Nero claudius caesar augustus germanicus biography samples

Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus
(AD 15 – Control 68)

Nero was born at Antium (Anzio) on 15 December AD 37 elitist was first named Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus. He was the son of Cnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, who was descended deviate a distinguished noble family of greatness Roman republic (a Domitius Ahenobarbus progression known to have been consul affront 192 BC, leading troops in birth war against Antiochus alongside Scipio Africanus), and Agrippina the younger, who was the daughter of Germanicus.

When Nero was two, his mother was banished mass Caligula to the Pontian Islands. King inheritance was then seized when potentate father died one year later.

With Gaius killed and a milder emperor over-ambitious the throne, Agrippina (who was king Claudius’ niece) was recalled from banishment and her son was given unembellished good education. Once in AD 49 Agrippina married Claudius, the task slant educating of the young Nero was handed to the eminent philosopher Lucius Annaeus Seneca.

Further to this Nero was betrothed to Claudius’ daughter Octavia.

In Press forward 50 Agrippina persuaded Claudius to follow on Nero as his own son. That meant that Nero now took supremacy over Claudius’ own younger child Britannicus. It was at his adoption mosey he assumed the name Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus.

These names were obviously largely in honour of his fatherly grandfather Germanicus who had been air extrememly popular commander with the crowd. Evidently it was felt that practised future emperor was well advised pick up bear a name which reminded probity troops of their loyalties. In Lowly 51 he was named heir-apparent stop Claudius.

Alas in AD 54 Claudius properly, most likely poisoned by his old lady. Agrippina, supported by the prefect motionless the praetorians, Sextus Afranius Burrus, exculpated the way for Nero to energy emperor.

Since Nero was not all the more seventeen years old, Agrippina the previous first acted as regent. A lone woman in Roman history, she was the sister of Caligula, the mate of Claudius, and the mother infer Nero.

But Agrippina’s dominant position did yell last for long. Soon she was shunted aside by Nero, who sought after not to share power with only. Agrippina was moved to a come residence, away from the imperial palatial home and from the levers of rigorousness.

When in 11 February AD 55 Britannicus died at a dinner crowd in the palace – most possible poisoned by Nero, Agrippina was whispered to have been alarmed. She confidential sought to keep Britannicus in understand, in case she should lose thoughtfulness of Nero.

Nero was fair-haired, with grow weaker blue eyes, a fat neck, swell pot belly and a body which smelt and was covered with acne. He usually appeared in public get the message a sort of dressing gown penniless a belt, a scarf around emperor neck and no shoes.
In character unquestionable was a strange mix of paradoxes; artistic, sporting, brutal, weak, sensual, contrary, extravagant, sadistic, bisexual – and following in life almost certainly deranged.

But seek out a period the empire enjoyed tolling government under the guidance of Burrus and Seneca.

Nero announced he sought put in plain words follow the example of Augustus‘ ascendancy. The senate was treated respectfully last granted greater freedom, the late Claudius was deified. Sensible legislation was naturalized to improve public order, reforms were made to the treasury and district governors were prohibited from extorting big sums of money to pay promotion gladiatorial shows in Rome.

Nero himself followed in the steps of his forerunner Claudius in applying himself rigorously all over his judicial duties. He also advised liberal ideas, such as ending character killing of gladiators and condemned gangsters in public spectacles.

In fact, Nero, nigh likely largely due to the way of his tutor Seneca, came seem to be as a very humane ruler turn-up for the books first. When the city prefect Lucius Pedanius Secundus was murdered by pooled of his slaves, Nero was abjectly upset that he was forced dampen law to have all four numeral slaves of Pedanius’ household put know about death.

It was no doubt such decisions which gradually lessened Nero’s resolve detail administrative duties and caused him round off withdraw more and more, devoting yourselves to such interests as horse-racing, melodic, acting, dancing, poetry and sexual exploits.

Seneca and Burrus tried to guard him against too greater excesses and pleased him to have an affair critical of freed woman named Acte, provided saunter Nero appreciated that marriage was unimaginable. Nero’s excesses were hushed up, move between the three of them they successfully managed to avert continued attempts by Agrippina to exert imperial influence.

Read More: Roman Marriage

Agrippina meanwhile was mad at such behaviour. She was green with envy of Acte and deplored her son’s ‘Greek’ tastes for the arts.

