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148-460: It was formed in an ancient volcanic crater created at least 36,000 years ago. The lake is famous for its great sunken Roman ships built under Caligula . From the 6th century BC, the lake and its forest were sacred to the goddess Diana Nemorensis and the site of the festival Nemoralia . The sacred grove of Aricia was where a priest called the Rex Nemorensis reigned until he

296-616: A cognomen . Early emperors also used the title princeps ('first one') alongside other Republican titles, notably consul and pontifex maximus . The legitimacy of an emperor's rule depended on his control of the Roman army and recognition by the Senate ; an emperor would normally be proclaimed by his troops, or by the Senate, or both. The first emperors reigned alone; later emperors would sometimes rule with co-emperors to secure

444-482: A lenticular shape. The second platform was almost identical in design but used cylindrical bearings . Although consensus is that the platforms were meant for displaying statues, it has also been suggested that they may have been meant for deck cranes used to load supplies. The ships were destroyed by fire during World War II on the night of 31 May 1944. Several shells of the United States Army hit

592-608: A theocracy . According to George Ostrogorsky , "the absolute power of the Roman emperor was further increased with the advent of Christian ideas". This became more evident after the Muslim conquests of the 7th century, which gave Byzantine imperialism a new sense of purpose. The emperor was the subject of a series of rites and ceremonies, including a formal coronation performed by the Patriarch of Constantinople . The Byzantine state

740-466: A 50-year period that almost saw the end of the Roman Empire. The last vestiges of Republicanism were lost in the ensuing anarchy. In 238, the Senate attempted to regain power by proclaiming Pupienus and Balbinus as their own emperors (the first time since Nerva ). They managed to usurp power from Maximinus Thrax , but they were killed within two months. With the rise of the "soldier emperors",

888-432: A base by Caligula. It is situated on a large artificial terrace of which stretched 260 m along the shore with a width of 60 m and 9 m high above the lake. The northern sector was smaller and simply decorated and was probably the living quarters for the villa’s servants. The rooms had geometric monochrome floors and a small bath suite north of the villa built in the fourth phase probably also for servants. The central part

1036-546: A court title bestowed to prominent figures of the government, and lost even more relevance after the creation of the title sebastokrator by Alexios I Komnenos . Despite this, its regular use by earlier emperors led to the name becoming synonym with "emperor" in certain regions. Several countries use Caesar as the origin of their word for "emperor", like Kaiser in Germany and Tsar in Bulgaria and Russia . After

1184-544: A family name ( nomen ), styling himself as Imp. Caesar instead of Imp. Julius Caesar . However, the nomen was still inherited by women (such as Julia the Younger ) and appear in some inscriptions. After the death of Caligula , Augustus' great-grandson, his uncle Claudius was proclaimed emperor. He was not an official member of the Julia gens , but he was the grandson of Octavia , Augustus' sister, and thus still part of

1332-408: A great number of timber beams. From material recovered he added the knowledge that mortise and tenon joints had been used in their construction. Despite the successful salvage of entire structures and parts, there was no academic interest in the ships, so no further research was performed. The objects recovered were lost and their fate remains unknown. By 1827, interest had revived and it had become

1480-479: A great variety of vines and fruit trees." It is reasonable to speculate that the Nemi ships were equipped to a comparable standard. One year after being launched, following the assassination of Caligula (24 January 41), the ships were stripped of precious objects, overballasted and then intentionally sunk. The first ship recovered was 70 m (230 ft) long, with a beam (width) of 20 m (66 ft). The hull

1628-473: A new caesar . Each pair ruled over a half of the Empire, which led to the creation of a Western and Eastern Roman Empire , a division that eventually became permanent. This division had already a precedent in the joint rule of Valerian / Gallienus and Carus / Carinus . Diocletian justified his rule not by military power, but by claiming divine right . He imitated Oriental divine kingship and encouraged

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1776-541: A regime in which the notion of legitimacy is as absent as that of the Augustan principate". Imperial propaganda was often used to legitimize or de-legitimize certain emperors. The Chronicon Paschale , for example, describes Licinius as having been killed like "those who had briefly been usurpers before him". In reality, Licinius was the legitimate emperor of the West (having been appointed by Galerius ), while Constantine

1924-436: A widespread belief that earlier material recovered either had been part of a temple to Diana or was from the villa of Julius Caesar cited by Suetonius . Annesio Fusconi built a floating platform from which to raise the wrecks. Several of his cables broke, and he called a halt until he could find stronger cables. When he returned, he found that the locals had dismantled his platform to make wine barrels. This led him to abandon

2072-614: A young man whom Diana loved). Located at Nemi are the ruins of an ancient temple dedicated to Diana, which was connected by the Via Virbia to the Via Appia (the Roman road between Rome and Brindisi ). During the time of the Roman Empire , the area around Genzano was used by wealthy Roman citizens for its clean air, uncontaminated water and cooler temperatures during the hot summer months. The lake has its own microclimate and

2220-475: Is a small circular volcanic lake in the Lazio region of Italy, 30 km (19 mi) south of Rome. It has a surface of 1.67 km (0.64 sq mi) and a maximum depth of 33 m (108 ft). There is considerable speculation regarding why the emperor Caligula chose to build two large ships on such a small lake. From the size of the ships it was long held that they were pleasure barges , though, as

2368-524: Is indicated by the shorter spacing of the decks supporting cross beams and distribution of ballast. The arrangement of the seconda nave superstructures is comparable to that of the shrines depicted on an Isian lamp held by the Museum of Ostia . If not coincidental, this is further evidence of worship of Isis rather than Diana. The discovery proved that the Romans were capable of building large ships. Before

2516-561: Is known as the Dominate , derived from the title dominus ("lord") adopted by Diocletian . During his rule, the emperor became an absolute ruler and the regime became even more monarchical. The emperors adopted the diadem crown as their supreme symbol of power, abandoning the subtleties of the early Empire. Beginning in the late 2nd century, the Empire began to suffer a series of political and economic crises, partially because it had overexpanded so much. The Pax Romana ("Roman peace")

2664-470: Is known to exist of the shape and size of the buildings and temples built on the deck, the replica was to be constructed to deck level only and when completed would be moored on the lake in front of the museum. On 18 July 1998, the town council of Nemi voted to fund the construction of the forward section, and work commenced in the Torre del Greco shipyards. This section was completed in 2001 and transported to

2812-598: Is never used. The imperial titles are treated as inseparable of the person, which is reflected in the name Imperator Caesar Vespasianus Augustus . This Lex sometimes related to the Lex regia ("royal law") mentioned in the Corpus Juris Civilis of Eastern emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565), who cites the early 3rd-century writer Ulpian . This was probably a later construct, as its very name, which derives from rex ("king"), would have been utterly rejected in

