Would you accept a new position if you knew that the two guys who had that job before you died while on duty? No, you wouldn't, even if the job brought immense power and staggering riches. But Roman Emperors often didn't have a choice, and life was short anyway. The Roman Empire was ruled by 175 men, excluding those who only ruled as minors or had to share the position. Of those, 30% died in battle, of suicide, or were murdered. If you exclude the rulers of the Eastern, or Byzantine, Empire, there were 69 emperors. Of those 69, only one in four died of natural causes!
Researchers crunched the numbers at the University of São Paulo's Institute of Mathematical and Computer Sciences in São Carlos, Brazil. They found that the most dangerous times for an emperor came right at the beginning of their rule, in which some were found to be weak or incompetent, and at the 13-year point of rule. Why 13 years? While some possible reasons are given, further research is needed. One may think that after 13 years, the people around the emperor were just tired of his shenanigans. Read about the patterns of longevity among rulers of the Roman Empire at Phys Org.
(Image credit: Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP)
