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Nero (37–68 CE) was the fifth ruler of the Roman Empire, holding power from 54 to 68 CE. He was the final monarch of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty. Nero ascended to the throne at the age of sixteen, a position secured largely through the ambitious machinations of his mother, Agrippina the Younger. Although his reign initially enjoyed public favor, it quickly evolved into a complex mixture of artistic expression and extreme brutality. Nero possessed a profound passion for the arts, particularly singing, playing the lyre, and performing in tragic plays. However, these artistic pursuits were overshadowed by his capacity for violence; he orchestrated the murder of his mother, executed two of his wives, and systematically purged his political opponents. His popularity collapsed following the Great Fire of Rome in 64 CE. He ultimately committed suicide in 68 CE after the Senate declared him a public enemy. His death precipitated a brief but violent period of civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors.
Nero was born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus on December 15, 37 CE, in Antium. His father, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, was a notorious and cruel Roman politician. His mother, Agrippina the Younger, was a formidable figure, being the great-granddaughter of Emperor Augustus and the sister of Emperor Caligula. Agrippina was defined by her ambition and cunning; having witnessed the destruction of her family and survived exile, she was determined to secure power for her son. When Nero was only three, his father died, leaving Agrippina to raise him with the explicit goal of placing him on the throne. In 49 CE, she married her uncle, the reigning Emperor Claudius. Claudius's previous wife had been executed for plotting against him, clearing the way for Agrippina. She strategically placed her loyalists in key government positions and persuaded Claudius to adopt Nero as his own son. This legal adoption gave Nero a superior claim to the throne over Claudius's biological son, Britannicus. Additionally, Nero was married to Claudius's daughter, Claudia Octavia.
In October 54 CE, Claudius died suddenly. While many ancient historical accounts suggest that Agrippina poisoned her husband to elevate her son, the truth remains debated. Regardless of her involvement, she acted with remarkable speed. She bribed the Praetorian Guard, the elite military unit responsible for the emperor's security, to proclaim Nero emperor. He was not yet seventeen years old. His youth captivated the Roman populace. In his first address to the Senate, Nero pledged to end the oppressive abuses of previous emperors and vowed to restore the legislative authority of the Senate.
Even after becoming emperor, Nero lived under the stifling control of his mother. She dictated his attire and selected his political advisors. Her portrait appeared on coins alongside his, symbolizing a co-rule, and she attended Senate meetings from behind a curtain, a unique exception to the laws forbidding women from public speaking. Agrippina remained the true power behind the throne, a reality that deeply frustrated her vain and jealous son.
But the message was intended for Agrippina, who took the hint. With no more cards to play, she left the imperial palace and spent the next few years lying low. It was not long, however, before she tried to worm her way back into power, looking for opportunities to reassert influence over her son. By 59 CE, Nero had had enough. He invited her to join him for dinner at his villa in Antium. Before parting, he kissed her and said, "For you I live, and it is thanks to you I rule" (quoted in Holland, 360). She then boarded a ship which, unbeknownst to her, had been rigged to collapse. After being flung into the Bay of Naples, however, she managed to swim to shore and stumble back to the villa. There, she was approached by a group of armed men, and it finally sank in what was happening. Rather than beg for her life, she pointed to her womb and told them to strike her there. They did, putting an end to one of the most incredible women of Ancient Rome. Her body was brought back to Rome and stripped to make ready for cremation. Looking upon her naked corpse, Nero was said to have remarked, "I did not know I had such a beautiful mother" (quoted in Holland, 361).
The conflict reached a breaking point when Agrippina criticized Nero for his affair with a slave girl named Acte. Nero responded by publicly humiliating her and dismissing one of her most influential supporters. Enraged, Agrippina threatened to depose Nero and replace him with Britannicus, the biological son of Claudius. Nero directed his fury toward his stepbrother. During a feast in February 55 CE, Britannicus began convulsing and died. While the official report claimed an epileptic seizure, most contemporaries suspected that Nero had poisoned him. The message to Agrippina was unmistakable.
Agrippina withdrew from the palace for a few years, but by 59 CE, Nero had resolved to eliminate her permanently. He invited her to dinner at his villa, where he kissed her goodbye and declared, "For you I live, and it is thanks to you I rule." She then boarded a ship that had been ingeniously rigged to collapse. The vessel sank, but Agrippina, a strong swimmer, managed to reach the shore. However, Nero's hired assassins were waiting for her at the villa. She pointed to her womb, the source of his life, and commanded them to strike. They killed her, and her body was brought back to Rome. Looking at her naked corpse, Nero reportedly remarked, "I did not know I had such a beautiful mother."