2960-633: Is often said to have ended with the tyrannical reign of Commodus. His murder was followed by the accession of Septimius Severus , the victor of the Year of the Five Emperors . It was during his reign that the role of the army grew even more, and the emperors' power increasingly depended on it. The murder of his last relative, Severus Alexander , led to the Crisis of the Third Century (235–285),

3108-520: Is often said to have followed a " Caesaropapist " model, where the emperor played the role of ruler and head of the Church, but there was often a clear distinction between political and secular power. The line of Eastern emperors continued uninterrupted until the sack of Constantinople and the establishment of the Latin Empire in 1204. This led to the creation of three lines of emperors in exile:

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3256-655: Is protected from wind by the crater walls. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , Lord Byron , and Charles Gounod all lived in Nemi and noted the reflection of the Moon, seen in the centre of the lake during summer. This phenomenon is the source of the Roman name for the lake, Speculum Dianae ( Diana's Mirror ). Local fishermen had long been aware of the existence of the wrecks, and had explored them and removed small artefacts, often using grappling hooks to pull up pieces, which they sold to tourists. In 1446, His Eminence Prospero Cardinal Colonna and Leon Battista Alberti followed up on

3404-431: Is still in situ, was a filter to prevent entry of logs and other large debris. Grooves in the walls are clearly visible for bulkheads which could control the flow of water and allowing the filters to be cleaned. The original plan was for the entrance to be on the same level as the floor of the main tunnel but there is a steep slope from the outside to avoid water entering the tunnel while under construction. The entrance floor

3552-519: Is still often regarded as a usurper, similarly to Magnus Maximus , who was briefly recognized by Theodosius I . Western emperors such as Magnentius , Eugenius and Magnus Maximus are sometimes called usurpers, but Romulus Augustulus is traditionally regarded as the last Western emperor, despite never receiving the recognition of the Eastern emperor Zeno . The period after the Principate

3700-623: The Regia Marina (the Italian Royal Navy) surveyed the site to determine the feasibility of recovering the two ships intact. The engineer concluded that the only viable way was to partially drain the lake. In 1927, Il Duce Benito Mussolini , President of the Council of Ministers , ordered Guido Ucelli  [ it ] to drain the lake and recover the ships. With the help of the Regia Marina (Royal Italian Navy),

3848-465: The Regio Esercito (Royal Italian Army), industry and private individuals, an ancient Roman underground water conduit linking the lake to farms outside the crater was reactivated. The conduit was connected to a floating pumping platform on 20 October 1928 and the lake level began dropping. By 28 March 1929, the water level had dropped 5 m (16 ft), and the first ship ( prima nave ) broke

3996-399: The pomerium ; and use discretionary power whenever necessary. The text further states that he is "not bound by laws", and that any previous act was retroactively considered legitimate. There is no mention of imperium nor tribunicia potestas , although these powers were probably given in the earlier clauses. There is also no mention of any "imperial office", and the title of "emperor"

4144-635: The Constantinian dynasty , emperors followed Imperator Caesar with Flavius , which also began as a family name but was later incorporated into the emperor's titles, thus becoming Imperator Caesar Flavius . The last use of the formula, rendered as Autokrator Kaisar Flabios... Augoustos (Αὐτοκράτωρ καῖσαρ Φλάβιος αὐγουστος) in Greek, is in the Basilika of Leo VI the Wise (r. 886–912). Originally

4292-634: The New York County District Attorney's Office seized the artefact, which was confirmed to have come from the Nemi Museum, and to have once decorated the floor of Caligula's ship. It had been bought by two American antique dealers, Helen and Nereo Fioratti, from an aristocratic family in the late 1960s, and used since then as the surface of a coffee table in their home. In October it was officially repatriated to Italian authorities. Photographs, as well as drawings made for

4440-528: The Papal States . Pepin's son, Charlemagne , was crowned Imperator Romanorum (the first time Imperator was used as an actual regnal title) by Pope Leo III in Christmas AD 800, thus ending the recognition of the Eastern emperor. Western rulers also began referring to the Empire as the "Greek Empire", regarding themselves as the true successors of Rome. The inhabitants of the Eastern half of

4588-477: The Roman Republic and was given to victorious commanders by their soldiers. They held imperium , that is, military authority. The Senate could then award the extraordinary honor of a triumph ; the commander then retained the title until the end of his magistracy . In Roman tradition, the first triumph was that of Romulus , the founder of Rome, but the first attested use of imperator was in 189 BC, on

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4736-575: The Tetrarchy the powers of the caesar increased considerably, but following the accession of Constantine I it once more remained as a title for heirs with no significant power attached to it. The title slowly lost importance in the following decades, as emperors started to promote their sons directly to augustus . In the East, the title finally lost its imperial character in 705, when Justinian II awarded it to Tervel of Bulgaria . After this it became

4884-565: The de facto sole ruler of Rome in 48 BC, when he defeated his last opposition at the Battle of Pharsalus . His killers proclaimed themselves as the liberatores ("liberators") and the restorers of the Republic, but their rule was cut short by Caesar's supporters, who almost immediately established a new dictatorship. In his will, Caesar appointed his grandnephew Octavian as his heir and adopted son. He inherited his property and lineage,

5032-422: The emperors of Nicaea , the emperors of Trebizond , and the short-lived emperors of Thessalonica . The Nicean rulers have been traditionally regarded as the "legitimate" emperors of this period, as they recovered Constantinople and restored the Empire in 1261. The Empire of Trebizond continued to exist for another 200 years, but from 1282 onwards its rulers used the modified title of "Emperor and Autocrat of all

5180-408: The proconsuls of the few senatorial provinces and allies such as Agrippa . The governors appointed to the imperial provinces only answered to the emperor himself, who could maintain or replace them at will. The tribunician power ( tribunicia potestas ), first assumed by Augustus in 23 BC, gave him authority over the tribune of the plebs without having to actually hold the office – a tribune

5328-430: The seconda nave equipped with four, two off each quarter and two from the shoulders, while the prima nave was equipped with two. Similar pairs of steering leeboards appear frequently in early 2nd-century depictions of ships. The seconda nave was almost certainly powered by oars, as structural supports for the rowing positions protrude along the sides of the hull. The prima nave had no visible means of propulsion so

5476-525: The seconda nave until October 1932. A purpose-built museum constructed over both ships was inaugurated in January 1936. Both vessels were constructed using the Vitruvian method , a shell-first building technique used by the Romans. The species selected were known to work well for Mediterranean shipbuilding. Shipwrights used oak for the keel and the end posts, the ship’s spine. They also used oak for

