The start of imperial Rome is officially dated to 27 BCE, when Gaius Octavius Caesar was awarded the name Augustus, signaling ...

The first answer is simple: hereditary rule. For most of this period, emperors were not chosen on the basis of their ability or honesty, but simply because they were born in the right family.

His long rule saw a huge expansion in the Roman Empire and the beginnings of a dynasty that, over the next century, would transform Rome, for better and worse. The man who would become one of Rome ...