NERO
Sarah Widder
EARLY LIFE
•
•
born Lucius Domitius
Ahenobarbus in 37 CE, nephew of
Claudius and direct descendant of
Augustus
mother Agrippina marries
Claudius, uses her influence to
make Claudius favor Domitius
(Nero) over his biological son
Britannicus - he’s officially
adopted, named heir, given the
family name Nero, and betrothed
to Claudius’ daughter Octavia in
50 CE.
BECOMING EMPEROR
•
•
In 54 CE, Claudius died from
eating poisoned mushrooms,
supposedly Agrippina’s doing
Nero, aged 16, is recognized
as emperor by the Praetorian
Guard on October 13
“Agrippina crowning Nero”
QUINQUENNIUM - THE GOOD YEARS 54-59
•
•
•
Nero, distracted by his artistic and
leisure interests, left the ruling of
Rome to Seneca, a philosopher
and Nero’s tutor, and Burrus, the
head of the Praetorian Guard
Agrippina tried to control her son,
leading him to look for freedom in
artistic and literary pursuits
Seneca and Burrus led Rome well
during a period of relative peacerevolts were put down in Britannia,
Armenia was conquered
Nero and Seneca
KILLING AGRIPPINA
•
•
Nero turned 21 in 59 CE. He
was ready to end the control of
his mother and two close
advisors
He devised a plan to kill
Agrippina with a collapsing
barge. She escaped, so he
sent soldiers to kill her. She
reportedly pointed their spears
towards her womb,
symbolising the betrayal of her
son
“Agrippina saved from the
shipwreck”
GREAT FIRE OF ROME
•
•
•
64 CE - a fire starts in the
Circus Maximus and spreads
to 10 of 14 regions of the city
it lasted about 2 weeks, after
having initially seemed to go
out and mysteriously starting
again, leading to suspicions of
the fire having been set
Nero actually aided the relief
efforts, but many people
believed that he was
responsible and had “fiddled
while Rome burned”
UNPOPULARITY
•
•
Nero attempted to remove
blame from himself by
pinning it on the Christians.
He had their leaders, Peter
and Paul, executed
However, his popularity
severely decreased,
especially after he used the
destroyed parts of the city
to build his Domus Aurea
DEATH
• A failed conspiracy in 65 led
•
Nero to begin a “reign of
terror” when he had many
influential Romans
executed, exiled, or forced
to commit suicide
Eventually, in 68, a revolt
began in the provinces.
Galba, governor of Spain,
claimed the throne and
marched to Rome.
“QUALIS ARTIFEX PEREO”
•
•
Nero panicked and fled
Rome, committing
assisted suicide on June
9, 68.
A civil war ensued after
his death over who
should become the next
emperor
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BBC News. BBC. Web. 12 Apr. 2014. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/nero.shtml>.
"Outlines of Roman History, Chapter 24." Outlines of Roman History, Chapter 24. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.forumromanum.org/history/morey24.html>.
"Roman Emperors DIR Nero." Roman Emperors DIR Nero. Web. 11 Apr. 2014. <http://www.luc.edu/romanemperors/nero.htm>.
Tacitus, Cornelius, and Michael Grant. The Annals of Imperial Rome. New York: Dorset, 1984. Print.
Tranquillus, Gaius Suetonius, and Robert Graves. The Twelve Caesars. London: Penguin, 1977. Print.
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http://fellowshipofminds.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/obama-fiddles.jpg?w=300&h=225
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Statue_Domus_Aurea.jpg
http://www.tickitaly.com/images/tickets/domus-aurea/nero4.jpg
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