5624-519: The " Year of the Five Emperors ", but modern scholarship now identifies Clodius Albinus and Pescennius Niger as usurpers because they were not recognized by the Roman Senate . Recognition by the Senate is often used to determine the legitimacy of an emperor, but this criterion is not always followed. Maxentius is sometimes called an usurper because he did not have the recognition of Tetrarchs , but he held Rome for several years, and thus had

5772-666: The "shadow emperor". In 476, the Heruli Odoacer overthrew the child-emperor Romulus Augustulus , made himself king of Italy and shipped the imperial regalia to the Emperor Zeno in Constantinople. Historians mark this date as the date of the fall of the Western Roman Empire , although by this time there was no longer any "Empire" left, as its territory had reduced to Italy. Julius Nepos , who

5920-529: The 1980s. The museum was restored and reopened in 1953. One-fifth scale models of the ships were built in the Naples naval dockyard, and these, along with the remaining artefacts, are housed there. In September 2017 a panel made of inlaid marble and mosaic then in the collection of a private owner in New York City was rediscovered by the antiquities restorer and author Dario del Bufalo . Subsequently

6068-573: The 5th century, there was scarcely a single decade without succession conflicts and civil war. During this period, very few emperors died of natural causes. Such problems persisted in the later Eastern Empire, where emperors had to often appoint co-emperors to secure the throne. Despite often working as a hereditary monarchy, there was no law or single principle of succession. Individuals who claimed imperial power "illegally" are referred to as " usurpers " in modern scholarship. Ancient historians refer to these rival emperors as " tyrants ". In reality, there

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6216-532: The 9th century. Its last known use was on 866–867 coins of Michael III and his co-emperor Basil I , who are addressed as imperator and rex respectively. In the West, imperator was transformed into a monarchical title by Charlemagne , becoming the official Latin title of the Holy Roman Empire . Originally the cognomen (third name) of the dictator Gaius Julius Caesar , which was then inherited by Augustus and his relatives. Augustus used it as

6364-706: The East, the Iberians , and the Perateia ", accepting the Niceans as the sole Roman emperors. However, the Byzantine Empire had been reduced mostly to Constantinople, and the rise of other powers such as Serbia and Bulgaria forced the Byzantines to recognize their rulers as basileus . Despite this, emperors continued to view themselves as the rulers of an "universal empire". During the last decades of

6512-484: The Empire always saw the emperor as an open monarch. Starting with Heraclius in 629, Roman emperors styled themselves " basileus ", the traditional title for Greek monarchs used since the times of Alexander the Great . The title was used since the early days of the Empire and became the common imperial title by the 3rd century, but did not appear in official documents until the 7th century. Michael I Rangabe (r. 811–813)

6660-440: The Empire used it regularly. It began to used in official context starting with Septimius Severus , and was first officially adopted in coinage by Aurelian . In the East, imperator was translated as autokrator ("self-ruler"), a title that continued to be used until the end of the Empire. This is the modern Greek word for "emperor" ( υτοκράτορας ). There are still some instances of imperator in official documents as late as

6808-494: The Empire, power was once again shared between multiple emperors and colleagues, each ruling from their own capital, notably during the long reign of John V . Constantinople finally fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453; its last emperor, Constantine XI Palaiologos , dying in battle. The last vestiges of the empire, Morea and Trebizond , fell in 1461. The title imperator – from imperare , "to command" – dates back to

6956-463: The Empire, while later functioning as de facto separate entities, were always considered and seen, legally and politically, as separate administrative divisions of a single, insoluble state by the Romans of the time. In the West , the office of emperor soon degenerated into being little more than a puppet of Germanic generals such as Aetius and Ricimer ; the last emperors of the West being known as

7104-603: The English translation of the Latin imperator , then Julius Caesar had been an emperor, like several Roman generals before him. Instead, by the end of the Caesar's civil wars , it became clear that there was certainly no consensus to return to the old-style monarchy , but that the period when several officials would fight one another had come to an end. Julius Caesar, and then Augustus after him, accumulated offices and titles of

7252-626: The Italian Navy survey and those made by the archaeologist G. Gatti, survived, allowing reconstructions to be made of the two ships. In 1995, the Association Dianae Lacus (Lake of Diana Association) was founded to preserve the culture and history of the Nemi Lake area. The Association initiated Project Diana, which involved constructing a full-size replica of the Roman prima nave (first ship) of Lake Nemi. Since no record

7400-463: The Ministry of Education, they received permission to take over responsibility for it, and pumping to drain the lake recommenced on 28 March. Around this time a small boat was found, about 10 m (33 ft) long, with a pointed bow and a square stern. It had been loaded with stones in order to sink it and is believed to be contemporaneous with the ships. Technical problems prevented the recovery of

7548-437: The Nemi museum, where the rest of the vessel was to be constructed. The estimated final cost of the reconstruction was 7.2 million Euros (US$ 10.7 million). According to the Association Dianae Lacus website, on 15 November 2003 the large Italian employer and business confederation Assimpresa announced its immediate sponsorship of all timber required for the construction. However, no press releases have been made since 2004, and

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7696-515: The Republic, Diocletian established at the top of this new structure the Tetrarchy ("rule of four") in an attempt to provide for smoother succession and greater continuity of government. Under the Tetrarchy, Diocletian set in place a system of two emperors ( augusti ) and two subordinates that also served as heirs ( caesares ). When an emperor retired (as Diocletian and Maximian did in 305) or died, his caesar would succeed him and in turn appoint

7844-480: The Republic. From Diocletian , whose reformed tetrarchy divided the position into one emperor in the West and one in the East , emperors ruled in an openly monarchic style. Although succession was generally hereditary, it was only hereditary if there was a suitable candidate acceptable to the army and the bureaucracy, so the principle of automatic inheritance was not adopted, which often led to several claimants to

7992-421: The Roman state as an autocrat , but he failed to create a stable system to maintain himself in power. His rise to power was the result of a long and gradual decline in which the Republic fell under the influence of powerful generals such as Marius and Sulla . At the end of the Republic no new, and certainly no single, title indicated the individual who held supreme power. Insofar as emperor could be seen as

8140-443: The Roman world among them. Lepidus was sidelined in 36 BC, and relations between Octavian and Antony soon deteriorated. In September 31 BC, Octavian's victory at Actium put an end to any effective opposition and confirmed his supremacy over Rome. In January 27 BC, Octavian and the Senate concluded the so-called " First settlement ". Until then Octavian had been ruling the state with his powers as triumvir , even though

8288-479: The Senate awarded him the appellation of augustus ("elevated"). The honorific itself held no legal meaning, but it denoted that Octavian (henceforth Augustus ) now approached divinity, and its adoption by his successors made it the de facto main title of the emperor. He also received the civic crown alongside several other insignias in his honor. Augustus now held supreme and indisputable power, and even though he still received subsequent grants of powers, such as

