Watch the videos presented below and take a good look at the sculptures here that represent individual emperors reigning during the Early, Middle, and Late Imperial Period. Republican rule, that is, governance by a Republic, a state that is ruled by a representative body of citizens, and in the case of Rome, a Senate that was controlled by the patrician class of Roman citizenry, ends in 27 CE. Thereafter, the rule of emperor-kings alongside the still functioning Senate, ruled the Roman Empire. The label 'Good Emperor' arises during this Imperial period, and the representation of Roman emperors as 'good' is a facet of these works, as seen below. These portrait sculptures were produced in multiple copies and disseminated and erected in all places that came under Roman rule. They were reminders of who was in control and what qualities they represented to the people that came under their rule. Looking at how these emperors were represented in their portrait sculpture, what do you believe are the qualities that make a good emperor? How are they depicted in their portraits? Do you notice any shared characteristics?
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