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{{Infobox royalty
| name = Nero
| image = Nero 1.JPG
| caption = Bust of Nero at the [[Musei Capitolini]], [[Rome]]
| succession = [[Roman Emperor|5th Emperor]] of the [[Roman Empire]]
| reign = 13 October 54 – 9 June 68<br/>(13 years)
| predecessor = [[Claudius]], grand-uncle and stepfather
| successor = [[Galba]]
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* [[Claudia Octavia]]
* [[Poppaea Sabina]]
* [[Statilia Messalina]]
* [[Sporus]]
}}
| issue = [[Claudia Augusta]]
| house = [[Julio-Claudian dynasty|Julio-Claudian Dynasty]]
| full name = Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus
| father = [[Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 32)|Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus]]
| mother = [[Agrippina the Younger]]
| birth_date = 15 December 37
| birth_place = [[Antium]] (modern [[Anzio]] and [[Nettuno]]), [[Italia (Roman Empire)|Italy]]
| death_date = 9 June 68 (aged 30)
| death_place = Outside [[Rome]]
| place of burial = Mausoleum of the Domitii Ahenobarbi, [[Pincian Hill]], [[Rome]]
| religion = [[Roman Paganism]]
}}
{{Julio-Claudian dynasty}}
'''Nero''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|ɪər|oʊ}}; [[Latin]]: ''Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus'';<ref>In [[Classical Latin]], Nero's name would be inscribed as NERO CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVGVSTVS GERMANICVS.</ref> 15 December 37 – 9 June 68)<ref>Nero's birth day is listed in Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#6 6]. His death day is uncertain, though, perhaps because Galba was declared emperor before Nero died. The date of 9 June is calculated from Jerome, ''Chronicle'', which lists Nero's rule as 13 years, 7 months and 28 days. Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' LXII.3 and Josephus, ''War of the Jews'' IV, say Nero's rule was 13 years, 8 months which would be until 11 June.</ref> was [[Roman Emperor]] from 54 to 68, and the last in the [[Julio-Claudian dynasty]]. Nero was [[Adoption in Ancient Rome|adopted by]] his great-uncle [[Claudius]] to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death.
Nero focused much of his attention on diplomacy, trade and enhancing the cultural life of the Empire. He ordered theatres built and promoted athletic games. During his reign, the redoubtable general [[Corbulo]] conducted a [[Roman–Parthian War of 58–63|successful war]] and negotiated peace with the [[Parthian Empire]]. His general [[Suetonius Paulinus]] crushed a [[Boudicca#Boudica's uprising|revolt in Britain]]. Nero annexed the [[Bosporan Kingdom]] to the Empire and began the [[First Roman–Jewish War]].
In 64 AD, most of Rome was destroyed in the [[Great Fire of Rome]], which many Romans believed Nero himself had started in order to clear land for his planned palatial complex, the [[Domus Aurea]]. In 68, the rebellion of [[Vindex]] in [[Gaul]] and later the acclamation of [[Galba]] in [[Hispania]] drove Nero from the throne. Facing a false report of being denounced as a public enemy who was to be executed, he committed suicide on 9 June 68 (the first Roman emperor to do so).<ref>Suetonius states that Nero committed suicide in Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#49 49]; Sulpicius Severus, who possibly used Tacitus' lost fragments as a source, reports that it was uncertain whether Nero committed suicide, Sulpicius Severus, ''Chronica'' II.29, also see T.D. Barnes, "The Fragments of Tacitus' Histories", ''Classical Philology'' (1977), p. 228.</ref> His death ended the [[Julio-Claudian Dynasty]], sparking a brief period of civil wars known as the [[Year of the Four Emperors]]. Nero's rule is often associated with tyranny and extravagance.<ref>Galba criticized Nero's ''luxuria'', both his public and private excessive spending, during rebellion, Tacitus, ''Annals'' I.16; Kragelund, Patrick, "Nero's Luxuria, in Tacitus and in the Octavia", ''The Classical Quarterly'', 2000, pp. 494–515.</ref> He is known for many executions, including that of his mother,<ref>References to Nero's matricide appear in the ''[[Sibylline Oracles]]'' 5.490–520, [[Geoffrey Chaucer]]'s ''[[Canterbury Tales]]'' [[The Monk's Tale]] and [[William Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Hamlet]]'' 3.ii.</ref> and the probable murder by poison of his stepbrother [[Britannicus]].
He is infamously known as the Emperor who "fiddled while Rome burned".<ref>Nero was not a fiddle player, but a [[lyre]] player (the fiddle was not invented for at least another 1,500 years). Suetonius states Nero played the lyre while Rome burned, see Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#38 38]; For a detailed explanation of this transition see M. F. Gyles "Nero Fiddled while Rome Burned", ''The Classical Journal'' 42, no. 4 (January 1947), pp. 211–17 – nevertheless, the idea that Nero played any kind of musical instrument is an urban legend, since he was away from Rome at the time of the fire. [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/journals/CJ/42/4/Nero_Fiddled*.html].</ref> He was rumored to have had captured Christians dipped in oil, and then set on fire in his garden at night as a source of light.<ref name="annals-xv-44"/> This view is based on the writings of [[Tacitus]], [[Suetonius]] and [[Cassius Dio]], the main surviving sources for Nero's reign, but a few surviving sources paint Nero in a more favourable light.<ref>These include Lucan's ''Civil War'', Seneca the Younger's ''On Mercy'' and Dio Chrysostom's ''Discourses'' along with various Roman coins and inscriptions.</ref> Some sources, including some mentioned above, portray him as an emperor who was popular with the common Roman people, especially in the East.<ref>Tacitus, ''Histories'' I.4, I.5, I.13, II.8; Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#57 57], Life of Otho 7, Life of Vitellius 11; Philostratus II, ''The Life of Apollonius'' 5.41; Dio Chrysostom, ''Discourse XXI'', On Beauty.</ref> Some modern historians question the reliability of ancient sources when reporting on Nero's tyrannical acts.<ref>On fire and Christian persecution, see F.W. Clayton, "Tacitus and Christian Persecution", ''The Classical Quarterly'', pp. 81–85; B.W. Henderson, ''Life and Principate of the Emperor Nero'', p. 437; On general bias against Nero, see Edward Champlin, ''Nero'', Cambridge, MA: [[Harvard University Press]], 2003, pp. 36–52 (ISBN 0-674-01192-9</ref>
==Early life==
===Family===
{{See also|Roman Emperors family tree}}
'''Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus''', the future Nero, was born on 15 December 37 in [[Antium]] (modern [[Anzio]] and [[Nettuno]]<ref>Paola Brandizzi Vittucci, ''Antium: Anzio e Nettuno in epoca romana'', Roma, Bardi, 2000 ISBN 88-85699-83-9</ref>), near Rome.<ref name="suetonius-nero-1">Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#1 1].</ref><ref name="suetonius-nero-6">Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#6 6].</ref> He was the only son of [[Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 32)|Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus]] and [[Agrippina the Younger]], sister of Emperor [[Caligula]].
Nero's father, Gnaeus, was the son of [[Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 16 BC)|Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus]] (consul 16 BC) and [[Antonia Major]]. Gnaeus was thus the grandson of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 32 BC) and probably [[Aemilia Lepida]] on his father's side, and the grandson of [[Mark Antony]] and [[Octavia Minor]] on his mother's side. Thus, Nero had as his paternal grandmother Antonia Maior, and also claimed more remote descent from [[Antonia Minor]] as a great-grandson—later grandson after Claudius adopted him.<ref name="suetonius-nero-5">Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#5 5].</ref>
Through Octavia, Nero was the great-nephew of Caesar Augustus. Nero's father had been employed as a [[praetor]] and was a member of Caligula's staff when the latter travelled to the East (some apparently think Suetonius refers to Augustus' adopted son Gaius Caesar here, but this is not likely).<ref name="suetonius-nero-5">Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#5 5].</ref>
Nero's father was described by Suetonius as a murderer and a cheat who was charged by Emperor [[Tiberius]] with treason, adultery and incest.<ref name="suetonius-nero-5"/> Tiberius died, allowing him to escape these charges.<ref name="suetonius-nero-5"/> Nero's father died of [[edema]] ("dropsy") in 39 when Nero was two.<ref name="suetonius-nero-5"/>
Nero's mother was Agrippina the Younger, a great-granddaughter of [[Caesar Augustus]] and his wife [[Scribonia]] through their daughter [[Julia the Elder]] and her husband [[Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa]]. Agrippina's father, [[Germanicus]], was a grandson of Augustus's wife, [[Livia]], on one side and to Mark Antony and Octavia on the other. Germanicus' mother Antonia Minor, was a daughter of Octavia Minor and Mark Antony. Octavia was Augustus' elder sister. Germanicus was also the adopted son of Tiberius. Agrippina poisoned her second husband Passienus Crispus, so many ancient historians also accuse her of murdering her third husband, the emperor Claudius.<ref name="agrippina">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 12#66|XII.66]]; Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/61*.html#34 LXI.34]; Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Claudius [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Claudius*.html#44 44]; Josephus is less sure, Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews'' [[wikisource:The Antiquities of the Jews/Book XX#Chapter 8|XX.8.1]].</ref>
<center>{{ahnentafel-compact5
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|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
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|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
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|1=1.'''Nero'''
|2=2. [[Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 32)|Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus]]
|3=3. [[Agrippina the Younger]]
|4=4. [[Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 16 BC)|Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus]]
|5=5. [[Antonia Major]]
|6=6. [[Germanicus]]
|7=7. [[Agrippina the Elder]]
|8=8. [[Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 32 BC)|Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus]]
|9=9. [[Aemilia Lepida]]
|10=10. [[Mark Antony]]
|11=11. [[Octavia Minor]]
|12=12. [[Nero Claudius Drusus]]
|13=13. [[Antonia Minor]]
|14=14. [[Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa]]
|15=15. [[Julia the Elder]]
|16=16. [[Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 54 BC)|Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus]]
|17=17. [[Porcia (sister of Cato the Younger)|Porcia Catonis]]
|20=20. [[Marcus Antonius Creticus]]
|21=21. [[Julia Antonia]]
|22=22. [[Gaius Octavius]]
|23=23. [[Atia Balba Caesonia]]
|24=24. [[Tiberius Claudius Nero (praetor 42 BC)|Tiberius Claudius Nero]]
|25=25. [[Livia|Livia Drusilla]]
|26=26.=10. [[Mark Antony]]
|27=27.=11. [[Octavia Minor]]
|28=28. [[Lucius Vipsanius Agrippa]]
|30=30. [[Augustus]] (brother of 11, 27)
|31=31. [[Scribonia]]
}}</center>
===Rise to power===
[[Image:NeroandClaudius.jpg|thumb|250px|Coin issued under [[Claudius]] celebrating young Nero as the future emperor, c. 50.]]
Nero was not expected to become Emperor because his maternal uncle, [[Caligula]], had begun his reign at the age of 25 with enough time to produce his own heir. Nero's mother, Agrippina, lost favour with Caligula and was exiled in 39 after her husband's death.<ref>Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Caligula [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Caligula*.html#29 29].</ref> Caligula seized Nero's inheritance and sent him to be brought up by his less wealthy aunt, [[Domitia Lepida]], who was the mother of [[Valeria Messalina]], Claudius's third wife.<ref name="suetonius-nero-6"/>
Caligula, his wife [[Caesonia]] and their infant daughter [[Julia Drusilla (daughter of Caligula)|Julia Drusilla]] were murdered on 24 January 41.<ref>Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews'' [[wikisource:The Antiquities of the Jews/Book XIX#Chapter 1|XIX.1.14]], [[wikisource:The Antiquities of the Jews/Book XIX#Chapter 2|XIX.2.4]].</ref> These events led [[Claudius]], Caligula's uncle, to become emperor.<ref>Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews'' [[wikisource:The Antiquities of the Jews/Book XIX#Chapter 3|XIX.3.2]].</ref> Claudius allowed Agrippina to return from exile.<ref name="suetonius-nero-6"/>
Claudius had married twice before marrying Valeria Messalina.<ref name="suetonius-claudius-26">Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Claudius [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Claudius*.html#26 26].</ref> His previous marriages produced three children including a son, Drusus, who died at a young age.<ref name="suetonius-claudius-27">Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Claudius [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Claudius*.html#27 27].</ref> He had two children with Messalina – [[Claudia Octavia]] (born 40) and Britannicus (born 41).<ref name="suetonius-claudius-27"/> Messalina was executed by Claudius in the year 48.<ref name="suetonius-claudius-26"/>
In 49 AD, Claudius married a fourth time, to Nero's mother Agrippina, despite her being his niece.<ref name="suetonius-claudius-27"/> To aid Claudius politically, young Nero was adopted in 50 and took the name '''Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus''' (see [[adoption in Rome]]).<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 12#25|XII.25]].</ref> Nero was older than his stepbrother Britannicus, and thus became heir to the throne.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 12#26|XII.26]].</ref>
Nero was proclaimed an adult in 51 at the age of 14.<ref name="annals-xii-41">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 12#41|XII.41]].</ref> He was appointed [[proconsul]], entered and first addressed the [[Roman Senate|Senate]], made joint public appearances with Claudius, and was featured in coinage.<ref name="annals-xii-41"/> In 53, he married his stepsister Claudia Octavia.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 12#58|XII.58]].</ref>
==Emperor (54–68 AD)==
===Early rule===
[[File:Nerón y Agripina.jpg|thumb|250px|Nero and [[Agrippina the Younger|Agrippina]]. Agrippina crowns her young son Nero with a laurel wreath. She carries a [[cornucopia]], symbol of fortune and plenty, and he wears the armour and cloak of a Roman commander, with a helmet on the ground at his feet. The scene refers to Nero's accession as emperor in 54 AD and is dated before 59 AD when Nero had Agrippina murdered.<ref>Information about this sculpture at the Museum of Aphrodisias, Turkey, where it is located.</ref>]]
[[Image:Nero Agrippina aureus 54.png|thumb|300px|An [[Aureus]] of Nero and his mother, [[Agrippina the Younger|Agrippina]], c. 54.]]
[[Claudius]] died in 54 and Nero, taking the name '''Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus''', was established as Emperor. Though accounts vary, many ancient historians state [[Agrippina the younger|Agrippina]] poisoned Claudius.<ref name="agrippina"/> According to [[Pliny the Elder]], she used poison mushrooms.<ref>[http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=3578208 On the Mushroom that Deified the Emperor Claudius]</ref> It is not known how much Nero knew or if he was even involved in the death of Claudius.<ref>Cassius Dio's and Suetonius' accounts claim Nero knew of the murder, Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/61*.html#35 LXI.35], Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#33 33]; Tacitus' and Josephus' accounts only mention Agrippina, Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 12#65|XII.65]], Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews'' [[wikisource:The Antiquities of the Jews/Book XX#Chapter 8|XX.8.1]].</ref>
:Suetonius wrote "... for even if he was not the instigator of the emperor's death, he was at least privy to it, as he openly admitted; for he used afterwards to laud mushrooms, the vehicle in which the poison was administered to Claudius, as "the food of the gods," as the Greek proverb has it. At any rate, after Claudius' death he vented on him every kind of insult, in act and word, charging him now with folly and now with cruelty; for it was a favourite joke of his to say that Claudius had ceased "to play the fool among mortals, lengthening the first syllable of the word ''morari'', and he disregarded many of his decrees and acts as the work of a madman and a dotard. Finally, he neglected to enclose the place where his body was burned except with a low and mean wall."<ref>[http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#33 Suetonius • Life of Nero<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
Nero became Emperor at 17 when the news of Claudius' death was made known,<ref>[http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/61*.html Book LXI #3 P39]</ref><ref>[http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#33 #8 P100]</ref> the youngest emperor until that time.<ref>Augustus was 35, Tiberius was 56, Caligula was 25 and Claudius was 50.</ref> Ancient historians describe Nero's early reign as being strongly influenced by his mother, Agrippina, his tutor [[Seneca the younger|Lucius Annaeus Seneca]], and the Praetorian Prefect [[Sextus Afranius Burrus]], especially in the first year.<ref>Cassius Dio claims "At first Agrippina managed for him all the business of the empire", then Seneca and Burrus "took the rule entirely into their own hands,", but "after the death of Britannicus, Seneca and Burrus no longer gave any careful attention to the public business" in 55, Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/61*.html#3 LXI.3–7].</ref> Other tutors were less often mentioned, such as [[Alexander of Aegae]].<ref name="DGRBM">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Jowett|first=Benjamin|authorlink=Benjamin Jowett|title=Alexander of Aegae|editor=William Smith|encyclopedia=[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]]|volume=1|pages=110–111|publisher=[[Little, Brown and Company]]|location=Boston|year=1867|url=http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0119.html|editor-link=William Smith (lexicographer) }}</ref>
Very early in Nero's rule, problems arose from competition for influence between Agrippina and Nero's two main advisers, Seneca and Burrus.
