How to Become Roman Emperor

The author of Roman Conquests: Egypt and Judea and many other works in ancient history, in this book, first published in hard cover in 2020, Dr. Grainger discusses the ways in which Roman emperors became emperor, a subject surprisingly neglected in the literature.

Dr. Grainger examines in some detail the circumstances and events that surround the accession to the imperium of all the emperors from Julius Caesar (the first man to hold such sweeping power) through Romulus Augustulus. He includes not just those emperors who had senatorial approval – the traditional way by which historians have dubbed an emperor “legitimate” – but also the very numerous “usurpers.” He makes a valid argument that we should not differentiate between “legitimate” and “usurping” emperors, but rather between “successful” and “unsuccessful” emperors. Many of those who had the senatorial imprimatur were in fact very unsuccessful, some being bumped off almost literally within weeks of acclamation. In contrast, many of the “usurpers” ruled portions of the empire for quite long periods, such as Postumus of the so-called “Gallic Empire” (A.D. 260-269) or Magnus Maximus (A.D. 383-388), ruling well, beating off barbarian intrusions, and at times crushing other “usurpers”.

Grainer also reminds us that many – in fact almost all – of the emperors deemed “legitimate” received senatorial recognition after revolting against another “legitimate” emperor, making their case before the Senate with swords drawn.

This is a genuinely ground-breaking examination of how Roman emperors became emperor, with insightful looks at the accessions even of some of the most well regarded wearers of the purple.

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Note: The Roman Imperial Succession is also available in hard cover & e-editions.

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