Quote Originally Posted by Conrad_Jalowski View Post
Hopefully, we would be blessed with a benevolent suzerain in the form of the emperors Nerva [96-98 CE], Trajan [98-117 CE], Hadrian [117-138 CE], Antoninus Pius [138-161 CE] and Marcus Aurelius [161-180 CE].
after the fall of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, the Principate was reformed and princeps was no longer a position extended on the basis of merit allowing future emperors to designate their own heir without those heirs having to earn the position through years of success and public favor.