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Valens

Emperors As Generals: The Best

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Most Roman Emperors have very little military credit to their name, which is understandable, as their job was to rule the land, not to be a general. However, many emperors did double as generals in times of war, and many were very good generals, but which emperor would you consider to have been the best general?

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There are several who come to mind right off...

 

Tiberius

Vespasian (all the emperors of 69 AD, really)

Titus

Septimius Severus.....

 

I'll stop there just because it starts to get fairly muddled with usurpers and so forth after.

 

I've always felt that Vespasian and his accomplishments as both emperor and general are overlooked. Trajan stands out immediately, of course, but I really do lean towards Vespasian.

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I think Trajan is a pretty good choice, followed by Septimius Severus... Constantine and Aurelius were also known for having lots of battles...

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Aurilean and if Aluixes had become Empeoror after the his defeat of Attila.

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Is there anything in particular that makes Vespasian stand out more as a general than Trajan to you, Primus?

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No not really. My impression of him is more based on his stabilization of the empire. Much credit often goes to the '5 good emperors', but without Vespasian, who knows if they ever would've had a chance to excel. The only knock on Vespasian... his son Domitian.

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Aurilean and if Aluixes had become Empeoror after the his defeat of Attila.

Hello Zeke, Aurelianus (Emperor from 270 - 275), was a highly successful "soldier-emperor" who helped the Roman Empire regain its power during the latter part of the third century and the beginning of the fourth. During his reign, the Empire was reunited in its entirety, following 15 years of rebellion, the loss of two-thirds of its territory to usurpers and devastating barbarian invasions. His success brought an end to the Empire's Crisis of the Third Century.

 

Attila was much later...

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So, let's try to narrow it down to one:

 

Both Primus and Viggen mentioned Trajan and Severus...and others listed were: Constantine, Vespasian, Aurelius, Titus, and Tiberius. So, anyone think they could narrow it down, or possibly rank these men in order of ability as a general?

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My list would be...

 

1.Trajan

2.Aurelianus

3.Severus

 

cheers

viggen

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First though Valens, let's clarify. Do you mean Emperors who led armies while actually wearing the purple, or at any time during their career. Helps to limit the field a bit.

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First though Valens, let's clarify. Do you mean Emperors who led armies while actually wearing the purple, or at any time during their career. Helps to limit the field a bit.

Well, a list of both would be nice, but if you are only up to one, let's go with a list compiled by their whole career.

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Here is a list of 10. In no particular order.

Julian

Trajan

Titus

Vespasian

Severus

Caesar

Tiberius

Marcus Aurelius

Hadrian

Constantine the Great

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In terms of emperors who successfully campaigned while emperor, and who actually took a leading role in the command decisions;

 

Trajan -- easy choice for his successful conquest of Dacia, and transient conquest of Armenia, Mesopotamia, and Assyria. Had he lived, he most likely would have made northern Mesopotamia a permanent province, at a minimum.

 

Severus -- won a bloody civil war, then defeated the Parthians, thus carving out a permanent province of Mesopotamia and in some respects finishing the work left undone by Trajan. Then he campaigned in Scotland.

 

Aurelian -- defeated multiple barbarian tribes, brought back the break away Gallic empire, crushed Zenobia and her Palmyrene empire in the East, and was planning a great campaign against Persia when he was assassinated.

 

Constantine -- defeated several other Roman armies, plus multiple barbarian tribes, and was planning a great campaign against Persia when he died.

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