Top 10 Worst Roman Emperors
Caligula, properly Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus was Roman emperor in AD 37–41. Born Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus, Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Horrible. Just plain horrible. This guy thought he was a God. He also punished anyone who opposed him. As if THAT wasn't bad enough, he also doted on his own sister.
The guy slept with his sisters! And I see no reason for Augustus to be on this list!
Caligula had major brain damage.
He made a horse his priest!
Nero was the last Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. He was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius and became Claudius' heir and successor. Like Claudius, Nero became emperor with the consent of the Praetorian Guard. Nero was a maniac. He massacred christians in great numbers, took huge funds to build himself monuments, and was all around a total nutcase.
Basically the Roman equivalent of Hitler. He massacred thousands of innocent Christians for no reason. Absolutely horrible
Was it true he fiddled while he watched the city burn?
He was the Beast in Revelation, whose number was 666.
Just about as bad as they come. Focused too much on screwing around as a gladiator to even care about the health and safety of his empire. He's a also a depraved, paranoid psychopath who killed anyone who stood in his way, purging the senate to the point that it became a bunch of incompetent yes-man goons. Quite the contrast from his cerebral, sober-minded father Marcus Aurelius.
I can't believe that I had to add him. He wasn't as evil as Caligula or Nero, but he killed more than them.
Executed many innocents, enforced a religion unfamiliar to all of Rome, prostituted himself. Augustus doesn't belong here at all, but Elagabulus does.
Should be in the top 5. Ya, of course a gender confused teenager would make a great emperor.
Why is at number 10?
Helped ruin the Roman Empire by converting to an evil religion. Without him the Jews might not control the world.
Was actually a very strong and effective ruler.
This guy killed and Slaughtered All!
People like to criticize Nero for his cruelty to the Christians. They are right for this. But under Diocletian persecution was the most severe and widespread.
Sure he persecuted the Christians, but, as Rick Riordan said in the Heroes of Olympus series book "The House of Hades", he was a good ruler and helped shape Rome a bit better
Responsible for the bloodiest religous persecution of Christianity in history.
Although he helped make Christianity the official religion he was against Arianism and brought his pagan beliefs to Christianity with the Trinity.
This was the original fanatical Christian who got butt hurt over Christianity being criticized. Not only did he make Christianity the official religion of the Empire, but he literally BANNED EVERY OTHER RELIGION, even Hellenism, which was the Empire's main religion for centuries! If you're wondering why Christianity is the big religion today, look no further than this selfish arsehole.
He even banned Olympic Games.
His short-lived rule was a disaster. He alienated the legions and was tone-deaf when it came to politics. He took dissent for defiance, punished innocent family members of his enemies, and brought back decimation. He could have saved himself a lot of hassle by showing generosity to the Praetorians, but he was more miserly than Ebenezer Stooge. Maybe he wasn't as debauched as Nero or Caligula, but that alone didn't make him a good Emperor.