Nero did not attempt to conceal his crime. He secured a Senate decree declaring Agrippina a traitor and presented himself as a tragic hero who had saved Rome from a manipulative ruler. While some were horrified, others were dazzled by his audacity. He held public games to celebrate the event. At one lavish party, Nero sang and played the lyre on stage before the crowds. Nero viewed himself primarily as an artist. He loved writing poetry and acting in roles such as Hercules and Oedipus. He also enjoyed chariot racing at the Circus Maximus. While the Senate disapproved of his behavior, the common people adored him. At night, Nero would disguise himself and wander the streets with friends, often instigating fights in bars and theaters.
In 59 CE, Nero fell in love with Poppaea Sabina, widely considered the most beautiful woman in Rome. She was married to his friend, Marcus Salvius Otho. Nero exiled Otho to a remote province as a governor to clear the way for his affair. By 62 CE, Poppaea became pregnant. Nero divorced his wife, Octavia, and exiled her. The public outcry was intense, prompting Nero to have Octavia executed. Her head was delivered to Poppaea as a macabre gift. Nero married Poppaea later that year, though their child died as an infant.
On the evening of July 18, 64 CE, a fire ignited in a shop on the Aventine Hill. It spread rapidly through Rome's densely packed wooden structures, burning for six days. Thousands perished, and countless others were left homeless. Nero was at his seaside villa when the fire broke out and did not return until the flames threatened his own palace. Upon his return, he took decisive action, opening public buildings to shelter the homeless and importing food to lower grain prices. However, for many citizens, these measures were insufficient.
A rumor quickly spread that Nero had played his lyre and sung of the burning of Troy while Rome burned. (The modern phrase "fiddled while Rome burned" is anachronistic, as the fiddle did not exist in that era.) Following the disaster, Nero seized a vast portion of the city to construct the Domus Aurea, or Golden House. This massive complex included living quarters, exquisite art, and a public park. Many viewed this as an act of greedy excess, and some believed Nero had intentionally started the fire to clear land for his palace. To deflect blame, Nero targeted Christians, a small religious minority in the city. He subjected them to brutal persecution, crucifying them, throwing them to wild beasts, and burning them as human torches. This violence failed to restore his popularity, and Nero never regained the full support of the Roman people.
In 62 CE, the Praetorian prefect Burrus died, marking a significant turning point in Nero's reign. Burrus had served as a moderating influence on the emperor. His successor, Ofonius Tigellinus, encouraged Nero's worst impulses. Nero reopened the treason trials he had previously promised to abolish. He ordered the executions of senators who offended him, often joking while viewing their severed heads. The Senate grew increasingly fearful that Nero had transformed into a tyrant.
Throughout his reign, crises erupted across the empire. In 60 CE, the Iceni Queen Boudicca led a revolt against Roman occupation in Britannia. It was put down a year later after tens of thousands of deaths. In 66 CE, a revolt broke out in Judea stemming from tensions between the Greek and Jewish populations. Nero dispatched one of his generals, Vespasian, to crush this rebellion the following year. In neither case did Nero deal with the crisis himself; instead, he entrusted the problems to his generals. In fact, he left Italy only once during his reign. In 66 CE, he went to Achaea in Greece to compete in the Olympic Games. He participated in four different contests and, unsurprisingly, was allowed to win each time. During this self-indulgent trip, he met a young slave boy named Sporus who closely resembled Poppaea. In a strange act of what may have been grief or regret, Nero had the boy castrated and married him with full ceremonies.
In 65 CE, a senator named Gaius Calpurnius Piso organized a conspiracy to overthrow Nero. The plot was betrayed, leading to the execution of nineteen men and the exile of thirteen more. Piso was forced to commit suicide. Nero also ordered his former tutor, the philosopher Seneca, to kill himself. Although Seneca knew of the plot, he remained silent. That same year, a heated argument between Nero and Poppaea escalated into violence. She confronted him about his late nights at the races, and in a fit of rage, Nero kicked her in the abdomen. She died shortly thereafter, pregnant with their second child.
By 67 CE, Nero's cruelty and jealousy had become undeniable. He ordered the suicide of his most capable general, Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo, simply because he was too popular. This act terrified the remaining military leaders.
In early 68 CE, the governor of Gaul, Gaius Julius Vindex, rebelled, declaring that Nero was ruining the empire. Although Vindex was defeated, his revolt inspired others. Servius Sulpicius Galba, the governor of Hispania, also declared himself emperor. The Praetorian Guard, whom Nero had neglected, switched their loyalty to Galba. The Senate officially declared Nero a public enemy and sentenced him to death.
Nero fled Rome with a few loyal servants, hiding in a villa outside the city. When he heard that soldiers were approaching to arrest him, he attempted to take his own life but could not bring himself to do it. He begged his secretary to stab him. As soldiers entered the room, Nero finally drove a dagger into his throat. He died on June 9, 68 CE, at the age of thirty. With no clear heir, the Roman Empire plunged into the Year of the Four Emperors, a bloody civil war that lasted less than a year.