1. Presentation by: Sam Sweck

2.  Born as Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus  Only son of Gneaus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Aggrippina the Younger  Great-grandson of Mark Antony and Octavia Minor on Gnaeus’ side  Great-great-grandson of Mark Antony and Octavia Minor on Agrippina’s side  Agrippina married three times; poisoned her second and is postulated to have murdered her third, Emperor Claudius.

3.  Father was employed by Caligula as a praetor  Emperor Tiberius charged Gneaus with treason, adultery, and incest  Gneaus died of edema when Nero was 2  Agrippina is exiled by Caligula after Gneaus’ death and Nero is raised by his aunt for 2 yrs.  Claudius allows Agrippina to return from exile after Caligula’s murder

4.  In 49 AD Claudius marries his niece Agrippina and adopts Nero, officially naming him Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus  Nero was proclaimed an adult at age 14  In 51 Nero was made proconsul, entered and addressed the senate, and was featured on coins  2 years later he married his stepsister Claudia Octavia

5.  In 54, Emperor Claudius died and rule was passed to Nero  Many say Agrippina murdered Claudius using poisonous mushrooms  Due to being only 17 when made Emperor, Nero was highly influenced by others  Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Sextus Afranius Burrus, and Agrippina  Agrippina turns her support to Britannicus, Nero’s younger stepbrother

6.  Nero rid himself of his advisers and opponents  In 58 AD, Nero became involved with future Emperor Otho’s wife, Poppaea Sabina  Nero killed Agrippina in 59 AD  Burrus, Nero’s adviser, dies in 62 AD and Seneca retired after being charged with embezzlement again  Octavia is exiled, and then killed, due to infertility and Nero marries Poppaea

7.  In 62 AD, accusations of treason were made against the Senate and Nero  Nero executes anyone who criticizes the Senate or himself in 62 and 63 AD ◦ Fabricius Veiento ◦ Pallas ◦ Rubellius Plautus ◦ Faustus Sulla  Nero gradually stole power from Senate while promising to give them powers equivalent to that of Republican rule

8.  Poppaea Sabina dies in 65 ◦ Some say Nero killed her ◦ Most blame it on childbirth complications  Nero gives her a state funeral and buries her in the Mausoleum of Augustus  Becomes involved with Statilia Messalina in 65 and marries her in 66 AD ◦ Statilia’s husband was driven to suicide shortly before Statilia’s marriage to Nero  In 67, it’s said that Nero ordered a freedman, Sporus, to be castrated and then married him

9.  Nero often aided the lower class throughout his reign due to their great number  The 1 st yr., Nero ultimately ignored his duties ◦ Even forbidding people to refer to him about laws  Consul 4 times from 55 to 60AD  Positives for lower class: ◦ Restricts bail and fines ◦ Limits fees of lawyers ◦ Prevents Senate from allowing patrons to revoke a freedman’s freedom ◦ Taxes from the poor were collected from lower commissioners

10.  Many impeachments of gov’t officials and arrests for extortion and corruption  Tax cuts and tax records are made public  Nero spent great amounts of money on the construction of gymnasiums and theatres  Established the Quinquennial Neronia-festival including games, poetry, and theatre  Constructed the Domus Aurea, attempted to dig a canal at the Isthmus of Corinth, and filled the marshes of Ostia

11.  Erupted in the night of July 18-19 64 AD  Only account of the fire comes from Tacitus  3 of 14 districts were destroyed while 7 were severely damaged  No certainty of what caused the fire; many blamed Nero, but the Christians confessed  Nero organized a relief effort from his own funds, searched for survivors in the rubble, and opened his palaces to the homeless  To deflect blame, Nero targeted Christians

12.  In 54 AD, Armenia received a Parthian prince  Nero sent the military under Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo  In 58 AD, full-scale war broke out ◦ Corbulo repelled the Parthian army and was appointed gov. of Syria as a reward ◦ Nero installed Tigranes as the ruler of Armenia  In 62 AD, Tigranes invaded the Parthian province of Adiabene; Nero worked for peace  In 63 AD, Tiridates again became the Armenian king but was crowned in Rome by Emperor Nero

13.  British Revolt of 60-61 (Boudica’s Uprising ◦ While gov. Paullinus was busy, the southeast tribes led by queen Boudica of the Iceni attacked the province of Britannia ◦ 3cities were destroyed before rebellion was stopped ◦ Nero then replaced Paullinus with Turpilianus  The Pisonian Conspiracy of 65 ◦ Gaius Calpurnius Piso led conspirators wishing to “rescue the state” and restore the Republic ◦ A freedman, Milichus, told Nero’s secretary ◦ Nero killed all the conspirators and forced Seneca to commit suicide for discussing the plot

14.  The First Jewish War of 66-70 ◦ Jewish revolt in Judea from religious tensions ◦ Nero sent Vespasian to resolve but never saw the results as the revolution ended in 70 AD ◦ The Romans breached the walls of Jerusalem and destroyed the Second Temple of Jerusalem

15.  In March of 68, Vindex-gov. of Gallia Lugdunensis-rebelled against Nero’s taxes  Verginius-gov. of Germania Superior-was ordered by Nero to stop the rebellion  Vindex called for help from Galba-gov. of Hispania Tarraconensis  Battle of Vesontio  Galba gained support so Nero fled Rome ◦ Originally Nero was to flee to one of the eastern provinces but contemplated begging for mercy from both Galba and the people of Rome

16.  Nero returned to Rome to find the palace guard left in the night  Nero searched for anyone adept with a sword to kill him when he realized all his friends had abandoned him ◦ “Have I neither friend nor foe?”  4 loyal freedman took Nero to one’s villa  A courier reported that the Senate had declared Nero a public enemy and wished to execute him in the Forum ◦ The Senate actually had not decided yet  Nero forced his private secretary to kill him ◦ “Too late! This is fidelity!”

17.  Senate declared Nero a public enemy to pacify Galba and then proclaimed him the new emperor  The year of the Four Emperors followed this proclamation  The upper class and Senate celebrated Nero’s death while the lower class mourned him ◦ Soldiers had mixed feelings  Many portraits of Nero were reworked to resemble someone else and some monuments had Nero’s name removed