Emperor Nero Research Paper

On March 15, 44 BCE, Julius Caesar was attacked by a group of conspirators and died within minutes due to multiple stab wounds. Before he was murdered, he was an adored consul of Rome, though some people believed he was gaining too much control and had to be stopped. While there were many conspirators and it is difficult to pin the blame on any specific person, the Casca brothers delivered the fatal blow. Therefore, they are responsible for the death of Julius Caesar.

Claudius, as emperor, was told it was politically necessary to have a partner, upon Messalina’s death, to help function and protect the Principate, one of few reasons for his marriage to Agrippina. It was Pallas who presented Agrippina’s case (as she was an eligible woman) convincingly. Claudius could not ignore her ambitious nature, the fact she was politically skilled, and importantly; a woman of the Julian bloodline. Agrippina’s motives were concentrated solely on herself, and her son, Nero. Agrippina married her uncle in hope that Nero would inherit the Principate. She wanted to promote her son to become emperor (Suetonius), and aspired for political power for herself in regards to the Principate and Claudius. The power gave her the ability to dispose of any enemies who got in her way.

Nero soon became emperor at the age of 17, he changed the way of his mother controlling him and he had her killed. In the year 59 A.D. Nero was thought to be a kind and reasonable leader. During his reign he lowered the prices on taxes, allowed slaves to have complaints against their masters, and got rid of Capitol punishment.

Nero and Tiberius were two leaders who were liked by the public. Both starting their reigns young, Nero and Tiberius accomplished many things. Gaining the public’s eye, Nero gave Claudius a lavish funeral and personally delivered the oration in person. He founded a colony at Antium consisting of praetorian veterans, he gave the public an immense variety of entertainments, and even introduced his own style of architecture. These accomplishments all played a role in how the public adored him. Giving the public positive ideas will gain their trust, but unfortunately, he does not keep their trust. As Nero became older, his accomplishments became less and less, he began turning into someone who was in it for the money. His turning point was when he bankrupted Rome, once this happened Nero was neither trusted or liked.

During the spring of 37 AD Claudius's nephew Gaius had come to power, then suddenly in January 41, events had taken his life. It had been seen as a possibility that Claudius was a participant in the murder of Gaius. Since the event of Gaius's murder, the Senate send two tribunes to demand that Claudius step down. Soon the Senate had noticed that they became powerless, since Claudius had thousands of men who supported his candidacy. Gaius was the first emperor to be openly murdered, and even with suspicion of Claudius being the reason for the murder, he still remained on his reign with security from

three of Rome’s district were on fire, starting off with Circus Maximus and spreading out with seven districts severely damaged. At the time Nero was accused of playing the fiddle and singing the Greek epic “The Sack of Ilium” and rumors were passed around that that the emperor had set the city ablaze. When he was confronted about it, he “pointed the finger at the Christians, still a new and underground religion. With this accusation, persecution and torture of the Christians began in Rome” (Bio.com). This event was the decline and fall of the infamous Nero as he tried to rebuild Rome that was burnt down. Soon, there was an assassination plot about him and when he found out it, he executed many senators and officers. Even his closest friends were plotting against him, including Seneca, who committed suicide after being caught. Nero decided to take an extended tour of Greece, so he would not be troubled by all the events happening at home. After taking a tour of Greece, he was a public enemy of his people because of several higher raining officers trying be allies and overthrow him. He tried to escape and find friends and family, but he had none in the end, eventually committing suicide. With the help of a senate to kill him on June 9, 68 A.D., his last words were “What an artist dies in me!” He was the last emperor of the Julio-Claudian

The Fire of Rome, a disaster attributed to the emperor, Nero, lead to the horrific persecution of Christians. The fire broke out on the night of the 18th July 64 AD in the part of the Circus Maximus near to the Palestine and Esquiline hills. Fourteen of the regions into which Augustus had divided the city only I, V, VI and XIV were undamaged, III, X and XI were completely destroyed. Nero, who had been at Antium, arrived back in the city when the fire was threatening the Domus Transitoria that was later destroyed. He immediately initiated measures to relieve the homeless.

Nero, who took the throne after his mother poisoned Claudius, the current emperor, ruled from 54 to 68 AD. At first, Nero was the picture-perfect emperor. He lowered taxes, allowed more freedom to the Senate, granted permission to slaves who wanted to sue their unfair owners, and rid Rome of capital punishment. Eventually, Nero

Nero’s rise to power was a “long road full of treachery.” (T.V.) It was also full of change such as his name he was not always know as Nero his name was Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus until his dad had died and his mom married her widowed uncle, who was the emperor of the time, and they changed it to Nero Claudius Divi Claudius Filius Caesar Agustus Germanicus. Later she convinced him to name Nero heir to the throne and allow him take his daughter Octavia as his wife. His adopted brother was reaching age to take the throne but he mysteriously died, “Many suspect that Nero poisoned him.” (biograpy.com, 2017) So, as one can see Nero was a very shady character who would stop at nothing to seize and hold the throne.

leader in the Roman Empire. He made Rome what think of it as and what we study today.

She was angered by the moderate advice of Nero’s advisors; his former tutor Seneca and the commander of Pretorian Guard, Burrus. Although Nero was the young emperor, Agrippina still had influence among the decisions he made and the actions he performed. Once Agrippina demanded Nero cease his affair with Claudia Acte, a former slave, he had no option but to banish his mother from the family place so her influence could not bother him any more (Richard A, 14-117 A.D.). In 55 A.D. Britannicus died, the day before he was to be proclaimed an adult (Thomas W, 1989). It is widely interpreted that Nero poisoned Britannicus, although Nero claimed that he died from a seizure (Pamela B, 1990). Nero’s murderous habit did not only stay with his non-immediate family. In 58 A.D. Agrippina was murdered at Nero’s command, as her influence towards his actions and her interference with his plans for Rome had become too much. This heinous display of power, ultimately highlights the immense anger and frustration Nero he felt towards his mother, and primary sources such as ‘The Annals, By Tacitus, Written 109 A.C.E., Book XIII’ confirm that once this act had been accomplished, Nero showed no remorse or

As Emperor Nero continued to rule new speculation formed that his mother was planning to overthrow him with his brother Britannicus who was the actual son of Emperor Claudius. This is because as his mother

Many of Agrippina’s strengths were also her greatest weaknesses. Her political ability and ambition were great strengths of character, as was her determination, but at times she aimed too high and was ultimately brought down by the very traits that had enabled her to achieve positions of power. Agrippina was able to become one of the most significant women of the Ancient Roman World, but at the same time she was considered manipulative, and was despised by many, including eventually her son - the Emperor Nero, who had her killed in the year 59 CE. Despite holding no official political status, and being limited by her gender, Agrippina reached unprecedented heights and helped stabilise the Claudius Regime, demonstrating her strength as a

“the events that led to her downfall, which happened alongside that of her son Nero, are extremely difficult to disentangle and contradictory versions have come down in the sources” Barrett

Nero, even today, is renowned for allegedly setting fire to his own kingdom (for his