In 54, Agrippina tried to sit down next to Nero while he met with an Armenian envoy, but Seneca stopped her and prevented a scandalous scene<ref name="annals-xiii-5">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#5|XIII.5]].</ref> (as it was unimaginable at that time for a woman to be in the same room as men doing official business). Nero's friends also mistrusted Agrippina and told Nero to beware of his mother.<ref name="annals-xiii-13">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#13|XIII.13]].</ref>
Nero was reportedly unsatisfied with his marriage to [[Claudia Octavia|Octavia]] and entered into an affair with [[Claudia Acte]], a former slave.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#12|XIII.12]].</ref> In 55, Agrippina attempted to intervene in favor of Octavia and demanded that her son dismiss Acte. Nero, with the support of Seneca, resisted the intervention of his mother in his personal affairs.<ref name="annals-xiii-14"/>
With Agrippina's influence over her son severed, she reportedly began pushing for Britannicus, Nero's stepbrother, to become emperor.<ref name="annals-xiii-14">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#14|XIII.14]].</ref> Nearly fourteen-year-old Britannicus, heir-designate prior to Nero's adoption, was still legally a minor, but was approaching legal adulthood.<ref name="annals-xiii-14"/> According to Tacitus, Agrippina hoped that with her support, Britannicus, being the blood son of Claudius, would be seen as the true heir to the throne by the state over Nero.<ref name="annals-xiii-14"/> However, the youth died suddenly and suspiciously on 12 February 55, the very day before his proclamation as an adult had been set.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#16|XIII.16]].</ref>
Nero claimed that Britannicus died from an epileptic seizure, but ancient historians all claim Britannicus' death came from Nero's poisoning him. Supposedly, he enlisted the services of Locusta, a woman who specialized in the manufacture of poisons. She devised a mixture to kill Britannicus, but after testing it unsuccessfully on a slave, Nero angrily threatened to have her put to death if she did not come up with something usable. Locusta then devised a new concoction that she promised would "kill swifter than a viper."<ref name="LXI.7">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#16|XIII.16]]; Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews'', [[wikisource:The Antiquities of the Jews/Book XX#Chapter 8|XX.8.2]]; Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#33 33]; Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/61*.html#7 LXI.7].</ref>
Her promise was fulfilled after Britannicus consumed it at a dinner party from water used to cool his wine, which had already been tasted, and succumbed within minutes.<ref name="LXI.7"/> After the death of Britannicus, Agrippina was accused of slandering Octavia and Nero ordered her out of the imperial residence.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#18|XIII.18–21]].</ref>
===Matricide and consolidation of power===
[[Image:Nero and Poppaea Sabina.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Coin of Nero and [[Poppaea Sabina]]]]
Over time, Nero became progressively more powerful, freeing himself of his advisers and eliminating rivals to the throne. In 55, he removed [[Pallas (freedman)|Marcus Antonius Pallas]], an ally of Agrippina, from his position in the treasury.<ref name="annals-xiii-14"/> Pallas, along with [[Burrus]], was accused of conspiring against the Emperor to bring [[Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix|Faustus Sulla]] to the throne.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#23|XIII.23]].</ref> [[Seneca the younger|Seneca]] was accused of having relations with Agrippina and embezzlement.<ref name="cassiusdio-lxi-10">Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/61*.html#10 LXI.10].</ref> Seneca succeeded in having himself, Pallas and Burrus acquitted.<ref name="cassiusdio-lxi-10"/> According to [[Cassius Dio]], at this time, Seneca and Burrus reduced their role in governing from careful management to mere moderation of Nero.<ref>Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/61*.html#7 LXI.7].</ref>
In 58, Nero became romantically involved with [[Poppaea Sabina]], the wife of his friend and future emperor [[Otho]].<ref name="annals-xiii-46">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#46|XIII.46]].</ref> Reportedly because a marriage to Poppaea and a divorce from Octavia did not seem politically feasible with Agrippina alive, Nero ordered the murder of his mother in 59.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#1|XIV.1]].</ref> A number of modern historians find this an unlikely motive as Nero did not marry Poppaea until 62.<ref>Dawson, Alexis, "Whatever Happened to Lady Agrippina?", ''The Classical Journal'', 1969, p. 254.</ref>
Additionally, according to [[Suetonius]], Poppaea did not divorce her husband until after Agrippina's death, making it unlikely that the already married Poppaea would be pressing Nero for marriage.<ref>Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Otho 3.</ref> Some modern historians theorize that Nero's execution of Agrippina was prompted by her plotting to set [[Rubellius Plautus]] on the throne.<ref>Rogers, Robert, [http://www.jstor.org/view/00659711/ap010058/01a00140/0 ''Heirs and Rivals to Nero''], Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, Vol. 86. (1955), p. 202. Silana accuses Agrippina of plotting to bring up Plautus in 55, Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#19|XIII.19]]; Silana is recalled from exile after Agrippina's power waned, Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#12|XIV.12]]; Plautus is exiled in 60, Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#22|XIV.22]].</ref> According to [[Suetonius]], Nero tried to kill his mother through a planned shipwreck, which took the life of her friend, [[Acerronia Polla]], but when Agrippina survived, he had her executed and framed it as a suicide.<ref>Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#34 34].</ref> The incident is also recorded by Tacitus.<ref>Tacitus, "The Annals".</ref>
In 62, Nero's adviser, [[Burrus]], died.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#51|XIV.51]].</ref> Additionally, Seneca was again faced with embezzlement charges.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#52|XIV.52]].</ref> Seneca asked Nero for permission to retire from public affairs.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#53|XIV.53]].</ref> Nero divorced and banished [[Claudia Octavia|Octavia]] on grounds of infertility, leaving him free to marry the pregnant Poppaea.<ref name="annals-xiv-60">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#60|XIV.60]].</ref> After public protests, Nero was forced to allow Octavia to return from exile,<ref name="annals-xiv-60"/> but she was executed shortly after her return.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#64|XIV.64]].</ref>
Nero also was reported to have kicked Poppaea to death in 65 before she could have his second child.<ref>Farquhar, Michael (2001). ''A Treasure of Royal Scandals'', p.216. Penguin Books, New York. ISBN 0-7394-2025-9.</ref> However, modern historians, noting Suetonius, Tacitus and Cassius Dio's possible bias against Nero and the likelihood that they did not have eyewitness accounts of private events, postulate that Poppaea may have died because of complications of miscarriage or childbirth.<ref>Rudich, Vasily, ''Political Dissidence Under Nero'', p. 134.</ref>
Accusations of treason being plotted against Nero and the Senate first appeared in 62.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#48|XIV.48]].</ref> The Senate ruled that Antistius, a praetor, should be put to death for speaking ill of Nero at a party. Later, Nero ordered the exile of Fabricius Veiento who slandered the Senate in a book.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#49|XIV.49]].</ref> Tacitus writes that the roots of the conspiracy led by [[Gaius Calpurnius Piso]] began in this year. To consolidate power, Nero executed a number of people in 62 and 63 including his rivals [[Pallas (freedman)|Pallas]], Rubellius Plautus and Faustus Sulla.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#65|XIV.65]].</ref> According to Suetonius, Nero "showed neither discrimination nor moderation in putting to death whomsoever he pleased" during this period.<ref>Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#37 37].</ref>
Nero's consolidation of power also included a slow usurping of authority from the Senate. In 54, Nero promised to give the Senate powers equivalent to those under Republican rule.<ref name="Tacitus-Annals">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#4|XIII.4]].</ref> By 65, senators complained that they had no power left and this led to the [[Pisonian conspiracy]].<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#51|XV.51]].</ref>
=== Other relationships ===
When Nero's wife [[Poppaea Sabina]] died in 65, Nero went into deep mourning. Her body was not cremated, it was stuffed with spices, embalmed and put in the [[Mausoleum of Augustus]]. She was given a [[state funeral]]. Nero praised her during the funeral eulogy and gave her divine honors. It is said that Nero "burned ten years' worth of Arabia's incense production at her funeral.<ref>Donato and Seefried (1989), p. 55.</ref>
In the beginning of 66, he married [[Statilia Messalina]].<ref name="Champlin145" /> She was already married when she became Nero's mistress in 65 AD, with Statilia's husband being driven to suicide in 66, so Nero could marry Statilia. She was one of the few of Nero's courtiers who survived the fall of his reign.
In 67, Nero ordered a young [[freedman]], [[Sporus]], to be castrated and then married him.<ref name="Champlin145">Champlin, 2005, p.145</ref><ref name=Suetonius>[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/suet-nero-rolfe.html Ancient History Sourcebook: Suetonius: De Vita Caesarum--Nero, c. 110 C.E.]</ref><ref name="Dio">[http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/62*.html Cassius Dio Roman History: LXII, 28 - LXIII, 12-13]</ref><ref name="smith">Smith, 1849, p.897</ref> According to [[Dion Cassius]], Sporus bore an uncanny resemblance to Sabina, and Nero even called him by his dead wife's name.<ref name="smith">{{cite book |title=[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]] |author=Smith, William |authorlink=William Smith (lexicographer) |publisher=C. C. Little and J. Brown; [etc., etc. ] |volume=3 |year=1849 |pages=1411, 2012|lccn=07038839}}</ref>
===Administrative policies===
[[Image:Nero charity.jpg|thumb|320px|Coin showing Nero distributing charity to a citizen. c. 64–66.]]
Over the course of his reign, Nero often made rulings that pleased the lower class. Nero was criticized as being obsessed with personal popularity.<ref>Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#53 53]; Gibbon, Edward, ''The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' Vol. I, Chap. VI.</ref>
Nero began his reign in 54 by promising the Senate more autonomy.<ref name="Tacitus-Annals"/> In this first year, he forbade others to refer to him with regard to enactments, for which he was praised by the Senate.<ref name="annals-xii-25">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#25|XIII.25]].</ref> Nero was known for spending his time visiting brothels and taverns during this period.<ref name="annals-xii-25"/>
In 55, Nero began taking on a more active role as an administrator. He was [[Roman consul|consul]] four times between 55 and 60. During this period, some ancient historians speak fairly well of Nero and contrast it with his later rule.<ref>[[Aurelius Victor]] mentions [[Trajan]]'s praise of Nero's first five or so years. [http://www.roman-emperors.org/epitome.htm Aurelius Victor ''The Style of Life and the Manners of the Imperitors'' 5]; The unknown author of ''Epitome de Caesaribus'' also mentions Trajan's praise of the first five or so years of Nero [http://www.intratext.com/IXT/LAT0210/_P2.HTM Auctor incertus ''Epitome De Caesarbius'' 5].</ref>
Under Nero, restrictions were put on the amount of bail and fines.<ref name="annals-xiii-28">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#28|XIII.28]].</ref> Also, fees for lawyers were limited.<ref>Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#17 17].</ref> There was a discussion in the Senate on the misconduct of the freedmen class, and a strong demand was made that patrons should have the right of revoking freedom.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#26|XIII.26]].</ref> Nero supported the freedmen and ruled that patrons had no such right.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#27|XIII.27]].</ref>
The Senate tried to pass a law in which the crimes of one slave applied to all slaves within a household. Despite riots from the people, Nero supported the Senate on their measure, and deployed troops to organise the execution of 400 slaves affected by the law. However, he vetoed strong measures against the freedmen affected by the case.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#45|XIV.45]].</ref>
After tax collectors were accused of being too harsh to the poor, Nero transferred collection authority to lower commissioners.<ref name="annals-xiii-28"/> Nero banned any magistrate or procurator from exhibiting public entertainment for fear that the venue was being used as a method to sway the populace.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#31|XIII.31]].</ref> Additionally, there were many impeachments and removals of government officials along with arrests for extortion and corruption.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#30|XIII.30]], [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#18|XIV.18]], [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#40|XIV.40]], [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#46|XIV.46]].</ref>
When further complaints arose that the poor were being overly taxed, Nero attempted to repeal all indirect taxes.<ref name="annals-xiii-50">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#50|XIII.50]].</ref> The Senate convinced him this action would bankrupt the public treasury.<ref name="annals-xiii-50"/> As a compromise, taxes were cut from 4.5% to 2.5%.<ref name="annals-xiii-51">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#51|XIII.51]].</ref> Additionally, secret government tax records were ordered to become public.<ref name="annals-xiii-51"/> To lower the cost of food imports, merchant ships were declared tax-exempt.<ref name="annals-xiii-51"/>
[[Image:Remains of Nero's Isthmus Canal in 1881.jpg|thumb|350px|Nero's abandoned [[Isthmus of Corinth|Corinth canal]].]]
In imitation of the Greeks, Nero built a number of gymnasiums and theatres.<ref name="annals-xiv-20">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#20|XIV.20]].</ref> Enormous gladiatorial shows were also held.<ref name="suetonius-nero-12">Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#12 12].</ref> Nero also established the [[quinquennial Neronia]].<ref name="annals-xiv-20"/><ref name="suetonius-nero-12"/> The festival included games, poetry, and theater. Historians indicate that there was a belief that theatre led to immorality.<ref name="annals-xiv-20"/> Others considered that to have performers dressed in Greek clothing was old fashioned.<ref name="annals-xiv-21">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#21|XIV.21]].</ref> Some questioned the large public expenditure on entertainment.<ref name="annals-xiv-21"/>
In 64, [[Great Fire of Rome|Rome burned]].<ref name="tacitus-annals-xv.38">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#38|XV.38]].</ref> Nero enacted a public relief effort<ref name="tacitus-annals-xv.38"/> as well as significant reconstruction.<ref name="annals-xv-43">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#43|XV.43]].</ref> A number of other major construction projects occurred in Nero's late reign. Nero had the marshes of Ostia filled with rubble from the fire. He erected the large [[Domus Aurea]].<ref name="Tacitus-Annals-15">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#42|XV.42]].</ref> In 67, Nero attempted to have a canal dug at the [[Isthmus of Corinth]].<ref>Josephus, ''War of the Jews'' [[wikisource:The War of the Jews/Book III#Chapter 10|III.10.10]],Werner, Walter: "The largest ship trackway in ancient times: the Diolkos of the Isthmus of Corinth, Greece, and early attempts to build a canal", The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, Vol. 26, No. 2 (1997), pp. 98–119.</ref> Ancient historians state that these projects and others exacerbated the drain on the State's budget.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 16#3|XVI.3]].</ref>
The cost to rebuild Rome was immense, requiring funds the state treasury did not have. Nero devalued the [[Roman currency]] for the first time in the Empire's history. He reduced the weight of the [[denarius]] from 84 per [[Roman pound]] to 96 (3.85 grams to 3.35 grams). He also reduced the silver purity from 99.5% to 93.5%—the silver weight dropping from 3.83 grams to 3.4 grams. Furthermore, Nero reduced the weight of the [[aureus]] from 40 per Roman pound to 45 (8 grams to 7.2 grams).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tulane.edu/~august/handouts/601cprin.htm|title=Roman Currency of the Principate|publisher=Tulane University|date=|accessdate=2011-07-13}}</ref>
Between 62 and 67, according to [[Plinius the Elder]] and Seneca, Nero promoted an expedition to discover the sources of the [[Nile River]]. It was the first exploration of equatorial [[Africa]] from Europe in history.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=I2bJP8zLR_UC&pg=PA70&lpg=PA70&dq=nero+expedition+to+ethiopia&source=bl&ots=tc0NB0Oqt1&sig=ros4Zz0Ayze9-xtWGH90ULSOsUs&hl=en&ei=htBkTLvtEoP-8AaHlqXeCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBcQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=nero%20expedition%20to%20ethiopia&f=false|title=Derek A. Welsby: Nero expedition to Nile sources|publisher=Books.google.com|date=|accessdate=2010-11-09}}</ref> However, Nero's expedition up the Nile failed because water plants had clogged the river, denying Nero's vessels access to the [[Sudd]] of present-day [[South Sudan]].
The economic policy of Nero is a point of debate among scholars. According to ancient historians, Nero's construction projects were overly extravagant and the large number of expenditures under Nero left Italy "thoroughly exhausted by contributions of money" with "the provinces ruined."<ref>Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#31 31].</ref><ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#45 XV.45]].</ref> Modern historians, though, note that the period was riddled with deflation and that it is likely that Nero's spending came in the form of public works projects and charity intended to ease economic troubles.<ref>Thornton, Mary Elizabeth Kelly "Nero's New Deal," ''Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association'', Vol. 102, (1971), p. 629.</ref>
===Great Fire of Rome (64 AD) ===
{{Main|Great Fire of Rome}}
The Great Fire of Rome erupted on the night of 18 July to 19 July 64. The fire started at the southeastern end of the [[Circus Maximus]] in shops selling flammable goods.<ref name="tacitus-annals-xv.38"/>
[[File:Robert, Hubert - Incendie à Rome -.jpg|thumb|250px|Artwork depicting the [[Great Fire of Rome]].]]
The extent of the fire is uncertain. According to [[Tacitus]], who was nine at the time of the fire, it spread quickly and burned for over five days.<ref name="annals-xv-40">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#40|XV.40]]; Suetonius says the fire raged for six days and seven nights, Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero 38; A pillar set by Domitius states the fire burned for nine days.</ref> It destroyed three of fourteen Roman districts and severely damaged seven.<ref name="annals-xv-40"/> The only other historian who lived through the period and mentioned the fire is [[Pliny the Elder]], who wrote about it in passing.<ref>Pliny the Elder, ''Natural Histories'', [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Pliny_the_Elder/17*.html#1 XVII.1.5], Pliny mentions trees that lasted "down to the Emperor Nero's conflagration".</ref> Other historians who lived through the period (including [[Josephus]], [[Dio Chrysostom]], [[Plutarch]] and [[Epictetus]]) make no mention of it in what remains of their work.
[[Image:Nero-graffito.jpg|160px|thumb|left|Sketch of Ancient [[graffiti]] portrait of Nero found at the ''Domus Tiberiana''.]]
It is uncertain who or what actually caused the fire—whether accident or [[arson]].<ref name="tacitus-annals-xv.38"/> [[Suetonius]] and [[Cassius Dio]] favor Nero as the [[arson]]ist, so he could build a palatial complex. Tacitus mentions that Christians confessed to the crime, but it is not known whether these confessions were induced by torture.<ref name="annals-xv-44">Tacitus ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#44|XV.44]].</ref> However, accidental fires were common in ancient Rome.<ref>Juvenal writes that Rome suffered from perpetual fires and falling houses Juvenal, ''Satires'' [http://www.vroma.org/~araia/satire3.html 3.7, 3.195, 3.214].</ref> In fact, Rome suffered other large fires in 69<ref name="tacitus-histories-I.2">Tacitus, ''Histories'' [[wikisource:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 1#2|I.2]].</ref> and in 80.<ref>Suetonius, ''Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Titus [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Titus*.html#8 8].</ref>
It was said by Suetonius and Cassius Dio that Nero sang the "[[Sack of Ilium]]" in stage costume while the city burned.<ref>Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero, [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#38 38]; Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/62*.html#16 LXII.16].</ref> Popular legend claims that Nero played the [[fiddle]] at the time of the fire, an [[anachronism]] based merely on the concept of the [[lyre]], a stringed instrument associated with Nero and his performances. (There were no fiddles in 1st-century Rome.) Tacitus's account, however, has Nero in Antium at the time of the fire.<ref name="annals-xv-39">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#39|XV.39]].</ref> Tacitus also said that Nero playing his lyre and singing while the city burned was only rumor.<ref name="annals-xv-39"/>
According to Tacitus, upon hearing news of the fire, Nero returned to Rome to organize a relief effort, which he paid for from his own funds.<ref name="annals-xv-39"/> Nero's contributions to the relief extended to personally taking part in the search for and rescue of victims of the blaze, spending days searching the debris without even his bodyguards.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} After the fire, Nero opened his palaces to provide shelter for the homeless, and arranged for food supplies to be delivered in order to prevent starvation among the survivors.<ref name="annals-xv-39"/>
In the wake of the fire, he made a new urban development plan. Houses after the fire were spaced out, built in brick, and faced by [[porticos]] on wide roads.<ref name="annals-xv-43"/> Nero also built a new palace complex known as the [[Domus Aurea]] in an area cleared by the fire. This included lush artificial landscapes and a 30-meter-tall statue of himself, the [[Colossus of Nero]].<ref name="Tacitus-Annals-15"/> The size of this complex is debated (from 100 to 300 acres).<ref>Roth, Leland M. (1993). Understanding Architecture: Its Elements, History and Meaning, First, Boulder, CO: Westview Press, pp. 227–8. ISBN 0-06-430158-3.</ref><ref>Ball, Larry F. (2003). The Domus Aurea and the Roman architectural revolution. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-82251-3.</ref><ref>Warden reduces its size to under {{convert|100|acre|km2}}. Warden, P.G., "The Domus Aurea Reconsidered," Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 40 (1981) pp. 271–278.</ref> To find the necessary funds for the reconstruction, [[tributes]] were imposed on the provinces of the empire.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#45|XV.45]].</ref>
Tacitus, in [[Tacitus on Christ|one of the earliest non-Christian references to the origins of Christianity]], notes that the population searched for a scapegoat and rumors held Nero responsible.<ref name="annals-xv-44"/> To deflect blame, Nero targeted Christians. He ordered Christians to be thrown to dogs, while others were crucified and burned.<ref name="annals-xv-44"/>
===Public performances===
[[Image:As-Nero-Ara pacis-RIC 0562.jpg|thumb|300px|Nero coin, c. 66. [[Ara Pacis]] on the reverse.]]
Nero enjoyed driving a one-horse chariot, singing to the lyre and poetry.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#14|XIV.14]], [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#16|XIV.16]].</ref> He even composed songs that were performed by other entertainers throughout the empire.<ref>Philostratus II, ''Life of Apollonius'' [http://www.livius.org/ap-ark/apollonius/life/va_4_36.html#§39 4.39]; Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Vitellius [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Vitellius*.html#11 11].</ref> At first, Nero only performed for a private audience.<ref name="tacitus-annals-xv.33">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#22|XV.33]].</ref>
In 64 AD., Nero began singing in public in [[Naples|Neapolis]] in order to improve his popularity.<ref name="tacitus-annals-xv.33"/> He also sang at the second [[quinquennial Neronia]] in 65.<ref>Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'' Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#21 21].</ref> It was said that Nero craved the attention,<ref>Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#33 33].</ref> but historians also write that Nero was encouraged to sing and perform in public by the Senate, his inner circle and the people.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 16#4|XVI.4]]; Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Vitellius [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Vitelius*.html#11 11]; Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#10 10], [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#21 21].</ref> Ancient historians strongly criticize his choice to perform, calling it shameful.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#15|XIV.15]]; Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/61*.html#19 LXI.19].</ref>
Nero was persuaded to participate in the [[Ancient Olympic Games|Olympic Games]] of 67 in order to improve relations with Greece and display Roman dominance.<ref>Philostratus II, ''Life of Apollonius'' [http://www.livius.org/ap-ark/apollonius/life/va_5_06.html#§7 5.7].</ref> As a competitor, Nero raced a ten-horse chariot and nearly died after being thrown from it.<ref name="suetonius-nero-24">Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#24 24].</ref> He also performed as an actor and a singer.<ref>Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#25 25].</ref> Though Nero faltered in his racing (in one case, dropping out entirely before the end) and acting competitions,<ref name="suetonius-nero-24"/> he won these crowns nevertheless and paraded them when he returned to Rome.<ref name="suetonius-nero-24"/> The victories are attributed to Nero bribing the judges and his status as emperor.<ref>Suetonius ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#23 23], [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#24 24].</ref>
===War and peace with Parthia===
{{details|Roman-Parthian War of 58–63}}
Shortly after Nero's accession to the throne in 54, the Roman [[vassal]] [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|kingdom of Armenia]] overthrew their [[Caucasian Iberia|Iberian]] prince [[Rhadamistus]] and he was replaced with the [[Parthian Empire|Parthian]] prince [[Tiridates I of Armenia|Tiridates]].<ref name="annals-xiii-7">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#7|XIII.7]].</ref> This was seen as a Parthian invasion of Roman territory.<ref name="annals-xiii-7"/> There was concern in Rome over how the young Emperor would handle the situation.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#8|XIII.8]].</ref> Nero reacted by immediately sending the military to the region under the command of [[Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo]].<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#9|XIII.9]].</ref> The Parthians temporarily relinquished control of Armenia to Rome.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#10|XIII.10]].</ref>
[[Image:Map Parthian Empire-fr.png|thumb|350px|The [[Parthian Empire]] c. 60. Nero's peace deal with Parthia was a political victory at home and made him beloved in the east.]]
