The term was coined by the political philosopher, Niccolò Machiavelli, in 1503:įrom the study of this history we may also learn how a good government is to be established for while all the emperors who succeeded to the throne by birth, except Titus, were bad, all were good who succeeded by adoption, as in the case of the five from Nerva to Marcus. ![]() The rulers commonly known as the “Five Good Emperors” were Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius. ![]() ![]() With Commodus’ murder in 192, the Nerva-Antonine Dynasty came to an end it was followed by a period of turbulence, known as the Year of the Five Emperors. The naming by Marcus Aurelius of his son, Commodus, was considered to be an unfortunate choice and the beginning of the Empire’s decline. Hadrian made his half-nephew by marriage, and heir Antoninus Pius, adopt both Hadrian’s second cousin three times removed, and half-great-nephew by marriage, Marcus Aurelius, also Antoninus’ nephew by marriage, and the son of his original planned successor, Lucius Verus. Moreover, there was a family connection, as Trajan adopted his first cousin once removed and great-nephew by marriage, Hadrian. Julius Caesar, dictator perpetuo and considered to be instrumental in the transition from Republic to Empire, adopted Gaius Octavius, who would become Augustus, Rome ‘s first emperor. It was common for patrician families to adopt, and Roman emperors had adopted heirs in the past Emperor Augustus had adopted Tiberius, and Emperor Claudius had adopted Nero. The importance of official adoption in Roman society has often been considered as a conscious repudiation of the principle of dynastic inheritance, and has been deemed as one of the factors of the period’s prosperity. As such, the second through sixth Nerva-Antonine emperors are also called Adoptive Emperors. Under Roman law, an adoption established a bond legally as strong as that of kinship. The first five of the six successions within this dynasty were notable in that the reigning emperor adopted the candidate of his choice to be his successor. These emperors are Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Verus, and Commodus. The Nerva-Antonine Dynasty was a dynasty of seven Roman Emperors who ruled over the Roman Empire during a period of prosperity from 96 CE to 192 CE. Officially declared by the Senate as optimus princeps, and known for his bold expansion of Roman borders.
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