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The Top Benevolent and Malevolent Dictators From History

Khalid Elhassan November 30, 2020 32 min

Augustus - Ancient Rome — 'The Emperor Augustus Rebukes Cornelius Cinna for His Treachery', by Etienne Jean Delecluze, 1814 - Augustus pardoned Cinna and gave him a government job. Van Go Yourself

4. From Humble Origins to Emperor

The powers of a de facto dictator were passed on to Augustus’ successors. They included Titus Flavius Vespasianus, better known to history as Vespasian (9 AD – 79 AD), who was born in an unremarkable Italian village to an undistinguished family. His ancestors included a common legionary who went on to become a centurion, a debt collector, and a small-scale money lender with a clientele of barbarians. Vespasian rose from those humble origins to become emperor and found the Flavian Dynasty.

A self-made man, Vespasian entered the cursus honorum (the career ladder of Roman officialdom) as a military tribune. He rose steadily through military and civilian positions of increasing responsibility. His first big break came during the invasion of Britain in 43 AD. He displayed exceptional brilliance in command of a Roman legion, and his military talent earned him the esteem of Emperor Claudius. Vespasian’s success in Britain led to a consulship, but then he displeased the emperor’s wife and was forced to retire soon thereafter.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.