The peace did not last and full-scale war broke out in 58. The Parthian king [[Vologases I of Parthia|Vologases I]] refused to remove his brother Tiridates from Armenia.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#42|XIII.42]].</ref> The Parthians began a full-scale invasion of the Armenian kingdom.<ref name="annals-xiii-46"/> Commander Corbulo responded and repelled most of the Parthian army that same year.<ref name="annals-xiii-55">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#55|XIII.55]].</ref> Tiridates retreated and Rome again controlled most of Armenia.<ref name="annals-xiii-55"/>
Nero was acclaimed in public for this initial victory.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#56|XIII.56]].</ref> [[Tigranes VI of Armenia|Tigranes]], a Cappadocian noble raised in Rome, was installed by Nero as the new ruler of Armenia.<ref name="annals-xiv-36">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#36|XIV.36]].</ref> Corbulo was appointed governor of Syria as a reward.<ref name="annals-xiv-36"/>
In 62, Tigranes invaded the Parthian province of [[Adiabene]].<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#1|XV.1]].</ref> Again, Rome and Parthia were at war and this continued until 63. Parthia began building up for a strike against the Roman province of Syria.<ref name="annals-xv-4">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#4|XV.4]].</ref> Corbulo tried to convince Nero to continue the war, but Nero opted for a peace deal instead.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#16|XV.16]].</ref> There was anxiety in Rome about eastern grain supplies and a budget deficit.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#18|XV.18]].</ref>
The result was a deal where Tiridates again became the Armenian king, but was crowned in Rome by Emperor Nero.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#29|XV.29]].</ref> In the future, the [[List of Armenian Kings#Arshakuni (Arsacid) Kings of Armenia|king of Armenia]] was to be a Parthian prince, but his appointment required approval from the Romans. Tiridates was forced to come to Rome and partake in ceremonies meant to display Roman dominance.<ref name="tacitus-annals-xv.38"/><ref>Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/63*.html#2 LXIII.2].</ref>
This peace deal of 63 was a considerable victory for Nero politically.<ref name="cassiusdio-lxii-23">Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/62*.html#23 LXII.23].</ref> Nero became very popular in the eastern provinces of Rome and with the Parthians as well.<ref name="cassiusdio-lxii-23"/> The peace between Parthia and Rome lasted 50 years until Emperor [[Trajan]] of Rome invaded Armenia in 114.
===Other major power struggles and rebellions===
[[Image:Nero pushkin.jpg|thumb|220px|A plaster bust of Nero, [[Pushkin Museum]], Moscow.]]
The war with Parthia was not Nero's only major war but he was both criticized and praised for an aversion to battle.<ref>Suetonius ''Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#18 18]; Marcus Annaeus Lucanus ''Pharsalia'' (Civil War) (c. 65)[http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext96/pcwar10.txt].</ref> Like many emperors, Nero faced a number of rebellions and power struggles within the empire.
;British Revolt of 60–61 (Boudica's Uprising)
{{Further|Boudica#Boudica's Uprising}}
In 60, a major rebellion broke out in the province of [[Britannia]].<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#29|XIV.29]].</ref> While the governor [[Gaius Suetonius Paullinus]] and his troops were busy capturing the island of Mona ([[Isle of Anglesey|Anglesey]]) from the druids, the tribes of the southeast staged a revolt led by queen [[Boudica]] of the [[Iceni]].<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#31|XIV.31]].</ref> Boudica and her troops destroyed three cities before the army of Paullinus could return, receive reinforcements, and quell the rebellion in 61.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#31|XIV.31–38]].</ref> Fearing Paullinus himself would provoke further rebellion, Nero replaced him with the more passive [[Publius Petronius Turpilianus]].<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#39|XIV.39]].</ref>
;The Pisonian Conspiracy of 65
{{Main|Pisonian conspiracy}}
In 65, [[Gaius Calpurnius Piso]], a Roman statesman, organized a conspiracy against Nero with the help of Subrius Flavus and Sulpicius Asper, a tribune and a centurion of the Praetorian Guard.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#49|XV.49]].</ref> According to Tacitus, many conspirators wished to "rescue the state" from the emperor and restore the [[Roman Republic|Republic]].<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#50|XV.50]].</ref> The freedman Milichus discovered the conspiracy and reported it to Nero's secretary, [[Epaphroditos]].<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#55|XV.55]].</ref> As a result, the conspiracy failed and its members were executed including [[Marcus Annaeus Lucanus|Lucan]], the poet.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#70|XV.70]].</ref> Nero's previous advisor, [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]] was ordered to commit suicide after admitting he discussed the plot with the conspirators.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#60|XV.60–62]].</ref>
;The First Jewish War of 66–70
{{main|First Jewish-Roman War}}
In 66, there was a Jewish revolt in Judea stemming from Greek and Jewish religious tension.<ref>Josephus, ''War of the Jews'' [[wikisource:The War of the Jews/Book II#Chapter 13|II.13.7]].</ref> In 67, Nero dispatched [[Vespasian]] to restore order.<ref>Josephus, ''War of the Jews'' [[wikisource:The War of the Jews/Book III#Chapter 1|III.1.3]].</ref> This revolt was eventually put down in 70, after Nero's death.<ref>Josephus, ''War of the Jews'' [[wikisource:The War of the Jews/Book IV#Chapter 10|VI.10.1]].</ref> This revolt is famous for Romans breaching the walls of Jerusalem and destroying the Second [[Temple of Jerusalem]].<ref>Josephus, ''War of the Jews'' [[wikisource:The War of the Jews/Book VII#Chapter 1|VII.1.1]].</ref>
===The revolt of Vindex and Galba and the death of Nero===
[[File:Roman coins sestertius Nero countermark X Legion Gemina.jpg|thumb|265px|Nero, [[Sestertius]] with countermark "X" of [[Legio X Gemina]].
<br />Obv: Laureate bust right.
<br />Rev: Nero riding horse right, holding spear, DECVRSIO in exergue; S C across fields.]]
[[Image:Nero Palatino Inv618.jpg|thumb|200px|A marble bust of Nero, Antiquarium of the [[Palatine]].]]
In March 68, [[Vindex|Gaius Julius Vindex]], the governor of [[Gallia Lugdunensis]], rebelled against Nero's tax policies.<ref name="Cassius-22">Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/63*.html#22 LXIII.22].</ref><ref>Donahue.</ref> [[Lucius Virginius Rufus|Lucius Verginius Rufus]], the governor of [[Germania Superior]], was ordered to put down Vindex's rebellion.<ref name="cassiusdio-lxiii-24">Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/63*.html#24 LXIII.24].</ref> In an attempt to gain support from outside his own province, Vindex called upon [[Galba|Servius Sulpicius Galba]], the governor of [[Hispania Tarraconensis]], to join the rebellion and further, to declare himself emperor in opposition to Nero.<ref name="Plutarch-galba-5">Plutarch, ''The Parallel Lives'', Life of Galba [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Galba*.html#5 5].</ref>
At the [[Battle of Vesontio]] in May 68, Verginius' forces easily defeated those of Vindex and the latter committed suicide.<ref name="cassiusdio-lxiii-24"/> However, after putting down this one rebel, Verginius' legions attempted to proclaim their own commander as Emperor. Verginius refused to act against Nero, but the discontent of the legions of Germany and the continued opposition of Galba in Spain did not bode well for him.
While Nero had retained some control of the situation, support for Galba increased despite his being officially declared a public enemy. The prefect of the [[Praetorian Guard]], [[Nymphidius Sabinus|Gaius Nymphidius Sabinus]], also abandoned his allegiance to the Emperor and came out in support for Galba.
In response, Nero fled Rome with the intention of going to the port of [[Ostia Antica|Ostia]] and, from there, to take a fleet to one of the still-loyal eastern provinces. According to Suetonius, Nero abandoned the idea when some army officers openly refused to obey his commands, responding with a line from [[Vergil]]'s ''[[Aeneid]]'': "Is it so dreadful a thing then to die?" Nero then toyed with the idea of fleeing to [[Parthia]], throwing himself upon the mercy of Galba, or to appeal to the people and beg them to pardon him for his past offences "and if he could not soften their hearts, to entreat them at least to allow him the prefecture of Egypt". Suetonius reports that the text of this speech was later found in Nero's writing desk, but that he dared not give it from fear of being torn to pieces before he could reach the Forum.<ref name="penelope.uchicago.edu">Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#47 47].</ref>
Nero returned to Rome and spent the evening in the palace. After sleeping, he awoke at about midnight to find the palace guard had left. Dispatching messages to his friends' palace chambers for them to come, he received no answers. Upon going to their chambers personally, he found them all abandoned. When he called for a gladiator or anyone else adept with a sword to kill him, no one appeared. He cried, "Have I neither friend nor foe?" and ran out as if to throw himself into the [[Tiber]].<ref name="penelope.uchicago.edu"/>
Returning, Nero sought for some place where he could hide and collect his thoughts. An imperial freedman, [[Phaon (freedman)|Phaon]], offered his villa, located 4 miles outside the city. Travelling in disguise, Nero and four loyal [[freedman]], [[Epaphroditos]], [[Phaon (freedman)|Phaon]], [[Neophytus (freedman)|Neophytus]], and [[Sporus]], reached the villa, where Nero ordered them to dig a grave for him.
At this time, a courier arrived with a report that the Senate had declared Nero a public enemy and that it was their intention to execute him by beating him to death and that armed men had been sent to apphrehend him for the act to take place in the Forum. The Senate actually was still reluctant and deliberating on the right course of action as Nero was the last member of the Julio-Claudian Family. Indeed, most of the senators had served the imperial family all their lives and felt a sense of loyalty to the deified bloodline, if not to Nero himself. The men actually had the goal of returning Nero back to the Senate, where the Senate hoped to work out a compromise with the rebelling governors that would preserve Nero's life, so that at least a future heir to the dynasty could be produced.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#72|XV.72]].</ref>
Nero, however, did not know this, and at the news brought by the courier, he prepared himself for [[forced suicide|suicide]], pacing up and down muttering "Qualis artifex pereo" which translates to English as "What an artist dies in me."<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Buckley | first1 = Emma | last2 = Dinter | first2 = Martin T. | title = A Companion to the Neronian Age | publisher = John Wiley & Sons | year = 2013 | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=qYb3JCWUNnkC&dq | accessdate = 2013-10-28 | isbn = 978-1-118-31659-7}}</ref> Losing his nerve, he first begged for one of his companions to set an example by first killing himself. At last, the sound of approaching horsemen drove Nero to face the end. However, he still could not bring himself to take his own life but instead he forced his private secretary, [[Epaphroditos]], to perform the task.<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Bunson | first1 = Matthew | title = Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire | publisher = Infobase Publishing | year = 2009 | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=T5tic2VunRoC&dq | accessdate = 2013-10-28 | isbn = 978-1-4381-1027-1}}</ref>
When one of the horsemen entered, upon his seeing Nero all but dead he attempted to stop the bleeding in vain. Nero's final words were "Too late! This is fidelity!" He died on 9 June 68, the anniversary of the death of Octavia, and was buried in the Mausoleum of the Domitii Ahenobarbi, in what is now the [[Villa Borghese]] ([[Pincian Hill]]) area of Rome.<ref name="ReferenceA">Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#49 49].</ref>
With his death, the [[Julio-Claudian dynasty]] ended. The Senate, when news of his death reached Rome, posthumously declared Nero a public enemy to appease the coming Galba (The Senate had initially declared Galba as a public enemy) and proclaimed him the new emperor. Chaos would ensue in the [[year of the Four Emperors]].<ref name="tacitus-histories-I.2"/>
===Post mortem===
{{See also|Nero Redivivus legend|Pseudo-Nero}}
[[File:Piranesi-3014.jpg|thumb|250px|The alleged Tomb of Nero.]]
According to Suetonius and Cassius Dio, the people of Rome celebrated the death of Nero.<ref>Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/63*.html 63].</ref><ref>Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#57 57].</ref> Tacitus, though, describes a more complicated political environment. Tacitus mentions that Nero's death was welcomed by Senators, nobility and the upper class.<ref name="histories-i-4">Tacitus, ''Histories'' [[wikisource:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 1#4|I.4]].</ref> The lower-class, slaves, frequenters of the arena and the theater, and "those who were supported by the famous excesses of Nero", on the other hand, were upset with the news.<ref name="histories-i-4"/> Members of the military were said to have mixed feelings, as they had allegiance to Nero, but were bribed to overthrow him.<ref name="tacitus-histories-I.5">Tacitus, ''Histories'' [[wikisource:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 1#5|I.5]].</ref>
Eastern sources, namely Philostratus II and [[Apollonius of Tyana]], mention that Nero's death was mourned as he "restored the liberties of [[Roman Greece|Hellas]] with a wisdom and moderation quite alien to his character"<ref>Philostratus II, ''The Life of Apollonius'' [http://www.livius.org/ap-ark/apollonius/life/va_5_41.html#§41 5.41].</ref> and that he "held our liberties in his hand and respected them."<ref>Letter from Apollonius to Emperor Vespasian, Philostratus II, ''The Life of Apollonius'' [http://www.livius.org/ap-ark/apollonius/life/va_5_41.html#§41 5.41].</ref>
Modern scholarship generally holds that, while the Senate and more well-off individuals welcomed Nero's death, the general populace was "loyal to the end and beyond, for Otho and Vitellius both thought it worthwhile to appeal to their nostalgia."<ref>M. T. Griffin, Nero (1984), p. 186; Gibbon, Edward, ''The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' Vol. I, Chap. III.</ref>
Nero's name was erased from some monuments, in what Edward Champlin regards as an "outburst of private zeal".<ref>Champlin (2003), p. 29.</ref> Many portraits of Nero were reworked to represent other figures; according to Eric R. Varner, over fifty such images survive.<ref name=pollini>John Pollini (September 2006), Review of ''Mutilation and Transformation: Damnatio Memoriae and Roman Imperial Portraiture'' by Eric R. Varner, ''[[The Art Bulletin]]''.</ref> This reworking of images is often explained as part of the way in which the memory of disgraced emperors was condemned posthumously (see [[damnatio memoriae]]).<ref name=pollini/> Champlin, however, doubts that the practice is necessarily negative and notes that some continued to create images of Nero long after his death.<ref>Champlin (2003), pp. 29–31.</ref>
[[Image:Nero-nancy.jpg|190px|thumb|[[Apotheosis]] of Nero, c. after 68. Artwork portraying Nero rising to divine status after his death.]]
The civil war during the [[year of the Four Emperors]] was described by ancient historians as a troubling period.<ref name="tacitus-histories-I.2"/> According to Tacitus, this instability was rooted in the fact that emperors could no longer rely on the perceived legitimacy of the imperial bloodline, as Nero and those before him could.<ref name="histories-i-4"/> [[Galba]] began his short reign with the execution of many allies of Nero and possible future enemies.<ref>Tacitus, ''Histories'' [[wikisource:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 1#6|I.6]].</ref> One such notable enemy included [[Nymphidius Sabinus]], who claimed to be the son of Emperor [[Caligula]].<ref>Plutarch, ''The Parallel Lives'', The Life of Galba [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Galba*.html#9 9].</ref>
[[Otho]] overthrew Galba. Otho was said to be liked by many soldiers because he had been a friend of Nero's and resembled him somewhat in temperament.<ref>Tacitus, ''Histories'' [[wikisource:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 1#13|I.13]].</ref> It was said that the common Roman hailed Otho as Nero himself.<ref name="suetonius-otho-7">Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Otho [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Otho*.html#7 7].</ref> Otho used "Nero" as a surname and reerected many statues to Nero.<ref name="suetonius-otho-7"/> [[Vitellius]] overthrew Otho. Vitellius began his reign with a large funeral for Nero complete with songs written by Nero.<ref>Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Vitellius [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Vitellius*.html#11 11].</ref>
After Nero's suicide in 68, there was a widespread belief, especially in the eastern provinces, that he was not dead and somehow would return.<ref>Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#57 57]; Tacitus, ''Histories'' [[wikisource:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 2#8|II.8]]; Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/66*.html#19 LXVI.19].</ref> This belief came to be known as the [[Nero Redivivus Legend]].
The legend of Nero's return lasted for hundreds of years after Nero's death. [[Augustine of Hippo]] wrote of the legend as a popular belief in 422.<ref name="augustine">Augustine of Hippo, ''City of God'' .[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf102.iv.XX.19.html XX.19.3].</ref>
At least [[pseudo-Neros|three Nero imposters]] emerged leading rebellions. The first, who sang and played the cithara or lyre and whose face was similar to that of the dead emperor, appeared in 69 during the reign of Vitellius.<ref name="tacitus-histories-II.8">Tacitus, ''Histories'' [[wikisource:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 2#8|II.8]].</ref> After persuading some to recognize him, he was captured and executed.<ref name="tacitus-histories-II.8"/> Sometime during the reign of [[Titus]] (79–81), another impostor appeared in Asia and sang to the accompaniment of the lyre and looked like Nero but he, too, was killed.<ref>Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/66*.html#19 LXVI.19].</ref> Twenty years after Nero's death, during the reign of [[Domitian]], there was a third pretender. He was supported by the Parthians, who only reluctantly gave him up,<ref>Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caears'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#57 57].</ref> and the matter almost came to war.<ref name="tacitus-histories-I.2"/>
==Physical appearance==
In his book ''The Lives of the Twelve Caesars'', [[Suetonius]] describes Nero as "about the average height, his body marked with spots and [[Body odor|malodorous]], his hair light blond, his features regular rather than attractive, his eyes blue and somewhat weak, his neck over thick, his belly prominent, and his legs very slender."<ref>{{Cite book|author=Suetonius|authorlink=Suetonius|title=The Lives of Twelve Caesars|chapter=Life of Nero, 51|url=http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#51|ref=Suetonius, Life of Nero}}</ref>
==Historiography==
The history of Nero's reign is problematic in that no historical sources survived that were contemporary with Nero. These first histories at one time did exist and were described as biased and fantastical, either overly critical or praising of Nero.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 1#1|I.1]]; Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews'' [[wikisource:The Antiquities of the Jews/Book XX#Chapter 8|XX.8.3]]; Tacitus, ''Life of Gnaeus Julius Agricola'' [[s:Agricola#10|10]]; Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#20|XIII.20]].</ref> The original sources were also said to contradict on a number of events.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#20|XIII.20]]; Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#2|XIV.2]].</ref> Nonetheless, these lost primary sources were the basis of surviving secondary and tertiary histories on Nero written by the next generations of historians.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#20|XIII.20]]; Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews'' [[wikisource:The Antiquities of the Jews/Book XIX#Chapter 1|XIX.1.13]].</ref> A few of the contemporary historians are known by name. [[Fabius Rusticus]], [[Cluvius Rufus]] and [[Pliny the Elder]] all wrote condemning histories on Nero that are now lost.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#20|XIII.20]].</ref> There were also pro-Nero histories, but it is unknown who wrote them or for what deeds Nero was praised.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 1#1|I.1]]; Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews'' [[wikisource:The Antiquities of the Jews/Book XX#Chapter 8|XX.8.3]].</ref>
The bulk of what is known of Nero comes from [[Tacitus]], [[Suetonius]] and [[Cassius Dio]], who were all of the senatorial class. Tacitus and Suetonius wrote their histories on Nero over fifty years after his death, while Cassius Dio wrote his history over 150 years after Nero's death. These sources contradict on a number of events in Nero's life including the death of [[Claudius]], the death of [[Agrippina the Younger|Agrippina]], and the Roman fire of 64, but they are consistent in their condemnation of Nero.
A handful of other sources also add a limited and varying perspective on Nero. Few surviving sources paint Nero in a favourable light. Some sources, though, portray him as a competent emperor who was popular with the Roman people, especially in the east.{{Citation needed|date=June 2009}}
;Cassius Dio
[[Cassius Dio]] (c. 155–229) was the son of [[Cassius Apronianus]], a Roman senator. He passed the greater part of his life in public service. He was a senator under [[Commodus]] and governor of Smyrna after the death of [[Septimius Severus]]; and afterwards suffect consul around 205, and also proconsul in Africa and Pannonia.
Books 61–63 of Dio's ''Roman History'' describe the reign of Nero. Only fragments of these books remain and what does remain was abridged and altered by [[John Xiphilinus]], an 11th-century monk.
