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Of Thraco-Roman origin, Maximinus Thrax (173-238 CE) was a child of low birth, and was seen by the Senate as a barbarian and not a true Roman, despite Caracalla's Antonine Constitution granting citizenship to all freeborn citizens of the Empire. A career soldier, Maximinus rose through the ranks until he commanded a legion himself. He was one of the soldiers who were angered by Emperor Severus Alexander's payments to the Germanic tribes for peace, and plotted with them to assasinate the emperor in 235 CE.<br/><br/> The Praetorian Guard declared Maximinus emperor after the act, a choice that was only grudgingly confirmed by the Senate, who were disgusted at the idea of a peasant becoming emperor. Maximinus despised the nobility, and was heavy-handed in dealing with anyone suspected of plotting against him. In 238 CE, revolt arose in the province of Africa during his reign, with the governor Gordian I and his son, Gordian II, declared co-emperors. The Roman Senate quickly switched allegiance and acknowledged the claim of the Gordians. Maximinus immediately marched on Rome to deal with the Senatorial uprising.<br/><br/> The Gordians were swiftly defeated and died after less than a month of being co-emperors, with the Senate becoming divided on how to act, some preferring Gordian's grandson, Gordian III, while others elected two of their own, Pupienus and Balbinus, as co-emperors. Rome became engulfed in severe riots and street fighting. Maximinus died before he reached Rome, assassinated by his own soldiers during the siege of Aquileia. Pupienus and Balbinus became undisputed co-emperors. Maximinus' reign is often seen as the beginning of the Crisis of the Third Century, which would see the Roman Empire almost collapse from internal unrest, economic disaster and foreign invasions.
Severus Alexander (208-235 CE) was cousin to Emperor Elagabalus, and his heir apparent. When Elagabalus was assassinated in 222 CE, the fourteen-year-old became emperor, under the auspice of his grandmother Julia Maesa, who had arranged for Alexander's accession just as she had done with Elagabalus before him.<br/><br/> Alexander quickly did much to correct the domestic troubles Elagabalus had caused, cleaning up the image of the imperial throne and improving the morals and dignity of the state. His reign was considered prosperous, but militarily, the Empire was faced against the rising threat of the Sassanid Empire in the east, as well as the tribes of Germania. It was during his campaign against the latter that Alexander would meet his end. His attempts to negotiate peace with the Germanic tribes through bribery and diplomacy alienated many in the Roman Army, and ultimately led to his assassination in 235 CE.<br/><br/> His death saw the end of the Severan dynasty and marked the beginning of the Crisis of the Third Century, which resulted in nearly 50 years of civil wars, foreign invasions and economic collapse throughout the Empire.
Elagabalus (203-222 CE), also known as Heliogabalus, was a Syrian and a member of the Severan dynasty. Elagabalus was the grandson of Julia Maesa and cousin to Emperor Caracalla. When Caracalla was assassinated in 217 CE, Julia Maesa instigated a revolt against his killer and successor, Macrinus, championing Elagabalus as emperor. Macrinus was defeated and executed in 218 CE, and Elagabalus was proclaimed emperor at barely 14 years old.<br/><br/> His reign was notorious for its numerous religious controversies and sex scandals, with Elagabalus showing a marked disregard for traditional Roman religious and sexual values. He was said to have had been married as many as five times, had many male lovers, and was even reported to have prostituted himself in the imperial palace. He developed a reputation for extreme decadence, eccentricity and zealotry to the god he was named after, Elagabalus, and whom he declared the new head of the Roman pantheon.<br/><br/> His actions and behaviour estranged both commoner and Praetorian Guard, and after four years of rule, Elagabalus was assassinated in 222 CE at the age of 18. The plot was orchestrated by Julia Maesa, the same grandmother that had placed him on the throne, and carried out by the Praetorian Guard, with his cousin Severus Alexander replacing him as emperor. Elagabalus developed one of the worst reputations among Roman emperors in history.
