Nero - Wikipedia Nero From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search Roman emperor from AD 54 to 68 For other uses, see Nero (disambiguation). Roman emperor Nero Bust, Musei Capitolini, Rome Roman emperor Reign 13 October 54 – 9 June 68 AD Predecessor Claudius Successor Galba Born 15 December 37 AD Antium, Italy Died 9 June 68 AD (aged 30) Outside Rome, Italy Burial Mausoleum of the Domitii Ahenobarbi, Pincian Hill, Rome Spouse Claudia Octavia Poppaea Sabina Statilia Messalina Sporus Pythagoras (freedman) Issue Claudia Augusta Names Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus (birth) Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus (AD 50)[1] Regnal name Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus Dynasty Julio-Claudian Father Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus Claudius (adoptive) Mother Agrippina the Younger Roman imperial dynasties Julio-Claudian dynasty Coin from Blaundos (c. 50-55 CE) of Nero. Chronology Augustus 27 BC – AD 14 Tiberius AD 14–37 Caligula AD 37–41 Claudius AD 41–54 Nero AD 54–68 Succession Preceded by Roman Republic Followed by Year of the Four Emperors Category Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (/ˈnɪəroʊ/ NEER-oh;[i] 15 December 37 – 9 June 68 AD), originally named Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, was the fifth emperor of Rome, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty line of emperors following his suicide. He was adopted by the Roman emperor Claudius at the age of thirteen, and succeeded him to the throne at the age of seventeen. Nero was popular with the lower-class Roman citizens during his time and his reign is commonly associated with unrestricted tyranny, extravagance, religious persecution and debauchery.[2][ii][iii] Nero was born in Antium, south of Rome, in 37 AD. When Nero was two years old, his father died of edema, which enabled his mother (Agrippina the Younger) to marry the emperor Claudius. Nero was initially heavily guided by his mother Agrippina, his tutor Seneca the Younger, and Roman official Afranius Burrus. Nero received a classical education (including Greek, philosophy and rhetoric) under the tutelage of Seneca, who was to become a major influence throughout his early reign. However, these early years saw Nero attempting to free himself from all such advisors and become his own man. As time passed, Nero played a more active role in government and foreign policy and came to rely much less on his initial influences. Nero focused much of his attention on diplomacy and trade, as well as on the cultural life of the empire. He ordered the construction of amphitheaters and promoted athletic games. He also made public appearances as an actor, poet, musician, and charioteer. This extravagant, empire-wide program of public and private works was funded by a rise in taxation—a move that was much resented by the upper-class. In contrast, his populist-style of rule remained well-admired among the lower classes (of both Rome and the Roman provinces) until his death and beyond. Most Roman sources (including the Ancient Roman historians Suetonius and Cassius Dio) offer overwhelmingly negative assessments of his personality and reign. The contemporary historian Tacitus claims the Roman people thought him compulsive and corrupt. Suetonius tells that many Romans believed that the Great Fire of Rome was instigated by Nero as a way to clear land for his planned palatial complex, the Domus Aurea.[3] Also, according to Tacitus, he was said to have seized Christians as scapegoats for the fire, and had them made burned alive, seemingly motivated not by public justice but by personal cruelty.[4] Some modern historians question the reliability of the ancient sources on Nero's tyrannical acts[5][6] due to the overwhelming evidence of his popularity among the Roman commoners (especially in the eastern provinces of the Empire, where a popular legend arose that Nero had not died and would return). After his death, at least three leaders of short-lived, failed rebellions presented themselves as "Nero reborn" in order to gain popular support. A significant event that took during his reign was the Roman–Parthian War of 58–63, where the prestigious general Corbulo had acted as commander and had successfully negotiated peace with the hostile Parthian Empire as a result of the war. The Roman general Suetonius Paulinus had also quashed a major revolt in Britain led by the Iceni tribal Queen Boudica. The Bosporan Kingdom was briefly annexed to the empire, and the First Jewish–Roman War began. During Nero's reign, various plots against his life developed, and Nero had many of those involved in these conspiracies put to death. In AD 68, the Roman senator Vindex, who had support from the eventual Roman emperor Galba, rebelled against Nero. Vindex's revolt failed in its immediate aim; however, Nero fled Rome when its discontented civil and military authorities eventually chose Galba as emperor. On 9 June in AD 68, Nero committed suicide, becoming the first Roman Emperor to do so. He made this decision after learning that he had been tried in absentia and condemned to death as a public enemy.[7][8] His death ended the Julio-Claudian dynasty, sparking a brief period of civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors. Contents 1 Early life 2 Reign (54–68 AD) 2.1 Early reign 2.2 Matricide 2.3 Decline 2.4 Great Fire of Rome 2.5 Later years 2.6 Revolt of Vindex and Galba and Nero's death 2.7 After Nero 3 Military conflicts 3.1 Boudica's uprising 3.2 Peace with Parthia 3.3 First Jewish War 4 Pursuits 5 Historiography 6 In Jewish and Christian tradition 6.1 Jewish tradition 6.2 Christian tradition 6.2.1 Martyrdoms of Peter and Paul 6.2.2 Antichrist 7 Ancestry 8 See also 9 Notes 10 References 11 Bibliography 11.1 Primary sources 11.2 Secondary sources 12 External links Early life Anzio, the birthplace of emperor Nero Nero was born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus on 15 December 37 AD in Antium (modern Anzio).[9][10]:87 He was an only-child, the son of the politician Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Agrippina the Younger. His mother Agrippina was the sister of the third Roman emperor Caligula.[11]:5 Nero was also the great-great grandson of former emperor Augustus (descended from Augustus' only daughter, Julia).[12]:2 The ancient biographer Suetonius, who was critical of Nero's ancestors, wrote that emperor Augustus had reproached Nero's grandfather for his unseemly enjoyment of violent gladiator games. According to Jürgen Malitz, Suetonius tells that Nero's father was known to be "irascible and brutal", and that both "enjoyed chariot races and theater performances to a degree not befitting their position".[13]:3 Nero's father, Domitius, died in 40 AD. A few years before his fathers' death, his father was involved in a serious political scandal.[13]:3 His mother and his two surviving sisters, Agrippina and Julia Livilla, were exiled to a remote island in the Mediterranean Sea.[12]:4 His mother was said to have been exiled for plotting to overthrow the emperor Caligula.[9] Nero's inheritance was taken from him, and he was sent to live with his paternal aunt Domitia Lepida the Younger, the mother of the later emperor Claudius' third wife, Messalina.[14]:11 After Caligula's death, Claudius became the new Roman Emperor.[15] Nero's mother married Claudius in 49 AD, becoming his fourth wife.[iv][9] By February, 49 AD, his mother had persuaded Claudius to adopt her son Nero.[v] After Nero's adoption by the emperor, "Claudius" became part of his name: Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus.[vi][16] Claudius had gold coins issued to mark the adoption.[17]:119 Classics professor Josiah Osgood has written that "the coins, through their distribution and imagery alike, showed that a new Leader was in the making."[18]:231 However, David Shotter noted that, despite events in Rome, Nero's step-brother Britannicus was more prominent in provincial coinages during the early 50s.[16]:52 Nero formally entered public life as an adult in 51 AD at approximately 14 years old.[16]:51 When he turned 16, Nero married Claudius' daughter (his step-sister), Claudia Octavia. Between the years 51 AD and 53 AD, he gave several speeches on behalf of various communities, including the Ilians; the Apameans (requesting a five-year tax reprieve after an earthquake); and the northern colony of Bologna, after their settlement had suffered a devastating fire.