;Dio Chrysostom
[[Dio Chrysostom]] (c. 40–120), a Greek philosopher and historian, wrote the Roman people were very happy with Nero and would have allowed him to rule indefinitely. They longed for his rule once he was gone and embraced imposters when they appeared:
{{quote|Indeed the truth about this has not come out even yet; for so far as the rest of his subjects were concerned, there was nothing to prevent his continuing to be Emperor for all time, seeing that even now everybody wishes he were still alive. And the great majority do believe that he still is, although in a certain sense he has died not once but often along with those who had been firmly convinced that he was still alive.<ref>Dio Chrysostom, ''Discourse'' XXI, On Beauty.</ref>}}
;Epictetus
[[Epictetus]] (c. 55–135) was the slave to Nero's scribe [[Epaphroditos]]. He makes a few passing negative comments on Nero's character in his work, but makes no remarks on the nature of his rule. He describes Nero as a spoiled, angry and unhappy man.
;Josephus
[[Image:Josephusbust.jpg|thumb|The historian [[Josephus]] (c. 37–100) accused other historians of slandering Nero.]]
The historian [[Josephus]] (c. 37–100), while calling Nero a tyrant, was also the first to mention bias against Nero. Of other historians, he said:
{{quote|But I omit any further discourse about these affairs; for there have been a great many who have composed the history of Nero; some of which have departed from the truth of facts out of favour, as having received benefits from him; while others, out of hatred to him, and the great ill-will which they bore him, have so impudently raved against him with their lies, that they justly deserve to be condemned. Nor do I wonder at such as have told lies of Nero, since they have not in their writings preserved the truth of history as to those facts that were earlier than his time, even when the actors could have no way incurred their hatred, since those writers lived a long time after them.<ref>Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews'' [[wikisource:The Antiquities of the Jews/Book XX#Chapter 8|XX.8.3]].</ref>}}
;Lucan
Though more of a poet than historian, [[Marcus Annaeus Lucanus|Lucanus]] (c. 39–65) has one of the kindest accounts of Nero's rule. He writes of peace and prosperity under Nero in contrast to previous war and strife. Ironically, he was later involved in a conspiracy to overthrow Nero and was executed.<ref>Marcus Annaeus Lucanus, [http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext96/pcwar10.txt ''Pharsalia'' (Civil War) (''c.'' 65)].</ref>
;Philostratus
[[Philostratus]] II "the Athenian" (c. 172–250) spoke of Nero in the [[Life of Apollonius Tyana]] (Books 4–5). Though he has a generally bad or dim view of Nero, he speaks of others' positive reception of Nero in the East.
;Pliny the Elder
The history of Nero by [[Pliny the Elder]] (c. 24–79) did not survive. Still, there are several references to Nero in Pliny's ''Natural Histories''. Pliny has one of the worst opinions of Nero and calls him an "enemy of mankind."<ref>Pliny the Elder, ''Natural Histories'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Pliny_the_Elder/7*.html#viii VII.8.46].</ref>
;Plutarch
[[Plutarch]] (c. 46–127) mentions Nero indirectly in his account of the Life of Galba and the Life of Otho. Nero is portrayed as a tyrant, but those that replace him are not described as better.
;Seneca the Younger
It is not surprising that [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]] (c. 4 BEC–65), Nero's teacher and advisor, writes very well of Nero.<ref>Seneca the Younger, [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/10001/10001-h/10001-h.htm ''Apocolocyntosis'' 4].</ref>
;Suetonius
{{Main|Lives of the Twelve Caesars}}
[[Suetonius]] (c. 69–130) was a member of the equestrian order, and he was the head of the department of the imperial correspondence. While in this position, Suetonius started writing biographies of the emperors, accentuating the anecdotal and sensational aspects.
;Tacitus
{{Main|Annals (Tacitus)}}
The ''Annals'' by [[Tacitus]] (c. 56–117) is the most detailed and comprehensive history on the rule of Nero, despite being incomplete after the year 66. Tacitus described the rule of the Julio-Claudian emperors as generally unjust. He also thought that existing writing on them was unbalanced:
{{quote|The histories of Tiberius, Caius, Claudius and Nero, while they were in power, were falsified through terror, and after their death were written under the irritation of a recent hatred.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 1#1|I.1]].</ref>}}
Tacitus was the son of a [[Promagistrate|procurator]], who married into the elite family of Agricola. He entered his political life as a senator after Nero's death and, by Tacitus' own admission, owed much to Nero's rivals. Realising that this bias may be apparent to others, Tacitus protests that his writing is true.<ref>Tacitus, ''History'' [[wikisource:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 1#1|I.1]].</ref>
; Girolamo Cardano
In 1562 [[Girolamo Cardano]] published in Basel his ''Encomium Neronis'', which was one of the first historical references of the [[Modern era]] to portray Nero in a positive light.
==Nero and religion==
===Jewish tradition===
At the end of 66, conflict broke out between Greeks and Jews in [[Jerusalem]] and Caesarea. According to the [[Talmud]], Nero went to Jerusalem and shot arrows in all four directions. All the arrows landed in the city. He then asked a passing child to repeat the verse he had learned that day. The child responded, "I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel" ([[Ezekiel|Ez.]] [http://av1611.com/kjbp/kjv-bible-text/Eze-25.html 25,14]). Nero became terrified, believing that God wanted the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] to be destroyed, but would punish the one to carry it out. Nero said, "He desires to lay waste His House and to lay the blame on me," whereupon he fled and converted to Judaism to avoid such retribution.<ref>Talmud, [[Treatise|tractate]] [[Gittin|Gitin]] 56a-b</ref> [[Vespasian]] was then dispatched to put down the rebellion.
The Talmud adds that the sage [[Reb Meir Baal HaNess]], a prominent supporter of the [[Simon bar Kokhba|Bar Kokhba]] [[Bar Kokhba's revolt|rebellion]] against Roman rule, was a descendant of Nero.
Roman and Greek sources nowhere report Nero's alleged trip to Jerusalem or his alleged conversion to Judaism.<ref>Isaac, Benjamin (2004) The Invention of Racism in Classical Antiquity pp. 440–491. Princeton.</ref> There is also no record of Nero having any offspring who survived infancy: his only recorded child, [[Claudia Augusta]], died aged 4 months.
===Christian tradition===
[[Image:Siemiradzki Christian Dirce.jpg|thumb|400px|''A Christian Dirce'', by [[Henryk Siemiradzki]]. A Christian woman is martyred in this re-enactment of the myth of [[Dirce]].]]
[[Christian]] tradition and secular historical sources{{examples|date=August 2014}} hold Nero as the first major state sponsor of [[Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire|Christian persecution]], and sometimes as the killer of [[Apostles]] [[Saint Peter|Peter]] and [[Paul the Apostle|Paul]]. Some 2nd and 3rd century theologians{{who|date=August 2014}}, among others, recorded their belief that Nero would return from death or exile, usually as "the [[Anti-Christ]]. He is also seen{{by whom|date=August 2014}} as one of the most savage persecutors of [[Christians]]."{{citation needed|date=August 2014}}
====First persecutor====
[[File:Siemiradski Fackeln.jpg|thumb|Nero's Torches]]
Non-Christian historian [[Tacitus]] describes Nero extensively torturing and executing Christians after the fire of 64.<ref name="annals-xv-44"/> [[Suetonius]] also mentions Nero punishing Christians, though he does so because they are "given to a new and mischievous superstition" and does not connect it with the fire.<ref>Suetonius ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#16 Life of Nero, chapter 16].</ref>
Christian writer [[Tertullian]] (c. 155–230) was the first to call Nero the first persecutor of Christians. He wrote, "Examine your records. There you will find that Nero was the first that persecuted this doctrine".<ref>Tertullian ''Apologeticum'', lost text quoted in [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250102.htm], [[Eusebius]], ''[[Church History (Eusebius)|Ecclesiastical History]]'', II.25.4.</ref> [[Lactantius]] (c. 240–320) also said that Nero "first persecuted the servants of God".<ref name="lactantius">[http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/ANF-07/anf07-15.htm Lactantius, ''Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died'' II].</ref> as does [[Sulpicius Severus]].<ref>[http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/sulpiciusseveruschron2.html Sulpicius Severus, ''Chronica'' II.28].</ref> However, Suetonius writes that, "since the Jews constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he [emperor [[Claudius]]] expelled them from Rome" ("''Iudaeos impulsore Chresto assidue tumultuantis Roma expulit''").<ref>Suetonius ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Claudius [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Claudius*.html#25 25].</ref> These expelled "Jews" may have been early Christians, although Suetonius is not explicit. Nor is the Bible explicit, calling Aquila of Pontus and his wife, Priscilla, both expelled from Italy at the time, "Jews".<ref>[[BibleWiki:Acts Chapter 18, Verse 2|Acts of the Apostles 18:2]].</ref>
====Reputed martyrdoms of Peter and Paul====
The first text to suggest that Nero ordered the execution of an apostle is the apocryphal ''[[Ascension of Isaiah]]'', a Christian writing from the 2nd century. It says, ''the slayer of his mother, who himself (even) this king, will persecute the plant which the Twelve Apostles of the Beloved have planted. Of the Twelve one will be delivered into his hands.''<ref name="ascension">[http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/ascension.html ''Ascension of Isaiah'' Chapter 4.2].</ref>
[[Bishop]] [[Eusebius]] of [[Caesarea]] (c. 275–339) was the first to write explicitly that Paul was beheaded in Rome during the reign of Nero.<ref>Eusebius, [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250102.htm ''Ecclesiastical History'' II.25.5].</ref> He states that Nero's persecution led to Peter and Paul's deaths, but that Nero did not give any specific orders. However, several other accounts going back to the 1st century have Paul surviving his two years in Rome and travelling to [[Hispania]], before facing trial in Rome again prior to his death.<ref>In the [http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/actspaul.html apocryphal Acts of Paul], in the [http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/actspeter.html apocryphal Acts of Peter], in the [http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/1clement-lightfoot.html First Epistle of Clement 5:6], and in [http://www.bible-researcher.com/muratorian.html The Muratorian Fragment].</ref>
Peter is first said to have been [[Cross of St. Peter|crucified upside-down]] in Rome during Nero's reign (but not by Nero) in the [[apocryphal]] [[Acts of Peter]] (c. 200).<ref>[http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/actspeter.html Apocryphal ''Acts of Peter''].</ref> The account ends with Paul still alive and Nero abiding by God's command not to persecute any more Christians.
By the 4th century, a number of writers were stating that Nero killed Peter and Paul.<ref>[[Lactantius]] wrote that Nero ''crucified Peter, and slew Paul.'', Lactantius, [http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/ANF-07/anf07-15.htm ''Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died'' II]; [[John Chrysostom]] wrote Nero knew Paul personally and had him killed, John Chrysostom, [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1907.htm ''Concerning Lowliness of Mind'' 4]; [[Sulpicius Severus]] says Nero killed Peter and Paul, Sulpicius Severus, [http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/sulpiciusseveruschron2.html ''Chronica'' II.28–29].</ref>
====The Antichrist====
{{Main|Anti-Christ|The Beast (Bible)|Number of the Beast}}
The [[Sibylline Oracles]], Book 5 and 8, written in the 2nd century, speak of Nero returning and bringing destruction.<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/sib/index.htm ''Sibylline Oracles'' 5.361–376, 8.68–72, 8.531–157].</ref> Within Christian communities, these writings, along with others,<ref>[[Sulpicius Severus]] and [[Victorinus of Pettau]] also say that Nero is the Antichrist, [http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/sulpiciusseveruschron2.html Sulpicius Severus, ''Chronica'' II.28–29]; [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0712.htm Victorinus of Pettau, ''Commentary on the Apocalypse'' 17].</ref> fueled the belief that Nero would return as the Antichrist. In 310, [[Lactantius]] wrote that Nero ''suddenly disappeared, and even the burial place of that noxious wild beast was nowhere to be seen. This has led some persons of extravagant imagination to suppose that, having been conveyed to a distant region, he is still reserved alive; and to him they apply the Sibylline verses''.<ref name="lactantius"/>
In 422, [[Augustine of Hippo]] wrote about 2 Thessalonians 2:1–11, where he believed Paul mentioned the coming of the Antichrist. Though he rejects the theory, Augustine mentions that many Christians believed that Nero was the Antichrist or would return as the Antichrist. He wrote, ''so that in saying, "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work,"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=60&chapter=2&verse=7&version=9&context=verse|title=2 Thessalonians 2:7 – Passage Lookup – King James Version|publisher=BibleGateway.com|accessdate=2010-11-09}}</ref> he alluded to Nero, whose deeds already seemed to be as the deeds of Antichrist.''<ref name="augustine"/>
Some modern biblical scholars<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=IzzAFl2ONfAC&pg=PA61 The Book of Revelation], Catherine A. Cory.</ref><ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=SkOg-tEYbR4C&pg=PA86 Revelation], Alan John Philip Garrow.</ref> such as Delbert Hillers ([[Johns Hopkins University]]) of the [[American Schools of Oriental Research]] and the editors of the Oxford & Harper Collins Study Bibles, contend that the number [[Number of the Beast|666]] in the [[Book of Revelation]] is a code for Nero,<ref>Hillers, Delbert, "Rev. 13, 18 and a scroll from Murabba'at", Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 170 (1963) 65.</ref> a view that is also supported in [[Roman Catholic]] Biblical commentaries.<ref>The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Ed. Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1990. 1009.</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Just, S.J., Ph.D.|first=Prof. Felix|title=''The Book of Revelation, Apocalyptic Literature, and Millennial Movements'', University of San Francisco, USF Jesuit Community|url=http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/Apocalyptic.htm|doi=|accessdate=2007-05-18}}</ref>
The concept of Nero as the Antichrist is often a central belief of [[Preterism|Preterist]] [[eschatology]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2014}}
==See also==
*[[Nero in popular culture]]
==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==References==
'''Primary sources'''
* [http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/txt/ah/Tacitus/index.htm Tacitus, ''Histories'', I–IV (''c.'' 105)]
* [http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/txt/ah/Tacitus/index.htm Tacitus, ''Annals'', XIII–XVI (''c.'' 117)]
* [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/josephus/works/files/works.html Josephus, ''War of the Jews'', Books II–VI (''c.'' 94)]
* [http://www.ccel.org/j/josephus/works/ant-20.htm Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews'', Book XX (''c.'' 94)]
* [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/home.html Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'', Books 61–63 (''c.'' 229)]
* [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Galba*.html Plutarch, ''The Parallel Lives'', The Life of Galba (''c.'' 110)]
* [http://www.livius.org/ap-ark/apollonius/life/va_00.html Philostratus II, ''Life of Apollonius Tyana'', Books 4–5, (''c.'' 220)]
* [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', the Life of Nero (''c.'' 121)]
'''Secondary sources'''
* Benario, Herbert W. [http://www.roman-emperors.org/nero.htm Nero] at ''De Imperatoribus Romanis''.
* {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?isbn=0674018222 |title=Nero |author=Champlin, Edward |authorlink=Edward Champlin |publisher=Harvard University Press |page=346 |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-674-01822-8}}
* [[Vincent Cronin|Cronin, Vincent]]. ''Nero''. London: Stacey International, 2010 (ISBN 1-906768-14-5).
* Donahue, John, [http://www.roman-emperors.org/galba.htm "Galba (68–69 A.D.)"] at ''De Imperatoribus Romanis''.
* Grant, Michael. ''Nero''. New York: Dorset Press, 1989 (ISBN 0-88029-311-X).
* Griffin, Miriam T. ''Nero: The End of a Dynasty''. New Haven, CT; London: [[Yale University Press]], 1985 (hardcover, ISBN 0-300-03285-4); London; New York: Routledge, 1987 (paperback, ISBN 0-7134-4465-7).
* Holland, Richard. ''Nero: The Man Behind the Myth''. Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 2000 (paperback ISBN 0-7509-2876-X).
*{{fr}} Minaud, Gérard, ''Les vies de 12 femmes d'empereur romain - Devoirs, Intrigues & Voluptés '', Paris, L'Harmattan, 2012, ch. 4, '' La vie de Poppée, femme de Néron'', p. 97–120 (ISBN 978-2-336-00291-0).
* Warmington, Brian Herbert. ''Nero: Reality and Legend''. London: Chatto & Windus, 1969 (hardcover, ISBN 0-7011-1438-X); New York: W.W Norton & Company, 1970 (paperback, ISBN 0-393-00542-9); New York: Vintage, 1981 (paperback, ISBN 0-7011-1454-1).
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20091027092615/http://geocities.com/gaiusulpius/nero.html Nero] Nero: The Actor-Emperor
* [http://virtualreligion.net/iho/nero.html Nero] entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith
* [http://www.romansonline.com/Persns.asp?IntID=5&Ename=Nero Nero] basic data & select quotes posted by [http://www.romansonline.com/ ''Romans On Line'']
* [http://www.bible-history.com/nero/ Nero Caesar] biographical sketch archived in [http://www.bible-history.com/ ''Bible History Online'']
* [http://www.third-millennium-library.com/readinghall/GalleryofHistory/Nero/NERO-DOOR.html THE LIFE AND TIMES OF NERO By CARLO MARIA FRANZERO (BTM format)].
* [http://www.bijanomrani.com/?p=tacitus Nero's depiction in Tacitus' Annals]
* [http://www.roman-empire.net/emperors/nero.html Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus] entry in the [http://www.roman-empire.net/ ''Illustrated History of the Roman Empire''].
* {{nndb|925/000087664}}
* {{britannica|9055320}}
==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commons category|Nero}}
* [http://www.sien-neron.fr/?lang=en International Society for Neronian Studies]
{{S-start}}
{{S-hou|[[Julio-Claudian dynasty]]|15 December|37|9 June|68}}
{{S-off}}
{{S-bef|rows=2|before=[[Claudius]] }}
{{S-ttl|title=[[List of Roman Emperors|Roman Emperor]]
|years=54–68 }}
{{S-aft|after=[[Galba]] }}
{{S-ttl|title=[[Julio-Claudian Dynasty|Julio-Claudian dynasty]]
|years=54–68 }}
{{s-non|reason=Dynasty ended }}
{{s-bef|before=Marcus Acilius Aviola and [[Marcus Asinius Marcellus]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Roman consuls|Consul]] of the [[Roman Empire]] (with Lucius Antistius Vetus)|years=55}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Quintus Volusius Saturninus]] and [[Publius Cornelius Lentulus Scipio]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Quintus Volusius Saturninus]] and [[Publius Cornelius Lentulus Scipio]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Roman consuls|Consul]] of the [[Roman Empire]]|years=57–58}}
{{s-aft|after=Gaius Vipstanus Apronianus and [[Gaius Fonteius Capito]]}}
{{s-bef|before=Gaius Vipstanus Apronianus and [[Gaius Fonteius Capito]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Roman consuls|Consul]] of the [[Roman Empire]] (with Cossus Cornelius Lentulus)|years=60}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Publius Petronius Turpilianus]] and [[Lucius Caesennius Paetus]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Silius Italicus|Ti. Catius Asconius Silius Italicus]] and P. Galerius Trachalus}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Roman consuls|Consul]] of the [[Roman Empire]]|years=68 ''(suffect, without colleague)''}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Galba|Ser. Galba Imp. Caesar Augustus]] and [[Titus Vinius|T. Vinius (Rufinus?)]]}}
{{S-end}}
{{Roman Emperors}}
{{Ancient Olympic winners}}
{{Authority control|VIAF=84036175|LCCN=n/50/65376}}
{{Good article}}
<!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] -->
{{Persondata
|NAME=Nero
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus; Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=Fifth and last [[Roman Emperor]] of the Julio-Claudian dynasty; reigned 13 October 54 – 9 June 68
|DATE OF BIRTH=15 December 37
|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Anzio]], Italy
|DATE OF DEATH=9 June 68
|PLACE OF DEATH=Rome, Italy
}}
[[Category:Nero|Nero]]
[[Category:1st-century Roman emperors]]
[[Category:37 births]]
[[Category:68 deaths]]
[[Category:Claudii]]
[[Category:Domitii]]
[[Category:Forced suicides]]
[[Category:Julio-Claudian dynasty]]
[[Category:Matricides]]
[[Category:People from the Province of Rome]]
[[Category:Philhellenes]]
[[Category:Pre-19th-century LGBT people]]
[[Category:Roman emperors to suffer posthumous denigration or damnatio memoriae]]
[[Category:Roman emperors who committed suicide]]
[[Category:Roman-era Olympic competitors]]
[[Category:Suicides by sharp instrument in Italy]]
[[Category:Talmud people]]
[[Category:Year of the Four Emperors]]' |
New page wikitext, after the edit (new_wikitext) | '{{Other uses}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name = Nero
| image = Nero 1.JPG
| caption = Bust of Nero at the [[Musei Capitolini]], [[Rome]]
| succession = [[Roman Emperor|5th Emperor]] of the [[Roman Empire]]
| reign = 13 October 54 – 9 June 68<br/>(13 years)
| predecessor = [[Claudius]], grand-uncle and stepfather
| successor = [[Galba]]
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* [[Claudia Octavia]]
* [[Poppaea Sabina]]
* [[Statilia Messalina]]
* [[Sporus]]
}}
| issue = [[Claudia Augusta]]
| house = [[Julio-Claudian dynasty|Julio-Claudian Dynasty]]
| full name = Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus
| father = [[Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 32)|Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus]]
| mother = [[Agrippina the Younger]]
| birth_date = 15 December 37
| birth_place = [[Antium]] (modern [[Anzio]] and [[Nettuno]]), [[Italia (Roman Empire)|Italy]]
| death_date = 9 June 68 (aged 30)
| death_place = Outside [[Rome]]
| place of burial = Mausoleum of the Domitii Ahenobarbi, [[Pincian Hill]], [[Rome]]
| religion = [[Roman Paganism]]
}}
{{Julio-Claudian dynasty}}
'''Nero''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|ɪər|oʊ}}; [[Latin]]: ''Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus'';<ref>In [[Classical Latin]], Nero's name would be inscribed as NERO CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVGVSTVS GERMANICVS.</ref> 15 December 37 – 9 June 68)<ref>Nero's birth day is listed in Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#6 6]. His death day is uncertain, though, perhaps because Galba was declared emperor before Nero died. The date of 9 June is calculated from Jerome, ''Chronicle'', which lists Nero's rule as 13 years, 7 months and 28 days. Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' LXII.3 and Josephus, ''War of the Jews'' IV, say Nero's rule was 13 years, 8 months which would be until 11 June.</ref> was [[Roman Emperor]] from 54 to 68, and the last in the [[Julio-Claudian dynasty]]. Nero was [[Adoption in Ancient Rome|adopted by]] his great-uncle [[Claudius]] to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death.
