Failure as a Criterion for the Assessment of Emperors and Emperorship

All emperors must die. Preferably after a long and successful reign. But every rule has its setbacks. How often and how big can an emperor lose without being seen as a loser – and his reign as a failure? And if an individual emperor’s reign ends in (or is) a catastrophe what can we learn from this about the institution emperorship? I will analyze these questions in my talk, with examples from the first millennium AD and beyond.