• massive_bereavement
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    142 days ago

    What’s the name of that Roman emperor that feigned to be “simple” just to ensure the praetorians didn’t off him?

    • @PugJesus@lemmy.worldOPM
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      2 days ago

      You may be thinking of a non-Emperor - Brutus, the founder of the Republic, pretended to be simple to avoid the last king of Rome, Tarquinius Superbus, from killing him. Brutus hid his competence until Tarquinius went too far, and then quite competently led a coup/popular revolution to oust him and replace the monarchy with a republic. ‘Brutus’ even means ‘stupid’ - and yet it became one of the most honored family names of Rome, lmao.

      EDIT: Oh! Or you may be thinking of Claudius! Claudius was a scholar, but had a terrible stutter, a limp, and shook; he claimed to have played these up during the reign of Caligula to avoid Caligula seeing him as a threat. The Praetorians actually acclaimed him as Emperor after assassinating Caligula, though, despite Claudius thinking they were going to ice him too, lol.

      • @captainlezbian@lemmy.world
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        32 days ago

        I love a member of the Julian dynasty thinking someone being disabled makes them not a threat. Like motherfucker you’re in the dynasty of the epileptic twink that destroyed the republic

        • @PugJesus@lemmy.worldOPM
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          22 days ago

          Oh, come now! The Julio-Claudian dynasty is FILLED with fit, healthy, genetically perfect god-heroes! Why, we have…

          • Epileptic baldie too scared to admit he’s a bottom

          • Sickly sun-averse twink

          • Mega-depressed paranoid potential secret pervert

          • Insane sister-fucker

          • Claudius

          • Neckbeard Supreme