8436-592: The Stars, wedded to Earth's perpetual life-force. The villa was excavated between 1998 and 2002. It was built in the late Republican era, mid-first century BC, and underwent 4 remodelling phases until the 120s AD. The size and quality of the villa, and the fact that it was the only one located on the lake strongly indicate that it was an imperial villa and the one in nemorensi (in Diana’s sacred wood) owned by Julius Caesar . It stayed in imperial ownership probably being used as

8584-464: The Triumvirate itself disappeared years earlier. He announced that he would return the power to the Senate and People of Rome , but this was only an act. The Senate confirmed Octavian as princeps , the " first among equals ", and gave him control over almost all Roman provinces for a tenure of ten years. This limitation was only superficial, as he could renew his powers indefinitely. In addition,

8732-505: The West acknowledged the Eastern emperors until the accession of Empress Irene in 797. After this, the papacy created a rival lineage of Roman emperors in western Europe, the Holy Roman Emperors , which ruled the Holy Roman Empire for most of the period between 800 and 1806. These emperors were never recognized in Constantinople and their coronations resulted in the medieval problem of two emperors . The last Eastern emperor

8880-569: The West remaining after the death of Julius Nepos in 480. Instead the Eastern emperor Zeno proclaimed himself as the sole emperor of a theoretically undivided Roman Empire (although in practice he had no authority in the West). The subsequent Eastern emperors ruling from Constantinople styled themselves as " Basileus of the Romans" ( Ancient Greek : βασιλεύς Ῥωμαίων , Basileus Romaíon ) but are often referred to in modern scholarship as Byzantine emperors . The papacy and Germanic kingdoms of

9028-423: The West. The Eastern Greek-speaking half of the Empire had always regarded the emperors as open monarchs ( basileis ), and called them as such. The weakest point of the Augustan institution was its lack of a clear succession system. Formally announcing a successor would have revealed Augustus as a monarch, so he and subsequent emperors opted to adopt their best candidates as their sons and heirs. Primogeniture

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9176-704: The adoptive son of the long-deceased Marcus Aurelius , hence why he named Caracalla after him. Later Eastern imperial dynasties, such as the Doukai and Palaiologoi , claimed descent from Constantine the Great . What turns a "usurper" into a "legitimate" emperor is typically that they managed to gain the recognition of a more senior, legitimate, emperor, or that they managed to defeat a more senior, legitimate emperor and seize power. Modern historiography has not yet defined clear legitimacy criteria for emperors, resulting in some emperors being included or excluded from different lists. The year 193 has traditionally been called

9324-409: The association's web site was deleted on 1 October 2011. Original individual pieces from the Nemi ships that were recovered from Lake Nemi between 1895 and 1932. 41°43′20″N 12°42′6″E  /  41.72222°N 12.70167°E  / 41.72222; 12.70167 Roman emperor The Roman emperor was the ruler and monarchical head of state of the Roman Empire , starting with

9472-474: The authority based on prestige. The honorific was awarded as both a name and a title to Octavian in 27 BC and was inherited by all subsequent emperors, who placed it after their personal names. The only emperor to not immediately assume it was Vitellius , although he did use it after his recognition by the Senate. Later emperors ruled alongside one or several junior augusti who held de jure (but not de facto ) equal constitutional power. Despite its use as

9620-476: The city and Senate of Rome began to lose importance. Maximinus and Carus , for example, did not even set foot on the city. Carus' successors Carinus and Numerian , the last of the Crisis emperors, did not bother to assume the tribunicia potestas either. After reuniting the Roman Empire in 285, Diocletian began a series of reforms to restore stability. Reaching back to the oldest traditions of job-sharing in

9768-661: The cold operated fountains and supplied drinking water. This plumbing technology was later lost and only re-discovered in the Middle Ages . Modern experimental archaeology has demonstrated that the Nemi ships could also have had central heating systems of hypocaust type. Each ship contained a rotating platform. One was mounted on caged bronze balls and is the earliest example of the thrust ball bearing previously believed to have been first envisioned by Leonardo da Vinci but only developed much later. Previous Roman ball bearing finds (used for water wheel axles in thermal baths) had

9916-586: The collection to the Government. The timbers he recovered were discarded and lost, while no contextual referencing was documented for any of his finds. Felice Barnabei, director general of the Department of Antiquity and Fine Art, claimed all of the artefacts for the National Museum and submitted a report requesting the recovery cease because of the "devastation of the two wrecks". An engineer from

10064-400: The continuance of the Republic. The title had already been used by Pompey and Julius Caesar , among others. It was a purely honorific title with no attached duties or powers, hence why it was never used in official titulature. The title was the most preferred by Augustus as its use implies only "primacy" (is in the " first among equals "), as opposed to dominus , which implies dominance. It

10212-409: The crater walls are the towns of Genzano and Nemi . Genzano was dedicated by the Romans to the goddess Cynthia , a cult associated with that of Diana Nemorensis. Nemi did not exist in Roman times. The name Nemi derives from the Latin nemus Aricinum (grove of Ariccia), Ariccia being an important nearby town associated with the worship of Diana and the god Virbius (the Latin name for Hyppolytus ,

10360-549: The creation of a worship cult . Augustus became pontifex maximus (the chief priest of the College of Pontiffs ) in 12 BC, after the death of the former triumvir Lepidus . Emperors from the reign of Gratian (r. 375–383) onward used the style pontifex inclytus ("honorable pontiff"). The title of pontifex maximus was eventually adopted by the bishops of Rome during the Renaissance . The last known emperors to use

10508-569: The design of the Admiralty pattern anchor , re-invented in 1841. In the 1960s, a similar anchor was found in Pompeii , and in 1974 another was found buried near Aberdarewllyn in Gwynedd , Wales. These further discoveries confirmed that these technologically advanced anchors were a standard Roman design. Both ships had several hand-operated bilge pumps that worked like a modern bucket dredge ,

10656-617: The emperor derived from an extraordinary concentration of individual powers and offices that were extant in the Republic and developed under Augustus and later rulers, rather than from a new political office. Under the Republic, these powers would have been split between several people, who would each exercise them with the assistance of a colleague and for a specific period of time. Augustus held them all at once by himself, and with no time limits; even those that nominally had time limits were automatically renewed whenever they lapsed. The Republican offices endured and emperors were regularly elected to

10804-413: The end of the Empire. In the West, the title was also used by Charlemagne and the subsequent Holy Roman Emperors as part of the formula Imperator Augustus . Both Eastern and Western rulers also used the style semper augustus ("forever augustus"). The word princeps , meaning "first", was a republican term used to denote the leading member of the Senate, and it was used by the early emperors to emphasize

