History Memes

Explanation: Coming not long after the gladiator-mad Emperor Commodus (leftmost), the bloodthirsty and cruel Emperor Caracalla (middle), and the bizarre and impulsive Emperor Elagabalus (rightmost), Emperor Severus Alexander was a mild and reasonable boy, whose amusement of choice wasn’t bloodshed or wild orgies, not even theatrical performances, just watching baby animals play!

He was an immensely civilian Emperor who was well-regarded by the public for respecting the republican traditions of Rome, insisting that he was only a private citizen and issuing edicts with the Senate and a panel of legal experts to ensure continuity with extant law and opinion. Unfortunately, despite several near-misses where he managed to talk the troops down after one crisis or another, his lack of military credentials eventually killed him. His attempt to bribe an invading Germanic tribe to turn back instead of engaging them in battle enraged his own troops, who were looking for loot and vengeance against the barbarians which had violated Rome's borders and plundered Roman provinces where many of them had come from, and the Legions thus mutinied and killed him for his lack of militancy.

On the upside, he ruled for some 13 years, which is a good clip.