Nero focused much of his attention on diplomacy, trade and enhancing the cultural life of the Empire. He ordered theatres built and promoted athletic games. During his reign, the redoubtable general [[Corbulo]] conducted a [[Roman–Parthian War of 58–63|successful war]] and negotiated peace with the [[Parthian Empire]]. His general [[Suetonius Paulinus]] crushed a [[Boudicca#Boudica's uprising|revolt in Britain]]. Nero annexed the [[Bosporan Kingdom]] to the Empire and began the [[First Roman–Jewish War]].
In 64 AD, most of Rome was destroyed in the [[Great Fire of Rome]], which many Romans believed Nero himself had started in order to clear land for his planned palatial complex, the [[Domus Aurea]]. In 68, the rebellion of [[Vindex]] in [[Gaul]] and later the acclamation of [[Galba]] in [[Hispania]] drove Nero from the throne. Facing a false report of being denounced as a public enemy who was to be executed, he committed suicide on 9 June 68 (the first Roman emperor to do so).<ref>Suetonius states that Nero committed suicide in Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#49 49]; Sulpicius Severus, who possibly used Tacitus' lost fragments as a source, reports that it was uncertain whether Nero committed suicide, Sulpicius Severus, ''Chronica'' II.29, also see T.D. Barnes, "The Fragments of Tacitus' Histories", ''Classical Philology'' (1977), p. 228.</ref> His death ended the [[Julio-Claudian Dynasty]], sparking a brief period of civil wars known as the [[Year of the Four Emperors]]. Nero's rule is often associated with tyranny and extravagance.<ref>Galba criticized Nero's ''luxuria'', both his public and private excessive spending, during rebellion, Tacitus, ''Annals'' I.16; Kragelund, Patrick, "Nero's Luxuria, in Tacitus and in the Octavia", ''The Classical Quarterly'', 2000, pp. 494–515.</ref> He is known for many executions, including that of his mother,<ref>References to Nero's matricide appear in the ''[[Sibylline Oracles]]'' 5.490–520, [[Geoffrey Chaucer]]'s ''[[Canterbury Tales]]'' [[The Monk's Tale]] and [[William Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Hamlet]]'' 3.ii.</ref> and the probable murder by poison of his stepbrother [[Britannicus]].
He is infamously known as the Emperor who "fiddled while Rome burned".<ref>Nero was not a fiddle player, but a [[lyre]] player (the fiddle was not invented for at least another 1,500 years). Suetonius states Nero played the lyre while Rome burned, see Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#38 38]; For a detailed explanation of this transition see M. F. Gyles "Nero Fiddled while Rome Burned", ''The Classical Journal'' 42, no. 4 (January 1947), pp. 211–17 – nevertheless, the idea that Nero played any kind of musical instrument is an urban legend, since he was away from Rome at the time of the fire. [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/journals/CJ/42/4/Nero_Fiddled*.html].</ref> He was rumored to have had captured Christians dipped in oil, and then set on fire in his garden at night as a source of light.<ref name="annals-xv-44"/> This view is based on the writings of [[Tacitus]], [[Suetonius]] and [[Cassius Dio]], the main surviving sources for Nero's reign, but a few surviving sources paint Nero in a more favourable light.<ref>These include Lucan's ''Civil War'', Seneca the Younger's ''On Mercy'' and Dio Chrysostom's ''Discourses'' along with various Roman coins and inscriptions.</ref> Some sources, including some mentioned above, portray him as an emperor who was popular with the common Roman people, especially in the East.<ref>Tacitus, ''Histories'' I.4, I.5, I.13, II.8; Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#57 57], Life of Otho 7, Life of Vitellius 11; Philostratus II, ''The Life of Apollonius'' 5.41; Dio Chrysostom, ''Discourse XXI'', On Beauty.</ref> Some modern historians question the reliability of ancient sources when reporting on Nero's tyrannical acts.<ref>On fire and Christian persecution, see F.W. Clayton, "Tacitus and Christian Persecution", ''The Classical Quarterly'', pp. 81–85; B.W. Henderson, ''Life and Principate of the Emperor Nero'', p. 437; On general bias against Nero, see Edward Champlin, ''Nero'', Cambridge, MA: [[Harvard University Press]], 2003, pp. 36–52 (ISBN 0-674-01192-9</ref>
==Early life==
===Family===
{{See also|Roman Emperors family tree}}
'''Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus''', the fuck
ture Nero, was born on 15 December 37 in [[Antium]] (modern [[Anzio]] and [[Nettuno]]<ref>Paola Brandizzi Vittucci, ''Antium: Anzio e Nettuno in epoca romana'', Roma, Bardi, 2000 ISBN 88-85699-83-9</ref>), near Rome.<ref name="suetonius-nero-1">Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#1 1].</ref><ref name="suetonius-nero-6">Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#6 6].</ref> He was the only son of [[Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 32)|Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus]] and [[Agrippina the Younger]], sister of Emperor [[Caligula]].
Nero's father, Gnaeus, was the son of [[Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 16 BC)|Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus]] (consul 16 BC) and [[Antonia Major]]. Gnaeus was thus the grandson of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 32 BC) and probably [[Aemilia Lepida]] on his father's side, and the grandson of [[Mark Antony]] and [[Octavia Minor]] on his mother's side. Thus, Nero had as his paternal grandmother Antonia Maior, and also claimed more remote descent from [[Antonia Minor]] as a great-grandson—later grandson after Claudius adopted him.<ref name="suetonius-nero-5">Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#5 5].</ref>
Through Octavia, Nero was the great-nephew of Caesar Augustus. Nero's father had been employed as a [[praetor]] and was a member of Caligula's staff when the latter travelled to the East (some apparently think Suetonius refers to Augustus' adopted son Gaius Caesar here, but this is not likely).<ref name="suetonius-nero-5">Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#5 5].</ref>
Nero's father was described by Suetonius as a murderer and a cheat who was charged by Emperor [[Tiberius]] with treason, adultery and incest.<ref name="suetonius-nero-5"/> Tiberius died, allowing him to escape these charges.<ref name="suetonius-nero-5"/> Nero's father died of [[edema]] ("dropsy") in 39 when Nero was two.<ref name="suetonius-nero-5"/>
Nero's mother was Agrippina the Younger, a great-granddaughter of [[Caesar Augustus]] and his wife [[Scribonia]] through their daughter [[Julia the Elder]] and her husband [[Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa]]. Agrippina's father, [[Germanicus]], was a grandson of Augustus's wife, [[Livia]], on one side and to Mark Antony and Octavia on the other. Germanicus' mother Antonia Minor, was a daughter of Octavia Minor and Mark Antony. Octavia was Augustus' elder sister. Germanicus was also the adopted son of Tiberius. Agrippina poisoned her second husband Passienus Crispus, so many ancient historians also accuse her of murdering her third husband, the emperor Claudius.<ref name="agrippina">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 12#66|XII.66]]; Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/61*.html#34 LXI.34]; Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Claudius [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Claudius*.html#44 44]; Josephus is less sure, Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews'' [[wikisource:The Antiquities of the Jews/Book XX#Chapter 8|XX.8.1]].</ref>
<center>{{ahnentafel-compact5
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|boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0;
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
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|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
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|1=1.'''Nero'''
|2=2. [[Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 32)|Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus]]
|3=3. [[Agrippina the Younger]]
|4=4. [[Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 16 BC)|Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus]]
|5=5. [[Antonia Major]]
|6=6. [[Germanicus]]
|7=7. [[Agrippina the Elder]]
|8=8. [[Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 32 BC)|Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus]]
|9=9. [[Aemilia Lepida]]
|10=10. [[Mark Antony]]
|11=11. [[Octavia Minor]]
|12=12. [[Nero Claudius Drusus]]
|13=13. [[Antonia Minor]]
|14=14. [[Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa]]
|15=15. [[Julia the Elder]]
|16=16. [[Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 54 BC)|Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus]]
|17=17. [[Porcia (sister of Cato the Younger)|Porcia Catonis]]
|20=20. [[Marcus Antonius Creticus]]
|21=21. [[Julia Antonia]]
|22=22. [[Gaius Octavius]]
|23=23. [[Atia Balba Caesonia]]
|24=24. [[Tiberius Claudius Nero (praetor 42 BC)|Tiberius Claudius Nero]]
|25=25. [[Livia|Livia Drusilla]]
|26=26.=10. [[Mark Antony]]
|27=27.=11. [[Octavia Minor]]
|28=28. [[Lucius Vipsanius Agrippa]]
|30=30. [[Augustus]] (brother of 11, 27)
|31=31. [[Scribonia]]
}}</center>
===Rise to power===
[[Image:NeroandClaudius.jpg|thumb|250px|Coin issued under [[Claudius]] celebrating young Nero as the future emperor, c. 50.]]
Nero was not expected to become Emperor because his maternal uncle, [[Caligula]], had begun his reign at the age of 25 with enough time to produce his own heir. Nero's mother, Agrippina, lost favour with Caligula and was exiled in 39 after her husband's death.<ref>Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Caligula [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Caligula*.html#29 29].</ref> Caligula seized Nero's inheritance and sent him to be brought up by his less wealthy aunt, [[Domitia Lepida]], who was the mother of [[Valeria Messalina]], Claudius's third wife.<ref name="suetonius-nero-6"/>
Caligula, his wife [[Caesonia]] and their infant daughter [[Julia Drusilla (daughter of Caligula)|Julia Drusilla]] were murdered on 24 January 41.<ref>Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews'' [[wikisource:The Antiquities of the Jews/Book XIX#Chapter 1|XIX.1.14]], [[wikisource:The Antiquities of the Jews/Book XIX#Chapter 2|XIX.2.4]].</ref> These events led [[Claudius]], Caligula's uncle, to become emperor.<ref>Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews'' [[wikisource:The Antiquities of the Jews/Book XIX#Chapter 3|XIX.3.2]].</ref> Claudius allowed Agrippina to return from exile.<ref name="suetonius-nero-6"/>
Claudius had married twice before marrying Valeria Messalina.<ref name="suetonius-claudius-26">Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Claudius [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Claudius*.html#26 26].</ref> His previous marriages produced three children including a son, Drusus, who died at a young age.<ref name="suetonius-claudius-27">Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Claudius [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Claudius*.html#27 27].</ref> He had two children with Messalina – [[Claudia Octavia]] (born 40) and Britannicus (born 41).<ref name="suetonius-claudius-27"/> Messalina was executed by Claudius in the year 48.<ref name="suetonius-claudius-26"/>
In 49 AD, Claudius married a fourth time, to Nero's mother Agrippina, despite her being his niece.<ref name="suetonius-claudius-27"/> To aid Claudius politically, young Nero was adopted in 50 and took the name '''Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus''' (see [[adoption in Rome]]).<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 12#25|XII.25]].</ref> Nero was older than his stepbrother Britannicus, and thus became heir to the throne.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 12#26|XII.26]].</ref>
Nero was proclaimed an adult in 51 at the age of 14.<ref name="annals-xii-41">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 12#41|XII.41]].</ref> He was appointed [[proconsul]], entered and first addressed the [[Roman Senate|Senate]], made joint public appearances with Claudius, and was featured in coinage.<ref name="annals-xii-41"/> In 53, he married his stepsister Claudia Octavia.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 12#58|XII.58]].</ref>
==Emperor (54–68 AD)==
===Early rule===
[[File:Nerón y Agripina.jpg|thumb|250px|Nero and [[Agrippina the Younger|Agrippina]]. Agrippina crowns her young son Nero with a laurel wreath. She carries a [[cornucopia]], symbol of fortune and plenty, and he wears the armour and cloak of a Roman commander, with a helmet on the ground at his feet. The scene refers to Nero's accession as emperor in 54 AD and is dated before 59 AD when Nero had Agrippina murdered.<ref>Information about this sculpture at the Museum of Aphrodisias, Turkey, where it is located.</ref>]]
[[Image:Nero Agrippina aureus 54.png|thumb|300px|An [[Aureus]] of Nero and his mother, [[Agrippina the Younger|Agrippina]], c. 54.]]
[[Claudius]] died in 54 and Nero, taking the name '''Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus''', was established as Emperor. Though accounts vary, many ancient historians state [[Agrippina the younger|Agrippina]] poisoned Claudius.<ref name="agrippina"/> According to [[Pliny the Elder]], she used poison mushrooms.<ref>[http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=3578208 On the Mushroom that Deified the Emperor Claudius]</ref> It is not known how much Nero knew or if he was even involved in the death of Claudius.<ref>Cassius Dio's and Suetonius' accounts claim Nero knew of the murder, Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/61*.html#35 LXI.35], Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#33 33]; Tacitus' and Josephus' accounts only mention Agrippina, Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 12#65|XII.65]], Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews'' [[wikisource:The Antiquities of the Jews/Book XX#Chapter 8|XX.8.1]].</ref>
:Suetonius wrote "... for even if he was not the instigator of the emperor's death, he was at least privy to it, as he openly admitted; for he used afterwards to laud mushrooms, the vehicle in which the poison was administered to Claudius, as "the food of the gods," as the Greek proverb has it. At any rate, after Claudius' death he vented on him every kind of insult, in act and word, charging him now with folly and now with cruelty; for it was a favourite joke of his to say that Claudius had ceased "to play the fool among mortals, lengthening the first syllable of the word ''morari'', and he disregarded many of his decrees and acts as the work of a madman and a dotard. Finally, he neglected to enclose the place where his body was burned except with a low and mean wall."<ref>[http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#33 Suetonius • Life of Nero<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
Nero became Emperor at 17 when the news of Claudius' death was made known,<ref>[http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/61*.html Book LXI #3 P39]</ref><ref>[http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#33 #8 P100]</ref> the youngest emperor until that time.<ref>Augustus was 35, Tiberius was 56, Caligula was 25 and Claudius was 50.</ref> Ancient historians describe Nero's early reign as being strongly influenced by his mother, Agrippina, his tutor [[Seneca the younger|Lucius Annaeus Seneca]], and the Praetorian Prefect [[Sextus Afranius Burrus]], especially in the first year.<ref>Cassius Dio claims "At first Agrippina managed for him all the business of the empire", then Seneca and Burrus "took the rule entirely into their own hands,", but "after the death of Britannicus, Seneca and Burrus no longer gave any careful attention to the public business" in 55, Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/61*.html#3 LXI.3–7].</ref> Other tutors were less often mentioned, such as [[Alexander of Aegae]].<ref name="DGRBM">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Jowett|first=Benjamin|authorlink=Benjamin Jowett|title=Alexander of Aegae|editor=William Smith|encyclopedia=[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]]|volume=1|pages=110–111|publisher=[[Little, Brown and Company]]|location=Boston|year=1867|url=http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0119.html|editor-link=William Smith (lexicographer) }}</ref>
Very early in Nero's rule, problems arose from competition for influence between Agrippina and Nero's two main advisers, Seneca and Burrus.
