This is the Friends of History Debating Society. I'm John Bachelor, but I'm also Gaius in the first century

AD. I emphasize this. This has been a glorious century for models of empire. We've had every different kind of emperor we can

imagine including the potential for Cleopatra to be part of the empire's

executive. We called it the court.

And Mark Antony and she planned to take over the whole of the empire

except for a bad day in Actium.

We're now looking at where we are in the latter part of the first century

AD when Domission, who was reckless and indifferent to the Senate, fell.

He was assassinated as the talk.

I don't give that any particular credence. I just mentioned that's what

the history books say. Replaced by a man named Nerva who was successful but died of a fever in two years, so he was only there 20 minutes

as far as the Romans are concerned, and that's not enough time to get letters back and forth

three times to the legates guarding the empire. And then the empire was

inherited by Trajan who did a wonderful job from 101 a. few years hence to where

we are now till his death in 118, and passed the empire on to Hadrian.

They did these things by adopting cousins and relatives and nephews was very neatly done.

Trajan and Hadrian were soldiers. They completely understood the army.

They were very uncomfortable in Rome, but they were very successful.

And Hadrian took over and ruled until he handed it off to the man who would become

Marcus Aurelius in the 1 30s.

So we have a good run ahead of us.

And I fancy this question for you, Germanicus.

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