5 strangest deaths of Roman emperors
Ruling the Roman Empire was a dangerous job, but some emperors still met their end in ways defying easy explanation. Here are just some of the most bizarre.
Image: It's believed that emperor Vespasian died following a severe attack of diarrhoea | Shutterstock.com
The Roman Empire was one of the largest empires in history. It grew out of the earlier Roman Republic, when Octavian became Emperor Augustus in 27 BC.
The empire remained largely intact until 476 AD, when the Western Roman Empire collapsed. The remaining Roman land in the East lingered as the Byzantine Empire until that, too, was dissolved in 1453 AD.
The Roman era was one of regular upheavals, but you might not have realised that only a quarter of Roman emperors died of natural causes.
Unsurprisingly, others died in battle. However, some met rather more bizarre and unexpected ends. We at Sky HISTORY have found the following examples.
1. Nero (r. 37-68 AD) stabbed himself with an assistant’s help
Emperor Nero made enemies left, right and centre. He is said to have ordered his mother’s murder and ‘fiddled’ while Rome burned. Yes, that’s where the saying comes from!
Nero’s scandalous behaviour eventually caught up with him. After being declared a public enemy and handed a death sentence, Nero fled and — with help from an assistant — committed suicide.
2. Vespasian (r. 69-79 AD) died after an attack of diarrhoea
The founder of the empire’s Flavian dynasty did die of natural causes. The exact culprit appears to have been an unknown illness, of which one symptom the emperor experienced was diarrhoea.
What really makes this death distinctive, though, is the sense of humour Vespasian showed as the end neared. Mocking the Roman tradition of commemorating deceased emperors as gods, he quipped: 'Vae, puto deus fio' ('Oh dear, I think I’m becoming a god!').
3. Carus (r. 282-283 AD) struck by lightning
Carus was on a military campaign against the Sasanian Empire when he suddenly died in mysterious circumstances.
Carus and his army were camped just past the Tigris river when a thunderstorm began. The emperor’s tent must have looked like a convenient shelter, but apparently didn’t save him from lightning that struck the army camp.
The emperor was later found dead in said tent. Was he really killed by a lightning bolt? That’s one logical explanation. Alternatively, Carus could simply have succumbed to an illness exacerbated by the treacherous weather.
Another possibility is that he was assassinated. However, this would be unusual in itself, given the goodwill Carus must have garnered with his soldiers as a result of his military success.
4. Jovian (r. 363-364 AD) possibly suffered carbon monoxide poisoning
Various theories abound regarding Jovian’s death in the town of Dadastana (located in what is now Turkey). One is that a charcoal fire in his sleeping quarters led him to inhale carbon monoxide fumes.
Toxic fumes are also involved in a different retelling of his death. In this version, though, the fumes come from freshly applied paint on the walls of his bedchamber. Yet another story is that the emperor died from consuming poisonous mushrooms.
5. Valentinian I (r. 364-375 AD) had a stroke while shouting abuse
After Jovian’s death, the empire was ruled by two emperors simultaneously. Valentinian I ran the Western half, while the East was left in the hands of his brother Valens.
In November 375, the Roman Empire had an axe to grind against a Germanic tribe, the Quadi. Determined to resolve the dispute, Valentinian met up with a Quadi deputation in person.
Unfortunately, the atmosphere was hostile, with the deputation insisting that the Romans had caused the conflict by erecting forts in Quadi territory. The Quadi signed a peace treaty with the Romans, but warned that members of the tribe could still spring further attacks at any time.
An enraged Valentinian hurled abuse at the Quadi envoys, but not for long. His tirade was brought to an abrupt halt when he suffered a lethal stroke.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg…
Other emperors are thought to have died in similarly unorthodox ways. In the case of Valerian, it was by being forced to swallow molten gold after his capture by an enemy army in 260 AD.
Decades earlier, in 217 AD, Caracalla was urinating at the roadside when a nearby soldier seized the opportunity to assassinate him.
Roman emperors certainly didn’t have a monopoly on strange deaths in ancient times — and history more generally, for that matter. To learn how other notable figures of the past perished, a good start would be to subscribe to the Sky HISTORY Newsletter.
