Denarius of Nerva

Nerva’s ascension in 96 AD began the period of the “Five Good Emperors”; however, it is questionable how “good” the man himself was as he was named Emperor on the same day as his predecessor’s assassination. As an aristocrat, Nerva was almost certainly one of the main conspirators in the Senate’s palace coup against the “tyrannical” Domitian.

While the new Emperor was celebrated in the well-to-do houses on the Palatine Hill, the mood in the streets and legions differed. Rebellions quickly began in the provinces and with the Praetorians in Rome, where Domitian was popular. Eventually, Nerva was forced to hand over two of the conspirators for execution and adopted the powerful general Trajan as his heir in an act of political self-preservation. These two moves quieted the revolt and allowed the remainder of his, albeit short, reign to be peaceful.

His role in Domitian’s death aside, Nerva did institute several reforms to support orphaned children, reduce taxes on poor Romans, and establish better relations with the Senate by removing treason trials and abolishing death sentences.

While public deference was shown to the Senate, the Emperor’s power never changed. Future rulers would maintain the façade established by Augustus. In the end, though, it was all for show. On Nerva’s death, Trajan would delay nearly a year returning to the capitol, instead remaining on the frontier with the legions where real power resides. The coming period of “Good Emperors” would maintain the theater of the Principate until the Crisis of the Third Century and the rise of military dictatorship in the Dominate.