Germanicus Posted May 19, 2005 Report Share Posted May 19, 2005 I was curious - but am not sure that anyone else will be as it's kind of trivial and random, as to how many future Emperors could have potentialy attended a dinner party together, as they were all alive at the same point in time, so I worked it out for the early empire up until Macrinius. I did a graph of this in Excel, and it shows that there are certain points in time, as in the case of Nerva, when the number of men living who will one day become Emperor, reaches 12. That 's one hell of a dinner party ! True, Domitian would have only been 2 years old at the time of the dinner party, which would have to have taken place during the final year of Caligulas rule but hey I though it was freaky. While it shows what anyone with all the relevant dates can work out, it also showed that on average, Emperors in the early period got to see 4, 5 and even more Emperors rise and fall, before they got a go themselves. Nerva for example, was 7 years old when Tiberius bit the dust, and then got to personaly witness the reigns of :- Gaius, Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, Titus and Domitian, before getting a go himself, that's 10 Emperors to watch and learn what to do and what not to do from. It's an interesting point that early "bad" Emperors such as Gaius and Nero, only got to witness 3 each, and neither really got to see how Augustus handled himself, Gaius being only aged 1 when he died. The same can be said of Commodus, only having his father and Verus (admittedly good Emperors) as examples. Domitian on the other hand had no excuse, witnessing 7, many good like his father and brother., so maybe the data is as I said in the first place, random and trivial. I also noted the mode of death in each case, which showed what I guess we already know - that a peacefull death in the early Empire was exclusively for the long serving, so called "good" Emperors, with the exception of Claudius. All the rest were relegated to suicide or death by murder. I know if I went further into the Empire after the beginning of the decline, with all those 1 and 2 year rulers the dinner party attendance could be huge, but I was going cross eyed by the time I got to Macrinius. Feel free to comment/dismiss at will Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primus Pilus Posted May 19, 2005 Report Share Posted May 19, 2005 Please post the spreadsheet Germanicus... I'd really like to look at your study Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wally1987 Posted May 20, 2005 Report Share Posted May 20, 2005 me too Germanicus, if u wouldn't mind posting the spreadsheet or emailing it to me, wud be greaty apreciated...... im a little new to this n want to learn!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roman wargamer Posted May 20, 2005 Report Share Posted May 20, 2005 why not post it here in unrv, the data and timeline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augur Posted May 20, 2005 Report Share Posted May 20, 2005 Yes. Yes. Yes. Let's see, see. see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Germanicus Posted May 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2005 Hi guys, I just emailed the sheet to PP, as I'm a bit of a dunse and couldn't work out how to post it. In it's raw form it's not particularly clear, but you'll get the idea - feel free to refine it. PP - are you able to post it on my behalf ? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primus Pilus Posted May 23, 2005 Report Share Posted May 23, 2005 Well here's the file. Germanicus suggested some improvements (like additional time line headers) but doesn't have the time to put it all together. I'm sure he doesn't mind if someone wants to make modifications and repost. This is an excellent little survey, I once did something similar for a school project regarding US presidents (many moons ago ) and this sort of thing appeals to me. Thanks Germanicus! Emperor List Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longbow Posted May 23, 2005 Report Share Posted May 23, 2005 File wont open it says windows needs to know what programme created it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primus Pilus Posted May 23, 2005 Report Share Posted May 23, 2005 It's a Microsoft Excel file. If you don't have MS Office, than you can download Open Office Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longbow Posted May 23, 2005 Report Share Posted May 23, 2005 Thanks pp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Germanicus Posted May 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2005 Thanks for posting it PP ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demson Posted May 27, 2005 Report Share Posted May 27, 2005 You people are obsessed. It's an very intrigueing discovery though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamilcar Barca Posted May 28, 2005 Report Share Posted May 28, 2005 Nice work Germanicus, always fun to learn new quirky facts about the Romans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrrhus Posted May 28, 2005 Report Share Posted May 28, 2005 This is a really interesting discovery, although I have to admit when I first read the topic title you meant Suetonius! He himself might have been intrigued to learn of such an event, and perhaps a sequel to his best-seller would have been in order Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatboy Posted May 31, 2005 Report Share Posted May 31, 2005 Maybe your theory of good emperors witnessing the reigns of many others holds true Germanicus. As far as I can make out Constantine the Great lived through the reigns of 29 different Augustus before himself becoming Emperor! Largely self proclaimed nobodies but still...all donned the purple. Here they are in all their glory Aurelian Tetricus I Tetricus II Florianus Tacitus Probus Bonosus Proculus Saturinus Carus Diocletian Domitus Domitanus Aurelius Achillius Eugenius Amandus Julianus Maximianus Herculius Numerian Carinus Caurausius Allectus Diocletian Constantius Chlorus Severus II Maximian Maxentius Maximin Daia Valens Licinius Geez, its no wonder he thought he'd have a go himself. Ooh, also in 286 21 of them could have had a dinner party hosted by a 12 year old Constantine. Obsession is fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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