 years old"

218-222 AD: Elagabalus "He married a Vestal Virgin and then took a husband..."

222-238 AD: Alexander Severus  "He who revoked all former edicts against the Christians"

235-238 AD: Maximinus Thrax  "The Thug..." Roan Emperors 

238 AD: Gordian I "The Octogenarian..."  

238 AD: Gordian II "Co-Emperor with his father"

238 AD: Balbinus "The Orator and Poet..."   

238 AD: Pupienus  "The Disciplinarian..."  

238-244 AD: Gordian III "Grandson Of Gordian I and Nephew Of Gordian II" 

244-249 AD: Philip the Arab "Philip and Severa - the first Christian imperial couple" 

244-249 AD: Philip II "The boy emperor who died in his mother's arms"

248 AD: Pacatian "The Usurper from Bulgaria..."  

248 AD: Jotapian "The Usurper from Syria..."     

249-251 AD: Trajan Decius "One of the most cruel persecutors of the Christians" 

251 AD: Herennius Etruscus "Killed by a Goth's arrow"    

251 AD: Hostilian "The Emperor who died from the Plague"   

251-253 AD: Trebonianus Gallus "The Emperor, the Plague, the Persians and the mutiny" 

251-253 AD: Volusian "The son who was raised to the position of Joint Emperor"

253 AD: Aemilian "Three months as Emperor, then death"    

253-260 AD: Valerian  "The Emperor who was skinned and stuffed with manure"

253-255 AD: Valerian II

253-268 AD: Gallienus "Famine, Plague and the 'Thirty Tyrants"    

259 AD: Saloninus

260-261 AD: Macrianus

260-261 AD: Quietus

260 AD: Regalianus

268-270 AD: Claudius II (Gothicus) "He fought the Goths, the Vandals and Traitors..."

270 AD: Quintillus  "Champion of the Senate" 

270-275 AD: Aurelian "The illiterate military genius..."    

267-273 AD: Zenobia  "The Warrior Queen..."  

Interregnum - a period of about 6 months when the Empire was without an Emperor.

275-276 AD: Tacitus "The Emperor who followed the Interregnum..." 

276 AD: Florianus "The Emperor who ruled for 88 days..."  

276-282 AD: Probus "The Emperor who believed that idle hands make mischief..."

282-283 AD: Carus "The Frugal emperor..."  

283-284 AD: Numerian "The Emperor whose body was left to rot..."  

283-285 AD: Carinus "The debauched Emperor suspected of incest..."

285 AD: Nigrian "Was this infant the product of incest?" 

284-285 AD: Julian of Pannonia "The last usurper before the Roman Empire was split..."

In 285 the Roman Empire was split in half by Diocletian
The Western Roman Empire
The Eastern Roman Empire or the Byzantine Empire

284-305 AD: Diocletian "The Emperor who split the Roman Empire..." 

286-305 AD *** 306-308 AD *** 310 AD: Maximianus (with Diocletian 286-305 AD, and ruled again after a brief abdication 306-308 AD and then again in 310 AD)

287-293 AD: Carausius "The Usurper Emperor of the Britannic Empire..."  

293-296 AD: Allectus "The second Usurper Emperor of the Britannic Empire..." 

296-297 AD: Domitius Domitianus "The Usurper Emperor of Egypt..."  

305-306 AD: Constantius Chlorus "The Emperor who recovered Brittania..." 

305-311 AD: Galerius  "The Emperor who persecuted the Christians but eventually begged for their prayers..." 

306-312 AD: Maxentius "The Usurper Emperor who provoked another Civil War..."  

306-309 AD: Valerius Romulus "The Boy Emperor who came from a family of Emperors..." 

306-307 AD: Severus II  "The Emperor who was murdered at Tres Tabernae..." 

307-337 AD: Constantine the Great "The Christian Emperor who united the Empire..." 

309-313 AD: Maximinus "Killed in Tarsus with his wife and children ..." 

308-311 AD: Domitius Alexander "The usurper Emperor of Africa..."  

308-324 AD: Licinius I "The Emperor who fought against Constantine the Great..." 

314 AD: Valerian Valens "The Emperor whose death formed part of a peace treaty..." 

317-324 AD: Licinius II "The Son of the Emperor who plotted with the Goths..." 

317-326 AD: Crispus "The Caesar who was falsely accused of treason..." 

323-324 AD: Sextus Martinianus "Executed on orders from Constantine"

335-337 AD: Delmatius  "The Emperor who died in a blood bath..."  

335-337 AD: Hannibalianus "Ruled as 'Rex' or King..."  