10952-444: The excavated material and to transport it away. The original tunnel varied between 0.7 and 1 m wide meaning that only one person could be at the excavation face at a time. No intermediate shafts were used in the central part, unlike other tunnels, to speed up the work and lower the orientation error, but to set the initial direction of the tunnels at the two ends several vertical shafts were included there. Tunnelling would have started at

11100-441: The failure of the Tetrarchy. This practice had first been applied by Septimius Severus , who proclaimed his 10-year-old son Caracalla as augustus . He was followed by Macrinus , who did the same with his 9-year-old son Diadumenian , and several other emperors during the Crisis. This became even more common from the 4th century onwards. Gratian was proclaimed emperor at the age of 8, and his co-ruler and successor Valentinian II

11248-500: The family. Following the suicide of Nero, the last descendant of Caesar, the new emperor Galba adopted the name of Servius Galba Caesar Augustus , thus making it part of the imperial title. Five days before his murder he adopted Piso Licinianus as his son and heir, renaming him as Servius Sulpicius Galba Caesar . After this Caesar came to denote the heir apparent, who would add the name to his own as heir and retain it upon accession as augustus . The only emperor not to assume it

11396-511: The fire erupted fully an hour and forty-five minutes after the Allies ended their artillery bombardment. Second, there was not a breath of wind on that late spring night. Whatever caused the fire to intensify so rapidly, it was not a strong breeze. Only the bronzes, a few charred timbers, and some material stored in Rome survived the fire. Because of the destruction, research effectively stopped until

11544-412: The first emperor, whereas Julius Caesar is considered the last dictator of the Roman Republic , a view that is shared by the Roman writers Plutarch , Tacitus , and Cassius Dio . Conversely, the majority of Roman writers, including Pliny the Younger , Suetonius and Appian , as well as most of the ordinary people of the Empire, thought of Julius Caesar as the first emperor. Caesar did indeed rule

11692-417: The granting of tribunicia potestas in 23 BC, these were only ratifications of the powers he already possessed. Most modern historians use 27 BC as the start date of the Roman Empire. This is mostly a symbolic date, as the Republic had essentially disappeared many years earlier. Ancient writers often ignore the legal implications of Augustus' reforms and simply write that he "ruled" Rome following

11840-415: The granting of the title augustus to Octavian in 27 BC. The term emperor is a modern convention, and did not exist as such during the Empire. When a given Roman is described as becoming emperor in English, it generally reflects his accession as augustus , and later as basileus . Another title used was imperator , originally a military honorific, and caesar , originally

11988-414: The highest imperial title, it was generally not used to indicate the office of Emperor itself, as ordinary people and writers had become accustomed to Imperator . In the East the title was initially translated as Sebastos , but the form Augoustos eventually became more common. Emperors after Heraclius styled themselves as Basileus , but Augoustos still remained in use in a lesser form up until

12136-445: The highest importance in the Republic, making the power attached to those offices permanent, and preventing anyone with similar aspirations from accumulating or maintaining power for themselves. Julius Caesar had been pontifex maximus since 64 BC; held the offices of consul and dictator five times since 59 BC, and was appointed dictator in perpetuity in 44 BC, shortly before his assassination . He had also become

12284-480: The internal framing, the through-beams, and the stanchions. Naturally curved timbers were employed for the posts and frames. Mediterranean shipbuilders prized softwoods like pine and fir for their flexibility and resistance to water. They provided the planking on the exterior hull and the thickened timbers on the exterior and interior, the wales and stringers, all of which had to be bent into place. The hull had been sheathed in three layers of lead sheathing to protect

12432-474: The lake was sacred, no ship could sail on it under Roman law ( Pliny the Younger , Litterae VIII-20) implying a religious exemption. Caligula particularly favoured the Egyptian Isis cult which he had established in Rome and also supported that of Diana Nemorensis , whom, in the Roman tradition of syncretism , he likely viewed as an aspect of Isis . Situated on opposite sides of the lake and atop

12580-420: The level of the lake and which had a series of chambers. In planning the tunnel the shortest path from the lake to the outside was used consistent with the minimum downhill slope needed. The tunnel connects the lake with the adjacent crater of Ariccia, which was also occupied by a lake at that time and later reclaimed. It was a monumental, if invisible, project which involved many workers not least to dispose of

12728-467: The loyalty of most of his allies, and – again through a formal process of senatorial consent – an increasing number of the titles and offices that had accrued to Caesar. In August 43 BC, following the death of both consuls of the year , Octavian marched to Rome and forced the Senate to elect him consul. He then formed the Second Triumvirate alongside Mark Antony and Lepidus , dividing

12876-421: The main title of the emperor. According to Suetonius , it was "not merely a new title but a more honorable one, inasmuch as sacred places too, and those in which anything is consecrated by augural rites are called "august" ( augusta ), from the increase ( auctus ) in dignity". It was also connected to the religious practice of augury , which was itself linked to Rome's founding by Romulus , and to auctoritas ,

13024-472: The marginalization of the former heartland of Italy to the empire had a profound cultural impact on the empire and its emperor, which adopted a more Hellenistic character. The Eastern emperors continued to be recognized in the Western kingdoms until the accession of Irene (r. 797–802), the first empress regnant . The Italian heartland was recovered during the reign of Justinian I (r. 527–565), but this

13172-411: The most prominent of them: the consulship and censorship . This early period of the Empire is known as the " Principate ", derived from the title princeps used by the early emperors. The most important bases of the emperor's power were his supreme power of command ( imperium maius ) and tribunician power ( tribunicia potestas ) as personal qualities, separate from his public office. Originally,

13320-510: The murder of Caesar, or that he "ruled alone" after the death of Mark Antony. Most Romans thus simply saw the "emperor" as the individual that ruled the state, with no specific title or office attached to him. Augustus actively prepared his adopted son Tiberius to be his successor and pleaded his case to the Senate for inheritance on merit. After Augustus' death in AD ;14, the Senate confirmed Tiberius as princeps and proclaimed him as

13468-515: The museum around 8:00 p.m., causing little damage but forcing the German artillery to leave the area. Around two hours later, smoke was seen coming from the museum. There are conflicting views on which side was responsible for the destruction: At that time, Allied forces were pursuing the retreating German army northward through the Alban Hills toward Rome. On 28 May a German artillery post

13616-447: The new augustus . Tiberius had already received imperium maius and tribunicia potestas in AD 4, becoming legally equal to Augustus but still subordinate to him in practice. The "imperial office" was thus not truly defined until the accession of Caligula , when all of Tiberius' powers were automatically transferred to him as a single, abstract position that was symbolized by his sacred title of augustus . The legal authority of

