Emperor wen: Did you mean...?

Claudius (10 BCE to 54 CE) was the fourth Roman emperor, who reigned from 41 to 54 CE. Though a member of the imperial Julio-Claudian Dynasty, his rise to power had always seemed unlikely. Indeed, for much of his life, he had been ostracized...

A 16th century CE portrait on silk of Japanese Emperor Kammu (r. 781 to 806 CE) who is most noted for relocating the capital to Heiankyo (Kyoto) in 784 CE. (Enryaku-ji Monastery, near Kyoto, Japan)

A portrait of Chinese emperor Gaozu, founder of the Tang Dynasty, r. 618-626 CE.

A painted silk scroll portrait of the Jianwen Emperor (r. 1398-1402 CE), the second ruler of the Chinese Ming dynasty (1368-1644 CE).

A silk scroll portrait of the Yongle Emperor (aka Chengzu or Yung Lo, r. 1403-1424 CE) who was the third ruler of the Chinese Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 CE). (National Palace Museum, Taibei)

An illustration depicting Japanese Emperor Toba (r. 1107-1123 CE)

An illustration depicting Japanese Emperor Shirakawa (r. 1073-1086 CE).

Maximinius Thrax ruled briefly as the Roman emperor from 235 CE to his death in 238 CE. The young Roman Emperor Alexander Severus secured the imperial throne after the assassination of his cousin Elagabalus by the Praetorian Guard in 222...

It has been said that the greatest enemy of Rome was Rome itself, and this is certainly true of the period known as the Crisis of the Third Century (also known as the Imperial Crisis, 235-284). During this time of almost 50 years, over 20...

Frederick II (l. 1194-1250 CE) was the king of Sicily (r. 1198-1250 CE), Germany (r. 1215-1250 CE), Jerusalem (r. 1225-1228 CE), and also reigned supreme as the Holy Roman Emperor (r. 1220-1250 CE). He was born in Jesi in 1194 CE but spent...