[18]:231 An aureus of Nero and his mother, Agrippina, c. 54. Caption: NERONIS CAES MATER AGRIPP. AVG. DIVI CLAVD. / NERONI CLAVD. DIVI F. CAES. AVG. GERM. IMP. TR. P. – EX SC Coin issued under Claudius celebrating young Nero as the future emperor, c. 50. Caption: ΚΛΑΥΔΙΟΥ ΚAICΑΡΟC CΕΒΑCTOY / ΝΕΡΩΝΟC ΚΑΙCΑΡΟC ΓΕΡΜΑΝΙΚΟΥ Claudius died in 54 AD; many ancient historians claim that he was poisoned by Agrippina.[19] Shotter has written that "Claudius' death in 54 AD has usually been regarded as an event hastened by Agrippina due to signs that Claudius was showing a renewed affection for his natural son". He also notes that among ancient sources, the Roman historian Josephus was uniquely reserved in describing the poisoning as a rumor.[16]:53 Contemporary sources differ in their accounts of the poisoning. Tacitus says that the poison-maker Locusta prepared the toxin, which was served to the Emperor by his servant Halotus. Tacitus also writes that Agrippina arranged for Claudius' doctor Xenophon to administer poison, in the event that the Emperor survived.[16]:53 Suetonius differs in some details, but also implicates Halotus and Agrippina.[vii] Like Tacitus, Cassius Dio writes that the poison was prepared by Locusta, but in Dio's account it is administered by Agrippina instead of Halotus. In Apocolocyntosis, Seneca the Younger does not mention mushrooms at all.[16]:54 Agrippina's involvement in Claudius' death is not accepted by all modern scholars.[21]:589 Before Claudius' death, Agrippina had maneuvered to remove Claudius' sons' tutors in order to replace them with tutors that she had selected. She was also able to convince Claudius to replace two prefects of the Praetorian guard (who were suspected of supporting Claudius' son) with Afranius Burrus (Nero's future guide).[14]:13 Since Agrippina had replaced the guard officers with men loyal to her, Nero was subsequently able to assume power without incident.[9][22]:417 Reign (54–68 AD) Most of what we know about Nero's reign comes from three ancient writers: Tacitus, Suetonius, and Greek historian Cassius Dio.[23]:37 According to these 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".[24][25] 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.[26] Early reign Statue of Nero as a boy Nero became emperor in 54 AD, aged sixteen years. This made him the youngest sole emperor until Elagabalus, who became emperor aged 14 in 218.[2] The first five years of Nero's reign were described as Quinquennium Neronis by Trajan; the interpretation of the phrase is a matter of dispute amongst scholars.[12]:17 As Pharaoh of Egypt, Nero adopted the royal titulary Autokrator Neron Heqaheqau Meryasetptah Tjemaahuikhasut Wernakhtubaqet Heqaheqau Setepennenu Merur ('Emperor Nero, Ruler of rulers, chosen by Ptah, beloved of Isis, the sturdy-armed one who struck the foreign lands, victorious for Egypt, ruler of rulers, chosen of Nun who loves him').[27] Nero's tutor, Seneca, prepared Nero's first speech before the Senate. During this speech, Nero spoke about "eliminating the ills of the previous regime".[12]:16 H.H. Scullard writes that "he promised to follow the Augustan model in his principate, to end all secret trials intra cubiculum, to have done with the corruption of court favorites and freedmen, and above all to respect the privileges of the Senate and individual Senators."[28]:257 His respect of the Senatorial autonomy, which distinguished him from Caligula and Claudius, was generally well received by the Roman Senate.[12]:18 Emperor Nero being instructed by Seneca, work by Spanish sculptor Eduardo Barrón Scullard writes that Nero's mother, Agrippina, "meant to rule through her son".[28]:257 Agrippina murdered her political rivals: Domitia Lepida the Younger, the aunt that Nero had lived with during Agrippina's exile; Marcus Junius Silanus, a great grandson of Augustus; and Narcissus.[28]:257 One of the earliest coins that Nero issues during his reign shows Agrippina on the coin's obverse side; usually, this would be reserved for a portrait of the emperor. The Senate also allowed Agrippina two lictors during public appearances, an honor that was customarily bestowed upon only magistrates and the Vestalis Maxima.[12]:16 In AD 55, Nero removed Agrippina's ally Marcus Antonius Pallas from his position in the treasury. Shotter writes the following about Agrippina's deteriorating relationship with Nero: "What Seneca and Burrus probably saw as relatively harmless in Nero—his cultural pursuits and his affair with the slave girl Claudia Acte—were to her signs of her son's dangerous emancipation of himself from her influence."[14]:12 Britannicus was poisoned after Agrippina threatened to side with him.[14]:12 Nero, who was having an affair with Acte,[viii] exiled Agrippina from the palace when she began to cultivate a relationship with his wife Octavia.[28]:257 Jürgen Malitz writes that ancient sources do not provide any clear evidence to evaluate the extent of Nero's personal involvement in politics during the first years of his reign. He describes the policies that are explicitly attributed to Nero as "well-meant but incompetent notions" like Nero's failed initiative to abolish taxes in 58 AD. Scholars generally credit Nero's advisors Burrus and Seneca with the administrative successes of these years. Malitz writes that in later years, Nero panicked when he had to make decisions on his own during times of crisis.[12]:19 Matricide Coin of Nero and Poppaea Sabina Billon tetradrachm of Alexandria, Egypt, 25 mm, 12.51 gr. Obverse: radiate head right; ΝΕΡΩ. KΛAY. KAIΣ. ΣEB. ΓΕΡ. AY. Reverse: draped bust of Poppaea right; ΠOΠΠAIA ΣEBAΣTH. Year LI = 10 = 63–64. The Remorse of Nero after the Murder of his Mother, by John William Waterhouse The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome cautiously notes that Nero's reasons for killing his mother in 59 AD are "not fully understood".[9] According to Tacitus, the source of conflict between Nero and his mother was Nero's affair with Poppaea Sabina. In Histories Tacitus writes that the affair began while Poppaea was still married to Rufrius Crispinus, but in his later work Annals Tacitus says Poppaea was married to Otho when the affair began.[11]:214 In Annals Tacitus writes that Agrippina opposed Nero's affair with Poppaea because of her affection for his wife Octavia. Anthony Barrett writes that Tacitus' account in Annals "suggests that Poppaea's challenge drove [Nero] over the brink".[11]:215 A number of modern historians have noted that Agrippina's death would not have offered much advantage for Poppaea, as Nero did not marry Poppaea until 62 AD.[29][11]:215 Barrett writes that Poppaea seems to serve as a "literary device, utilized [by Tacitus] because [he] could see no plausible explanation for Nero's conduct and also incidentally [served] to show that Nero, like Claudius, had fallen under the malign influence of a woman."[11]:215 According to Suetonius, Nero had his former freedman Anicetus arrange a shipwreck; Agrippina survived the wreck, swam ashore and was executed by Anicetus, who reported her death as a suicide.[9][30] Decline Modern scholars believe that Nero's reign had been going well in the years before Agrippina's death. For example, Nero promoted the exploration of the Nile river sources with a successful expedition.[31] After Agrippina's exile, Burrus and Seneca were responsible for the administration of the Empire.[28]:258 However, Nero's "conduct became far more egregious" after his mother's death.[9]:22 Miriam T. Griffins suggests that Nero's decline began as early as 55 AD with the murder of his stepbrother Britannicus, but also notes that "Nero lost all sense of right and wrong and listened to flattery with total credulity" after Agrippina's death.[23]:84 Griffin points out that Tacitus "makes explicit the significance of Agrippina's removal for Nero's conduct".[23]:84[32] He began to build a new palace, the Domus Transitoria, from about AD 60.[33] It was intended to connect all of the imperial estates that had been acquired in various ways, with the Palatine including the Gardens of Maecenas, Horti Lamiani, Horti Lolliani, etc.[34] [35] In 62 AD, Nero's adviser Burrus died.[9] That same year Nero called for the first treason trial of his reign (maiestas trial) against Antistius Sosianus.[23]:53[36] He also executed his rivals Cornelius Sulla and Rubellius Plautus.