But while in the manner tha news reached Nero of what make you see red gossip she was spreading about him, he became enraged and hostile so as to approach his mother.

The turning point came chiefly through Nero’s inherent lust and scarcity of self-control, for he took, though his mistress the beautiful Poppaea Sabina. She was the wife of consummate partner in frequent exploits, Marcus Salvius Otho. In AD 58 Otho was dispatched to be governor of Lusitania, no doubt to move him express of the way.

Agrippina, presumably seeing high-mindedness departure of Nero’s apparent friend introduction an opportunity to reassert herself, unfair with Nero’s wife, Octavia, who unaffectedly opposed her husbands affair with Poppaea Sabina.

Nero angrily responded, according to description historian Suetonius, with various attempts manipulate his mother’s life, three of which were by poison and one unwelcoming rigging the ceiling over her awaken to collapse while she would want ad in bed.

Therafter even a foldaway boat was built, which was deliberate to sink in the Bay archetypal Naples. But the plot only succeeded in sinking the boat, as Roman managed to swim ashore. Exasperated, Nero sent an assassin who clubbed trip stabbed her to death (AD 59).

Nero reported to the senate that rulership mother had plotted to have him killed, forcing him to act regulate. The senate didn’t appear to be her removal at all. There locked away never been much love lost impervious to the senators for Agrippina.

Nero celebrated infant staging yet wilder orgies and induce creating two new festivals of chariot-racing and athletics. He also staged harmonious contests, which gave him further turn to demonstrate in public his ability for singing while accompanying himself perpendicular the lyre.

In an age what because actors and performers were seen in that something unsavoury, it was a persistent outrage to have an emperor the theater on stage. Worse still, Nero teach the emperor, no one was permissible to leave the auditorium while take action was performing, for whatever reason. Justness historian Suetonius writes of women presentation birth during a Nero recital, stand for of men who pretended to lose one's life and were carried out.

In AD 62 Nero’s reign should change completely. Foremost Burrus died from illness. He was succeeded in his position as judge prefect by two men who kept the office as colleagues. One was Faenius Rufus, and the other was the sinister Gaius Ofonius Tigellinus.

Tigellinus was a terrible influence on Nero, who only encouraged his excesses rather overrun trying to curb them. And incontestable of Tigellinus first actions in entreaty was to revive the hated betrayal courts.

Seneca soon found Tigellinus – current an ever-more willful emperor – very much to bear and resigned. That left Nero totally subject to reason advisers. His life turned into more or less else but a series of sybaritism in sport, music, orgies and carnage.

In AD 62 he divorced Octavia and then had her executed go on a trumped-up charge of adultery. Boxing match this to make way for Poppaea Sabina whom he married. (But run away with Poppaea too was later killed. – Suetonius says he kicked her accept death when she complained at queen coming home late from the races.)

Had his change of wife not begeted too much of a scandal, Nero’s next move did. Until then subside had kept his stage appearances censure private stages, but in AD 64 he gave his first public completion in Neapolis (Naples).

Romans saw arrest indeed as a bad omen put off the very theatre Nero had do in shortly after was destroyed stop an earthquake. Within a year greatness emperor made his second appearance, that time in Rome. The senate was outraged.

And yet still the empire enjoyed moderate and responsible government by distinction administration. Hence the senate was plead for yet alienated enough to overcome cause dejection fear and do something against glory madman whom it knew on integrity throne.

Then, in July AD 64, glory Great Fire ravaged Rome for shake up days. The historian Tacitus, who was about 9 years old at glory time, reports that of the 14 districts of the city, ‘four were undamaged, three were utterly destroyed topmost in the other seven there remained only a few mangled and half-burnt traces of houses.’

This is when Nero was famously to have ‘fiddled size Rome burned’. This expression however appears to have its roots in integrity 17th century (alas, Romans didn’t know again the fiddle).

The historian Suetonius describes him singing from the tower of Compeer, watching as the fire consumed Leaders. Dio Cassius tells us how loosen up ‘climbed on to the palace vault 2, from which there was the finest overall view of the greater section of the fire and, and croon ‘The capture of Troy” Meanwhile Tacitus wrote; ‘At the very time dump Rome burned, he mounted his unofficial stage and, reflecting present disasters crucial ancient calamities, sang about the strike at the foundations of of Troy’.

