Why Were Roman Emperors So Damn Evil?

I have always taken a huge fascination with the history of the Roman Empire. It's crazy to learn how many good and bad emperors that ruled back in the day, and how they used their power to either aid or rule with an iron fist.

The evil emperors that ruled Rome were so damn shocking to learn about, and I kept on questioning why the hell they wanted to cause so much damage to their people, to the point that they ended up assassinated for their sadistic crimes.

Is power really that important to some people that are given the chance to rule?

And why the hell do they get so INSANE when it comes to their power?

After doing a crapload of research about the roman emperors, I think these five are hands down the worst emperors in history.

Side note: If I'm wrong on any of the history of these Roman emperors, I apologize in advance. This research could be completely wrong for all I know, and if I'm wrong on any of this, please let me know in the comments. I'm not a history expert; I'm a Google expert. Which means I rely on the internet for this information. Which is probably a bad idea.

Domitian brought good things to his people in Rome, but was a tyrant behind the scenes.

This dude was a total piece of shit when it came to the people who helped him rule. While he did help the people in Rome thrive, he treated his own staff like they were garbage. He killed multiple family members and members of the Senate, and he literally saw himself as an actual God.

He was assassinated at the age of 44, and his own Senate was thrilled over his death, and decided to tear down his statues and have his public records destroyed, tarnishing his memory.

Even though he did help Rome out, that's no excuse to kill your own staff and family.

Commodus tore down his own government system and made Rome a dangerous place for everyone.

I guess the movie Gladiator did a good job portraying this asshole, because wow, Commodus was an actual nut case. He neglected Rome, allowing the city to spiral into madness. He took part in gladiator fights, having fun with the torture and killing people. He wanted to be seen as a God, and he murdered his own family members.

He was killed by the Senate later on, wanting to be rid of his rule. So yeah, I think the Gladiator movie was definitely a history lesson on this dude.

This guy was...a different breed of crazy.

Nero is one of the most complex emperors in history.

This emperor is a total mystery to me, because we don't really know if he was actually evil or not. The media portrayed him like a monster back in the day, calling him a murderer and a tyrant, that was willing to kill his own family members.

And apparently, he started the Great Fire of Rome that led to many deaths in the city...but is this actually true?

And he was compared to the Devil...but again, we don't actually know for sure. The only reason why I mentioned him, is because many do believe that he was pure evil, but it's a mystery, and that is why Nero is so fascinating to me. I'm planning to write a full-on backstory to this dude one day. (So, stay tuned for that)!

Caligula is hands down the worst emperor in history.

This monster is the definition of evil. He murdered, tortured, saw himself as a God, and used his wealth for all the wrong reasons. People do say that it is hard to determine what was actually true or not when it came to his reign, but I don't think it's as complicated as Nero's history.

I really believe that Caligula was that EVIL.

If his own guards were willing to murder him, and his bloodline to make sure that no more Caligula's will exist...tells me that perhaps his tyranny was true.

He's also the only Roman Emperor that has gotten a lot of attention by the media, leading to movies and even a horror comic about this bastard. He's literally the perfect villain to portray like this...and it's pretty disturbing to know that this guy existed at one point.

Elagabalus was considered to be the youngest emperor in history, and it led to a lot of problems among Rome.

Hiring a 14-year-old to rule an entire city is such a bad idea. I'm not sure what the hell Rome was thinking at the time, but it makes sense why so much bad shit happened with this guy. He was too young, and they really should have known better than to hire a kid to rule.

He allegedly killed a lot of people who pissed him off, neglected his duties as emperor, saw himself as a God, and he tortured women publicly, while forcing one specific woman to marry him. If all this is true, then wow, this guy was similarly bad to Caligula when it came to the torture aspect.

He literally died 4 years later, which is insane how young he died. He was also killed along with his mother, as punishment for making this bastard the ruler. I 100% blame the Senate on that one. Why hire a kid to rule???

That is beyond stupid.

Man, if any of this is actually true, these Roman emperors really sucked. It's shocking how power really got into their heads. And the fact that the majority of them saw themselves as Gods...that is a different level of nuts.

Do you know any other Roman emperors that were this evil? Or possibly this evil?

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Thank you for reading!

Emy Quinn