[12] Jürgen Malitz considers this to be a turning point in Nero's relationship with the Roman Senate. Malitz writes that "Nero abandoned the restraint he had previously shown because he believed a course supporting the Senate promised to be less and less profitable."[12] After Burrus' death, Nero appointed two new Praetorian Prefects: Faenius Rufus and Ofonius Tigellinus. Politically isolated, Seneca was forced to retire.[28]:26 According to Tacitus, Nero divorced Octavia on grounds of infertility, and banished her.[23]:99[37] After public protests over Octavia's exile, Nero accused her of adultery with Anicetus and she was executed.[23]:99[38] In 64 AD during the Saturnalia, Nero married Pythagoras, a freedman.[39][40][41][42] Great Fire of Rome Main article: Great Fire of Rome The Great Fire of Rome erupted on the night of 18 to 19 July, AD 64. The fire started on the slope of the Aventine overlooking the Circus Maximus.[43][44] The Fire of Rome by Hubert Robert (1785) Tacitus, the main ancient source for information about the fire, wrote that countless mansions, residences and temples were destroyed.[43] Tacitus and Cassius Dio have both written of extensive damage to the Palatine, which has been supported by subsequent archaeological excavations.[45] The fire is reported to have burned for over a week.[28]:260 It destroyed three of fourteen Roman districts and severely damaged seven more.[28]:260[46] Coin showing Nero distributing charity to a citizen. c. 64–66. Obverse: Laureate head right; NERO CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG. GER. P. M., TR. P., IMP., P. P. Reverse: Nero togate, seated right on curule chair on low platform and praefectus annonae standing behind him; on ground an attendant standing left distributes tessera (theater tickets) or coins to a citizen, holding out folds of his toga to receive them; a tetrastyle building to the left of them; statue of Minerva standing before temple in background, holding owl and spear; CONG II DAT POP S.C. Tacitus wrote that some ancient accounts described the fire as an accident, while others had claimed that it was a plot of Nero. Tacitus is the only surviving source which does not blame Nero for starting the fire; he says he is "unsure". Pliny the Elder, Suetonius and Cassius Dio all wrote that Nero was responsible for the fire. These accounts give several reasons for Nero's alleged arson like Nero's envy of King Priam and a dislike for the city's ancient construction. Suetonius wrote that Nero started the fire because he wanted the space to build his Golden House.[47] This Golden House or Domus Aurea included lush artificial landscapes and a 30-meter-tall statue of himself, the Colossus of Nero. The size of this complex is debated (from 100 to 300 acres).[48][49][50] Tacitus wrote that Nero accused Christians of starting the fire to remove suspicion from himself.[51] According to this account, many Christians were arrested and brutally executed by "being thrown to the beasts, crucified, and being burned alive".[52] Suetonius and Cassius Dio alleged that Nero sang the "Sack of Ilium" in stage costume while the city burned.[53][54] The popular legend that Nero played the fiddle while Rome burned "is at least partly a literary construct of Flavian propaganda [...] which looked askance on the abortive Neronian attempt to rewrite Augustan models of rule".[17]:2 In fact, the first recorded reference to the bowed lira, the ancestor of most European stringed instruments, was in the 9th century by the Persian geographer Ibn Khurradadhbih (d. 911). According to Tacitus, Nero was in Antium during the fire. Upon hearing news of the fire, Nero returned to Rome to organize a relief effort, providing for the removal of bodies and debris, which he paid for from his own funds.[55][56] 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.[55] In the wake of the fire, he made a new urban development plan. Houses built after the fire were spaced out, built in brick, and faced by porticos on wide roads.[57] Nero also built a new palace complex known as the Domus Aurea in an area cleared by the fire. To find the necessary funds for the reconstruction, tributes were imposed on the provinces of the empire.[58] 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 (3.80 grams to 3.30 grams). He also reduced the silver purity from 99.5% to 93.5%—the silver weight dropping from 3.80 grams to 2.97 grams. Furthermore, Nero reduced the weight of the aureus from 40 per Roman pound to 45 (7.9 grams to 7.2 grams).[59] Later years Nero's Sestertius. Obverse: Laureate head right, countermark on neck "X above bar" of Legio X Gemina; NERO CLAVD. CAESAR AVG. GER. P. M., TR. P., IMP., P. P. Reverse: Nero riding right escorted by a soldier holding vexillum; DECVRSIO – S. C. Nero coin, c. 66. Ara Pacis on the reverse. Caption: IMP. NERO CAESAR AVG. P. M., TR. POT., P. P. / ARA PACIS – S. C. In 65 AD, 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.[60] According to Tacitus, many conspirators wished to "rescue the state" from the emperor and restore the Republic.[61] The freedman Milichus discovered the conspiracy and reported it to Nero's secretary, Epaphroditos.[62] As a result, the conspiracy failed and its members were executed including Lucan, the poet.[63] Nero's previous advisor Seneca was accused by Natalis; he denied the charges but was still ordered to commit suicide as by this point he had fallen out of favor with Nero.[64] Nero was said to have kicked Poppaea to death in 65 AD, before she could have his second child.[65] Modern historians, noting the probable biases of Suetonius, Tacitus, and Cassius Dio, and the likely absence of eyewitnesses to such an event, propose that Poppaea may have died after miscarriage or in childbirth.[66] Nero went into deep mourning; Poppaea was given a sumptuous state funeral, divine honors, and was promised a temple for her cult. A year's importation of incense was burned at the funeral. Her body was not cremated, as would have been strictly customary, but embalmed after the Egyptian manner and entombed; it is not known where.[67] In 67, Nero married Sporus, a young boy who is said to have greatly resembled Poppaea. Nero had him castrated, tried to make a woman out of him, and married him in a dowry and bridal veil. It is believed that he did this out of regret for his killing of Poppaea.[68][69] Revolt of Vindex and Galba and Nero's death A marble bust of Nero, Antiquarium of the Palatine. In March 68, Gaius Julius Vindex, the governor of Gallia Lugdunensis, rebelled against Nero's tax policies.[70][71] Lucius Verginius Rufus, the governor of Germania Superior, was ordered to put down Vindex's rebellion.[72] In an attempt to gain support from outside his own province, Vindex called upon Servius Sulpicius Galba, the governor of Hispania Tarraconensis, to join the rebellion and to declare himself emperor in opposition to Nero.[73] At the Battle of Vesontio in May 68, Verginius' forces easily defeated those of Vindex, and the latter committed suicide.[72] However, after defeating the rebel, Verginius' legions attempted to proclaim their own commander as Emperor. Verginius refused to act against Nero, but the discontent of the legions of Germania and the continued opposition of Galba in Hispania 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 ("hostis publicus"[74]). The prefect of the Praetorian Guard, Gaius Nymphidius Sabinus, also abandoned his allegiance to the Emperor and came out in support of Galba. In response, Nero fled Rome with the intention of going to the port of 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 Virgil'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 appealing to the people and begging 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.[75] 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.[75] Returning, Nero sought a place where he could hide and collect his thoughts. An imperial freedman, Phaon, offered his villa, located 4 mi (6.4 km) outside the city. Travelling in disguise, Nero and four loyal freedmen, Epaphroditos, Phaon, 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, that it was their intention to execute him by beating him to death, and that armed men had been sent to apprehend him for the act to take place in the Roman 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.