List of Roman emperors

The title of Roman Emperor, although in some ways a modern concept, effectively summarises the position held by those individuals who wielded power in the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire developed from the Roman Republic after its ascent to the dominant power in Europe, and is characterised by the concentration of power in one individual, rather than the "Senate and People of Rome". However, Augustus, universally accepted to have been the first emperor, was careful to maintain the facade of republican rule, and took no specific title to mark his rule (which began in 27 BC). Instead, he simply concentrated the pre-existing powers of Roman magistrates upon his own person, taking the existing honorific of 'Princeps Senatus' (the first man of the senate). This style of government, which lasted for nearly 300 years, is thus called the 'Principate'. The modern word 'emperor' derives from the title 'Imperator', which was granted by an army to a successful general; as such, during the initial phase of the Roman Empire, it still had to be earned by the 'Princeps'. The term 'emperor', though modern, is used when describing rulers of the Roman Empire, since (a) it emphasises the strong links between the ruler and the army (on whose support the ruler's power depended), and (b) does not discriminate between the style of rule in different phases of the Empire.

In the late 3rd century AD, after the Crisis of the Third Century, Diocletian formalised and embellished the recent manner of imperial rule, establishing the so-called 'Dominate' period of the Roman Empire. This was characterised by the explicit decrease of authority in the person of the Emperor, and the use of the style 'Dominus Noster' ('Our Lord'). From Diocletian onwards, there were often multiple simultaneous emperors, dividing the rule of the vast territories between them. After 395 AD, and the death of Theodosius I, the Empire became more firmly split into Western and Eastern halves They were not legally separate however, and the Emperor of the more stable Eastern Empire often imposed his authority over the Western half. The Western Empire was heavily troubled after 395 AD, and collapsed completely after 455 AD, the last Western Emperor abdicating in 476 AD; after which the Emperor in Constantinople ruled without partner and maintained claim to the territories in the west. The Empire would continue until 1453, and the capture of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks. Later Emperors in the east have been called Byzantine Emperors by Western scholars since at least the 18th century, but were considered by themselves and their contemporaries to continue an unbroken succession of Roman Emperors. The listing of the Eastern Emperors in this article ends at the start of the 7th century with Maurice, last of the Justinian dynasty, and the last Emperor whose Empire still bore a strong resemblance to the Roman Empire of previous centuries and whose reign concludes the final era of Late Antiquity.

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