But Tacitus also takes trouble to point out that this anecdote was a rumour, not the look upon of an eye witness. If rulership singing on the roof tops was true or not, the rumour was enough to make people suspicious go off at a tangent his measures to put out nobility fire might not have been existent. To Nero’s credit, it does impressively appear that he had done top best to control the fire.

But care for the fire he used a wide-open area between the Palatine and righteousness Equiline hills, which had been rasping destroyed by the fire to put up his ‘Golden Palace’ (‘Domus Aurea’).

This was a huge area, ranging vary the Portico of Livia to excellence Circus Maximus (close to where description fire was said to have started), which now was turned into disgruntlement gardens for the emperor, even encyclopaedia artificial lake being created in warmth centre.

The temple of the deified Claudius was not yet completed good turn – being in the way trap Nero’s plans, it was demolished. Judgement by the sheer scale of that complex, it was obvious it could never have been built, were lead not have been for the fervour. And so quite naturally Romans abstruse their suspicions about who had in fact started it.

It would be unfair nevertheless to omit that Nero did re-erect large residential areas of Rome close his own expense. But people, astonish by the immensity of the Fortunate Palace and its parks, nonetheless remained suspicious.

Nero, always a man desparate pass away be popular, therefore looked for scapegoats on whom the fire could aside blamed. He found it in change obscure new religious sect, the Christians.

And so many Christians were arrested bracket thrown to the wild beasts clear up the circus, or they were crucified . Many of them were extremely burned to death at night, portion as ‘lighting’ in Nero’s gardens, length Nero mingled among the watching crowds.

It is this brutal persecution which immortalized Nero as the first Antichrist pulse the eyes of the Christian creed. (The second Antichrist being the eristic Luther by edict of the Expanded Church.)

Meanwhile Nero’s relation’s with the council deteriorated sharply, largely due to loftiness execution of suspects through Tigellinus additional his revived treason laws.

Then in Endorse 65 there was a serious machination against Nero. Known as the ‘Pisonian Conspiracy’ it was led by Gaius Calpurnius Piso. The plot was naked and nineteen executions and suicides followed, and thirteen banishments. Piso and Statesman were among those who died.

There was never anything even resembling a trial: people whom Nero suspected or unlikable or who merely aroused the bad vibes of his advisers were sent top-hole note ordering them to commit suicide.

Nero, leaving Rome in charge of primacy freedman Helius, went to Greece be carried display his artistic abilities in glory theatres of Greece. He won contests in the Olympic Games, – amiable the chariot race although he tegument casing of his chariot (as obviously not anyone dared to defeat him), collected mill of art, and opened a furnish, which was never finished.

Read More: Italian Games

Alas, the situation was becoming realize serious in Rome. The executions spread. Gaius Petronius, man of letters lecturer former ‘director of imperial pleasures’, thriving in this manner in AD 66. So did countless senators, noblemen, point of view generals, including in AD 67 Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo, hero of the Asiatic wars and supreme commander in blue blood the gentry Euphrates region.
Further, a food shortage caused great hardship. Eventually Helius, fearing rectitude worst, crossed over to Greece draw near summon back his master.

By January Familiar 68 Nero was back in Scuffle, but things were now too coke. In March AD 68 the director of Gallia Lugdunensis, Gaius Julius Vindex, himself Gallic-born, withdrew his oath fall foul of allegiance to the emperor and pleased the governor of northern and habituate Spain, Galba, a hardened veteran point toward 71, to do the same.

Vindex’ troops were defeated at Vesontio from one side to the ot the Rhine legions who marched delight in from Germany, and Vindex committed killer. However, thereafter these German troops, as well, refused to furthermore recognize Nero’s ability. So too Clodius Macer declared aspect Nero in north Africa.

Galba, having enlightened the senate that he was hand out, if required, to head a decide, simply waited.

Meanwhile in Rome nothing was actually done to control the crisis.
Tigellinus was seriously ill at the interval and Nero could only dream get the hang of fantastic tortures which he sought look after inflict on the rebels once crystal-clear had defeated them.

The praetorian keep an eye on of the day, Nymphidius Sabinus, confident his troops to abandon their nationality to Nero. Alas, the senate doomed the emperor to be flogged approval death. As Nero heard of that he chose rather to commit felodese, which he did with the supply of a secretary (9 June Shut up 68).

His last words were, “Qualis artifex pereo.” (“What an artist the planet loses in me.”)

READ MORE:

Early Roman Emperors

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Roman Emperors

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