who was the emperor before nero?
Claudius
contradiction
 The imperial successor to the republic lasted approximately 1400 years . The first two centuries of the empire 's existence were a period of unprecedented political stability and prosperity known as the Pax Romana , or " Roman Peace " . Following Octavian 's victory , the size of the empire was dramatically increased . After the assassination of Caligula in 41 , the senate briefly considered restoring the republic , but the Praetorian Guard proclaimed Claudius emperor instead . Under Claudius , the empire invaded Britannia , its first major expansion since Augustus . After Claudius ' successor , Nero , committed suicide in 68 , the empire suffered a period of brief civil wars , as well as a concurrent major rebellion in Judea , during which four different legionary generals were proclaimed emperor . Vespasian emerged triumphant in 69 , establishing the Flavian dynasty , before being succeeded by his son Titus , who opened the Colosseum shortly after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius . His short reign was followed by the long reign of his brother Domitian , who was eventually assassinated . The senate then appointed the first of the Five Good Emperors . The empire reached its greatest extent under Trajan , the second in this line . 

entailment
 The era that began when Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon in 49 BC , and ended when Octavian returned to Rome after the Battle of Actium in 29 BC , can be divided into two distinct units . The dividing line between these two units is the assassination of Caesar in March 44 BC , although from a constitutional standpoint , there was no clear dividing line between these two periods . The forces which had supported Pompey during the early part of the first period were allied against Mark Antony and Octavian in 43 BC and 42 BC , and the constitutional means through which Caesar had held power before his assassination were used by Antony and Octavian to hold power after Caesar 's assassination . From a constitutional standpoint , it makes no difference whether an autocrat holds the title of Roman Dictator , as Caesar had done , or of Triumvir , as Antony and Octavian had done . From a constitutional perspective , these twenty years formed a single unit , through which the constitutional evolution of the prior century accelerated at a rapid pace . By 27 BC , Rome had completed its transition from being a city @-@ state with a network of dependencies , to being the capital of a world empire . 

entailment
 The result was a stronger , more consolidated empire . Of the authors whose texts have survived , only four describe the reign of Tiberius in considerable detail : Tacitus , Suetonius , Cassius Dio and Velleius Paterculus . Fragmentary evidence also remains from Pliny the Elder , Strabo and Seneca the Elder . Tiberius himself wrote an autobiography which Suetonius describes as " brief and sketchy , " but this book has been lost . 

contradiction
 The success of Augustus in establishing principles of dynastic succession was limited by his outliving a number of talented potential heirs . The Julio @-@ Claudian dynasty lasted for four more emperors — Tiberius , Caligula , Claudius and Nero — before it yielded in 69 AD to the strife @-@ torn Year of Four Emperors , from which Vespasian emerged as victor . Vespasian became the founder of the brief Flavian dynasty , to be followed by the Nerva – Antonine dynasty which produced the " Five Good Emperors " : Nerva , Trajan , Hadrian , Antoninus Pius and the philosophically @-@ inclined Marcus Aurelius . In the view of the Greek historian Dio Cassius , a contemporary observer , the accession of the emperor Commodus in 180 AD marked the descent " from a kingdom of gold to one of rust and iron " — a famous comment which has led some historians , notably Edward Gibbon , to take Commodus ' reign as the beginning of the decline of the Roman Empire . 

entailment
 Whatever Tiberius 's motives , the withdrawal was almost disastrous for Augustus 's succession plans . Gaius and Lucius were still in their early teens , and Augustus , now 57 years old , had no immediate successor . There was no longer a guarantee of a peaceful transfer of power after Augustus 's death , nor a guarantee that his family , and therefore his family 's allies , would continue to hold power should the position of princeps survive . 