Born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, Nero was the only son of Agrippina the Younger, who would later marry his great-uncle Emperor Claudius. Claudius adopted Nero and was made heir and successor alongside Claudius' own son Brittanicus. Nero acceded to the throne after Claudius' death in 54 CE, possibly poisoned at the hands of Nero's mother.<br/><br/> Nero's reign is infamous for his corruption, tyranny and extravagance, as well as his many executions, including that of his mother and the poisoning of his stepbrother Britannicus soon after the start of his rule. His most infamous mark on history however, is his presumed starting of the Great Fire of Rome in 64 CE, which caused widespread destruction and was intentionally done to clear space for Nero's planned palatial complex, the Domus Aurea.<br/><br/> In 68 CE, Nero was driven from the throne by rebellion, and he committed suicide that same year. With his death came the the end of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, leading to the tumultuous period known as the Year of the Four Emperors.
According to local legend, Siena was founded by Senius and Aschius, two sons of Remus and thus nephews of Romulus, after whom Rome was named. Supposedly after their father's murder by Romulus, they fled Rome, taking with them the statue of the she-wolf suckling the infants (Capitoline Wolf), thus appropriating that symbol for the town.
According to local legend, Siena was founded by Senius and Aschius, two sons of Remus and thus nephews of Romulus, after whom Rome was named. Supposedly after their father's murder by Romulus, they fled Rome, taking with them the statue of the she-wolf suckling the infants (Capitoline Wolf), thus appropriating that symbol for the town.
Japan / Italy: 'Around the Campidoglio, II'. Oil on canvas painting by Fujishima Takeji (1867-1943), 1919, Osaka City Museum of Modern Art, Osaka. Fujishima Takeji (October 15, 1867 - March 19, 1943) was a Japanese painter from an ex-samurai class household in southern Kyushu. He helped to develop impressionism and Romanticism within the Western-style ('yōga') art movement that became popular in Japanese painting during the late 19th and early 20th century. He would also be inspired by the Art Nouveau movement in his later years.
Japan / Italy: 'Around the Campidoglio'. Oil on canvas painting by Fujishima Takeji (1867-1943), 1919, Osaka City Museum of Modern Art, Osaka. Fujishima Takeji (October 15, 1867 - March 19, 1943) was a Japanese painter from an ex-samurai class household in southern Kyushu. He helped to develop impressionism and Romanticism within the Western-style ('yōga') art movement that became popular in Japanese painting during the late 19th and early 20th century. He would also be inspired by the Art Nouveau movement in his later years.
Born as Lucius Septimius Bassianus (188-217 CE) but renamed Marcus Aurelius Antoninus after his father's union with the families of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty, he gained his agnomen Caracalla from a Gallic hooded tunic which he often wore. Eldest son of Emperor Septimius Severus, he reigned jointly with his father from 198 CE until his father's death in 211 CE. He then became joint emperor with his younger brother Geta, but he quickly murdered his brother less than a year into their joint rule.<br/><br/> Caracalla's reign was marked by continued assaults from the Germanic peoples as well as constant domestic instability. Caracalla was famed for enacting the Edict of Caracalla, also known as the Antonine Constitution, which granted Roman citizenship to almost all the freemen living throughout the Empire. He was also known for his establishment of a new Roman currency, the <i>antoninianus</i>, as well as building the Baths of Caracalla, the second largest in Rome. In terms of infamy, Caracalla was known for his massacres against the Roman people and other citizens of the Empire.<br/><br/> Caracalla's reign ended in 217 CE, after he had instigated a new campaign against the Parthian Empire. Caracalla had stopped briefly to urinate when a soldier approached him and stabbed him to death, incensed by Caracalla's refusal to grant him the position of Centurion. Caracalla would be posthumously known for his savage cruelty and treachery, as well as for murdering his own brother and his brother's supporters.