[76] Nero, however, did not know this, and at the news brought by the courier, he prepared himself for suicide, pacing up and down muttering Qualis artifex pereo ("What an artist dies in me").[77] Losing his nerve, he begged one of his companions to set an example by killing himself first. 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 forced his private secretary, Epaphroditos, to perform the task.[78] An 1815 illustration of the alleged tomb of Nero; actually tomb of proconsul Caius Vibius Marianus. When one of the horsemen entered and saw that Nero was dying, he attempted to stop the bleeding, but efforts to save Nero's life were unsuccessful. Nero's final words were "Too late! This is fidelity!"[79] He died on 9 June 68,[80] the anniversary of the death of his first wife Claudia Octavia, and was buried in the Mausoleum of the Domitii Ahenobarbi, in what is now the Villa Borghese (Pincian Hill) area of Rome.[79] According to Sulpicius Severus, it is unclear whether Nero took his own life.[81] With his death, the Julio-Claudian dynasty ended.[82]:19 When news of his death reached Rome, the Senate posthumously declared Nero a public enemy to appease the coming Galba (as the Senate had initially declared Galba as a public enemy) and proclaimed Galba as the new emperor. Chaos would ensue in the year of the Four Emperors.[83] After Nero See also: Nero Redivivus legend and Pseudo-Nero Apotheosis of Nero, c. after 68. Artwork portraying Nero rising to divine status after his death. According to Suetonius and Cassius Dio, the people of Rome celebrated the death of Nero.[84][85] Tacitus, though, describes a more complicated political environment. Tacitus mentions that Nero's death was welcomed by Senators, nobility and the upper class.[86] 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.[86] Members of the military were said to have mixed feelings, as they had allegiance to Nero, but had been bribed to overthrow him.[87] Eastern sources, namely Philostratus and Apollonius of Tyana, mention that Nero's death was mourned as he "restored the liberties of Hellas with a wisdom and moderation quite alien to his character"[88] and that he "held our liberties in his hand and respected them".[89] 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".[23]:186[90] Nero's name was erased from some monuments, in what Edward Champlin regards as an "outburst of private zeal".[91] Many portraits of Nero were reworked to represent other figures; according to Eric R. Varner, over fifty such images survive.[92] This reworking of images is often explained as part of the way in which the memory of disgraced emperors was condemned posthumously[93] (see damnatio memoriae).[92] Champlin, however, doubts that the practice is necessarily negative and notes that some continued to create images of Nero long after his death.[94] Damaged portraits of Nero, often with hammer-blows directed to the face, have been found in many provinces of the Roman Empire, three recently having been identified from the United Kingdom[95] (see damnatio memoriae).[92] The civil war during the year of the Four Emperors was described by ancient historians as a troubling period.[83] 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.[86] Galba began his short reign with the execution of many of Nero's allies.[96] One such notable enemy included Nymphidius Sabinus, who claimed to be the son of Emperor Caligula.[97] Otho overthrew Galba. Otho was said to be liked by many soldiers because he had been a friend of Nero and resembled him somewhat in temperament.[98] It was said that the common Roman hailed Otho as Nero himself.[99] Otho used "Nero" as a surname and reerected many statues to Nero.[99] Vitellius overthrew Otho. Vitellius began his reign with a large funeral for Nero complete with songs written by Nero.[100] After Nero's death in 68, there was a widespread belief, especially in the eastern provinces, that he was not dead and somehow would return.[101] 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.[102] At least three Nero impostors 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.[103] After persuading some to recognize him, he was captured and executed.[103] 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.[104] 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,[105] and the matter almost came to war.[83] Military conflicts Boudica's uprising Further information: Boudica In Britannia (Britain) in 59 AD, Prasutagus, leader of the Iceni tribe and a client king of Rome during Claudius' reign, had died. The client state arrangement was unlikely to survive following the death of Claudius. The will of the Iceni tribal King (leaving control of the Iceni to his daughters) was denied. When the roman procurator Catus Decianus scourged the former King Prasutagus' wife Boudica and raped her daughters, the Iceni revolted. They were joined by the Celtic Trinovantes tribe and their uprising became the most significant provincial rebellion of the 1st century AD.[14]:32[28]:254 Under Queen Boudica, the towns of Camulodunum (Colchester), Londinium (London) and Verulamium (St. Albans) were burned, and a substantial body of Roman legion infantry were eliminated. The governor of the province, Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, assembled his remaining forces and defeated the Britons. Although order was restored for some time, Nero considered abandoning the province.[106] Julius Classicianus replaced the former procurator, Catus Decianus, and Classicianus advised Nero to replace Paulinus who continued to punish the population even after the rebellion was over.[28]:265 Nero decided to adopt a more lenient approach by appointing a new governor, Petronius Turpilianus.[14]:33 Peace with Parthia Further information: Roman–Parthian War of 58–63 Nero began preparing for war in the early years of his reign, after the Parthian king Vologeses set his brother Tiridates on the Armenian throne. Around 57 AD and 58 AD Domitius Corbulo and his legions advanced on Tiridates and captured the Armenian capital Artaxata. Tigranes was chosen to replace Tiridates on the Armenian throne. When Tigranes attacked Adiabene, Nero had to send further legions to defend Armenia and Syria from Parthia. The Roman victory came at a time when the Parthians were troubled by revolts; when this was dealt with they were able to devote resources to the Armenian situation. A Roman army under Paetus surrendered under humiliating circumstances and though both Roman and Parthian forces withdrew from Armenia, it was under Parthian control. The triumphal arch for Corbulo's earlier victory was part-built when Parthian envoys arrived in 63 AD to discuss treaties. Given imperium over the eastern regions, Corbulo organised his forces for an invasion but was met by this Parthian delegation. An agreement was thereafter reached with the Parthians: Rome would recognize Tiridates as king of Armenia, only if he agreed to receive his diadem from Nero. A coronation ceremony was held in Italy 66 AD. Dio reports that Tiridates said "I have come to you, my God, worshiping you as Mithras." Shotter says this parallels other divine designations that were commonly applied to Nero in the East including "The New Apollo" and "The New Sun". After the coronation, friendly relations were established between Rome and the eastern kingdoms of Parthia and Armenia. Artaxata was temporarily renamed Neroneia.[28]:265–66[14]:35 First Jewish War Main article: First Jewish–Roman War In 66, there was a Jewish revolt in Judea stemming from Greek and Jewish religious tension.[107] In 67, Nero dispatched Vespasian to restore order.[108] This revolt was eventually put down in 70, after Nero's death.[109] This revolt is famous for Romans breaching the walls of Jerusalem and destroying the Second Temple of Jerusalem.[110] Pursuits Nero studied poetry, music, painting and sculpture. He both sang and played the cithara (a type of lyre). Many of these disciplines were standard education for the Roman elite, but Nero's devotion to music exceeded what was socially acceptable for a Roman of his class.[23]:41–42 Ancient sources were critical of Nero's emphasis on the arts, chariot-racing and athletics. Pliny described Nero as an "actor-emperor" (scaenici imperatoris) and Suetonius wrote that he was "carried away by a craze for popularity...since he was acclaimed as the equal of Apollo in music and of the Sun in driving a chariot, he had planned to emulate the exploits of Hercules as well."