Select Emperors of Rome of Questionable Sanity
Tiberius Caesar, stepson and adopted heir of the deified Augustus Caesar, Tiberius is generally regarded as a good emperor. He ruled from 14 to 37 AD and was a great general who shored up the defenses of Rome on her northern frontier in Germania. However, in his latter years his behavior became increasingly paranoid and perverted. He had numerous senators executed for suspicion of treason, killed off most of his relatives and created a climate of fear. He spent his last 10 years in seclusion on the island of Capri where he lived a very debauched life. One of his favorite pastimes was swimming with naked little boys he called his fishes who would lick his genitals as he bathed. Jesus ministered and was crucified during his reign and Tiberius is said to have wanted to include him in the pantheon of Roman gods but was dissuaded. He was allegedly killed by the commander of his Praetorian Guard, Macro, in collusion with his adopted grandson Caligula. After his death the Senate refused to deify him and mobs shouted their wish to have his body thrown into the Tiber.
Caligula, officially Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, probably holds the record for being the most bizarre Roman Emperor. His father, Germanicus, was a famous soldier but most of his family was killed off by his adopted grandfather Tiberius. He is infamous for his incestuous affair with his sister Drusilla, for his sexual exploits, for staging a mock invasion of Britain, raping any woman who caught his eye and threatening to make his horse a consul. He had himself declared a living god in his own lifetime and opened an imperial brothel staffed by the wives of the Roman senators. He committed incest with all of his sisters and had his beloved Drusilla deified. He married a woman considered the nastiest slut in Rome and would have her perform in front of guests for his amusement. He spent extravagantly and had numerous senators put to death including his original adopted heir and Macro, the man who helped him come to power. He replaced the heads of the Roman gods with his own likeness in the temples and wandered the palace at night commanding the sun to rise. His cruelty and debauchery were legendary and in 41 he, his wife and his daughter were killed by the Praetorian Guard.
Nero, officially Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, was the great nephew and adopted heir of Emperor Claudius and the last monarch of the original Roman Imperial dynasty. His mother Agrippina was a sister of Caligula and may have poisoned her husband Claudius to see her son on the throne. Nonetheless Nero eventually had his mother killed and was well on his way to becoming known as one of the most evil men in history. He spent lavishly and when a fire burned down large slum areas of Rome in 64 many suspected Nero of being responsible though he placed the blame on the Christians. Sts Peter and Paul were martyred by him and Christians were crucified, fed to lions or used as human torches to illuminate the streets at night. He fancied himself a singer, a musician and even performed in the Olympics and chariot races, naturally winning every time. Many Christians came to believe he was the Antichrist written of in the book of Revelations. He was a notorious rapist and bisexual. He once had a young boy castrated so he could marry him and aside from his mother he also killed his aunt and one of his wives as well as another wife who he kicked to death. He built an extravagantly luxurious palace on the ruined part of the city and was forced to commit suicide in 68 by his guard.
Domitian, officially Titus Flavius Domitianus, was Roman emperor from 81 to 96 and was the last monarch of the Flavian dynasty. He was proclaimed emperor by the Praetorian Guard after a period of great instability and ended up reigning longer than any Caesar since Tiberius though his cruelty led him to be compared to the likes of Caligula and Nero. He was cruel and paranoid and had numerous senators and Roman elites executed on the slightest suspicion of plotting against him. He also instituted terrible persecutions of Jews and Christians and liked to exalt himself, signing official papers with his name and the title of lord and god. He stripped the senate of all power and assumed absolute control of the republic. Numerous Roman historians wrote of his cruelty and corruption and his megalomania insisting, for instance, that artists portray him as the father of the gods. Famous for torturing flies he also invented the method of torture of burning the victims genitals. Paranoid in the extreme he tried to exterminate all Jews who claimed descent from King David and covered his palace with reflective surfaces so no one could surprise him. He had numerous affairs, stole his wife from another man and liked watching gladiatorial matches between women or dwarves. He was murdered in 96 by the Roman elites and his guard.
Commodus, officially Lucius Aurelius Commodus Antoninus, was the son of the famous Marcus Aurelius and succeeded him as emperor reigning from 161 to 192. His was the first case in 100 years that a son born while his father was emperor succeeded as emperor himself. He was accused of killing his father, though that is probably not true, and he was fairly popular with the common folk and did not persecute Christians. However, he had no desire to govern and mostly left that to others until he was forced to act and then he did so tyrannically. He gloried in the gladiatorial games of the Coliseum and broke precedent by fighting in the arena himself (in rigged games of course) to display his physical prowess. Even more shocking was when he began to drape himself in animal skins, carried a club and considered himself to be Hercules reborn. He had the calendar changed to glorify himself and adopted the titles of the Supreme, the Great Lord and Pacifier of the World. No friend of the Roman elites, he even had his wife, Bruttia Crispina sent to Capri and executed. He was strangled to death by a wrestler in 192.
Heliogabalus, a Syrian by birth and the nephew of Emperor Caracalla, was the high priest of a bizarre phallic oriented sun cult which he tried to introduce in Rome during his reign which lasted from 218 to 222. He raped a Vestal Virgin, married her, spurned her and then took her back in turn. A bisexual, he was also a transvestite who liked dressing in the finery of women and even wore makeup. In his religious role he slaughtered huge numbers of livestock for his sun god and would dance around the blood and wine drenched altar. Heliogabalus was also a masochist and enjoyed having his male lovers get rough enough with him to leave scars across his body. Whereas Caligula made the wives of senators prostitutes, Heliogabalus played the part of prostitute himself, dressed like a woman and looked for well endowed men. Nonetheless, he also had a succession of female mistresses, wives and concubines though for a time he considered having himself castrated but finally settled on simply being circumcised. He was eventually deposed in favor of another and killed in a latrine.
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1