337-340 AD: Constantine II "Killed  fighting over territory with his brother..." 

337-350 AD: Constans  "The Emperor who was put to death by an ambitious soldier..." 

337-361 AD: Constantius II  "The second and worst of the sons of Constantine the Great..." 

350-353 AD: Magnentius "The Christian Emperor who fell on his sword..." 

351-353 AD: Decentius "The Usurper Emperor who hung himself..." 

350 AD: Vetranio  "The Emperor who was stripped of the purple ..." 

350 AD: Nepotian "The Emperor who had his head paraded on a spear..." 

351-354 AD: Constantius Gallus "His pardon failed to reach the executioner..." 

360-363 AD: Julian the Apostate  "The Last non-Christian Roman Emperor..." 

363-364 AD: Jovian "The Emperor who re-established Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire..." 

364-375 AD: Valentinian I "The Emperor given to fits of rage..."  

364-378 AD: Valens "The Emperor who allowed the Goths to settle on Roman territory..." 

365-366 AD: Procopius "The last of the Constantinian dynasty dies..." 

367-383 AD: Gratian "The Emperor who was deserted and murdered by his soldiers..." 

375-392 AD: Valentinian II "The Emperor who was strangled to death..."  

379-395 AD: Theodosius I "The Emperor who resisted the Barbarians..." 

383-388 AD: Magnus "Was this Emperor the nephew of Old King Cole?" 

383-408 AD: Arcadius "The Emperor who engaged Alaric the Goth to be the guardian of the Eastern empire..."     

387-388 AD: Flavius Victor "The Usurper whose mother was a Queen of the Britons..." 

392-394 AD: Eugenius  "Executed by beheading"    

393-423 AD: Honorius "The End of the Gladiators and the Sack of Rome..." 

400-404 AD: Arcadius "Dominated by Rufinus..."     

402-450 AD: Theodosius II "The Emperor who introduced the law code of Theodosius II..."

407-411 AD: Constantine III "The Usurper Emperor who was ordained priest hoping for mercy..."

408-411 AD: Constans II "The Usurper Emperor who was betrayed by his general..."

409-410 AD: Priscus Attalus "The Usurper Emperor who was banished..."  409-410 & 414-415AD

411-413 AD: Jovinus "The Emperor who defeated at the siege of Valence..." 

412-413 AD: Sebastianus "The Usurper Emperor whose head was sent to the imperial court..."    

421 AD: Constantius III "The Emperor who retrieved the western empire from the brink of disaster..."

423-425 AD: Ioannes "Captured, mutilated and while still living, set upon an ass in the Roman Circus and finally killed..."

425-455 AD: Valentinian III "The Vandals were coming and so was Attila the Hun..."

450-457 AD: Marcian "The Emperor who refused to recognize the emperors of the West" 

455 AD: Petronius Maximus "The Assassin Emperor..."   

455-456 AD: Avitus "The Emperor who was backed by the Visigoths..."

457-474 AD: Leo I "The Emperor who was known as 'the great Thracian' by friends and 'the Butcher' by his enemies..."     

457-461 AD: Majorian "The Emperor who gained victories over the Franks & Vandals..."  

461-465 AD: Libius Severus "The Puppet Emperor who was probably poisoned..."

467-472 AD: Anthemius  "The Emperor who believed that he was a victim of sorcery..." 

472 AD: Olybrius "Pawn of Ricimer, who died of dropsy..."    

473-474 AD: Glycerius "The Exiled Emperor ..."   

474-475 AD: Julius Nepos "The Emperor who was killed by the man he had deposed..."

475-476 AD: Romulus Augustus "The Last Roman Emperor..." 



Timeline of Gallic Emperors

259-268 AD: Postumus

268 AD: Laelianus

268 AD: Marius

268-270 AD: Victorinus

270-273 AD: Tetricus I

270-273 AD: Tetricus II

The Usurpers or Pretenders

The above Timeline of Roman Emperors provides details of all of the "official" Roman Emperors together with details of the usurpers and pretenders who were also proclaimed emperor or empress. The names of the usurpers or pretenders are as follows: Cyriades, Postumus, Postumus the Younger, Lollianus, Victorinus, Victorinus the Younger, Marius, Ingenuus, Regalianus, Aureolus, Macrianus, Macrianus the Younger, Quietus, Odaenathus, Herodes, Maeonius, Ballista, Valens, Valens the Elder, Piso, Aemilianus, Saturninus, Tetricus the Elder, Tetricus the Younger, Trebellianus, Herennianus, Timolaus, Celsus, Zenobia, Victoria, Titus, Censorinus.