In 54, Agrippina tried to sit down next to Nero while he met with an Armenian envoy, but Seneca stopped her and prevented a scandalous scene<ref name="annals-xiii-5">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#5|XIII.5]].</ref> (as it was unimaginable at that time for a woman to be in the same room as men doing official business). Nero's friends also mistrusted Agrippina and told Nero to beware of his mother.<ref name="annals-xiii-13">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#13|XIII.13]].</ref>
Nero was reportedly unsatisfied with his marriage to [[Claudia Octavia|Octavia]] and entered into an affair with [[Claudia Acte]], a former slave.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#12|XIII.12]].</ref> In 55, Agrippina attempted to intervene in favor of Octavia and demanded that her son dismiss Acte. Nero, with the support of Seneca, resisted the intervention of his mother in his personal affairs.<ref name="annals-xiii-14"/>
With Agrippina's influence over her son severed, she reportedly began pushing for Britannicus, Nero's stepbrother, to become emperor.<ref name="annals-xiii-14">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#14|XIII.14]].</ref> Nearly fourteen-year-old Britannicus, heir-designate prior to Nero's adoption, was still legally a minor, but was approaching legal adulthood.<ref name="annals-xiii-14"/> According to Tacitus, Agrippina hoped that with her support, Britannicus, being the blood son of Claudius, would be seen as the true heir to the throne by the state over Nero.<ref name="annals-xiii-14"/> However, the youth died suddenly and suspiciously on 12 February 55, the very day before his proclamation as an adult had been set.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#16|XIII.16]].</ref>
Nero claimed that Britannicus died from an epileptic seizure, but ancient historians all claim Britannicus' death came from Nero's poisoning him. Supposedly, he enlisted the services of Locusta, a woman who specialized in the manufacture of poisons. She devised a mixture to kill Britannicus, but after testing it unsuccessfully on a slave, Nero angrily threatened to have her put to death if she did not come up with something usable. Locusta then devised a new concoction that she promised would "kill swifter than a viper."<ref name="LXI.7">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#16|XIII.16]]; Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews'', [[wikisource:The Antiquities of the Jews/Book XX#Chapter 8|XX.8.2]]; Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#33 33]; Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/61*.html#7 LXI.7].</ref>
Her promise was fulfilled after Britannicus consumed it at a dinner party from water used to cool his wine, which had already been tasted, and succumbed within minutes.<ref name="LXI.7"/> After the death of Britannicus, Agrippina was accused of slandering Octavia and Nero ordered her out of the imperial residence.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#18|XIII.18–21]].</ref>
===Matricide and consolidation of power===
[[Image:Nero and Poppaea Sabina.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Coin of Nero and [[Poppaea Sabina]]]]
Over time, Nero became progressively more powerful, freeing himself of his advisers and eliminating rivals to the throne. In 55, he removed [[Pallas (freedman)|Marcus Antonius Pallas]], an ally of Agrippina, from his position in the treasury.<ref name="annals-xiii-14"/> Pallas, along with [[Burrus]], was accused of conspiring against the Emperor to bring [[Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix|Faustus Sulla]] to the throne.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#23|XIII.23]].</ref> [[Seneca the younger|Seneca]] was accused of having relations with Agrippina and embezzlement.<ref name="cassiusdio-lxi-10">Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/61*.html#10 LXI.10].</ref> Seneca succeeded in having himself, Pallas and Burrus acquitted.<ref name="cassiusdio-lxi-10"/> According to [[Cassius Dio]], at this time, Seneca and Burrus reduced their role in governing from careful management to mere moderation of Nero.<ref>Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/61*.html#7 LXI.7].</ref>
In 58, Nero became romantically involved with [[Poppaea Sabina]], the wife of his friend and future emperor [[Otho]].<ref name="annals-xiii-46">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#46|XIII.46]].</ref> Reportedly because a marriage to Poppaea and a divorce from Octavia did not seem politically feasible with Agrippina alive, Nero ordered the murder of his mother in 59.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#1|XIV.1]].</ref> A number of modern historians find this an unlikely motive as Nero did not marry Poppaea until 62.<ref>Dawson, Alexis, "Whatever Happened to Lady Agrippina?", ''The Classical Journal'', 1969, p. 254.</ref>
Additionally, according to [[Suetonius]], Poppaea did not divorce her husband until after Agrippina's death, making it unlikely that the already married Poppaea would be pressing Nero for marriage.<ref>Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Otho 3.</ref> Some modern historians theorize that Nero's execution of Agrippina was prompted by her plotting to set [[Rubellius Plautus]] on the throne.<ref>Rogers, Robert, [http://www.jstor.org/view/00659711/ap010058/01a00140/0 ''Heirs and Rivals to Nero''], Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, Vol. 86. (1955), p. 202. Silana accuses Agrippina of plotting to bring up Plautus in 55, Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#19|XIII.19]]; Silana is recalled from exile after Agrippina's power waned, Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#12|XIV.12]]; Plautus is exiled in 60, Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#22|XIV.22]].</ref> According to [[Suetonius]], Nero tried to kill his mother through a planned shipwreck, which took the life of her friend, [[Acerronia Polla]], but when Agrippina survived, he had her executed and framed it as a suicide.<ref>Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#34 34].</ref> The incident is also recorded by Tacitus.<ref>Tacitus, "The Annals".</ref>
In 62, Nero's adviser, [[Burrus]], died.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#51|XIV.51]].</ref> Additionally, Seneca was again faced with embezzlement charges.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#52|XIV.52]].</ref> Seneca asked Nero for permission to retire from public affairs.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#53|XIV.53]].</ref> Nero divorced and banished [[Claudia Octavia|Octavia]] on grounds of infertility, leaving him free to marry the pregnant Poppaea.<ref name="annals-xiv-60">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#60|XIV.60]].</ref> After public protests, Nero was forced to allow Octavia to return from exile,<ref name="annals-xiv-60"/> but she was executed shortly after her return.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#64|XIV.64]].</ref>
Nero also was reported to have kicked Poppaea to death in 65 before she could have his second child.<ref>Farquhar, Michael (2001). ''A Treasure of Royal Scandals'', p.216. Penguin Books, New York. ISBN 0-7394-2025-9.</ref> However, modern historians, noting Suetonius, Tacitus and Cassius Dio's possible bias against Nero and the likelihood that they did not have eyewitness accounts of private events, postulate that Poppaea may have died because of complications of miscarriage or childbirth.<ref>Rudich, Vasily, ''Political Dissidence Under Nero'', p. 134.</ref>
Accusations of treason being plotted against Nero and the Senate first appeared in 62.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#48|XIV.48]].</ref> The Senate ruled that Antistius, a praetor, should be put to death for speaking ill of Nero at a party. Later, Nero ordered the exile of Fabricius Veiento who slandered the Senate in a book.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#49|XIV.49]].</ref> Tacitus writes that the roots of the conspiracy led by [[Gaius Calpurnius Piso]] began in this year. To consolidate power, Nero executed a number of people in 62 and 63 including his rivals [[Pallas (freedman)|Pallas]], Rubellius Plautus and Faustus Sulla.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#65|XIV.65]].</ref> According to Suetonius, Nero "showed neither discrimination nor moderation in putting to death whomsoever he pleased" during this period.<ref>Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#37 37].</ref>
Nero's consolidation of power also included a slow usurping of authority from the Senate. In 54, Nero promised to give the Senate powers equivalent to those under Republican rule.<ref name="Tacitus-Annals">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#4|XIII.4]].</ref> By 65, senators complained that they had no power left and this led to the [[Pisonian conspiracy]].<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#51|XV.51]].</ref>
=== Other relationships ===
When Nero's wife [[Poppaea Sabina]] died in 65, Nero went into deep mourning. Her body was not cremated, it was stuffed with spices, embalmed and put in the [[Mausoleum of Augustus]]. She was given a [[state funeral]]. Nero praised her during the funeral eulogy and gave her divine honors. It is said that Nero "burned ten years' worth of Arabia's incense production at her funeral.<ref>Donato and Seefried (1989), p. 55.</ref>
In the beginning of 66, he married [[Statilia Messalina]].<ref name="Champlin145" /> She was already married when she became Nero's mistress in 65 AD, with Statilia's husband being driven to suicide in 66, so Nero could marry Statilia. She was one of the few of Nero's courtiers who survived the fall of his reign.
In 67, Nero ordered a young [[freedman]], [[Sporus]], to be castrated and then married him.<ref name="Champlin145">Champlin, 2005, p.145</ref><ref name=Suetonius>[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/suet-nero-rolfe.html Ancient History Sourcebook: Suetonius: De Vita Caesarum--Nero, c. 110 C.E.]</ref><ref name="Dio">[http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/62*.html Cassius Dio Roman History: LXII, 28 - LXIII, 12-13]</ref><ref name="smith">Smith, 1849, p.897</ref> According to [[Dion Cassius]], Sporus bore an uncanny resemblance to Sabina, and Nero even called him by his dead wife's name.<ref name="smith">{{cite book |title=[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]] |author=Smith, William |authorlink=William Smith (lexicographer) |publisher=C. C. Little and J. Brown; [etc., etc. ] |volume=3 |year=1849 |pages=1411, 2012|lccn=07038839}}</ref>
===Administrative policies===
[[Image:Nero charity.jpg|thumb|320px|Coin showing Nero distributing charity to a citizen. c. 64–66.]]
Over the course of his reign, Nero often made rulings that pleased the lower class. Nero was criticized as being obsessed with personal popularity.<ref>Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#53 53]; Gibbon, Edward, ''The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' Vol. I, Chap. VI.</ref>
Nero began his reign in 54 by promising the Senate more autonomy.<ref name="Tacitus-Annals"/> In this first year, he forbade others to refer to him with regard to enactments, for which he was praised by the Senate.<ref name="annals-xii-25">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#25|XIII.25]].</ref> Nero was known for spending his time visiting brothels and taverns during this period.<ref name="annals-xii-25"/>
In 55, Nero began taking on a more active role as an administrator. He was [[Roman consul|consul]] four times between 55 and 60. During this period, some ancient historians speak fairly well of Nero and contrast it with his later rule.<ref>[[Aurelius Victor]] mentions [[Trajan]]'s praise of Nero's first five or so years. [http://www.roman-emperors.org/epitome.htm Aurelius Victor ''The Style of Life and the Manners of the Imperitors'' 5]; The unknown author of ''Epitome de Caesaribus'' also mentions Trajan's praise of the first five or so years of Nero [http://www.intratext.com/IXT/LAT0210/_P2.HTM Auctor incertus ''Epitome De Caesarbius'' 5].</ref>
Under Nero, restrictions were put on the amount of bail and fines.<ref name="annals-xiii-28">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#28|XIII.28]].</ref> Also, fees for lawyers were limited.<ref>Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#17 17].</ref> There was a discussion in the Senate on the misconduct of the freedmen class, and a strong demand was made that patrons should have the right of revoking freedom.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#26|XIII.26]].</ref> Nero supported the freedmen and ruled that patrons had no such right.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#27|XIII.27]].</ref>
The Senate tried to pass a law in which the crimes of one slave applied to all slaves within a household. Despite riots from the people, Nero supported the Senate on their measure, and deployed troops to organise the execution of 400 slaves affected by the law. However, he vetoed strong measures against the freedmen affected by the case.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#45|XIV.45]].</ref>
After tax collectors were accused of being too harsh to the poor, Nero transferred collection authority to lower commissioners.<ref name="annals-xiii-28"/> Nero banned any magistrate or procurator from exhibiting public entertainment for fear that the venue was being used as a method to sway the populace.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#31|XIII.31]].</ref> Additionally, there were many impeachments and removals of government officials along with arrests for extortion and corruption.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#30|XIII.30]], [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#18|XIV.18]], [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#40|XIV.40]], [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#46|XIV.46]].</ref>
When further complaints arose that the poor were being overly taxed, Nero attempted to repeal all indirect taxes.<ref name="annals-xiii-50">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#50|XIII.50]].</ref> The Senate convinced him this action would bankrupt the public treasury.<ref name="annals-xiii-50"/> As a compromise, taxes were cut from 4.5% to 2.5%.<ref name="annals-xiii-51">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#51|XIII.51]].</ref> Additionally, secret government tax records were ordered to become public.<ref name="annals-xiii-51"/> To lower the cost of food imports, merchant ships were declared tax-exempt.<ref name="annals-xiii-51"/>
[[Image:Remains of Nero's Isthmus Canal in 1881.jpg|thumb|350px|Nero's abandoned [[Isthmus of Corinth|Corinth canal]].]]
In imitation of the Greeks, Nero built a number of gymnasiums and theatres.<ref name="annals-xiv-20">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#20|XIV.20]].</ref> Enormous gladiatorial shows were also held.<ref name="suetonius-nero-12">Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#12 12].</ref> Nero also established the [[quinquennial Neronia]].<ref name="annals-xiv-20"/><ref name="suetonius-nero-12"/> The festival included games, poetry, and theater. Historians indicate that there was a belief that theatre led to immorality.<ref name="annals-xiv-20"/> Others considered that to have performers dressed in Greek clothing was old fashioned.<ref name="annals-xiv-21">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#21|XIV.21]].</ref> Some questioned the large public expenditure on entertainment.<ref name="annals-xiv-21"/>
In 64, [[Great Fire of Rome|Rome burned]].<ref name="tacitus-annals-xv.38">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#38|XV.38]].</ref> Nero enacted a public relief effort<ref name="tacitus-annals-xv.38"/> as well as significant reconstruction.<ref name="annals-xv-43">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#43|XV.43]].</ref> A number of other major construction projects occurred in Nero's late reign. Nero had the marshes of Ostia filled with rubble from the fire. He erected the large [[Domus Aurea]].<ref name="Tacitus-Annals-15">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#42|XV.42]].</ref> In 67, Nero attempted to have a canal dug at the [[Isthmus of Corinth]].<ref>Josephus, ''War of the Jews'' [[wikisource:The War of the Jews/Book III#Chapter 10|III.10.10]],Werner, Walter: "The largest ship trackway in ancient times: the Diolkos of the Isthmus of Corinth, Greece, and early attempts to build a canal", The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, Vol. 26, No. 2 (1997), pp. 98–119.</ref> Ancient historians state that these projects and others exacerbated the drain on the State's budget.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 16#3|XVI.3]].</ref>
The cost to rebuild Rome was immense, requiring funds the state treasury did not have. Nero devalued the [[Roman currency]] for the first time in the Empire's history. He reduced the weight of the [[denarius]] from 84 per [[Roman pound]] to 96 (3.85 grams to 3.35 grams). He also reduced the silver purity from 99.5% to 93.5%—the silver weight dropping from 3.83 grams to 3.4 grams. Furthermore, Nero reduced the weight of the [[aureus]] from 40 per Roman pound to 45 (8 grams to 7.2 grams).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tulane.edu/~august/handouts/601cprin.htm|title=Roman Currency of the Principate|publisher=Tulane University|date=|accessdate=2011-07-13}}</ref>
Between 62 and 67, according to [[Plinius the Elder]] and Seneca, Nero promoted an expedition to discover the sources of the [[Nile River]]. It was the first exploration of equatorial [[Africa]] from Europe in history.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=I2bJP8zLR_UC&pg=PA70&lpg=PA70&dq=nero+expedition+to+ethiopia&source=bl&ots=tc0NB0Oqt1&sig=ros4Zz0Ayze9-xtWGH90ULSOsUs&hl=en&ei=htBkTLvtEoP-8AaHlqXeCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBcQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=nero%20expedition%20to%20ethiopia&f=false|title=Derek A. Welsby: Nero expedition to Nile sources|publisher=Books.google.com|date=|accessdate=2010-11-09}}</ref> However, Nero's expedition up the Nile failed because water plants had clogged the river, denying Nero's vessels access to the [[Sudd]] of present-day [[South Sudan]].
The economic policy of Nero is a point of debate among scholars. According to ancient historians, Nero's construction projects were overly extravagant and the large number of expenditures under Nero left Italy "thoroughly exhausted by contributions of money" with "the provinces ruined."<ref>Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#31 31].</ref><ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#45 XV.45]].</ref> Modern historians, though, note that the period was riddled with deflation and that it is likely that Nero's spending came in the form of public works projects and charity intended to ease economic troubles.<ref>Thornton, Mary Elizabeth Kelly "Nero's New Deal," ''Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association'', Vol. 102, (1971), p. 629.</ref>
===Great Fire of Rome (64 AD) ===
{{Main|Great Fire of Rome}}
The Great Fire of Rome erupted on the night of 18 July to 19 July 64. The fire started at the southeastern end of the [[Circus Maximus]] in shops selling flammable goods.<ref name="tacitus-annals-xv.38"/>
[[File:Robert, Hubert - Incendie à Rome -.jpg|thumb|250px|Artwork depicting the [[Great Fire of Rome]].]]
The extent of the fire is uncertain. According to [[Tacitus]], who was nine at the time of the fire, it spread quickly and burned for over five days.<ref name="annals-xv-40">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#40|XV.40]]; Suetonius says the fire raged for six days and seven nights, Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero 38; A pillar set by Domitius states the fire burned for nine days.</ref> It destroyed three of fourteen Roman districts and severely damaged seven.<ref name="annals-xv-40"/> The only other historian who lived through the period and mentioned the fire is [[Pliny the Elder]], who wrote about it in passing.<ref>Pliny the Elder, ''Natural Histories'', [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Pliny_the_Elder/17*.html#1 XVII.1.5], Pliny mentions trees that lasted "down to the Emperor Nero's conflagration".</ref> Other historians who lived through the period (including [[Josephus]], [[Dio Chrysostom]], [[Plutarch]] and [[Epictetus]]) make no mention of it in what remains of their work.
[[Image:Nero-graffito.jpg|160px|thumb|left|Sketch of Ancient [[graffiti]] portrait of Nero found at the ''Domus Tiberiana''.]]
It is uncertain who or what actually caused the fire—whether accident or [[arson]].<ref name="tacitus-annals-xv.38"/> [[Suetonius]] and [[Cassius Dio]] favor Nero as the [[arson]]ist, so he could build a palatial complex. Tacitus mentions that Christians confessed to the crime, but it is not known whether these confessions were induced by torture.<ref name="annals-xv-44">Tacitus ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#44|XV.44]].</ref> However, accidental fires were common in ancient Rome.<ref>Juvenal writes that Rome suffered from perpetual fires and falling houses Juvenal, ''Satires'' [http://www.vroma.org/~araia/satire3.html 3.7, 3.195, 3.214].</ref> In fact, Rome suffered other large fires in 69<ref name="tacitus-histories-I.2">Tacitus, ''Histories'' [[wikisource:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 1#2|I.2]].</ref> and in 80.<ref>Suetonius, ''Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Titus [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Titus*.html#8 8].</ref>
It was said by Suetonius and Cassius Dio that Nero sang the "[[Sack of Ilium]]" in stage costume while the city burned.<ref>Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero, [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#38 38]; Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/62*.html#16 LXII.16].</ref> Popular legend claims that Nero played the [[fiddle]] at the time of the fire, an [[anachronism]] based merely on the concept of the [[lyre]], a stringed instrument associated with Nero and his performances. (There were no fiddles in 1st-century Rome.) Tacitus's account, however, has Nero in Antium at the time of the fire.<ref name="annals-xv-39">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#39|XV.39]].</ref> Tacitus also said that Nero playing his lyre and singing while the city burned was only rumor.<ref name="annals-xv-39"/>
According to Tacitus, upon hearing news of the fire, Nero returned to Rome to organize a relief effort, which he paid for from his own funds.<ref name="annals-xv-39"/> Nero's contributions to the relief extended to personally taking part in the search for and rescue of victims of the blaze, spending days searching the debris without even his bodyguards.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} After the fire, Nero opened his palaces to provide shelter for the homeless, and arranged for food supplies to be delivered in order to prevent starvation among the survivors.<ref name="annals-xv-39"/>
In the wake of the fire, he made a new urban development plan. Houses after the fire were spaced out, built in brick, and faced by [[porticos]] on wide roads.<ref name="annals-xv-43"/> Nero also built a new palace complex known as the [[Domus Aurea]] in an area cleared by the fire. This included lush artificial landscapes and a 30-meter-tall statue of himself, the [[Colossus of Nero]].<ref name="Tacitus-Annals-15"/> The size of this complex is debated (from 100 to 300 acres).<ref>Roth, Leland M. (1993). Understanding Architecture: Its Elements, History and Meaning, First, Boulder, CO: Westview Press, pp. 227–8. ISBN 0-06-430158-3.</ref><ref>Ball, Larry F. (2003). The Domus Aurea and the Roman architectural revolution. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-82251-3.</ref><ref>Warden reduces its size to under {{convert|100|acre|km2}}. Warden, P.G., "The Domus Aurea Reconsidered," Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 40 (1981) pp. 271–278.</ref> To find the necessary funds for the reconstruction, [[tributes]] were imposed on the provinces of the empire.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#45|XV.45]].</ref>
Tacitus, in [[Tacitus on Christ|one of the earliest non-Christian references to the origins of Christianity]], notes that the population searched for a scapegoat and rumors held Nero responsible.<ref name="annals-xv-44"/> To deflect blame, Nero targeted Christians. He ordered Christians to be thrown to dogs, while others were crucified and burned.<ref name="annals-xv-44"/>
===Public performances===
[[Image:As-Nero-Ara pacis-RIC 0562.jpg|thumb|300px|Nero coin, c. 66. [[Ara Pacis]] on the reverse.]]
Nero enjoyed driving a one-horse chariot, singing to the lyre and poetry.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#14|XIV.14]], [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#16|XIV.16]].</ref> He even composed songs that were performed by other entertainers throughout the empire.<ref>Philostratus II, ''Life of Apollonius'' [http://www.livius.org/ap-ark/apollonius/life/va_4_36.html#§39 4.39]; Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Vitellius [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Vitellius*.html#11 11].</ref> At first, Nero only performed for a private audience.<ref name="tacitus-annals-xv.33">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#22|XV.33]].</ref>
In 64 AD., Nero began singing in public in [[Naples|Neapolis]] in order to improve his popularity.<ref name="tacitus-annals-xv.33"/> He also sang at the second [[quinquennial Neronia]] in 65.<ref>Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'' Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#21 21].</ref> It was said that Nero craved the attention,<ref>Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#33 33].</ref> but historians also write that Nero was encouraged to sing and perform in public by the Senate, his inner circle and the people.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 16#4|XVI.4]]; Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Vitellius [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Vitelius*.html#11 11]; Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#10 10], [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#21 21].</ref> Ancient historians strongly criticize his choice to perform, calling it shameful.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#15|XIV.15]]; Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/61*.html#19 LXI.19].</ref>
Nero was persuaded to participate in the [[Ancient Olympic Games|Olympic Games]] of 67 in order to improve relations with Greece and display Roman dominance.<ref>Philostratus II, ''Life of Apollonius'' [http://www.livius.org/ap-ark/apollonius/life/va_5_06.html#§7 5.7].</ref> As a competitor, Nero raced a ten-horse chariot and nearly died after being thrown from it.<ref name="suetonius-nero-24">Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#24 24].</ref> He also performed as an actor and a singer.<ref>Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#25 25].</ref> Though Nero faltered in his racing (in one case, dropping out entirely before the end) and acting competitions,<ref name="suetonius-nero-24"/> he won these crowns nevertheless and paraded them when he returned to Rome.<ref name="suetonius-nero-24"/> The victories are attributed to Nero bribing the judges and his status as emperor.<ref>Suetonius ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#23 23], [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#24 24].</ref>
===War and peace with Parthia===
{{details|Roman-Parthian War of 58–63}}
Shortly after Nero's accession to the throne in 54, the Roman [[vassal]] [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|kingdom of Armenia]] overthrew their [[Caucasian Iberia|Iberian]] prince [[Rhadamistus]] and he was replaced with the [[Parthian Empire|Parthian]] prince [[Tiridates I of Armenia|Tiridates]].<ref name="annals-xiii-7">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#7|XIII.7]].</ref> This was seen as a Parthian invasion of Roman territory.<ref name="annals-xiii-7"/> There was concern in Rome over how the young Emperor would handle the situation.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#8|XIII.8]].</ref> Nero reacted by immediately sending the military to the region under the command of [[Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo]].<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#9|XIII.9]].</ref> The Parthians temporarily relinquished control of Armenia to Rome.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#10|XIII.10]].</ref>
[[Image:Map Parthian Empire-fr.png|thumb|350px|The [[Parthian Empire]] c. 60. Nero's peace deal with Parthia was a political victory at home and made him beloved in the east.]]
