who was the ruler of the roman empire?

Question

i really need to know who was the roman empire we have a quiz on this next Monday this is  in world history

Answer 1

There were many rulers of the Roman Empire beginning with Augustus who took the title Caesar like his predecessor and great-uncle, Julius Caesar.  Later, when the Roman Empire was split into the Eastern Roman Empire and Western Roman Empire, there were 2 Emperors.  After the fall of the Western Roman Empire (commonly said to be 476 AD) the Western Roman Emperor became the the sole ruler of the Roman Empire until Mehmet II conquered Constantinople in 1453 AD and the Roman Empire ceased to exist. 

Answer 2

Hi Destiny;

Exactly how was this question presented to you?

There was no one emperor.  There were many.

Answer 3

There were indeed many Roman emperors, starting with Caesar Augustus, but it can be argued that Odoacer and his successor were leaders of at least a fragmented and much smaller version of the empire. The abdication of Romulus Augustulus was not seen by most Romans as a particularly catastrophic event. Also, even once Augustus ascended the throne, the Senate still had a an amount of political power. One could also argue that the army was in control to a degree, given their propensity for "electing" generals as emperors and removing them when they were dissatisfied with them. The question is a complex one and warrents much more investigation than what can be written here. I, for my part feel that the army and the proletariat ha the most influence because both the emperors and the senate feared angering them because of the possibility of extreme violence such action could provoke.

Answer 4

The roman imperial period starts in about 27 BC. The first Emperor being Augustus who took the name

Octavian in 44 BC. The Emperors always maintained the fiction that they were not monarchs but leaders

of a republic. Sucession was frequently heireditary but could also be by proclamation. The last Emperor

in the west was Julius Nepo circ 480 AD. For a good picture of Imperial Rome try reading the novel

" I Claudius " by Robert Graves

Answer 5

There were several rulers of the Roman Empire, from the time it was started by Augustus to its fall during the time of Nero.  Note: The Empire is distinctive from the Republic, which preceded it, and the Kingdom, which preceded the Republic.  I wouldn't normally recommend Wikipedia, but they have a good summary of the history of both the Republic and the Empire, so try looking around there.