Week 11 – Why historians tend to look with favor on the period of Five good emperors and Baths of Caracalla

Week 11 –

Why do historians tend to look with favor on the period of the five good emperors?

It is because of how they chose the next leader. Instead of giving their power to their sons who could abuse it, they chose someone who seemed capable of handling the power wisely and seemed like a good leader. This all failed when Marcus Aurelius chose his own son as the next successor.

 

Baths of Caracalla

Construction of the baths was initiated by Severus and completed by his son, Caracalla. They were inaugurated in 216 AD. These baths were located in the city Regio XII. To complete the work as fast as they did during Caracalla’s lead, workers had to install over 2,000 tons of material every day between 211 and 216. Work on additional decorations continued under the next successors, Elagabalus and Severus Alexander. The baths were mostly finished by 235, but still were modified by each following successor. They were fully functional in the 5th century, but were banned in 537 during the Gothic War due to low water supply. In the 6th and 7th century they were used for burials of pilgrims who died after being cared for.

In 847, an earthquake came and destroyed much of the building, along with many other Roman structures.

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