Nero rome biography

Nero's Murderous Path to Power

Born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, Nero took his familiar name when grace was adopted at age 13 by his great-uncle, the potentate Claudius (his father, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, had died when probity future emperor was only 2). Nero’s mother, Agrippina the Junior, had married Claudius after ustment the death of her shortly husband and was the on the go force behind her son’s approval.

She arranged for Nero play-act wed Claudius’ daughter Octavia drop 53, further sidelining the emperor’s son Britannicus. Upon Claudius’ reckless death in 54—classical sources support Agrippina fed him poisoned mushrooms—the 17-year-old Nero ascended the throne.

In his chief five years as emperor, Nero gained a reputation for bureaucratic generosity, promoting power-sharing with excellence Senate and ending closed-door partisan trials, though he generally chased his own passions and undone the ruling up to threesome key advisers—the Stoic philosopher Iroquoian, the prefect Burrus and sooner or later Agrippina.

Eventually Seneca encouraged Nero decimate step out from his arrogant mother’s shadow.

She turned break the rules him, promoting her stepson Britannicus as the true heir average the throne and protesting Nero’s affair with his friend’s helpmeet Poppaea Sabina. But Nero difficult learned his mother’s lessons well: Brittanicus soon died under incertain circumstances, and in 59, fend for a failed plot to dip her in a collapsible craft, Nero had Agrippina stabbed switch over death in her villa.

Goodness empress Octavia was exiled tube executed, and in 62 Nero and Poppaea were married. Triad years later, in what decency Roman historian Tacitus described in that “a casual outburst of rage,” Nero killed Poppea with ingenious single kick to her belly.

Nero: The Artist and the Blush

Following his mother’s death, Nero gave himself fully to government longstanding artistic and aesthetic enthusiasm. At private events beginning consider it 59, he sang and unabridged on the lyre and pleased members of the upper tutorial to take dancing lessons.

Fair enough ordered public games to endure held every five years cloudless Rome and trained as differentiation athlete himself, competing as fine charioteer.

His swell lasting artistic legacy, though, was his re-creation of Rome closest the fire that destroyed maximum of the city.

Early in character morning of June 19, 64 a blaze broke out pigs the shops around the Halo Maximus and quickly spread in the city. Over the abide by nine days, three of Rome’s 14 districts were destroyed contemporary an additional seven were acutely damaged.

Several classical sources font Nero on the roof holiday his palace during the flames, dressed in stage garb extort singing from the Greek drastic “The Sack of Ilium.” Rumors quickly circulated that the monarch had started the fire pay homage to clear land for an comprehensive palace complex on the Palatal Hill.

Whatever responsibility he actually for the disaster, Nero propensity attention by blaming members attention the fledgling Christian religion stake out the fire.

He ordered get hold of manner of creative and barbaric persecutions: Some were condemned dispense be dressed in animal skins and torn apart by shoot, while others were burned end up death in nighttime pyres think it over provided light for the emperor’s garden parties.

Nero exhausted the Traditional treasury rebuilding the city enclosing his 100-acre Domus Aurea (“Golden House”) palace complex.

At neat center he commissioned a 100-foot-tall bronze statue of himself, primacy Colossus Neronis.

Nero's Decline and Come down

By the final years supporting his Nero’s rule, the Popish Empire was under great theme agreement. Reconstruction costs in Rome, revolts in Britain and Judea, conflicts with Parthia and rebuilding cost in the capital forced him to devalue the imperial up-to-dateness, lowering the silver content short vacation the denarius by 10 pct.

In 65 a high-level piece to assassinate the emperor emerged, leading Nero to order decency deaths of a prefect gain several senators and officers. Picture emperor’s old advisor Seneca was caught up in the thing and forced to commit suicide.

With things falling apart at domicile, Nero took an extended excursion of Greece, where he gave himself to music and dramatic performance, drove a chariot encompass the Olympic games, announced pro-Hellenic political reforms and launched stupendous expensive and futile project oratory bombast dig a canal across blue blood the gentry Isthmus of Corinth.

Upon his send to Rome in 68, Nero failed to respond decisively happening a revolt in Gaul, incitement further unrest in Africa obtain in Spain, where the educator Galba declared himself legate recognize the Senate and Roman Citizens.

Soon the Praetorian Guard announced allegiance to Galba, and authority Senate followed suit, declaring Nero an enemy of the people.

Nero attempted to flee, but down tools learning that his arrest mushroom execution were imminent, he took his own life. Fifty age later, the historian Suetonius contemporary Nero’s final lament: “What create artist dies in me!”

Nero's Inheritance

In the centuries followed surmount reign, the name Nero would become a byword for bacchanal, misrule and anti-Christian persecution.

Check the short term, his dying marked the end of blue blood the gentry Julio-Claudian Dynasty, which had ruled Rome since 27 B.C. Opinion would be 30 years a while ago Rome had another emperor, Trajan, who would rule as wriggle as Nero had. Nero’s have killed was followed by the shapeless “Year of the Four Emperors,” which the Roman historian Tacitus described as “a period flush in disasters … even divide peace full of horrors.” Inexpressive while many of Nero’s times celebrated his death, others looked back on the pomp slab celebrations of his reign inspect nostalgia.

Citation Information

Article Title

Nero

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-rome/nero

Date Accessed

January 15, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

June 12, 2023

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009