The peace did not last and full-scale war broke out in 58. The Parthian king [[Vologases I of Parthia|Vologases I]] refused to remove his brother Tiridates from Armenia.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#42|XIII.42]].</ref> The Parthians began a full-scale invasion of the Armenian kingdom.<ref name="annals-xiii-46"/> Commander Corbulo responded and repelled most of the Parthian army that same year.<ref name="annals-xiii-55">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#55|XIII.55]].</ref> Tiridates retreated and Rome again controlled most of Armenia.<ref name="annals-xiii-55"/>
Nero was acclaimed in public for this initial victory.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#56|XIII.56]].</ref> [[Tigranes VI of Armenia|Tigranes]], a Cappadocian noble raised in Rome, was installed by Nero as the new ruler of Armenia.<ref name="annals-xiv-36">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#36|XIV.36]].</ref> Corbulo was appointed governor of Syria as a reward.<ref name="annals-xiv-36"/>
In 62, Tigranes invaded the Parthian province of [[Adiabene]].<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#1|XV.1]].</ref> Again, Rome and Parthia were at war and this continued until 63. Parthia began building up for a strike against the Roman province of Syria.<ref name="annals-xv-4">Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#4|XV.4]].</ref> Corbulo tried to convince Nero to continue the war, but Nero opted for a peace deal instead.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#16|XV.16]].</ref> There was anxiety in Rome about eastern grain supplies and a budget deficit.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#18|XV.18]].</ref>
The result was a deal where Tiridates again became the Armenian king, but was crowned in Rome by Emperor Nero.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#29|XV.29]].</ref> In the future, the [[List of Armenian Kings#Arshakuni (Arsacid) Kings of Armenia|king of Armenia]] was to be a Parthian prince, but his appointment required approval from the Romans. Tiridates was forced to come to Rome and partake in ceremonies meant to display Roman dominance.<ref name="tacitus-annals-xv.38"/><ref>Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/63*.html#2 LXIII.2].</ref>
This peace deal of 63 was a considerable victory for Nero politically.<ref name="cassiusdio-lxii-23">Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/62*.html#23 LXII.23].</ref> Nero became very popular in the eastern provinces of Rome and with the Parthians as well.<ref name="cassiusdio-lxii-23"/> The peace between Parthia and Rome lasted 50 years until Emperor [[Trajan]] of Rome invaded Armenia in 114.
===Other major power struggles and rebellions===
[[Image:Nero pushkin.jpg|thumb|220px|A plaster bust of Nero, [[Pushkin Museum]], Moscow.]]
The war with Parthia was not Nero's only major war but he was both criticized and praised for an aversion to battle.<ref>Suetonius ''Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#18 18]; Marcus Annaeus Lucanus ''Pharsalia'' (Civil War) (c. 65)[http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext96/pcwar10.txt].</ref> Like many emperors, Nero faced a number of rebellions and power struggles within the empire.
;British Revolt of 60–61 (Boudica's Uprising)
{{Further|Boudica#Boudica's Uprising}}
In 60, a major rebellion broke out in the province of [[Britannia]].<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#29|XIV.29]].</ref> While the governor [[Gaius Suetonius Paullinus]] and his troops were busy capturing the island of Mona ([[Isle of Anglesey|Anglesey]]) from the druids, the tribes of the southeast staged a revolt led by queen [[Boudica]] of the [[Iceni]].<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#31|XIV.31]].</ref> Boudica and her troops destroyed three cities before the army of Paullinus could return, receive reinforcements, and quell the rebellion in 61.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#31|XIV.31–38]].</ref> Fearing Paullinus himself would provoke further rebellion, Nero replaced him with the more passive [[Publius Petronius Turpilianus]].<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#39|XIV.39]].</ref>
;The Pisonian Conspiracy of 65
{{Main|Pisonian conspiracy}}
In 65, [[Gaius Calpurnius Piso]], a Roman statesman, organized a conspiracy against Nero with the help of Subrius Flavus and Sulpicius Asper, a tribune and a centurion of the Praetorian Guard.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#49|XV.49]].</ref> According to Tacitus, many conspirators wished to "rescue the state" from the emperor and restore the [[Roman Republic|Republic]].<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#50|XV.50]].</ref> The freedman Milichus discovered the conspiracy and reported it to Nero's secretary, [[Epaphroditos]].<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#55|XV.55]].</ref> As a result, the conspiracy failed and its members were executed including [[Marcus Annaeus Lucanus|Lucan]], the poet.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#70|XV.70]].</ref> Nero's previous advisor, [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]] was ordered to commit suicide after admitting he discussed the plot with the conspirators.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#60|XV.60–62]].</ref>
;The First Jewish War of 66–70
{{main|First Jewish-Roman War}}
In 66, there was a Jewish revolt in Judea stemming from Greek and Jewish religious tension.<ref>Josephus, ''War of the Jews'' [[wikisource:The War of the Jews/Book II#Chapter 13|II.13.7]].</ref> In 67, Nero dispatched [[Vespasian]] to restore order.<ref>Josephus, ''War of the Jews'' [[wikisource:The War of the Jews/Book III#Chapter 1|III.1.3]].</ref> This revolt was eventually put down in 70, after Nero's death.<ref>Josephus, ''War of the Jews'' [[wikisource:The War of the Jews/Book IV#Chapter 10|VI.10.1]].</ref> This revolt is famous for Romans breaching the walls of Jerusalem and destroying the Second [[Temple of Jerusalem]].<ref>Josephus, ''War of the Jews'' [[wikisource:The War of the Jews/Book VII#Chapter 1|VII.1.1]].</ref>
===The revolt of Vindex and Galba and the death of Nero===
[[File:Roman coins sestertius Nero countermark X Legion Gemina.jpg|thumb|265px|Nero, [[Sestertius]] with countermark "X" of [[Legio X Gemina]].
<br />Obv: Laureate bust right.
<br />Rev: Nero riding horse right, holding spear, DECVRSIO in exergue; S C across fields.]]
[[Image:Nero Palatino Inv618.jpg|thumb|200px|A marble bust of Nero, Antiquarium of the [[Palatine]].]]
In March 68, [[Vindex|Gaius Julius Vindex]], the governor of [[Gallia Lugdunensis]], rebelled against Nero's tax policies.<ref name="Cassius-22">Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/63*.html#22 LXIII.22].</ref><ref>Donahue.</ref> [[Lucius Virginius Rufus|Lucius Verginius Rufus]], the governor of [[Germania Superior]], was ordered to put down Vindex's rebellion.<ref name="cassiusdio-lxiii-24">Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/63*.html#24 LXIII.24].</ref> In an attempt to gain support from outside his own province, Vindex called upon [[Galba|Servius Sulpicius Galba]], the governor of [[Hispania Tarraconensis]], to join the rebellion and further, to declare himself emperor in opposition to Nero.<ref name="Plutarch-galba-5">Plutarch, ''The Parallel Lives'', Life of Galba [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Galba*.html#5 5].</ref>
At the [[Battle of Vesontio]] in May 68, Verginius' forces easily defeated those of Vindex and the latter committed suicide.<ref name="cassiusdio-lxiii-24"/> However, after putting down this one rebel, Verginius' legions attempted to proclaim their own commander as Emperor. Verginius refused to act against Nero, but the discontent of the legions of Germany and the continued opposition of Galba in Spain did not bode well for him.
While Nero had retained some control of the situation, support for Galba increased despite his being officially declared a public enemy. The prefect of the [[Praetorian Guard]], [[Nymphidius Sabinus|Gaius Nymphidius Sabinus]], also abandoned his allegiance to the Emperor and came out in support for Galba.
In response, Nero fled Rome with the intention of going to the port of [[Ostia Antica|Ostia]] and, from there, to take a fleet to one of the still-loyal eastern provinces. According to Suetonius, Nero abandoned the idea when some army officers openly refused to obey his commands, responding with a line from [[Vergil]]'s ''[[Aeneid]]'': "Is it so dreadful a thing then to die?" Nero then toyed with the idea of fleeing to [[Parthia]], throwing himself upon the mercy of Galba, or to appeal to the people and beg them to pardon him for his past offences "and if he could not soften their hearts, to entreat them at least to allow him the prefecture of Egypt". Suetonius reports that the text of this speech was later found in Nero's writing desk, but that he dared not give it from fear of being torn to pieces before he could reach the Forum.<ref name="penelope.uchicago.edu">Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#47 47].</ref>
Nero returned to Rome and spent the evening in the palace. After sleeping, he awoke at about midnight to find the palace guard had left. Dispatching messages to his friends' palace chambers for them to come, he received no answers. Upon going to their chambers personally, he found them all abandoned. When he called for a gladiator or anyone else adept with a sword to kill him, no one appeared. He cried, "Have I neither friend nor foe?" and ran out as if to throw himself into the [[Tiber]].<ref name="penelope.uchicago.edu"/>
Returning, Nero sought for some place where he could hide and collect his thoughts. An imperial freedman, [[Phaon (freedman)|Phaon]], offered his villa, located 4 miles outside the city. Travelling in disguise, Nero and four loyal [[freedman]], [[Epaphroditos]], [[Phaon (freedman)|Phaon]], [[Neophytus (freedman)|Neophytus]], and [[Sporus]], reached the villa, where Nero ordered them to dig a grave for him.
At this time, a courier arrived with a report that the Senate had declared Nero a public enemy and that it was their intention to execute him by beating him to death and that armed men had been sent to apphrehend him for the act to take place in the Forum. The Senate actually was still reluctant and deliberating on the right course of action as Nero was the last member of the Julio-Claudian Family. Indeed, most of the senators had served the imperial family all their lives and felt a sense of loyalty to the deified bloodline, if not to Nero himself. The men actually had the goal of returning Nero back to the Senate, where the Senate hoped to work out a compromise with the rebelling governors that would preserve Nero's life, so that at least a future heir to the dynasty could be produced.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#72|XV.72]].</ref>
Nero, however, did not know this, and at the news brought by the courier, he prepared himself for [[forced suicide|suicide]], pacing up and down muttering "Qualis artifex pereo" which translates to English as "What an artist dies in me."<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Buckley | first1 = Emma | last2 = Dinter | first2 = Martin T. | title = A Companion to the Neronian Age | publisher = John Wiley & Sons | year = 2013 | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=qYb3JCWUNnkC&dq | accessdate = 2013-10-28 | isbn = 978-1-118-31659-7}}</ref> Losing his nerve, he first begged for one of his companions to set an example by first killing himself. At last, the sound of approaching horsemen drove Nero to face the end. However, he still could not bring himself to take his own life but instead he forced his private secretary, [[Epaphroditos]], to perform the task.<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Bunson | first1 = Matthew | title = Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire | publisher = Infobase Publishing | year = 2009 | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=T5tic2VunRoC&dq | accessdate = 2013-10-28 | isbn = 978-1-4381-1027-1}}</ref>
When one of the horsemen entered, upon his seeing Nero all but dead he attempted to stop the bleeding in vain. Nero's final words were "Too late! This is fidelity!" He died on 9 June 68, the anniversary of the death of Octavia, and was buried in the Mausoleum of the Domitii Ahenobarbi, in what is now the [[Villa Borghese]] ([[Pincian Hill]]) area of Rome.<ref name="ReferenceA">Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#49 49].</ref>
With his death, the [[Julio-Claudian dynasty]] ended. The Senate, when news of his death reached Rome, posthumously declared Nero a public enemy to appease the coming Galba (The Senate had initially declared Galba as a public enemy) and proclaimed him the new emperor. Chaos would ensue in the [[year of the Four Emperors]].<ref name="tacitus-histories-I.2"/>
===Post mortem===
{{See also|Nero Redivivus legend|Pseudo-Nero}}
[[File:Piranesi-3014.jpg|thumb|250px|The alleged Tomb of Nero.]]
According to Suetonius and Cassius Dio, the people of Rome celebrated the death of Nero.<ref>Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/63*.html 63].</ref><ref>Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#57 57].</ref> Tacitus, though, describes a more complicated political environment. Tacitus mentions that Nero's death was welcomed by Senators, nobility and the upper class.<ref name="histories-i-4">Tacitus, ''Histories'' [[wikisource:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 1#4|I.4]].</ref> The lower-class, slaves, frequenters of the arena and the theater, and "those who were supported by the famous excesses of Nero", on the other hand, were upset with the news.<ref name="histories-i-4"/> Members of the military were said to have mixed feelings, as they had allegiance to Nero, but were bribed to overthrow him.<ref name="tacitus-histories-I.5">Tacitus, ''Histories'' [[wikisource:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 1#5|I.5]].</ref>
Eastern sources, namely Philostratus II and [[Apollonius of Tyana]], mention that Nero's death was mourned as he "restored the liberties of [[Roman Greece|Hellas]] with a wisdom and moderation quite alien to his character"<ref>Philostratus II, ''The Life of Apollonius'' [http://www.livius.org/ap-ark/apollonius/life/va_5_41.html#§41 5.41].</ref> and that he "held our liberties in his hand and respected them."<ref>Letter from Apollonius to Emperor Vespasian, Philostratus II, ''The Life of Apollonius'' [http://www.livius.org/ap-ark/apollonius/life/va_5_41.html#§41 5.41].</ref>
Modern scholarship generally holds that, while the Senate and more well-off individuals welcomed Nero's death, the general populace was "loyal to the end and beyond, for Otho and Vitellius both thought it worthwhile to appeal to their nostalgia."<ref>M. T. Griffin, Nero (1984), p. 186; Gibbon, Edward, ''The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' Vol. I, Chap. III.</ref>
Nero's name was erased from some monuments, in what Edward Champlin regards as an "outburst of private zeal".<ref>Champlin (2003), p. 29.</ref> Many portraits of Nero were reworked to represent other figures; according to Eric R. Varner, over fifty such images survive.<ref name=pollini>John Pollini (September 2006), Review of ''Mutilation and Transformation: Damnatio Memoriae and Roman Imperial Portraiture'' by Eric R. Varner, ''[[The Art Bulletin]]''.</ref> This reworking of images is often explained as part of the way in which the memory of disgraced emperors was condemned posthumously (see [[damnatio memoriae]]).<ref name=pollini/> Champlin, however, doubts that the practice is necessarily negative and notes that some continued to create images of Nero long after his death.<ref>Champlin (2003), pp. 29–31.</ref>
[[Image:Nero-nancy.jpg|190px|thumb|[[Apotheosis]] of Nero, c. after 68. Artwork portraying Nero rising to divine status after his death.]]
The civil war during the [[year of the Four Emperors]] was described by ancient historians as a troubling period.<ref name="tacitus-histories-I.2"/> According to Tacitus, this instability was rooted in the fact that emperors could no longer rely on the perceived legitimacy of the imperial bloodline, as Nero and those before him could.<ref name="histories-i-4"/> [[Galba]] began his short reign with the execution of many allies of Nero and possible future enemies.<ref>Tacitus, ''Histories'' [[wikisource:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 1#6|I.6]].</ref> One such notable enemy included [[Nymphidius Sabinus]], who claimed to be the son of Emperor [[Caligula]].<ref>Plutarch, ''The Parallel Lives'', The Life of Galba [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Galba*.html#9 9].</ref>
[[Otho]] overthrew Galba. Otho was said to be liked by many soldiers because he had been a friend of Nero's and resembled him somewhat in temperament.<ref>Tacitus, ''Histories'' [[wikisource:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 1#13|I.13]].</ref> It was said that the common Roman hailed Otho as Nero himself.<ref name="suetonius-otho-7">Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Otho [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Otho*.html#7 7].</ref> Otho used "Nero" as a surname and reerected many statues to Nero.<ref name="suetonius-otho-7"/> [[Vitellius]] overthrew Otho. Vitellius began his reign with a large funeral for Nero complete with songs written by Nero.<ref>Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Vitellius [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Vitellius*.html#11 11].</ref>
After Nero's suicide in 68, there was a widespread belief, especially in the eastern provinces, that he was not dead and somehow would return.<ref>Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#57 57]; Tacitus, ''Histories'' [[wikisource:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 2#8|II.8]]; Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/66*.html#19 LXVI.19].</ref> This belief came to be known as the [[Nero Redivivus Legend]].
The legend of Nero's return lasted for hundreds of years after Nero's death. [[Augustine of Hippo]] wrote of the legend as a popular belief in 422.<ref name="augustine">Augustine of Hippo, ''City of God'' .[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf102.iv.XX.19.html XX.19.3].</ref>
At least [[pseudo-Neros|three Nero imposters]] emerged leading rebellions. The first, who sang and played the cithara or lyre and whose face was similar to that of the dead emperor, appeared in 69 during the reign of Vitellius.<ref name="tacitus-histories-II.8">Tacitus, ''Histories'' [[wikisource:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 2#8|II.8]].</ref> After persuading some to recognize him, he was captured and executed.<ref name="tacitus-histories-II.8"/> Sometime during the reign of [[Titus]] (79–81), another impostor appeared in Asia and sang to the accompaniment of the lyre and looked like Nero but he, too, was killed.<ref>Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/66*.html#19 LXVI.19].</ref> Twenty years after Nero's death, during the reign of [[Domitian]], there was a third pretender. He was supported by the Parthians, who only reluctantly gave him up,<ref>Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caears'', Life of Nero [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#57 57].</ref> and the matter almost came to war.<ref name="tacitus-histories-I.2"/>
==Physical appearance==
In his book ''The Lives of the Twelve Caesars'', [[Suetonius]] describes Nero as "about the average height, his body marked with spots and [[Body odor|malodorous]], his hair light blond, his features regular rather than attractive, his eyes blue and somewhat weak, his neck over thick, his belly prominent, and his legs very slender."<ref>{{Cite book|author=Suetonius|authorlink=Suetonius|title=The Lives of Twelve Caesars|chapter=Life of Nero, 51|url=http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#51|ref=Suetonius, Life of Nero}}</ref>
==Historiography==
The history of Nero's reign is problematic in that no historical sources survived that were contemporary with Nero. These first histories at one time did exist and were described as biased and fantastical, either overly critical or praising of Nero.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 1#1|I.1]]; Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews'' [[wikisource:The Antiquities of the Jews/Book XX#Chapter 8|XX.8.3]]; Tacitus, ''Life of Gnaeus Julius Agricola'' [[s:Agricola#10|10]]; Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#20|XIII.20]].</ref> The original sources were also said to contradict on a number of events.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#20|XIII.20]]; Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#2|XIV.2]].</ref> Nonetheless, these lost primary sources were the basis of surviving secondary and tertiary histories on Nero written by the next generations of historians.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#20|XIII.20]]; Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews'' [[wikisource:The Antiquities of the Jews/Book XIX#Chapter 1|XIX.1.13]].</ref> A few of the contemporary historians are known by name. [[Fabius Rusticus]], [[Cluvius Rufus]] and [[Pliny the Elder]] all wrote condemning histories on Nero that are now lost.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#20|XIII.20]].</ref> There were also pro-Nero histories, but it is unknown who wrote them or for what deeds Nero was praised.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 1#1|I.1]]; Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews'' [[wikisource:The Antiquities of the Jews/Book XX#Chapter 8|XX.8.3]].</ref>
The bulk of what is known of Nero comes from [[Tacitus]], [[Suetonius]] and [[Cassius Dio]], who were all of the senatorial class. Tacitus and Suetonius wrote their histories on Nero over fifty years after his death, while Cassius Dio wrote his history over 150 years after Nero's death. These sources contradict on a number of events in Nero's life including the death of [[Claudius]], the death of [[Agrippina the Younger|Agrippina]], and the Roman fire of 64, but they are consistent in their condemnation of Nero.
A handful of other sources also add a limited and varying perspective on Nero. Few surviving sources paint Nero in a favourable light. Some sources, though, portray him as a competent emperor who was popular with the Roman people, especially in the east.{{Citation needed|date=June 2009}}
;Cassius Dio
[[Cassius Dio]] (c. 155–229) was the son of [[Cassius Apronianus]], a Roman senator. He passed the greater part of his life in public service. He was a senator under [[Commodus]] and governor of Smyrna after the death of [[Septimius Severus]]; and afterwards suffect consul around 205, and also proconsul in Africa and Pannonia.
Books 61–63 of Dio's ''Roman History'' describe the reign of Nero. Only fragments of these books remain and what does remain was abridged and altered by [[John Xiphilinus]], an 11th-century monk.