13764-468: The oldest example of this type of bilge pump ever found. The pumps were operated by what may have been the oldest crank handles yet discovered; however, the reconstruction of the cranked pump from fragments, including a wooden disk and an eccentric peg, has been dismissed as "archaeological fantasy". Piston pumps (ctesibica machina: Vitruvius X.4?7) supplied the two ships with hot and cold running water via lead pipes. The hot water supplied baths while

13912-468: The only plausible explanation for the blaze was the misguided Allied shelling, and that statements by eyewitnesses partly served to cover up their own misconduct. However, Fr. John McManamon, S.J. , offers two further points: At 10:00 p.m. a fire broke out. Flames erupted in both exhibition halls simultaneously, turning the entire edifice into a blazing inferno. The museum guards and Nemi residents provided unanimous eyewitness testimony on two points. First,

14060-437: The outlet end to avoid flooding of the workface from groundwater but when hard basalt rock was encountered tunnelling also from the inlet seems to have been added. The emissary entrance is a few metres above the current level of the lake, on the south-western shore. An 18th century portal gives access to a first stretch of tunnel clad with large opus quadratum blocks for about 25 m. A stone plate with circular holes, part of which

14208-410: The powers of command where divided in consular imperium for Rome and proconsular imperium for the provinces . This division became obsolete in 19 BC, when Augustus was given consular imperium – despite leaving the consulship in 23 BC – and thus control over all troops. This overwhelming power was referred to as imperium maius to indicate its superiority to other holders of imperium , such as

14356-471: The project. In 1895, with the support of the Ministry of Education , Signor Eliseo Borghi began a systematic study of the wreck site and discovered that the site contained two wrecks instead of the one expected. Among the material Borghi recovered was the bronze tiller head of one of the rudders and many bronze heads of wild animals. Borghi placed all of his finds in his own museum and offered to sell

14504-448: The protectors of the Church. The territorial divisions of the Tetrarchy were maintained, and for most of the following century the Empire was ruled by two senior emperors, one in the West (with Milan and later Ravenna as capital) and another in the East (with Constantinople as capital). This division became permanent on the death of Theodosius I in 395, when he was succeeded by his sons Honorius and Arcadius . The two halves of

14652-440: The recognition of the Senate. Other "usurpers" controlled, if briefly, the city of Rome, such as Nepotianus and Priscus Attalus . In the East, the possession of Constantinople was the essential element of legitimacy, yet some figures such as Procopius are treated as usurpers. Rival emperors who later gained recognition are not always considered legitimate either; Vetranio had the formal recognition by Constantius II yet he

14800-558: The recovery of the Nemi ships, scholars often ridiculed the idea that the Romans were capable of building a ship as big as some ancient sources reported the Roman grain carriers were. For centuries large numbers of lead bars had been found on the Mediterranean seabed, and there was debate over whether they were anchor stocks or not. It was argued by some that iron-tipped wooden anchors secured by ropes were not heavy enough to be effective, so they had to have metal stocks, and there

14948-407: The reign of the Roman emperor Caligula in the 1st century AD on Lake Nemi . Although the purpose of the ships is speculated upon, the larger ship was an elaborate floating palace, which contained quantities of marble, mosaic floors, heating and plumbing, and amenities such as baths. Both ships featured technology thought to have been developed historically later. It has been stated that the emperor

15096-406: The reverence of the emperor, making anything related to him sacer (sacred). He declared himself Jovius , the son of Jupiter , and his partner Maximian was declared Herculius , son of Hercules . This divine claim was maintained after the rise of Christianity, as emperors regarded themselves as the chosen rulers of God. The emperor no longer needed the Senate to ratify his powers, so he became

15244-530: The risks of continuing the project were debated, the lake began refilling. As the seconda nave had already partly dried out, the submersion caused considerable damage. On 10 November 1931, the Minister of Public Works ordered the project and all research abandoned. On 19 February 1932, the Navy Ministry, which had been a partner in the recovery, petitioned Mussolini to resume the project. Joining with

15392-422: The ship a discontinuous look and has no similarity to any other ancient construction. The second ship recovered was the larger at 73 m (240 ft) in length and with a beam of 24 m (79 ft). The superstructure appears to have been made with a main section amidships, a heavy building at the stern and a smaller one at the prow. Although nothing remains of the stern and prow buildings their existence

15540-436: The sole source of law. These new laws were no longer shared publicly and were often given directly to the praetorian prefects – originally the emperor's bodyguard, but now the head of the new praetorian prefectures – or with private officials. The emperor's personal court and administration traveled alongside him, which further made the Senate's role redundant. Consuls continued to be appointed each year, but by this point, it

15688-496: The specifically Christian idea that the emperor was God's chosen ruler on earth, a special protector and leader of the Christian Church, a position later termed Caesaropapism . In practice, an emperor's authority on Church matters was frequently subject to challenge. The Western Roman Empire collapsed in the late 5th century after multiple invasions by Germanic barbarian tribes, with no recognised claimant to Emperor of

15836-481: The stories regarding the remains and discovered them lying at a depth of 18.3 metres (60 ft), which at that time was too deep for effective salvage. They damaged the ships by using ropes with hooks to tear planks from them. Alberti learned little more than the type of wood and that it was covered in lead sheathing. In 1535, Francesco De Marchi dived on the wreck using a diving helmet . His finds included bricks, marble paving stones, bronze, copper, lead artefacts, and

15984-420: The succession or to divide the administration of the empire between them. The office of emperor was thought to be distinct from that of a rex ('king'). Augustus, the first emperor, resolutely refused recognition as a monarch. For the first three hundred years of Roman emperors, efforts were made to portray the emperors as leaders of the Republic, fearing any association with the kings who ruled Rome prior to

16132-424: The surface. By 10 June 1931, the prima nave had been recovered and the second ship ( seconda nave ) was exposed. By this time the water level had dropped more than 20 m (66 ft) with over 40,000,000 m of water removed. As a result of the weight reduction, on 21 August 1931, 500,000 m of mud erupted from the underlying strata causing 30 hectares (74 acres) of the lake floor to subside. Work ceased and, while

16280-470: The throne . Despite this, elements of the republican institutional framework (Senate, consuls, and magistrates) were preserved even after the end of the Western Empire. Constantine the Great , the first Christian emperor, moved the capital from Rome to Constantinople , formerly known as Byzantium , in 330 AD. Roman emperors had always held high religious offices; under Constantine there arose

16428-441: The timbers from shipworms ; as there are none in freshwater lakes, this design feature was not only costly of effort and weight but useless. It is evidence that the ships' hulls were constructed following standardised Roman shipbuilding techniques rather than being purpose-built. The topside timbers were protected by paint and tarred wool and many of their surfaces decorated with marble , mosaics , and gilded copper roof tiles. There

