Roman emperor quiz: Test your knowledge on the rulers of the ancient empire

Quizzes
By published

The Roman emperors were once the most famous people in the world, ruling over an empire that stretched between what are now Spain and the Middle East. But just how much do you know about these characters? Take our quiz to find out.

marble statue of roman emperor constantine's face on background of roman writing
There were over 80 emperors of the Roman Empire, but how much do you know about these all-powerful rulers? (Image credit: piola666/Getty Images)

The Roman emperors held vast wealth and control in the ancient world. But while many people wanted the title, it wasn't a great job: A 2019 study calculated that almost two-thirds of Roman emperors died violently.

Historians record that the unified Roman Empire was ruled by 69 emperors between the first emperor Augustus (who reigned from 27 B.C. to A.D. 14) and Theodosius (ruled from A.D. 379 to 395), but there were more than 170 when the entire lines of both the Western and Eastern Roman emperors are included.

Some emperors were famously bad — such as Caligula (ruled from A.D. 37 to 41) and Nero (ruled from A.D. 54 to 68) — but history judges a few of the others more favorably, such as Marcus Aurelius (who ruled from A.D. 161 to 180), an important Stoic philosopher.

More science quizzes

—Equator quiz: Can you name the 13 countries that sit on Earth's central line?

—Ancient Egypt quiz: Test your smarts about pyramids, hieroglyphs and King Tut

—Moon landing quiz: How quickly can you name all 12 Apollo astronauts that walked on the moon?

—Crocodile quiz: Test your knowledge on the prehistoric predators

Tom Metcalfe
Live Science Contributor

Tom Metcalfe is a freelance journalist and regular Live Science contributor who is based in London in the United Kingdom. Tom writes mainly about science, space, archaeology, the Earth and the oceans. He has also written for the BBC, NBC News, National Geographic, Scientific American, Air & Space, and many others.