Five Good Emperors
A Milestone Documents E-text
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Five Good Emperors

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Abstract

The so-called Five Good Emperors were Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius, who reigned over the Roman Empire successively from 96 to 180 CE. They earned this title, despite their very different characters, not only because they were not cruel and oppressive toward the Roman elite—as Caligula, Nero, and Domitian had been—but also because they presided over what was the last extended period of relative peace, prosperity, and stability in the Roman Empire.

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