16576-418: The title continued to be used for a time, with emperors registering the number of times they were hailed imperator . The title became the main appellation of the ruler by the time of Vespasian . After the Tetrarchy , emperors began to be addressed as dominus noster ("our Lord"), although imperator continued to be used. The appellation of dominus was known and rejected by Augustus, but ordinary men of

16724-533: The title of caesar . The Senate still exercised some power during this period, as evidenced by his decision to declare Nero a "public enemy", and did influence in the succession of emperors. Following the murder of Domitian in AD 96, the Senate declared Nerva , one of their own, as the new emperor. His "dynasty", the Antonine , continued the adoptive system until the reign of Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–180). Marcus

16872-473: The title of consul was Constans II , who was also the last Eastern emperor to visit Rome. It's possible that later emperors also used it as an honorary title, as the office of consul was not abolished until 892, during the reign of Leo VI . During the Dominate it became increasingly common for emperors to raise their children directly to augustus (emperor) instead of caesar (heir), probably because of

17020-418: The title was Junius Blaesus in AD 22, after which it became a title reserved solely for the sovereign. Augustus used Imperator instead of his first name ( praenomen ), becoming Imperator Caesar instead of Caesar Imperator . From this the title slowly became a synonym of the office, hence the word "emperor". Tiberius , Caligula and Claudius avoided using the title, but it is recorded that Caligula

17168-545: The title were Valentinian III and Marcian , in the 5th century. The only surviving document to directly refer to the emperor's power is the Lex de imperio Vespasiani , written shortly after Vespasian 's formal accession in December 69. The text, of which only the second part survives, states that Vespasian is allowed to: make treaties; hold sessions and propose motions to the Senate; hold extraordinary sessions with legislative power; endorse candidates in elections; expand

17316-409: The tribunes, such as sacrosanctity , since 36 BC. With this powers, he could veto any act or proposal of any magistrate, propose laws and convoke the Senate. His sacrosanctity also made him untouchable, and any offence against him could be treated as a crime of treason. The tribunician power was arguably the most stable and important of the emperor's powers. Despite being a perpetual title, it

17464-514: The triumph of Aemilius Paulus . It was a title held with great pride: Pompey was hailed imperator more than once, as was Sulla and Julius Caesar . However, as noted by Cassius Dio , the meaning of the title changed under the new monarchy, and came to denote "the possession of the supreme power". Both Dio and Suetonius refer to Caesar as the first one to assume imperator as a proper name (a praenomen imperatoris ), but this seems to be an anachronism . The last ordinary general to be awarded

17612-507: The vague terms of "second" or "little emperor". Despite having a successful reign himself, Diocletian's tetrarchic system collapsed as soon as he retired in 305. Constantine I , the son of tetrarch Constantius I , reunited the empire in 324 and imposed the principle of hereditary succession which Diocletian intended to avoid. Constantine was also the first emperor to convert to Christianity , and emperors after him, especially after its officialization under Theodosius I , saw themselves as

17760-473: The water comes from rain in the crater. Originally the level must have greatly fluctuated. Hence the lake level was controlled from rising too high in ancient times by an emissary connected to a 1650 m-long tunnel dug through the crater wall and ending in Vallericca c. 10 m lower. It dates from before circa 300 BC when the upper inlet was closed and replaced by an entrance around 11 m lower to further reduce

17908-674: Was Constantine XI Palaiologos , who died during the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. After conquering the city, Ottoman sultans adopted the title " Caesar of the Romans" ( kayser-i Rûm ). A Byzantine group of claimant emperors existed in the Empire of Trebizond until its conquest by the Ottomans in 1461, although they had used a modified title since 1282. Modern historians conventionally regard Augustus as

18056-415: Was Vitellius , who adopted the name Germanicus instead. Most emperors used it as their nomen – with Imperator as their praenomen – until the reign of Antoninus Pius , when it permanently became part of the formula Imperator Caesar [full name] Augustus . In the 3rd century, caesars also received the honorific of nobilissimus ("most noble"), which later evolved into a separate title. During

18204-429: Was a lack of coordination between the structure of the hull and that of the superstructures , which suggests that naval architects designed the hulls, and civil architects then designed the superstructure to use the space available after the hulls were completed. After their recovery, the ships' hulls were found to be completely empty and unadorned. They were steered using 11.3 m (37 ft)-long quarter oars, with

18352-508: Was also used to distinguish a junior co-emperor ( basileus ) from his senior colleague ( basileus autokrator ). By the times of the Palaiologos , there were two distinct ceremonies for the accession of an emperor: first an acclamation as basileus , and later a coronation as autokrator (which also included being raised on a shield). These rites could happen years apart. The Eastern Empire became not only an absolute monarchy but also

18500-512: Was always renewed each year, which often coincided with the beginning of a new regnal year (although " regnal years " were not officially adopted until Justinian I ). The office of censor was not fully absorbed into the imperial office until the reign of Domitian , who declared himself "perpetual censor" ( censor perpetuus ) in AD 85. Before this, the title had been only used by Claudius (47), Vespasian and Titus (both in 73). The emperor also had power over religious affairs, which led to

18648-446: Was an office often occupied by the emperor himself, who now had complete control over the bureaucratic apparatus. Diocletian did preserve some Republican traditions, such as the tribunicia potestas . The last known emperor to have used it was Anastasius I , at the start of the 6th century. Anastasius was also the last attested emperor to use the traditional titles of proconsul and pater patriae . The last attested emperor to use

18796-401: Was by definition a plebeian , whereas Augustus, although born into a plebeian family, had become a patrician when he was adopted into the gens Julia . By adopting the role of a tribune, Augustus was presenting himself as the representative of the common man and the protector of democracy. As always, this was not a sudden grant of power; Augustus had been receiving several powers related to

18944-431: Was considerable academic controversy over the issue. The Nemi ships, constructed during the transition period when iron anchors were replacing wooden ones, were the first Roman wrecks found to have intact anchors, and confirmed that the lead bars were indeed anchor stocks. Two types of anchor were found, one of oak with iron-tipped flukes and a stock of lead and another of iron with a folding timber stock that closely matched

19092-409: Was divided into three "active" or main sections. The general shape of the hull appears wider at the stern and narrower at the bow ; in fact, the main section is not amidships but is displaced towards the stern. The superstructures appear to have been made of two main blocks of two buildings each, connected by stairs and corridors, built on raised parts of the deck at either end. This distribution gives

19240-415: Was established within 400 feet (120 m) of the museum ... An official report filed in Rome later that year described the tragedy as a wilful act on the part of the German soldiers. A German editorial blamed the destruction on American artillery fire. The true story of what happened that night will probably never be known. A newer investigation by Flavio Altamura and Stefano Paolucci in 2023 reported that

