Roman Dynasty List: Every Imperial Dynasty From Augustus to 1453

Contents15

• Roman dynasty list: the early empire
• The Julio-Claudians, 27 BCE-68 CE
• The Flavians, 69-96
• The Nerva-Antonines, 96-192
• The Severans, 193-235
• Dynasties and the army
• Why no dynasty lasted from 235 to 284
• The Tetrarchy: an attempt to replace dynasty
• From Constantine to Theodosius
• Roman dynasty list: the Eastern (Byzantine) empire
• What each Eastern dynasty is known for
• Women in the Roman dynasties
• How Roman dynasties passed power
• Which Roman dynasty was the most successful
• Verdict: the Roman dynasty sequence

A Roman dynasty was a family that held the imperial throne across several reigns. It could be joined by blood, by marriage or by adoption. Rome had more than a dozen of them.

They ran from Augustus to the fall of Constantinople. This page lists every major Roman dynasty in order. It shows how each one gained and lost power. It also flags the dynasty names that historians debate.

TL;DR: Rome had many ruling families. The first four were the Julio-Claudian (27 BCE-68 CE), Flavian (69-96), Nerva-Antonine (96-192) and Severan (193-235) houses. Then came the Constantinian (306-363), Valentinianic (364-392) and Theodosian (379-457). In the East came the Leonid, Justinian, Heraclian, Isaurian, Amorian and Macedonian houses. The Doukas, Komnenos, Angelos and Palaiologos houses followed, ending in 1453.

Roman dynasty list: the early empire

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's history of the Roman Empire groups the early emperors the same way. For the full list, see emperors of Rome.

The Julio-Claudians, 27 BCE-68 CE

The first Roman dynasty was built by marriage and adoption, not by direct descent. Augustus had no son. He adopted his stepson Tiberius, who came from the Claudian family. So the dynasty's name joins Augustus's own Julian family to the Claudians.

• Augustus (27 BCE-14 CE) founded the system.
• Tiberius (14-37), his stepson and adopted son, followed.
• Caligula (37-41) was Tiberius's grand-nephew and adopted grandson.
• Claudius (41-54) was Caligula's uncle, chosen by the Praetorian Guard.
• Nero (54-68), Claudius's stepson and adopted son, was the last.

Three of them have their own pages. See Tiberius. See Caligula. See Claudius.

The Flavians, 69-96

Nero's suicide led to civil war in 68-69, the "Year of the Four Emperors". The general Vespasian won. He was the first emperor from outside the old Roman nobility.

He made sure both his sons, Titus and Domitian, would follow him. The Flavians built the Colosseum. Work began under Vespasian, and Titus opened it in 80.

The Nerva-Antonines, 96-192

After Domitian was murdered, the Senate chose the elderly Nerva. With no son, Nerva adopted the successful general Trajan. This set a pattern. Trajan adopted Hadrian.

Hadrian arranged for Antoninus Pius to follow him. Antoninus adopted Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. These rulers are often called the "Five Good Emperors". The line ended badly. Marcus Aurelius passed power to his own son, Commodus, who was killed in 192.

The Severans, 193-235

After the chaos of 193, the African-born general Septimius Severus took power. His wife, Julia Domna, came from a Syrian priestly family. The women of her family later put her great-nephews on the throne.

Her sister Julia Maesa led the way, placing her grandsons Elagabalus and Severus Alexander there. Severus Alexander was murdered in 235. That began fifty years of chaos. No dynasty lasted.

Dynasties and the army

Every Roman dynasty depended on the army's loyalty. The Praetorian Guard was the emperor's household troops in Rome. It made Claudius emperor in 41 and murdered Pertinax in 193. Armies in the provinces raised Vespasian in 69 and Septimius Severus in 193. A dynasty lasted only as long as it kept the soldiers paid and loyal.

Why no dynasty lasted from 235 to 284

After Severus Alexander was murdered, no family held the throne for long. More than twenty men were hailed as emperor in fifty years. Most were generals raised by their troops.

Frontier wars with the Persians and Germanic peoples weakened the state. So did plague and the falling silver in the coins. Valerian and his son Gallienus came closest to a dynasty, ruling from 253 to 268.

But the Persians captured Valerian in 260, and Gallienus was murdered in 268. Historians call this period the Crisis of the Third Century.

The Tetrarchy: an attempt to replace dynasty

Diocletian came to power in 284 and tried a new answer. He shared power with a second senior emperor, Maximian. In 293 he added two junior emperors.

The plan was for the seniors to retire and the juniors to move up. They would be chosen for ability, not birth. Diocletian and Maximian did step down in 305.

But the emperors' sons, such as Constantine and Maxentius, claimed power anyway. Civil wars followed. By 324 Constantine ruled alone and founded a new dynasty. The plan showed how strong the pull of family rule remained.

From Constantine to Theodosius

Constantine I rose from Diocletian's system of four rulers. He became sole emperor in 324. His sons divided the empire.

His nephew Julian was the last of the line. The Valentinianic emperors followed. Theodosius I joined their family by marriage. His sons Arcadius and Honorius split the empire into Eastern and Western courts in 395.

Roman dynasty list: the Eastern (Byzantine) empire

Several short reigns fall between these dynasties. The Laskarids ruled in exile at Nicaea while Crusaders held Constantinople, from 1204 to 1261. For the Eastern emperors in order, see Byzantine Empire.

