Jan 21, 2007

This Week: Emperors Come and Go

January 24, A.D. 41 - Roman Emperor and confirmed madman Caligula was assassinated on this date. Known for his depravity, cruelty, extravagance, and general insanity, he was killed by his own Praetorian Guard.

January 24, A.D. 76 - Future Roman Emperor Hadrian was born on this date in Seville, Spain. He was the third in the age of the "Five Good Emperors". Hadrian was a lover of the arts and all things Greek, and his Villa at Tivoli was an ample testament to those passions, with its Greek inspired architecture and Alexandrian garden. He also oversaw the construction of the Forum of Trajan, which contained a sort of shopping mall, and was the last of the Imperial Fora to be built.

January 24 - The Roman festival of the Sementivae began on this date. This part of the festival, celebrated until January 26, was held in honor of Tellus, of Tellus Mater, Mother Earth.

January 25, A.D. 41 - Claudius is named Emperor of Rome on this date. Though afflicted with some type of physical disability, and having been hidden away for most of his childhood by his family, he proved to be a good and noble leader of Rome.

January 27, A.D. 98 - Trajan is named Emperor of Rome on this date. Known as the second of the "Five Good Emperors", Trajan saw the Roman Empire grow to its greatest boundaries during his reign.

January 27, A.D. 98 - On this date, Roman Emperor Nerva died of a fever.