19388-419: Was hailed imperator by the Senate on his accession, indicating that it was already considered an integral part of the dignity. It was not until the late reign of Nero , in AD 66, that imperator became once more part of the emperor's nomenclature. Virtually all emperors after him used the praenomen imperatoris , with only a few variations under his successors Galba and Vitellius . The original meaning of

19536-492: Was influenced by the lavish lifestyles of the Hellenistic rulers of Syracuse and Ptolemaic Egypt . Recovered from the lake bed in 1929, the ships were destroyed by fire in 1944 during World War II . The larger ship was 73 m (240 ft) in length, with a beam of 24 m (79 ft). The other ship was 70 m (230 ft) long, with a beam (width) of 20 m (66 ft). Lake Nemi ( Italian : Lago di Nemi , Latin : Nemorensis Lacus )

19684-535: Was killed by a challenger. The monumental sanctuary of Diana was built around 300 BC as the centre of the religion. In Roman times up to 6 large villas lay on the rim of the crater taking advantage of the cool summer air and fine views over the lake and the sea. Only one villa is known to be on the shore of the lake: the villa in the locality of Santa Maria on the western shore. Emperors Tiberius and Caligula sailed Lake Nemi not merely to cool off in summer, but to assert themselves as Nemorenses, rulers aligning with

19832-477: Was likely towed to the centre of the lake when in use. A lead pipe found on one of the wrecks had Property of Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus stamped on it while many tiles had dates of manufacture. Together it leaves little doubt as to when the ships were built or for whom. Suetonius describes two ships built for Caligula; "...ten banks of oars...the poops of which blazed with jewels...they were filled with ample baths, galleries and saloons, and supplied with

19980-426: Was no distinction between emperors and usurpers, as many emperors started as rebels and were retroactively recognized as legitimate. The Lex de imperio Vespasiani explicitly states that all of Vespasian's actions are considered legal even if they happened before his recognition by the Senate. Ultimately, "legitimacy was a post factum phenomenon." Theodor Mommsen famously argued that "here has probably never been

20128-618: Was not relevant in the early Empire, although emperors still attempted to maintain a familiar connection between them; Tiberius , for example, married Julia the Elder , making him Augustus ' son-in-law. Vespasian , who took power after the collapse of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and the tumultuous Year of the Four Emperors , was the first emperor to openly declare his sons, Titus and Domitian , as his sole heirs, giving them

20276-419: Was over 63 m long, 4.3 m wide and 1 m deep with 0.75 m wide mortar walls was cut partly into the rock of the terrace. At its southern end was a circular pool with steps leading into the basin. It was parallel to the terrace wall with a garden between them. The channel was fed from a cistern, 34 x 8 m and height 6 m, which still exists above the villa. Lake Nemi, like that of Albano, has no natural outlets and all

20424-407: Was overthrown and expelled to Dalmatia in favor of Romulus, continued to claim the title until his murder in 480. The Eastern court recognized this claim and Odoacer minted coins in his name, although he never managed to exercise real power. The death of Nepos left Zeno as the sole emperor of a (technically) reunited Roman Empire. The Roman Empire survived in the East for another 1000 years, but

20572-412: Was proclaimed emperor at the age of 4. Many child emperors such as Philip II or Diadumenian never succeeded their fathers. These co-emperors all had the same honors as their senior counterpart, but they did not share the actual government, hence why junior co-emperors are usually not counted as real emperors by modern or ancient historians. There was no title to denote the "junior" emperor; writers used

20720-413: Was replaced with dominus ("lord"); the use of princeps and dominus broadly symbolizes the differences in the empire's government, giving rise to the era designations Principate and Dominate . The title is still found in some later sources, however. The poet Claudian , for example, describes Honorius as having been raised from " caesar " to " princeps " (instead of augustus ). The title survived

20868-617: Was reverted by the end of the century. Rome technically remained under imperial control , but was completely surrounded by the Lombards . Africa was lost to the Arabs in the early 7th century, and Rome eventually fell to the Lombards in 751, during the reign of Constantine V . The Frankish king Pepin the Short defeated them and received the favour of Pope Stephen II , who became the head of

21016-520: Was sumptuously decorated for "public" functions and entertainment while the southern part was for private family use. The central part was built around a large peristyle 21.3 x 13.5 m with a rich marble opus sectile floor. On the north side of this peristyle was a large triclinium overlooking the lake, also with an opus sectile floor. Surrounding the peristyle on western and southern sides were living rooms ( cubicula ) decorated with opus sectile floors and walls with coloured stucco. The private wing

21164-486: Was the first emperor to actually use the title of "Roman emperor" (βασιλεύς Ῥωμαίων, Basileus Romaíon ). This was a response to the new line of emperors created by Charlemagne – although he was recognized as basileus of the Franks . By the 9th century the full imperial title became " basileus and autokrator of the Romans", usually translated as "Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans". The title autokrator

21312-409: Was the first emperor to rule alongside other emperors, first with his adoptive brother Lucius Verus , who succeeded jointly with him, and later with his son Commodus , who was proclaimed co- augustus in 177. Despite being the son of a previous emperor and having nominally shared government with him, Commodus' rule ended with his murder at the hands of his own soldiers. From his death in 192 until

21460-602: Was the real "usurper" (having been proclaimed by his troops). There were no true objective legal criteria for being acclaimed emperor beyond acceptance by the Roman army , which was really the true basis of imperial power. Common methods used by emperors to assert claims of legitimacy, such as support of the army, blood connections (sometimes fictitious) to past emperors, distributing one's own coins or statues, and claims to pre-eminent virtue through propaganda, were pursued just as well by many usurpers as they were by legitimate emperors. Septimius Severus notably declared himself as

21608-408: Was the title used by early writers before the term imperator became popular. In his Res Gestae , Augustus explicitly refers to himself as the princeps senatus . The title was also sometimes given to heirs, in the form of princeps iuventutis ("first of the youth"), a term that continued to be used during the Tetrarchy . In the era of Diocletian and beyond, princeps fell into disuse and

21756-506: Was to be lowered once completed but this was never done. From the entrance a narrow tunnel leads, after about 150 m, into the trapezoidal tunnel. After Vallericca the water flowed in an open-air channel for about 2 km before another underground section for 600 m, the so-called Aricino tunnel. 41°42′44″N 12°42′09″E  /  41.71222°N 12.70250°E  / 41.71222; 12.70250 Nemi ships The Nemi ships were two ships, of different sizes, built under

21904-424: Was very richly decorated and was dominated by two large features intended for the owner's private uses: a long pool and a huge exedra, between which were the residential quarters and baths of the owner. The exedra had a semicircular main room of diameter 21 m and two wings of total 48 m width, built against the rock. Parallel to the exedra was a 1.1 m wide water channel. The long pool built in the early first century AD

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