What each Eastern dynasty is known for

• Justinian dynasty: Justinian I (527-565) retook Italy and North Africa, codified Roman law and built Hagia Sophia.
• Heraclian dynasty: Heraclius defeated Persia but lost Syria, Palestine and Egypt to the Arab conquests. Greek replaced Latin as the language of government.
• Isaurian dynasty: Leo III held Constantinople against the Arab siege of 717-718. He and his son began iconoclasm, the ban on religious images.
• Macedonian dynasty: a long revival in law, learning and war, reaching its height under Basil II.
• Komnenos dynasty: Alexios I restored the empire after defeat by the Seljuk Turks and appealed to the West for help, which led to the First Crusade.
• Palaiologos dynasty: Michael VIII retook Constantinople in 1261. The dynasty ruled a shrinking state until 1453, while scholars from its court helped spread Greek learning to Italy.

The "Isaurian" dynasty name

Isaurian dynasty, 717-802.

Status: Disputed The name is a traditional label that the sources do not support.

Note: The dynasty founded by Leo III is by custom called "Isaurian", after a region of southern Anatolia. But Britannica gives Leo's birthplace as Germanicia in northern Syria. It names the house "the Isaurian, or Syrian, dynasty".

The World History Encyclopedia says his parents had moved to Thrace from Syria. The emperors and dates are not in dispute. Only the label is.

Sources: Britannica, "Leo III"; World History Encyclopedia, "Leo III".

Women in the Roman dynasties

Women could not hold the title of emperor in the early empire. But several shaped who came next.

• Livia, wife of Augustus, was the mother of Tiberius, the second emperor.
• Agrippina the Younger, Claudius's fourth wife, secured the throne for her son Nero.
• Julia Domna and her sister Julia Maesa held great influence in the Severan court, and Maesa arranged the accession of her grandsons.
• Pulcheria, sister of Theodosius II, married Marcian in 450 and so carried the Theodosian line forward.
• Irene ruled the Eastern empire alone from 797 to 802, and styled herself emperor.
• Zoe and her sister Theodora ruled jointly in 1042, and Theodora ruled alone in 1055-1056 as the last of the Macedonian line.

The Macedonian dynasty drew great loyalty from the people of Constantinople. In 1042 Michael V tried to exile Zoe. A popular rising put her back.

How Roman dynasties passed power

Rome never had a fixed law of succession. Emperors used several methods.

• Adoption. An emperor could adopt an adult heir, as Nerva adopted Trajan.
• Co-rule. An emperor could make his chosen heir co-emperor while he still lived, as Marcus Aurelius did with Commodus.
• Marriage. A new ruler could marry into the old family, as Theodosius I and later Marcian did.
• "Born in the purple". In the East, children born to a reigning emperor were called porphyrogennetos, and this birthright carried great weight, especially under the Macedonians.

When none of these worked, the army or a palace faction decided. That is why so many dynasties ended in murder or civil war.

Which Roman dynasty was the most successful

Different measures give different answers. The Nerva-Antonines ran the empire at its largest. The 100s were a time of relative peace.

The Macedonians led a military and cultural revival in the East. It peaked under Basil II (976-1025). The Palaiologoi lasted the longest. But they ruled a shrinking state and could not stop the Ottoman advance.

The Justinian dynasty rebuilt Hagia Sophia and gathered Roman law into one code. Each record has its dates in the tables above. That way you can compare them.

For every reign in one book, our guide to the best Roman history books picks Chronicle of the Roman Emperors. It lists the emperors reign by reign.

Verdict: the Roman dynasty sequence

The Roman dynasty line runs from the Julio-Claudians to the Palaiologoi. That is almost 1,500 years. Early dynasties relied on adoption and marriage as much as birth.

The Byzantine dynasties put more weight on being "born in the purple". Dates and emperors agree across the main sources. The one disputed point on this page is the old name of the "Isaurian" house. For Rome in the East, see the Eastern Roman Empire hub.

Sources checked for this page

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art, "The Roman Empire (27 B.C.-393 A.D.)"
• Britannica, "Julio-Claudian dynasty"
• Britannica, "Flavian dynasty"
• Britannica, "Severan dynasty"
• Britannica, "Comnenus family"
• Britannica, "Palaeologus family"
• De Imperatoribus Romanis

Questions people also ask

What was the first Roman dynasty?

The Julio-Claudian dynasty, founded by Augustus in 27 BCE and ended by Nero's death in 68 CE. It is named after the Julian family of Augustus and the Claudian family of his stepson Tiberius.

What was the longest Roman dynasty?

In the East, the Palaiologos dynasty ruled for almost two centuries, from 1259 to 1453, and the Macedonian dynasty for nearly as long, from 867 to 1056. In the early empire, the Nerva-Antonine line lasted almost a century, from 96 to 192.

Why did Roman emperors adopt their heirs?

Roman law allowed adoption of adults, and it was a common way for noble families to secure an heir. Several emperors without suitable sons adopted a chosen successor, most famously in the Nerva-Antonine line.

Who was the last Roman dynasty?

The Palaiologos dynasty, whose last emperor, Constantine XI, died when the Ottomans took Constantinople in 1453.

What were the Five Good Emperors?

Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius, who ruled from 96 to 180. The name comes from later historians, who praised their stable rule and their choice of heirs by adoption.

What does 'born in the purple' mean?

It translates the Greek porphyrogennetos, used for children born to a reigning Byzantine emperor. The phrase is linked to a palace room in Constantinople lined with purple stone, where empresses gave birth.