[45]:53 In 67 AD Nero participated in the Olympics. He had bribed organizers to postpone the games for a year so he could participate,[111] and artistic competitions were added to the athletic events. Nero won every contest in which he was a competitor. During the games Nero sang and played his lyre on stage, acted in tragedies and raced chariots. He won a 10-horse chariot race, despite being thrown from the chariot and leaving the race. He was crowned on the basis that he would have won if he had completed the race. After he died a year later, his name was removed from the list of winners.[112] Champlin writes that though Nero's participation "effectively stifled true competition, [Nero] seems to have been oblivious of reality."[45]:54–55 Nero established the Neronian games in 60 AD. Modeled on Greek style games, these games included "music" "gymnastic" and "questrian" contents. According to Suetonius the gymnastic contests were held in the Saepta area of the Campus Martius.[45]:288 Historiography The history of Nero's reign is problematic in that no historical sources survived that were contemporary with Nero. These first histories, while they still existed, were described as biased and fantastical, either overly critical or praising of Nero.[113] The original sources were also said to contradict on a number of events.[114] Nonetheless, these lost primary sources were the basis of surviving secondary and tertiary histories on Nero written by the next generations of historians.[115] 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.[116] There were also pro-Nero histories, but it is unknown who wrote them or for what deeds Nero was praised.[117] The bulk of what is known of Nero comes from Tacitus, Suetonius and Cassius Dio, who were all of the upper classes. 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 one another on a number of events in Nero's life including the death of Claudius, the death of 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] 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.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] 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: 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.[118] Epictetus Epictetus (c. 55–135) was the slave to Nero's scribe Epaphroditos.[119] 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.[120] A circa 18th century woodcut of the historian Josephus (c. 37–100) who accused other historians of slandering Nero. Josephus 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: 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.[121] Lucan Although more of a poet than historian, 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.[122] Philostratus Philostratus II "the Athenian" (c. 172–250) spoke of Nero in the Life of Apollonius Tyana (Books 4–5). Although he has a generally bad or dim view of Nero, he speaks of others' positive reception of Nero in the East.[citation needed] 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".[123] Plutarch Plutarch (c. 46–127) mentions Nero indirectly in his account of the Life of Galba and the Life of Otho, as well as in the Vision of Thespesius in Book 7 of the Moralia, where a voice orders that Nero's soul be transferred to a more offensive species.[124] 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 (c. 4 BC–65 AD), Nero's teacher and advisor, writes very well of Nero.[125] Suetonius Main article: 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. By this account, Nero raped the vestal virgin Rubria.[126] Tacitus Main article: 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 AD. Tacitus described the rule of the Julio-Claudian emperors as generally unjust. He also thought that existing writing on them was unbalanced: 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.[127] Tacitus was the son of a 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.[128] 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.[citation needed] In Jewish and Christian tradition Jewish tradition At the end of 66 AD, 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 25:14).[129] Nero became terrified, believing that God wanted the Second Temple to be destroyed, but that he 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.[130] Vespasian was then dispatched to put down the rebellion. The Talmud adds that the sage Reb Meir Baal HaNess lived in the time of the Mishnah, and was a prominent supporter of the Bar Kokhba rebellion against Roman rule. Rabbi Meir was considered one of the greatest of the Tannaim of the third generation (139–163). According to the Talmud, his father was a descendant of Nero who had converted to Judaism. His wife Bruriah is one of the few women cited in the Gemara. He is the third-most-frequently-mentioned sage in the Mishnah.[131] Roman and Greek sources nowhere report Nero's alleged trip to Jerusalem or his alleged conversion to Judaism.[132] 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 Nero's Torches, Henryk Siemiradzki Non-Christian historian Tacitus describes Nero extensively torturing and executing Christians after the fire of 64.[4] 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.[133] 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."[134] Lactantius (c. 240–320) also said that Nero "first persecuted the servants of God".[135] as does Sulpicius Severus.[136] However, Suetonius writes that, "since the Jews constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, the [emperor Claudius] expelled them from Rome" ("Iudaeos impulsore Chresto assidue tumultuantis Roma expulit").[137] 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" (Acts 18:2).[138] Martyrdoms of Peter and Paul The first text to suggest that Nero ordered the execution of an apostle is a letter by Clement to the Corinthians traditionally dated to around AD 96.[139] The apocryphal Ascension of Isaiah, a Christian writing from the 2nd century, 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"; this is interpreted as referring to Nero.[140] Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 275–339) was the first to write explicitly that Paul was beheaded and Peter crucified in Rome during the reign of Nero.[141] 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.[142] Peter is first said to have been crucified specifically upside-down in Rome during Nero's reign (but not by Nero) in the apocryphal Acts of Peter (c. 200).[143] 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.[144] Antichrist Main articles: Antichrist, The Beast (Revelation), and Number of the beast The Sibylline Oracles, Book 5 and 8, written in the 2nd century, speak of Nero returning and bringing destruction.[145][146] Within Christian communities, these writings, along with others,[147] 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." Lactantius maintains that it is not right to believe this.[135][148] In 422, Augustine of Hippo wrote about 2 Thessalonians 2:1–11, where he believed that Paul mentioned the coming of the Antichrist. Although he rejects the theory, Augustine mentions that many Christians believed Nero was the Antichrist or would return as the Antichrist. He wrote that, "in saying, 'For the mystery of iniquity doth already work,'[149] he alluded to Nero, whose deeds already seemed to be as the deeds of Antichrist."[102] Some modern biblical scholars[150][151] such as Delbert Hillers (Johns Hopkins University) of the American Schools of Oriental Research and the editors of the Oxford Study Bible and Harper Collins Study Bible, contend that the number 666 in the Book of Revelation is a code for Nero,[152] a view that is also supported in Roman Catholic Biblical commentaries.[153][154] The statement concerns Revelation 17:1–18, "the longest explanatory passage in Revelation", which predicts the destruction of Rome by work of an eight emperor who was also one of the seven kings of the most extended and powerful empire ever known in the human history: according to this lecture, Babylon the Great is identified with Rome[155] which has poured the blood of saints and martyrs (verse 6) and subsequently become the seat of the Vatican State, reigning over all the kings existing on Earth. Ancestry This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Ancestors of Nero 16. Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus 8. Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus 17. Porcia (sister of Cato the Younger) 4. Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus 9. Aemilia Lepida 2. Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus 20. Marcus Antonius Creticus 10. Mark Antony 21. Julia 5. Antonia Major 22. Gaius Octavius 11. Octavia 23. Atia 1. Nero 24. Tiberius Claudius Nero 12. Drusus 25. Livia 6. Germanicus 26. Mark Antony [=10] 13. Antonia Minor 27. Octavia [=11] 3. Agrippina the Younger 28. Lucius Vipsanius Agrippa 14. Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa 7. Agrippina the Elder 30. Augustus 15. Julia the Elder 31. Scribonia See also Nero in popular culture Notes ^ Classical Latin spelling and reconstructed Classical Latin pronunciation of the names of Nero: LV́CIVS DOMITIVS AHÉNOBARBVS IPA: [ˈluːkijʊs dɔˈmɪtijʊs a(h)eːnɔˈbarbʊs] NERÓ CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVGVSTVS GERMÁNICVS IPA: [ˈnɛroː ˈklau̯dijʊs ˈkae̯sar au̯ˈɡʊstʊs ɡɛrˈmaːnɪkʊs]. ^ Kragelund, Patrick. 2000. "Nero's Luxuria, in Tacitus and in the Octavia." The Classical Quarterly:494–515. (cites Tacitus, Annals I.16): Galba criticized the excesses (luxuria) of Nero's public and private spending. ^ References to Nero's matricide appear in: the Sibylline Oracles 5.490–520; Chaucer, "The Monk's Tale," Canterbury Tales; and Shakespeare, Hamlet 3.ii. ^ Tacitus wrote the following about Agrippina's marriage to Claudius: "From this moment the country was transformed. Complete obedience was accorded to a woman—and not a woman like Messalina who toyed with national affairs. This was a rigorous, almost masculine, despotism. In public, Agrippina was austere and often arrogant. Her private life was chaste—unless power was to be gained. Her passion to acquire money was unbounded; she wanted it as a stepping stone to supremacy."[14]:11 ^ According to The Oxford Encyclopedia of Greece and Rome Nero was adopted in 50 AD.[9] ^ For further information see adoption in Rome. ^ Suetonius wrote "It is commonly agreed that Claudius was killed by poison. There is, however, disagreement as to where and by whom it was administered. Some record that, when he was at a feast with priests on the citadel, it was given to him by his taster, the eunuch Halotus, others that it was given him at a family dinner by Agrippina herself, offering him the drug in a dish of mushrooms, a kind of food to which he was very partial...His death was concealed until all arrangements were in place with regard to his successor."[20]:193 ^ Sources describe Acte as a slave girl (Shotter) and a freedwoman (Champlin and Scullard). 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Retrieved 24 February 2012. ^ Champlin, p. 146 ^ a b Champlin, p. 122 ^ Tacitus, Annals, XV.38 ^ a b c d Champlin, p. 125 ^ Tacitus, Annals, XV.40 ^ Champlin, p. 182 ^ Roth, Leland M. (1993). Understanding Architecture: Its Elements, History and Meaning. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, pp. 227–28. ISBN 0-06-430158-3. ^ Ball, Larry F. (2003). The Domus Aurea and the Roman architectural revolution. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-82251-3. ^ Warden reduces its size to under 100 acres (0.40 km2). Warden, P.G. (1981). "The Domus Aurea Reconsidered". Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. 40 (4): 271–78. doi:10.2307/989644. JSTOR 989644. ^ Champlin, p. 121 ^ Champlin, pp. 121–22 ^ Champlin, p. 77 ^ Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Nero, 38; Cassius Dio, Roman History LXII.16 Archived 11 October 2013 at Archive-It. ^ a b Tacitus, Annals, XV.39 ^ Walsh, Joseph J. (1 October 2019). The Great Fire of Rome: Life and Death in the Ancient City. JHU Press. ISBN 978-1-4214-3372-1. ^ Tacitus, Annals, XV.43 ^ Tacitus, Annals XV.45. ^ "Roman Currency of the Principate". Tulane University. Archived from the original on 10 February 2001. Retrieved 13 July 2011. ^ Tacitus, Annals XV.49. ^ Tacitus, Annals XV.50. ^ Tacitus, Annals XV.55. ^ Tacitus, Annals XV.70. ^ Tacitus, Annals XV.60–62. ^ Farquhar, Michael (2001). A Treasure of Royal Scandals, p. 216. Penguin Books, New York. ISBN 0-7394-2025-9. ^ Rudich, Vasily (1993) Political Dissidence Under Nero. Psychology Press. pp. 135–36. ISBN 9780415069519 ^ Counts, Derek B. (1996). "Regum Externorum Consuetudine: The Nature and Function of Embalming in Rome". Classical Antiquity. 15 (2): 189–90. doi:10.2307/25011039. JSTOR 25011039. p. 193, note 18 "We should not consider it an insult that Poppaea was not buried in the Mausoleum of Augustus, as were other members of the imperial family until the time of Nerva." 196 (note 37, citing Pliny the elder, Natural History, 12.83). ^ Dio, Cassius. Roman History. pp. LXII, 28. ^ Suetonius (2016), Kaster, Robert A (ed.), "Nero", Studies on the Text of Suetonius' 'De Vita Caesarum', Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/oseo/instance.00233087, ISBN 978-0-19-875847-1 ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History LXIII.22. ^ Donahue, John, "Galba (68–69 A.D.)" Archived 11 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine at De Imperatoribus Romanis. ^ a b Cassius Dio, Roman History LXIII.24. ^ Plutarch, The Parallel Lives, Life of Galba 5. ^ Garzetti, Albino (2014). From Tiberius to the Antonines (Routledge Revivals): A History of the Roman Empire AD 14–192. Taylor & Francis. pp. 220–. ISBN 978-1-317-69843-2. ^ a b Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Nero 47. ^ Tacitus, Annals XV.72. ^ Buckley, Emma; Dinter, Martin T. (2013). A Companion to the Neronian Age. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-118-31659-7. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2015. ^ Bunson, Matthew (2009). Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4381-1027-1. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2015. ^ a b Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Nero 49. ^ Cassius Dio LXVI.4: "from the death of Nero to the beginning of Vespasian's rule a year and twenty-two days elapsed". Vespasian's reign oficially began on 1 July (Suetonius, Vespasian 6). Therefore, Nero died on 9 June. Furthermore, Jerome (2070) states that "Nero reigned for 13 years, 7 months and 28 days", which is only wrong for one day, as it should be 27 days. ^ "Philip Schaff: NPNF-211. Sulpitius Severus, Vincent of Lerins, John Cassian – Christian Classics Ethereal Library". ccel.org. Retrieved 24 November 2019. ^ Barrett, A. A (1996). Agrippina: sister of Caligula, wife of Claudius, mother of Nero. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0713468540. ^ a b c Tacitus, Histories I.2. ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History 63. ^ Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Nero 57. ^ a b c Tacitus, Histories I.4. ^ Tacitus, Histories I.5. ^ Philostratus II, The Life of Apollonius 5.41 Archived 29 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine. ^ Letter from Apollonius to Emperor Vespasian, Philostratus II, The Life of Apollonius 5.41 Archived 29 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine. ^ Gibbon, Edward (1996) The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Vol. I, Chap. III. Penguin Classics. ISBN 978-0140433937 ^ Champlin, p. 29. ^ a b c John Pollini (September 2006), Review of Mutilation and Transformation: Damnatio Memoriae and Roman Imperial Portraiture by Eric R. Varner, The Art Bulletin. ^ Russell, Miles; Manley, Harry (2016). "Sanctioning Memory: Changing Identity – Using 3D laser scanning to identify two 'new' portraits of the Emperor Nero in English antiquarian collections". Internet Archaeology (42). doi:10.11141/ia.42.2. ^ Champlin, pp. 29–31. ^ Russell, Miles; Manley, Harry (2013). "Finding Nero: shining a new light on Romano-British sculpture". Internet Archaeology (32). doi:10.11141/ia.32.5. ^ Tacitus, Histories I.6. ^ Plutarch, The Parallel Lives, The Life of Galba 9. ^ Tacitus, Histories I.13. ^ a b Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Otho 7. ^ Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Vitellius 11. ^ Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Nero 57; Tacitus, Histories II.8; Cassius Dio, Roman History LXVI.19 Archived 24 June 2014 at WebCite. ^ a b Augustine of Hippo, City of God. XX.19.3 Archived 2 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine. ^ a b Tacitus, Histories II.8. ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History LXVI.19 Archived 24 June 2014 at WebCite. ^ Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Nero 57. ^ Suetonius, Nero 18, 39–40 ^ Josephus, War of the Jews II.13.7. ^ Josephus, War of the Jews III.1.3. ^ Josephus, War of the Jews VI.10.1. ^ Josephus, War of the Jews VII.1.1. ^ Judith., Swaddling (1984) [1980]. The ancient Olympic games (1st University of Texas Press ed.). Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0292703735. OCLC 10759486. ^ "Going for Gold: A History of Olympic Controversies". www.randomhistory.com. Archived from the original on 12 January 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2018. ^ Tacitus, Annals I.1; Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews XX.8.3; Tacitus, Life of Gnaeus Julius Agricola 10; Tacitus, Annals XIII.20. ^ Tacitus, Annals XIII.20; Tacitus, Annals XIV.2. ^ Tacitus, Annals XIII.20; Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews XIX.1.13. ^ Tacitus, Annals XIII.20. ^ Tacitus, Annals I.1; Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews XX.8.3. ^ Dio Chrysostom, Discourse XXI, On Beauty. ^ "Epictetus – The Core Curriculum". www.college.columbia.edu. Archived from the original on 22 June 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2017. ^ "Epictetus, Discourses, book 3, About Cynism". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 6 May 2021. ^ Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews XX.8.3. ^ Marcus Annaeus Lucanus, Pharsalia (Civil War) (c. 65) Archived 26 July 2007 at archive.today. ^ Pliny the Elder, Natural Histories VII.8.46. ^ Plutach, Moralia, ed. by G. P. Goold, trans. by Phillip H. De Lacy and Benedict Einarson, Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1959), 7: 269–99. ^ Seneca the Younger, Apocolocyntosis 4 Archived 3 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine. ^ Suetonius Twelve Caesars: Nero chapter 28 ^ Tacitus, Annals I.1. ^ Tacitus, History I.1. ^ Ezekiel 25:14 ^ Talmud, tractate Gitin 56a-b ^ Kaplan, Drew. 5 July 2011. "Rabbinic Popularity in the Mishnah VII: Top Ten Overall [Final Tally]" Drew Kaplan's Blog. Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. ^ Isaac, Benjamin. 2004. The Invention of Racism in Classical Antiquity. Princeton University Press. pp. 440–91. ISBN 978-0691125985. ^ Suetonius The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Nero, chapter 16. ^ Tertullian. Apologeticum (Lost text), quoted in Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, II.25.4, translated by A. C. McGiffert. Archived 13 December 2006 at the Wayback Machine, ^ a b Lactantius, Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died II Archived 7 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine. ^ Sulpicius Severus, Chronica II.28 Archived 1 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine. ^ Suetonius The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Claudius 25 Archived 30 June 2012 at archive.today. ^ Acts of the Apostles 18:2 ^ Champlin, p. 123 ^ Ascension of Isaiah Chapter 4.2 Archived 25 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine. ^ Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History II.25.5 Archived 13 December 2006 at the Wayback Machine. ^ In the apocryphal Acts of Paul Archived 20 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine; in the apocryphal Acts of Peter Archived 12 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine; in the First Epistle of Clement 5:6 Archived 20 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine; and in The Muratorian Fragment Archived 18 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine. ^ Apocryphal Acts of Peter Archived 12 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine. ^ Lactantius wrote that Nero "crucified Peter, and slew Paul.", Lactantius, Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died II Archived 7 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine; John Chrysostom wrote Nero knew Paul personally and had him killed, John Chrysostom, Concerning Lowliness of Mind 4 Archived 3 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine; Sulpicius Severus says Nero killed Peter and Paul, Sulpicius Severus, Chronica II.28–29 Archived 1 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine. ^ Sibylline Oracles 5.361–76, 8.68–72, 8.531–157 Archived 3 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine. ^ Griffin, Miriam T. (2002). Nero: The End of a Dynasty. Routledge. pp. 15–. ISBN 978-1-134-61044-0. ^ Sulpicius Severus and Victorinus of Pettau also say that Nero is the Antichrist, Sulpicius Severus, Chronica II.28–29 Archived 1 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine; Victorinus of Pettau, Commentary on the Apocalypse 17 Archived 6 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine. ^ Champlin, p. 20 ^ "2 Thessalonians 2:7 – Passage Lookup – King James Version". BibleGateway.com. Archived from the original on 29 December 2008. Retrieved 9 November 2010. ^ Cory, Catherine A. (2006). The Book of Revelation. Liturgical Press. pp. 61–. ISBN 978-0-8146-2885-0. Archived from the original on 4 May 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2015. ^ Garrow, A.J.P. (2002). Revelation. Taylor & Francis. pp. 86–. ISBN 978-0-203-13308-8. Archived from the original on 11 May 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2015. ^ Hillers, Delbert (1963). "Rev. 13, 18 and a scroll from Murabba'at". Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research. 170 (170): 65. doi:10.2307/1355990. JSTOR 1355990. S2CID 163790686. ^ Brown, Raymond E.; Fitzmyer, Joseph A. and Murphy, Roland E. eds. (1990). The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. p. 1009. ISBN 978-0136149347 ^ Just, S.J. "The Book of Revelation, Apocalyptic Literature, and Millennial Movements, University of San Francisco, USF Jesuit Community". Archived from the original on 1 June 2007. Retrieved 18 May 2007. ^ Sinclair, Scott Gambrill (3 March 2016). The Book of Revelation (Course Lecture Notes) (pdf). The Scott Sinclair Lecture Notes Collection. Dominican University of California - Department of Religion and Philosophy. pp. 36–37. Nero persecuted the church at Rome, and the Beast whose number is 666 probably represents him. [...] Revelation also draws many parallels between "Babylon" (Rome) and the New Jerusalem. [...] In John's social situation the emperor did appear to be the Almighty, and Rome did appear to be the Heavenly City (attributed to the public domain) Bibliography Primary sources Tacitus, Histories, I–IV (c. 105) Tacitus, Annals, XIII–XVI (c. 117) Josephus, War of the Jews, Books II–VI (c. 94) Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book XX (c. 94) Cassius Dio, Roman History, Books 61–63 (c. 229) Plutarch, The Parallel Lives, The Life of Galba (c. 110) Philostratus II, Life of Apollonius Tyana, Books 4–5, (c. 220) Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, the Life of Nero (c. 121) Secondary sources Benario, Herbert W. Nero at De Imperatoribus Romanis. Champlin, Edward (2005). Nero. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01822-8. Cronin, Vincent. Nero. London: Stacey International, 2010 ( ISBN 1-906768-14-5). 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). (in French) 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, pp. 97–120 ( ISBN 978-2-336-00291-0). Rogers, Robert Samuel (1955). "Heirs and Rivals to Nero". Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association. 86: 190–212. doi:10.2307/283618. ISSN 0065-9711. JSTOR 283618. 