ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Roman usurper

Okay, imagine you and your friends are playing a game where you all take turns being the king or queen of a pretend kingdom. But one day, a friend of yours named Tim decides that he wants to be the king all the time and doesn't want anyone else to take their turn. Now, this is called being a "usurper."

In ancient Rome, there were also people who wanted to be the ruler of the whole Roman Empire. But instead of playing a game, these people wanted to be the real rulers! So they would try to take power by force and become the emperor, just like Tim in your game.

But here's the thing – in ancient Rome, there was already a person who was supposed to be the emperor. They were chosen by the people or by the current emperor. But the Roman usurpers didn't care about that. They wanted to be in charge, even if it meant going against the rules.

So these usurpers would gather their own armies and fight against the current emperor. They would try to convince other people to join them and support their claim to the throne. Sometimes, they would even use tricky strategies to get people on their side.

Once they had enough power, they would declare themselves the new emperor and take control of the empire. But the people who were loyal to the old emperor might not agree with this. So there could be a lot of conflict, fighting, and chaos.

The Roman usurpers were often seen as threats to the stability and order of the empire. They didn't follow the rules or respect the proper way of choosing an emperor. And because of this, they were usually not considered legitimate rulers.

In the end, most of the usurpers were defeated by the loyal armies of the Roman Empire. They were either killed or captured, and the rightful emperor would regain control. But sometimes, a usurper could become powerful enough to rule for a short time before being overthrown.

So, to summarize, a Roman usurper was someone who tried to take power by force and become the emperor of the Roman Empire, even if it meant going against the rules. They would gather armies, fight against the current emperor, and try to convince others to support their claim to the throne. But they were usually seen as illegitimate rulers and were eventually defeated by the loyal forces of the empire.