Key Pages:

Home

Commemorating Death

JC-Hadrian Fora | Ancient Sources

Posted at Mar 15/2011 12:05PM:
tborden: I have a question about imperial nomenclature. It seems that the emperors Tiberius, Claudius, and Nero were all actually named "Tiberius Claudius Nero". Did these emperors actually go by the single names we know them by today during their lifetimes, or is this a more modern naming convention created by historians? Emperors Vespasian (Titus Flavius Vespasianus) and Titus (Titus Flavius Vespasianus) also share the same name. If they did choose their own single names, why? Legitimizing their position as emperor seems to have been a big concern for all of the emperors; wouldn't sharing a name with a previous emperor be seen as an asset?

Sorry if this sort of thing doesn't belong on this page, but a page entitled "fora" seemed to be an apt location for a question such as this.