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). (Russian) Mikhail Berman-Tsikinovsky "The Pisonian Conspiracy"(Заговор Пизона)docudrama based on Tacitus Annals 15 and other sources. Failed conspiracy against Nero led to tragic death of 26 year old Great Roman poet Lucan and his famous uncle Seneca, executed by Nero order. Moscow, Wagrius plus, 2008. ISBN 978-598525-045-9 Nero Nero: The Actor-Emperor Nero entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith Nero basic data & select quotes posted by Romans On Line The Life and Times of Nero By Carlo Maria Franzero (BTM format). Nero's depiction in Tacitus' Annals Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus entry in the Illustrated History of the Roman Empire. Pelham, Henry Francis (1911). "Nero" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 390–393. External links Wikiquote has quotations related to: Nero Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nero. Russell, Miles; Manley, Harry (2013). "Finding Nero: shining a new light on Romano-British sculpture". Internet Archaeology (32). doi:10.11141/ia.32.5. International Society for Neronian Studies Nero, Roman Emperor, Encyclopædia Britannica online The Roman Empire in the First Century: Nero, PBS.org Nero (37 AD – 68 AD), BBC.co.uk Emperor Nero: Facts & Biography, Live Science online Roman Emperor Nero: Rethinking Nero, National Geographic online PBS: Secrets of the Dead-documentary "The Nero Files – Cause for a Cold Case Investigation?" Nero Julio-Claudian dynasty Born: 15 December 37 Died: 9 June 68 Political offices Preceded by Claudius Roman emperor 54–68 Succeeded by Galba Preceded by Marcus Aefulanus, and ignotus as Suffect consuls Roman consul 55 with Lucius Antistius Vetus Succeeded by Numerius Cestius as Suffect consul Preceded by Lucius Duvius Avitus, and Publius Clodius Thrasea Paetus as Suffect consuls Roman consul 57–58 with Lucius Calpurnius Piso (57) Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus (58) Succeeded by Gaius Fonteius Agrippa as Suffect consul Preceded by Titus Sextius Africanus, and Marcus Ostorius Scapula as Suffect consuls Roman consul 60 with Cossus Cornelius Lentulus Succeeded by Gaius Velleius Paterculus, and Marcus Manilius Vopiscus as Suffect consuls Preceded by Tiberius Catius Asconius Silius Italicus, and Publius Galerius Trachalus as Ordinary consuls Roman consul 68 (suffect) sine collega Succeeded by Gaius Bellicius Natalis, and Publius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus as Suffect consuls v t e Roman and Byzantine emperors and ruling empresses Principate 27 BC – AD 235 Augustus Tiberius Caligula Claudius Nero Galba Otho Vitellius Vespasian Titus Domitian Nerva Trajan Hadrian Antoninus Pius Marcus Aurelius Lucius Verus Commodus Pertinax Didius Julianus (Pescennius Niger) (Clodius Albinus) Septimius Severus Caracalla Geta Macrinus Diadumenian Elagabalus Severus Alexander Crisis 235–285 Maximinus Thrax Gordian I Gordian II Pupienus Balbinus Gordian III Philip the Arab Philip II Decius Herennius Etruscus Hostilian Trebonianus Gallus Volusianus Aemilianus Valerian Gallienus Saloninus Claudius Gothicus Quintillus Aurelian Ulpia Severina Tacitus Florian Probus Carus Carinus Numerian Gallic emperors Postumus (Laelianus) Marius Victorinus (Domitianus II) Tetricus I with Tetricus II as caesar Palmyrene emperors Vaballathus Zenobia Septimius Antiochus Dominate 284–395 Diocletian Maximian Galerius Constantius I Severus Constantine the Great Maxentius Licinius Maximinus Daza (Valerius Valens) (Martinian) Constantine II Constantius II Constans I Magnentius Vetranio Julian Jovian Valentinian I (west) Valens (east) Gratian (west) Valentinian II (west) Theodosius I Magnus Maximus Victor (Eugenius) Western Empire 395–480 Honorius Constantine III with son Constans II Constantius III Joannes Valentinian III Petronius Maximus Avitus Majorian Libius Severus Anthemius Olybrius Glycerius Julius Nepos Romulus Augustulus Eastern/ Byzantine Empire 395–1204 Arcadius Theodosius II Marcian Leo I Leo II Zeno Basiliscus Marcus Anastasius I Dicorus Justin I Justinian I Justin II Tiberius II Constantine Maurice with son Theodosius as co-emperor Phocas Heraclius Constantine III Heraklonas Constans II Constantine IV with brothers Heraclius and Tiberius and then Justinian II as co-emperors Justinian II (first reign) Leontios Tiberius III Justinian II (second reign) with son Tiberius as co-emperor Philippikos Anastasios II Theodosius III Leo III the Isaurian Constantine V Artabasdos Leo IV the Khazar Constantine VI Irene Nikephoros I Staurakios Michael I Rangabe with son Theophylact as co-emperor Leo V the Armenian with Symbatios-Constantine as junior emperor Michael II the Amorian Theophilos Michael III Basil I the Macedonian Leo VI the Wise Alexander Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos Romanos I Lekapenos with sons Christopher, Stephen and Constantine as junior co-emperors Romanos II Nikephoros II Phokas John I Tzimiskes Basil II Constantine VIII Zoë (first reign) and Romanos III Argyros Zoë (first reign) and Michael IV the Paphlagonian Michael V Kalaphates Zoë (second reign) with Theodora Zoë (second reign) and Constantine IX Monomachos Constantine IX Monomachos (sole emperor) Theodora Michael VI Bringas Isaac I Komnenos Constantine X Doukas Romanos IV Diogenes Michael VII Doukas with brothers Andronikos and Konstantios and son Constantine Nikephoros III Botaneiates Alexios I Komnenos John II Komnenos with Alexios Komnenos as co-emperor Manuel I Komnenos Alexios II Komnenos Andronikos I Komnenos with John Komnenos as co-emperor Isaac II Angelos Alexios III Angelos Alexios IV Angelos Nicholas Kanabos (chosen by the Senate) Alexios V Doukas Empire of Nicaea 1204–1261 Constantine Laskaris Theodore I Laskaris John III Doukas Vatatzes Theodore II Laskaris John IV Laskaris Byzantine Empire 1261–1453 Michael VIII Palaiologos Andronikos II Palaiologos with Michael IX Palaiologos as co-emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos John V Palaiologos John VI Kantakouzenos with John V Palaiologos and Matthew Kantakouzenos as co-emperors John V Palaiologos Andronikos IV Palaiologos John VII Palaiologos Andronikos V Palaiologos Manuel II Palaiologos John VIII Palaiologos Constantine XI Palaiologos Italics indicates a junior co-emperor, while underlining indicates a usurper. v t e Ancient Olympic Games General Archaeological Museum of Olympia Ancient Greek Olympic festivals Hellanodikai Stadium at Olympia Sports Foot races Diaulos Dolichos Hoplitodromos Stadion Horse races Apene Chariot of polos Decapolon Kalpe Keles Perfect chariot Polos Synoris Synoris of polos Tethrippon Tethrippon of polos Combat Boxing Pankration Wrestling Special Herald and Trumpet contest Pentathlon Winners Acanthus of Sparta Agasias of Arcadia Agesarchus of Tritaea Alcibiades of Athens Alexander I of Macedon Anaxilas of Messenia Aratus of Sicyon Archelaus I of Macedon Arrhichion of Phigalia Arsinoe II Astylos of Croton Berenice I of Egypt Bilistiche Chaeron of Pellene Chilon of Patras Chionis of Sparta Cimon Coalemos Coroebus of Elis Cylon of Athens Cynisca of Sparta Damarchus Demaratus of Sparta Desmon of Corinth Diagoras of Rhodes Diocles of Corinth Ergoteles of Himera Euryleonis Herodorus of Megara Hiero I of Syracuse Hypenus of Elis Hysmon of Elis Iccus of Taranto Leonidas of Rhodes Leophron Milo of Croton Nero Caesar Augustus Oebotas of Dyme Onomastus of Smyrna Orsippus of Megara Peisistratos of Athens Phanas of Pellene Philinus of Cos Philip II of Macedon Philippus of Croton Phrynon of Athens Polydamas of Skotoussa Pythagoras of Laconia Pythagoras of Samos Sostratus of Pellene Theagenes of Thasos Theron of Acragas Tiberius Caesar Augustus Timasitheus of Delphi Troilus of Elis Varazdat of Armenia Xenophon of Aegium Xenophon of Corinth Lists of winners Ancient Olympic victors Stadion race Archaic period Classical period Hellenistic period Roman period Category Authority control General Integrated Authority File ISNI 1 VIAF 1 2 3 WorldCat National libraries Norway Chile Spain France (data) Catalonia United States Latvia Japan Czech Republic Israel Netherlands Poland Sweden Vatican Art research institutes Artist Names (Getty) Other Faceted Application of Subject Terminology MusicBrainz artist Social Networks and Archival Context SUDOC (France) 1 Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nero&oldid=1028306820" Categories: Julio-Claudian dynasty Nero 37 births 68 deaths 1st-century Roman emperors Ancient LGBT people Ancient Roman adoptees Ancient Romans who committed suicide LGBT royalty Children of Claudius Claudii Nerones Domitii Ahenobarbi Forced suicides Italian rapists LGBT heads of state LGBT people from Italy Matricides People from Anzio People of the Year of the Four Emperors Persecution of Christians Poppaea Sabina Roman emperors to suffer posthumous denigration or damnatio memoriae Roman-era Olympic competitors Roman philhellenes Suicides by sharp instrument in Italy Talmud people Uxoricides Anti-Christian sentiment in Europe Roman pharaohs Hidden categories: Webarchive template other archives Webarchive template wayback links Webarchive template webcite links Webarchive template archiveis links Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages Use dmy dates from April 2020 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from June 2009 Articles with unsourced statements from September 2017 Articles needing 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