Origins of the Emperors

[Gaius Paulinus Maximus]

Does anybody know of a list charting the birth places of all the Emperors?

 

I've often wondered which country or region produced the most Emperors and why.

[Publius Nonius Severus]

That's a tough one. There are plenty of high-quality lists of the emperors out there including the one here at UNRV (see below for some notable others), but I haven't been able to find a one with birthplace listed on the chart itself. If I have time at lunch I might be willing to compile something.

 

http://www.roman-emperors.org/impindex.htm

 

http://www.capitolium.org/eng/imperatori/imperatori.htm

 

http://www.livius.org/ei-er/emperors/emperors01.html

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Roman_Emperors

[Gaius Paulinus Maximus]

That's a tough one. There are plenty of high-quality lists of the emperors out there including the one here at UNRV (see below for some notable others), but I haven't been able to find a one with birthplace listed on the chart itself. If I have time at lunch I might be willing to compile something.

 

http://www.roman-emperors.org/impindex.htm

 

http://www.capitolium.org/eng/imperatori/imperatori.htm

 

http://www.livius.org/ei-er/emperors/emperors01.html

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Roman_Emperors

 

Yes i know it's a tricky one with the birthplaces, I'd be very grateful with what ever you can come up with, thanks.

[Publius Nonius Severus]

Ok. The below list should cover from Augustus through the end of the crisis of the third century. After that I'm not sure in which direction you would want to go because we have Gallic and Illyrian emperors, the Dominate, etc...

 

Here's a quick guide to the list. I've listed either the city or town of birth if it Rome or in Italy. If not, I have listed the province (or modern day country) and then the city/town in parentheses if available. If there is doubt over the exact place of birth, the place name is preceded by a "?". I used the bios and infoboxes frm Wikipedia as my primary source.

 

Please note I included most (if not all) of ursurpers and claimants since regardless of whether they were ever confirmed. Enjoy!

 

 

Augustus - Rome

Tiberius - Rome

Caligula - Antium

Claudius - Gaul (Lugdunum)

Nero - Antium

Galba - Terracina

Otho - Ferentium

Vitellius - ?Rome

Vespasian - Falacrina

Titus - Rome

Domitian - Rome

Nerva - Narni

Trajan - Italica

Hadrian - Hispania(Seville)

Antoninus Pius - Lanuvium

Lucius Verus - ?Rome

Marcus Aurelius - ?Rome

Commodus - Lanuvium

Pertinax - Alba

Didius Julianus - Milan

Septimius Severus - (Libya) Leptis Magna

Caracalla - Gaul (Lugdunum)

Geta - Rome

Macrinus - Caesarea(Lol)

Elagabalus - ?Rome

Alexander Severus - "Arca Caesarea, Iudaea"

Maximinus Thrax - Thrace or Moesia

Gordian I - ?Anatolia(Phrygia)

Gordian II - ?Rome

Gordian III - ?Rome

Pupienus - ?Rome

Balbinus - ?Rome

Sabinianus - ?Rome

Philip the Arab - Syria(Shahba)

Pacatianus - ?Rome

Iotapianus - Near East

Decius - Panonia( Budalia (near Sirmium))

Priscus - Syria

Herennius Etruscus - Pannonia

Trebonianus Gallus - ?Rome

Hostilian - Rome

Volusianus - ?Rome

Aemilianus - Africa

Valerian - ?Rome

Gallienus - ?Rome

Saloninus - ?Rome

[Ingsoc]

Arca Caesarea was in Lebanon.

[Northern Neil]

Heres a few more. The list takes up from the last one::

 

Phillipus - Shahba, Syria.

Claudius Gothicus - Illyria

Aurelian - Sirmium, Pannonia.

Tacitus - (Rome?)

Florianus (Rome?)

Probus - Sirmium, Pannonia

Carus - Narona, Illyria

Carinus - Narona, Illyria

Numerian - Narona, Illyria

Diocletian - Salonae, Dalmatia

{Maximian - Sirmium, Pannonia

Galerius - Serdica, Thrace

Constantius - Illyria}

Constantine - Nis, Moesia

[Publius Nonius Severus]

Nice additions Neil, I had completely forgotten about this thread. Laudes to you!

[The Augusta]

Arca Caesarea was in Lebanon.

 

 

Sorry to be off topic for a mo, but I just have to stand up and cheer your avatar, Ingsoc!

 

Now back on: These lists are fascinating. Are there any statiticians among us who could work out the proportion/percentage of the emperors who were actually born in Rome?

[Gaius Octavius]

38 1/3%, if the ? are counted as Rome.

[The Augusta]

38 1/3%, if the ? are counted as Rome.

 

 

Thanks, Gaius - that's amazing. It shows how the spread of the citizenship throughout the empire was crucial in producing the rulership. Come to think of it, this is worth a topic of its own.

[Gaius Octavius]

Yet, the fact that an emperor was born outside of Rome does not mean that he was not an ethnic Roman.

[Northern Neil]

Yet, the fact that an emperor was born outside of Rome does not mean that he was not an ethnic Roman.

One could extend this to emperors of mixed ancestry, who nonetheless were true Romans. I have heard the phrase 'Half Barbarian' used to describe the Pannonian Emperor Valentinian. He is said to have had Gothic and Dacian ancestry, as well as Roman. Yet he was a fanatical Roman, who died after a fit of rage in which he was beside himself with anger at the impertinance of a barbarian embassy.

Edited March 24, 2007 by Northern Neil

[Gaius Octavius]

Yet, the fact that an emperor was born outside of Rome does not mean that he was not an ethnic Roman.

One could extend this to emperors of mixed ancestry, who nonetheless were true Romans. I have heard the phrase 'Half Barbarian' used to describe the Pannonian Emperor Valentinian. He is said to have had Gothic and Dacian ancestry, as well as Roman. Yet he was a fanatical Roman, who died after a fit of rage in which he was beside himself with anger at the impertinance of a barbarian embassy.

 

Goes to prove that even the non-Roman stock knew who the best people were/are.

 

[Ingsoc]

Yet, the fact that an emperor was born outside of Rome does not mean that he was not an ethnic Roman.

 

I don't think the ethnic origin was a big deal at the Hellenistic/Roman world, even those emperors who had a non-Roman origin (like the Severan dynasty who were Semites) adopted completly the Roman culture and identity. it's just does to show you the extenct of the openess of the Roman society which made yesterday enemy to today ally.

[Gaius Paulinus Maximus]

Now back on: These lists are fascinating. Are there any statiticians among us who could work out the proportion/percentage of the emperors who were actually born in Rome?

 

I can't believe that I forgot about this topic myself, the question you asked is the one of the reasons why I started the thread originally, and thanks to PNS and NN's list's and Cecil's mathematicall genius, we now know.

 

I don't think the ethnic origin was a big deal at the Hellenistic/Roman world, even those emperors who had a non-Roman origin (like the Severan dynasty who were Semites) adopted completly the Roman culture and identity. it's just does to show you the extenct of the openess of the Roman society which made yesterday enemy to today ally.

 

It's quite ironic that the ancestors of the later Emperors would have done battle, been conquered and submitted to Roman rule, only for their children's children etc to become rulers of the the very Empire that caused the downfall in the first place.