This is a list of the burial places of ancient Roman, and later Eastern Roman (or Byzantine), emperors and their family members.
Early imperial figures were cremated. Inhumations became more common in the second century, though occasional imperial cremations are still recorded until the 4th century. Hadrian (r. 117âÂÂ138) may have been the first emperor to be inhumed and not cremated, though the sources are unclear. Septimius Severus (r. 193âÂÂ211) was cremated; his son Geta (r. 211) appears to have been inhumed whereas his other son Caracalla (r. 211âÂÂ217) was also cremated. In the later Christian empire, cremation became viewed as a pagan practice and the dead were normally inhumed. The resting places for many emperors, particularly those during the Crisis of the Third Century (235âÂÂ285), remain unknown. Several emperors were not buried at all, having been killed in battle or subjected to damnatio memoriae.
The list includes all reigning emperors, whether their burials are known or not. Family members of the emperors are also included in the list, though only if their burial sites are known or if there has been discussion on the subject. Non-emperors are arranged temporaly (if possible), listed beneath the respective emperors. Emperors are marked with bold text and distinct background color in the list.
Extant remains
The majority of imperial burial sites have been damaged over the centuries, either deliberately or by accident. The following figures either have known burial sites, where their remains can still be found, or have been discovered in modern times:
- (Unknown name) Mother of Maximinus Daza and sister of Galerius (d. early 4th century): buried in the Mausoleum at Ã
 arkamen.' The mausoleum was excavated in 1996' and a small amount of ashes and human bones, identified as those of Maximinus Daza's mother, were discovered.'
- Helena, mother of Constantine the Great (d. c. 330): buried in the Mausoleum of Helena in Rome. Her remains were stolen in the 9th century and taken to Germany, but eventually retrieved and transferred to Santa Maria in Ara Coeli in Rome, where they are still housed as relics.
- Constantina, daughter of Constantine the Great (d. 354): buried in the Mausoleum of Constantina in Rome. Constantina's sarcophagus was removed to the Vatican in the 18th century but her remains were turned into relics, which are still exhibited at the central altar in the mausoleum (now the Santa Costanza church).
- Emperor Alexios IV of Trebizond, emperor of Trebizond 1417âÂÂ1429 (d. 1429): buried in the Panagia Chrysokephalos Church in Trebizond. The only surviving imperial tomb in the Chrysokephalos. The church structure was destroyed in 1919, but Alexios IV's remains were given to the Pontic community in Greece and later reburied in the New Soumela monastery in the village of Kastania, near Veria in northern Greece.
- Sophia Palaiologina, granddaughter of Manuel II Palaiologos (d. 1503): buried in the Cathedral of the Archangel in Moscow.
Unverified
The following figures have reportedly had their remains discovered in modern times, but no studies have confirmed the identification:
Remains lost in modern times
- In the 15th and 16th centuries, excavations of the Mausoleum of Honorius yielded the remains of five individuals, identified as empresses Maria and Thermantia (wives of Honorius), an adult and an infant (probably Galla Placidia and her young son Theodosius), and a "Christian prince" (possibly one of the last western Roman emperors). Golden objects found with these burials were melted down and no record was kept of the dispersal of the other precious objects, or what happened to the remains.
- Empress Anna of Hohenstaufen, wife of John III Doukas Vatatzes (d. 1307) was buried in Iglesia San Juan del Hospital in Valencia, Spain. The church was heavily damaged in the Spanish Civil War (1936âÂÂ1939). Anna's remains were reportedly destroyed or scattered around the site and her skull was for a time used as an ornament on the front of a car. The rebuilt church has a restored sepulchre for Anna, which does not contain any remains.
Principate (27 BC â AD 285)
Julio-Claudian dynasty (27 BC â AD 68)
Year of the Four Emperors (68âÂÂ69)
Flavian dynasty (69âÂÂ96)
NervaâÂÂAntonine dynasty (96âÂÂ192)
Year of the Five Emperors (193)
Severan dynasty (193âÂÂ235)
Crisis of the Third Century (235âÂÂ285)
Dominate (285âÂÂ476)
Tetrarchy (284âÂÂ324)
Constantinian dynasty (306âÂÂ364)
Valentinianic dynasty (364âÂÂ392)
Theodosian dynasty (379âÂÂ457)
Last western emperors (395âÂÂ476)
Later eastern emperors (457âÂÂ1453)
Leonid dynasty (457âÂÂ518)
Justinian dynasty (518âÂÂ602)
Heraclian dynasty (610âÂÂ695, 705âÂÂ711)
Twenty Years' Anarchy (695âÂÂ717)
Isaurian dynasty (717âÂÂ802)
Nikephorian dynasty (802âÂÂ813)
Amorian dynasty (820âÂÂ867)
Macedonian dynasty (867âÂÂ1056)
Doukas dynasty (1059âÂÂ1078)
Komnenos dynasty (1081âÂÂ1185)
Komnenoi in Trebizond (1204âÂÂ1461)
The Grand Komnenoi rulers of the Empire of Trebizond used the Panagia Chrysokephalos Church in Trebizond (the modern-day Fatih Mosque, Trabzon) as the main imperial burial place. There were some exceptions, such as Manuel I of Trebizond (d. 1263), who was buried in Trebizond's Hagia Sophia.
In 1917, the only surviving imperial tomb in the Chrysokephalos were discovered, containing the remains of Alexios IV of Trebizond (d. 1429). The structure was destroyed in 1919 but the remains of Alexios IV were handed over to the Pontic community in Greece. In 1980, Alexios IV's remains were reburied in the New Soumela monastery in the village of Kastania, near Veria in northern Greece.
Angelos dynasty (1185âÂÂ1204)
Laskaris dynasty (1205âÂÂ1261)
Palaiologos dynasty (1259âÂÂ1453)
Post-imperial Palaiologoi (after 1453)
See also
Notes
References
Citations
Cited works