The first Roman emperor was Augustus (27 BC), and the last in the West was Romulus Augustulus (deposed 476 AD). In between came about 70 emperors, most belonging to a handful of dynasties. Here they are in order.
A quick note before the list. Julius Caesar is often assumed to be the first emperor, but he never held the title; he was a dictator of the Republic. The line of emperors starts with his heir, Augustus. And the third century was so chaotic that emperors came and went in months, so the totals below cover the principal, widely recognized rulers.
Julio-Claudian dynasty (27 BC–68 AD)
| Emperor | Reign | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Augustus | 27 BC–14 AD | First emperor; founded the imperial system |
| Tiberius | 14–37 | Augustus's successor; withdrew to Capri |
| Caligula | 37–41 | Byword for tyranny; assassinated |
| Claudius | 41–54 | Conquered Britain; able administrator |
| Nero | 54–68 | The Great Fire of Rome; last of the line |
Year of the Four Emperors (68–69 AD)
| Emperor | Reign | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Galba | 68–69 | Seized power after Nero; murdered |
| Otho | 69 | Ruled three months; took his own life |
| Vitellius | 69 | Defeated by Vespasian |
Flavian dynasty (69–96 AD)
| Emperor | Reign | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Vespasian | 69–79 | Restored order; began the Colosseum |
| Titus | 79–81 | Opened the Colosseum; Vesuvius erupted |
| Domitian | 81–96 | Strong ruler; assassinated |
Nerva–Antonine dynasty (96–192 AD)
This run includes the Five Good Emperors, often seen as the empire's high-water mark.
| Emperor | Reign | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Nerva | 96–98 | First of the Five Good Emperors |
| Trajan | 98–117 | Empire reaches its greatest size |
| Hadrian | 117–138 | Built Hadrian's Wall in Britain |
| Antoninus Pius | 138–161 | Long, peaceful reign |
| Marcus Aurelius | 161–180 | Philosopher-emperor; wrote the Meditations |
| Lucius Verus | 161–169 | Co-emperor with Marcus Aurelius |
| Commodus | 180–192 | Ended the golden run; fought as a gladiator |
Year of the Five Emperors & the Severans (193–235 AD)
| Emperor | Reign | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Pertinax | 193 | Murdered after three months |
| Didius Julianus | 193 | Literally bought the throne at auction |
| Septimius Severus | 193–211 | Founded the Severan dynasty |
| Caracalla | 211–217 | Extended citizenship to nearly all free men |
| Geta | 211 | Co-emperor; killed by Caracalla |
| Macrinus | 217–218 | First emperor never to enter the Senate rank first |
| Elagabalus | 218–222 | Teenage emperor; deposed |
| Severus Alexander | 222–235 | Last Severan; murdered by his troops |
Crisis of the Third Century (235–284 AD)
For about fifty years the empire nearly tore itself apart, cycling through some two dozen emperors and countless usurpers. These are the most significant:
| Emperor | Reign | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Maximinus Thrax | 235–238 | First "soldier emperor" |
| Gordian III | 238–244 | Boy emperor amid chaos |
| Philip the Arab | 244–249 | Presided over Rome's 1,000th birthday |
| Decius | 249–251 | First emperor killed in battle by a foreign foe |
| Valerian | 253–260 | Captured by Persia |
| Gallienus | 253–268 | Held the center together |
| Aurelian | 270–275 | "Restorer of the World"; reunited the empire |
| Probus | 276–282 | Won back frontier territory |
More than a dozen other men briefly claimed the throne during this period. The table above lists the principal, widely recognized emperors, not every claimant.
The Tetrarchy and the House of Constantine (284–363 AD)
| Emperor | Reign | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Diocletian | 284–305 | Split rule into a four-emperor Tetrarchy |
| Constantine the Great | 306–337 | Legalized Christianity; founded Constantinople |
| Constantius II | 337–361 | Reunited the empire under one ruler |
| Julian | 361–363 | Tried to revive the old Roman religion |
Toward the split (364–395 AD)
| Emperor | Reign | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Valentinian I | 364–375 | Ruled the West; strong general |
| Valens | 364–378 | Ruled the East; died at Adrianople |
| Theodosius I | 379–395 | Last emperor to rule the whole empire |
Western Roman emperors (395–476 AD)
After 395 the empire was permanently divided. These are the principal rulers of the failing West:
| Emperor | Reign | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Honorius | 395–423 | Rome sacked by the Visigoths (410) |
| Valentinian III | 425–455 | Faced Attila the Hun |
| Majorian | 457–461 | Last emperor to try to restore the West |
| Julius Nepos | 474–475 | Legally the last recognized western emperor |
| Romulus Augustulus | 475–476 | Deposed in 476, the conventional end of the West |
What happened after 476?
The Roman story did not stop. The Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire kept its own line of emperors at Constantinople for nearly another thousand years, from Arcadius through to Constantine XI, who died when the city fell in 1453. For the full arc, see our Roman Empire timeline.
Sources: standard chronologies of the Roman emperors. Reign dates for co-emperors and third-century rulers vary slightly between sources because of overlapping claims; the dates here follow common scholarly convention.
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