Why, in 500 years of an Empire, did the Romans never figure out

because rulers are generally sociopaths who don't care what happens after they die

>>1196503
Because whenever you lay out a method of succession you have people dissatisfied, who then propose other methods of succession, or resort to ridiculous things like killing the heir, or just disregard the succession laws altogether and attempt to install an illegitimate claimant because they don't like the current one.

How could you trust any authority or body to properly bestow the title? The general method was to promote your chosen heir and get them in enough of a position of power that they can grab the reins as soon as you (the emperor) die.

>>1196503
There isn't one.

>>1196557
Another point, we can only evaluate it from an objective, safe and distant point of view and judge the relative virtues of their society based on our haughty and uninvolved point of view. Everyone hoping to be Emperor is a clearly target by everyone, even if appointed successor by the previous Emperor and having good intentions in mind. Tiberius for example had to move quickly to eliminate any and all potential rivals even though Augustus chose him, it sounds cruel and vindictive but may have possibly saved or postponed several civil wars as a result. The most clear example being Germanicus, whose reported virtue by Tacitus is helped along by the fact he died before having the chance to do anything tyrannical as opposed to Tiberius

>>1196535
>>1196561
Obviously theres no perfect method but there's definitely better methods than the Romans had.

Even if it's rigged at least it might still be smooth, you know, without 20 years of civil wars.

>>1196503

Probably due to the duality of Senate and Emperor as political power institutions. The Emperor wouldn't want the Senate to have the authority to proclaim Emperors, and the Senate wouldn't want the Emperor to automatically be an heredetary position.

Also, later on during the degenerate period, the military, specially the germanics Magister Militums being the real power cucking the Senate and the Emperor and generally fucking up the WRE.

It's interesting how a similar process of cuckholdry happened to the Merovingians. Eventually, the Church and the feudal system itself solidified the divine origin and the heredetary position of the King.

Roman ideology was based on collegiality among the elite and was strongly against the idea of strict blood succession. This is why the Empire kept most of the institutions of the Republic in place.

>>1196598
It's harder in practice than in theory.