;Dio Chrysostom
[[Dio Chrysostom]] (c. 40–120), a Greek philosopher and historian, wrote the Roman people were very happy with Nero and would have allowed him to rule indefinitely. They longed for his rule once he was gone and embraced imposters when they appeared:
{{quote|Indeed the truth about this has not come out even yet; for so far as the rest of his subjects were concerned, there was nothing to prevent his continuing to be Emperor for all time, seeing that even now everybody wishes he were still alive. And the great majority do believe that he still is, although in a certain sense he has died not once but often along with those who had been firmly convinced that he was still alive.<ref>Dio Chrysostom, ''Discourse'' XXI, On Beauty.</ref>}}
;Epictetus
[[Epictetus]] (c. 55–135) was the slave to Nero's scribe [[Epaphroditos]]. He makes a few passing negative comments on Nero's character in his work, but makes no remarks on the nature of his rule. He describes Nero as a spoiled, angry and unhappy man.
;Josephus
[[Image:Josephusbust.jpg|thumb|The historian [[Josephus]] (c. 37–100) accused other historians of slandering Nero.]]
The historian [[Josephus]] (c. 37–100), while calling Nero a tyrant, was also the first to mention bias against Nero. Of other historians, he said:
{{quote|But I omit any further discourse about these affairs; for there have been a great many who have composed the history of Nero; some of which have departed from the truth of facts out of favour, as having received benefits from him; while others, out of hatred to him, and the great ill-will which they bore him, have so impudently raved against him with their lies, that they justly deserve to be condemned. Nor do I wonder at such as have told lies of Nero, since they have not in their writings preserved the truth of history as to those facts that were earlier than his time, even when the actors could have no way incurred their hatred, since those writers lived a long time after them.<ref>Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews'' [[wikisource:The Antiquities of the Jews/Book XX#Chapter 8|XX.8.3]].</ref>}}
;Lucan
Though more of a poet than historian, [[Marcus Annaeus Lucanus|Lucanus]] (c. 39–65) has one of the kindest accounts of Nero's rule. He writes of peace and prosperity under Nero in contrast to previous war and strife. Ironically, he was later involved in a conspiracy to overthrow Nero and was executed.<ref>Marcus Annaeus Lucanus, [http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext96/pcwar10.txt ''Pharsalia'' (Civil War) (''c.'' 65)].</ref>
;Philostratus
[[Philostratus]] II "the Athenian" (c. 172–250) spoke of Nero in the [[Life of Apollonius Tyana]] (Books 4–5). Though he has a generally bad or dim view of Nero, he speaks of others' positive reception of Nero in the East.
;Pliny the Elder
The history of Nero by [[Pliny the Elder]] (c. 24–79) did not survive. Still, there are several references to Nero in Pliny's ''Natural Histories''. Pliny has one of the worst opinions of Nero and calls him an "enemy of mankind."<ref>Pliny the Elder, ''Natural Histories'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Pliny_the_Elder/7*.html#viii VII.8.46].</ref>
;Plutarch
[[Plutarch]] (c. 46–127) mentions Nero indirectly in his account of the Life of Galba and the Life of Otho. Nero is portrayed as a tyrant, but those that replace him are not described as better.
;Seneca the Younger
It is not surprising that [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]] (c. 4 BEC–65), Nero's teacher and advisor, writes very well of Nero.<ref>Seneca the Younger, [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/10001/10001-h/10001-h.htm ''Apocolocyntosis'' 4].</ref>
;Suetonius
{{Main|Lives of the Twelve Caesars}}
[[Suetonius]] (c. 69–130) was a member of the equestrian order, and he was the head of the department of the imperial correspondence. While in this position, Suetonius started writing biographies of the emperors, accentuating the anecdotal and sensational aspects.
;Tacitus
{{Main|Annals (Tacitus)}}
The ''Annals'' by [[Tacitus]] (c. 56–117) is the most detailed and comprehensive history on the rule of Nero, despite being incomplete after the year 66. Tacitus described the rule of the Julio-Claudian emperors as generally unjust. He also thought that existing writing on them was unbalanced:
{{quote|The histories of Tiberius, Caius, Claudius and Nero, while they were in power, were falsified through terror, and after their death were written under the irritation of a recent hatred.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 1#1|I.1]].</ref>}}
Tacitus was the son of a [[Promagistrate|procurator]], who married into the elite family of Agricola. He entered his political life as a senator after Nero's death and, by Tacitus' own admission, owed much to Nero's rivals. Realising that this bias may be apparent to others, Tacitus protests that his writing is true.<ref>Tacitus, ''History'' [[wikisource:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 1#1|I.1]].</ref>
; Girolamo Cardano
In 1562 [[Girolamo Cardano]] published in Basel his ''Encomium Neronis'', which was one of the first historical references of the [[Modern era]] to portray Nero in a positive light.
==Nero and religion==
===Jewish tradition===
At the end of 66, conflict broke out between Greeks and Jews in [[Jerusalem]] and Caesarea. According to the [[Talmud]], Nero went to Jerusalem and shot arrows in all four directions. All the arrows landed in the city. He then asked a passing child to repeat the verse he had learned that day. The child responded, "I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel" ([[Ezekiel|Ez.]] [http://av1611.com/kjbp/kjv-bible-text/Eze-25.html 25,14]). Nero became terrified, believing that God wanted the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] to be destroyed, but would punish the one to carry it out. Nero said, "He desires to lay waste His House and to lay the blame on me," whereupon he fled and converted to Judaism to avoid such retribution.<ref>Talmud, [[Treatise|tractate]] [[Gittin|Gitin]] 56a-b</ref> [[Vespasian]] was then dispatched to put down the rebellion.
The Talmud adds that the sage [[Reb Meir Baal HaNess]], a prominent supporter of the [[Simon bar Kokhba|Bar Kokhba]] [[Bar Kokhba's revolt|rebellion]] against Roman rule, was a descendant of Nero.
Roman and Greek sources nowhere report Nero's alleged trip to Jerusalem or his alleged conversion to Judaism.<ref>Isaac, Benjamin (2004) The Invention of Racism in Classical Antiquity pp. 440–491. Princeton.</ref> There is also no record of Nero having any offspring who survived infancy: his only recorded child, [[Claudia Augusta]], died aged 4 months.
===Christian tradition===
[[Image:Siemiradzki Christian Dirce.jpg|thumb|400px|''A Christian Dirce'', by [[Henryk Siemiradzki]]. A Christian woman is martyred in this re-enactment of the myth of [[Dirce]].]]
[[Christian]] tradition and secular historical sources{{examples|date=August 2014}} hold Nero as the first major state sponsor of [[Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire|Christian persecution]], and sometimes as the killer of [[Apostles]] [[Saint Peter|Peter]] and [[Paul the Apostle|Paul]]. Some 2nd and 3rd century theologians{{who|date=August 2014}}, among others, recorded their belief that Nero would return from death or exile, usually as "the [[Anti-Christ]]. He is also seen{{by whom|date=August 2014}} as one of the most savage persecutors of [[Christians]]."{{citation needed|date=August 2014}}
====First persecutor====
[[File:Siemiradski Fackeln.jpg|thumb|Nero's Torches]]
Non-Christian historian [[Tacitus]] describes Nero extensively torturing and executing Christians after the fire of 64.<ref name="annals-xv-44"/> [[Suetonius]] also mentions Nero punishing Christians, though he does so because they are "given to a new and mischievous superstition" and does not connect it with the fire.<ref>Suetonius ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#16 Life of Nero, chapter 16].</ref>
Christian writer [[Tertullian]] (c. 155–230) was the first to call Nero the first persecutor of Christians. He wrote, "Examine your records. There you will find that Nero was the first that persecuted this doctrine".<ref>Tertullian ''Apologeticum'', lost text quoted in [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250102.htm], [[Eusebius]], ''[[Church History (Eusebius)|Ecclesiastical History]]'', II.25.4.</ref> [[Lactantius]] (c. 240–320) also said that Nero "first persecuted the servants of God".<ref name="lactantius">[http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/ANF-07/anf07-15.htm Lactantius, ''Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died'' II].</ref> as does [[Sulpicius Severus]].<ref>[http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/sulpiciusseveruschron2.html Sulpicius Severus, ''Chronica'' II.28].</ref> However, Suetonius writes that, "since the Jews constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he [emperor [[Claudius]]] expelled them from Rome" ("''Iudaeos impulsore Chresto assidue tumultuantis Roma expulit''").<ref>Suetonius ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Claudius [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Claudius*.html#25 25].</ref> These expelled "Jews" may have been early Christians, although Suetonius is not explicit. Nor is the Bible explicit, calling Aquila of Pontus and his wife, Priscilla, both expelled from Italy at the time, "Jews".<ref>[[BibleWiki:Acts Chapter 18, Verse 2|Acts of the Apostles 18:2]].</ref>
====Reputed martyrdoms of Peter and Paul====
The first text to suggest that Nero ordered the execution of an apostle is the apocryphal ''[[Ascension of Isaiah]]'', a Christian writing from the 2nd century. It says, ''the slayer of his mother, who himself (even) this king, will persecute the plant which the Twelve Apostles of the Beloved have planted. Of the Twelve one will be delivered into his hands.''<ref name="ascension">[http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/ascension.html ''Ascension of Isaiah'' Chapter 4.2].</ref>
[[Bishop]] [[Eusebius]] of [[Caesarea]] (c. 275–339) was the first to write explicitly that Paul was beheaded in Rome during the reign of Nero.<ref>Eusebius, [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250102.htm ''Ecclesiastical History'' II.25.5].</ref> He states that Nero's persecution led to Peter and Paul's deaths, but that Nero did not give any specific orders. However, several other accounts going back to the 1st century have Paul surviving his two years in Rome and travelling to [[Hispania]], before facing trial in Rome again prior to his death.<ref>In the [http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/actspaul.html apocryphal Acts of Paul], in the [http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/actspeter.html apocryphal Acts of Peter], in the [http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/1clement-lightfoot.html First Epistle of Clement 5:6], and in [http://www.bible-researcher.com/muratorian.html The Muratorian Fragment].</ref>
Peter is first said to have been [[Cross of St. Peter|crucified upside-down]] in Rome during Nero's reign (but not by Nero) in the [[apocryphal]] [[Acts of Peter]] (c. 200).<ref>[http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/actspeter.html Apocryphal ''Acts of Peter''].</ref> The account ends with Paul still alive and Nero abiding by God's command not to persecute any more Christians.
By the 4th century, a number of writers were stating that Nero killed Peter and Paul.<ref>[[Lactantius]] wrote that Nero ''crucified Peter, and slew Paul.'', Lactantius, [http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/ANF-07/anf07-15.htm ''Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died'' II]; [[John Chrysostom]] wrote Nero knew Paul personally and had him killed, John Chrysostom, [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1907.htm ''Concerning Lowliness of Mind'' 4]; [[Sulpicius Severus]] says Nero killed Peter and Paul, Sulpicius Severus, [http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/sulpiciusseveruschron2.html ''Chronica'' II.28–29].</ref>
====The Antichrist====
{{Main|Anti-Christ|The Beast (Bible)|Number of the Beast}}
The [[Sibylline Oracles]], Book 5 and 8, written in the 2nd century, speak of Nero returning and bringing destruction.<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/sib/index.htm ''Sibylline Oracles'' 5.361–376, 8.68–72, 8.531–157].</ref> Within Christian communities, these writings, along with others,<ref>[[Sulpicius Severus]] and [[Victorinus of Pettau]] also say that Nero is the Antichrist, [http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/sulpiciusseveruschron2.html Sulpicius Severus, ''Chronica'' II.28–29]; [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0712.htm Victorinus of Pettau, ''Commentary on the Apocalypse'' 17].</ref> fueled the belief that Nero would return as the Antichrist. In 310, [[Lactantius]] wrote that Nero ''suddenly disappeared, and even the burial place of that noxious wild beast was nowhere to be seen. This has led some persons of extravagant imagination to suppose that, having been conveyed to a distant region, he is still reserved alive; and to him they apply the Sibylline verses''.<ref name="lactantius"/>
In 422, [[Augustine of Hippo]] wrote about 2 Thessalonians 2:1–11, where he believed Paul mentioned the coming of the Antichrist. Though he rejects the theory, Augustine mentions that many Christians believed that Nero was the Antichrist or would return as the Antichrist. He wrote, ''so that in saying, "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work,"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=60&chapter=2&verse=7&version=9&context=verse|title=2 Thessalonians 2:7 – Passage Lookup – King James Version|publisher=BibleGateway.com|accessdate=2010-11-09}}</ref> he alluded to Nero, whose deeds already seemed to be as the deeds of Antichrist.''<ref name="augustine"/>
Some modern biblical scholars<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=IzzAFl2ONfAC&pg=PA61 The Book of Revelation], Catherine A. Cory.</ref><ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=SkOg-tEYbR4C&pg=PA86 Revelation], Alan John Philip Garrow.</ref> such as Delbert Hillers ([[Johns Hopkins University]]) of the [[American Schools of Oriental Research]] and the editors of the Oxford & Harper Collins Study Bibles, contend that the number [[Number of the Beast|666]] in the [[Book of Revelation]] is a code for Nero,<ref>Hillers, Delbert, "Rev. 13, 18 and a scroll from Murabba'at", Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 170 (1963) 65.</ref> a view that is also supported in [[Roman Catholic]] Biblical commentaries.<ref>The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Ed. Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1990. 1009.</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Just, S.J., Ph.D.|first=Prof. Felix|title=''The Book of Revelation, Apocalyptic Literature, and Millennial Movements'', University of San Francisco, USF Jesuit Community|url=http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/Apocalyptic.htm|doi=|accessdate=2007-05-18}}</ref>
The concept of Nero as the Antichrist is often a central belief of [[Preterism|Preterist]] [[eschatology]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2014}}
==See also==
*[[Nero in popular culture]]
==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==References==
'''Primary sources'''
* [http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/txt/ah/Tacitus/index.htm Tacitus, ''Histories'', I–IV (''c.'' 105)]
* [http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/txt/ah/Tacitus/index.htm Tacitus, ''Annals'', XIII–XVI (''c.'' 117)]
* [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/josephus/works/files/works.html Josephus, ''War of the Jews'', Books II–VI (''c.'' 94)]
* [http://www.ccel.org/j/josephus/works/ant-20.htm Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews'', Book XX (''c.'' 94)]
* [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/home.html Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'', Books 61–63 (''c.'' 229)]
* [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Galba*.html Plutarch, ''The Parallel Lives'', The Life of Galba (''c.'' 110)]
* [http://www.livius.org/ap-ark/apollonius/life/va_00.html Philostratus II, ''Life of Apollonius Tyana'', Books 4–5, (''c.'' 220)]
* [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', the Life of Nero (''c.'' 121)]
'''Secondary sources'''
* Benario, Herbert W. [http://www.roman-emperors.org/nero.htm Nero] at ''De Imperatoribus Romanis''.
* {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?isbn=0674018222 |title=Nero |author=Champlin, Edward |authorlink=Edward Champlin |publisher=Harvard University Press |page=346 |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-674-01822-8}}
* [[Vincent Cronin|Cronin, Vincent]]. ''Nero''. London: Stacey International, 2010 (ISBN 1-906768-14-5).
* Donahue, John, [http://www.roman-emperors.org/galba.htm "Galba (68–69 A.D.)"] at ''De Imperatoribus Romanis''.
* Grant, Michael. ''Nero''. New York: Dorset Press, 1989 (ISBN 0-88029-311-X).
* Griffin, Miriam T. ''Nero: The End of a Dynasty''. New Haven, CT; London: [[Yale University Press]], 1985 (hardcover, ISBN 0-300-03285-4); London; New York: Routledge, 1987 (paperback, ISBN 0-7134-4465-7).
* Holland, Richard. ''Nero: The Man Behind the Myth''. Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 2000 (paperback ISBN 0-7509-2876-X).
*{{fr}} Minaud, Gérard, ''Les vies de 12 femmes d'empereur romain - Devoirs, Intrigues & Voluptés '', Paris, L'Harmattan, 2012, ch. 4, '' La vie de Poppée, femme de Néron'', p. 97–120 (ISBN 978-2-336-00291-0).
* Warmington, Brian Herbert. ''Nero: Reality and Legend''. London: Chatto & Windus, 1969 (hardcover, ISBN 0-7011-1438-X); New York: W.W Norton & Company, 1970 (paperback, ISBN 0-393-00542-9); New York: Vintage, 1981 (paperback, ISBN 0-7011-1454-1).
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20091027092615/http://geocities.com/gaiusulpius/nero.html Nero] Nero: The Actor-Emperor
* [http://virtualreligion.net/iho/nero.html Nero] entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith
* [http://www.romansonline.com/Persns.asp?IntID=5&Ename=Nero Nero] basic data & select quotes posted by [http://www.romansonline.com/ ''Romans On Line'']
* [http://www.bible-history.com/nero/ Nero Caesar] biographical sketch archived in [http://www.bible-history.com/ ''Bible History Online'']
* [http://www.third-millennium-library.com/readinghall/GalleryofHistory/Nero/NERO-DOOR.html THE LIFE AND TIMES OF NERO By CARLO MARIA FRANZERO (BTM format)].
* [http://www.bijanomrani.com/?p=tacitus Nero's depiction in Tacitus' Annals]
* [http://www.roman-empire.net/emperors/nero.html Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus] entry in the [http://www.roman-empire.net/ ''Illustrated History of the Roman Empire''].
* {{nndb|925/000087664}}
* {{britannica|9055320}}
==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commons category|Nero}}
* [http://www.sien-neron.fr/?lang=en International Society for Neronian Studies]
{{S-start}}
{{S-hou|[[Julio-Claudian dynasty]]|15 December|37|9 June|68}}
{{S-off}}
{{S-bef|rows=2|before=[[Claudius]] }}
{{S-ttl|title=[[List of Roman Emperors|Roman Emperor]]
|years=54–68 }}
{{S-aft|after=[[Galba]] }}
{{S-ttl|title=[[Julio-Claudian Dynasty|Julio-Claudian dynasty]]
|years=54–68 }}
{{s-non|reason=Dynasty ended }}
{{s-bef|before=Marcus Acilius Aviola and [[Marcus Asinius Marcellus]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Roman consuls|Consul]] of the [[Roman Empire]] (with Lucius Antistius Vetus)|years=55}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Quintus Volusius Saturninus]] and [[Publius Cornelius Lentulus Scipio]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Quintus Volusius Saturninus]] and [[Publius Cornelius Lentulus Scipio]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Roman consuls|Consul]] of the [[Roman Empire]]|years=57–58}}
{{s-aft|after=Gaius Vipstanus Apronianus and [[Gaius Fonteius Capito]]}}
{{s-bef|before=Gaius Vipstanus Apronianus and [[Gaius Fonteius Capito]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Roman consuls|Consul]] of the [[Roman Empire]] (with Cossus Cornelius Lentulus)|years=60}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Publius Petronius Turpilianus]] and [[Lucius Caesennius Paetus]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Silius Italicus|Ti. Catius Asconius Silius Italicus]] and P. Galerius Trachalus}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Roman consuls|Consul]] of the [[Roman Empire]]|years=68 ''(suffect, without colleague)''}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Galba|Ser. Galba Imp. Caesar Augustus]] and [[Titus Vinius|T. Vinius (Rufinus?)]]}}
{{S-end}}
{{Roman Emperors}}
{{Ancient Olympic winners}}
{{Authority control|VIAF=84036175|LCCN=n/50/65376}}
{{Good article}}
<!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] -->
{{Persondata
|NAME=Nero
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus; Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=Fifth and last [[Roman Emperor]] of the Julio-Claudian dynasty; reigned 13 October 54 – 9 June 68
|DATE OF BIRTH=15 December 37
|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Anzio]], Italy
|DATE OF DEATH=9 June 68
|PLACE OF DEATH=Rome, Italy
}}
[[Category:Nero|Nero]]
[[Category:1st-century Roman emperors]]
[[Category:37 births]]
[[Category:68 deaths]]
[[Category:Claudii]]
[[Category:Domitii]]
[[Category:Forced suicides]]
[[Category:Julio-Claudian dynasty]]
[[Category:Matricides]]
[[Category:People from the Province of Rome]]
[[Category:Philhellenes]]
[[Category:Pre-19th-century LGBT people]]
[[Category:Roman emperors to suffer posthumous denigration or damnatio memoriae]]
[[Category:Roman emperors who committed suicide]]
[[Category:Roman-era Olympic competitors]]
[[Category:Suicides by sharp instrument in Italy]]
[[Category:Talmud people]]
[[Category:Year of the Four Emperors]]' |
