Nero: The Ideal Roman Leader

The military campaigns of the Caesars made Rome one of the largest empires of the ancient world. Suetonius conveys through his writings that being a good military leader and a good Caesar were synonymous. Augustus, who Suetonius thought an excellent leader, reunited the eastern and western halves of the Roman Empire ( 51) and greatly expanded Romes territory (53). Augustus “showed not only skill as a commander, but courage as a soldier” in the eyes of his contemporaries (47). On the other hand, both Caligula and Nero, considered poor leaders by Suetonius, had very limited military success and aspirations. Only once did Caligula initiate a military exploit, and it was rife with his madness. His campaign into Germany was on a whim and all he accomplished was receiving the surrender of a

Romans were a civilization that originated after the Greek culture. They, like Greeks, saw an extreme significance in the idea of a love for one’s country and loyalty. The Romans, however, were more concerned with public affairs such as education, sanitation, and health. They held a strong connection with their ancestors and wished to imitate what the ancient Romans did. Although Romans rejected the idea of a Rex, or king, they favored the common hero. They wanted a leader who a “regular Joe”, someone who was average and could still led an average life after doing extraordinary things. The Romans also had a very defined government that was broken into consuls, senate, and assembly. There were two consuls who served in place of the king as the leaders of the Roman Empire. Next in succession was the senate, comprised only of patricians who debated and passed legislation. Finally, there was the assembly made for the plebeians to approve laws.

To answer the question of whether or not Augustus was a good leader, his character and actions must be looked at over the sum of his life. The leadership traits of respect, generosity, fairness, compassion, fearlessness, humility, sensitivity, and innovation appear in The Annals, Lives of the Twelve Caesars, The Deeds of The Divine Augustus and the class textbook. Augustus demonstrated all of these attributes during his 51-year reign as emperor from 63 BCE to 14 CE. However, he was not without fault as he also conducted himself in a less than worthy manner at times. Augustus was not a perfect leader but he matured into a man who was respected and obeyed during life and is still studied almost 2000 years after his death.

Throughout the period of Roman emperors, there were many good emperors who brought wealth and prosperity, but there were bad emperors who brought terror and poverty. Emperor Titus Augustus was one of the emperors who brought wealth and prosperity. He had one of the most popular rules, even though he only ruled for about 3 years. He was, also, nicknamed the “darling of the human race” by Suetonius (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica). Although Emperor Titus had a short rule, he brought wealth and prosperity, thus making his rule have a positive impact on the Roman Empire.

Throughout the ages, Nero has been viewed as a rogue and a disgrace to the Roman Empire, thanks to unreliable primary sources. Because of this, Nero is now renowned world wide as the man who hated Christians, the man who killed Jesus and the man who wanted nothing but to satisfy his own desire of personal gain. This, though was not the case.

The Roman empire owed its existence to Julius Caesar’s military genius and leadership. At the time of his birth, the Roman republic was rife with corruption, losing touch with the people as Rome rapidly expanded. In addition, the republic suffered much unrest due to an excess of slave labor, leaving many unemployed for the government to sustain with basic food and entertainment, or “bread and circuses.” Caesar changed this, joining partnership with two other prominent men, the wealthy Crassus and the general Pompey, to form the First Triumvirate. However, he quickly took the reins of the new government, securing his position as dictator with many populist actions, such as distributing land to poor farmers. They, in turn, showed loyalty toward their leader, providing unity and patriotism. The Roman empire was born into the perfect geographical and cultural circumstances to rise to greatness.

Nero's other interest included the arts and public interest, which included a "modest" amphitheater in Rome. To inaugurate his amphitheater, Nero held a gladiatorial fight, but never allowed the losers of matches to be killed, something uncommon in Ancient Rome. He also performed as a chariot rider in some contests as an athlete. While gladiator fights may seem to be barbaric in our day, they were a point of interest among both rich and poor and brought the empire together as a means for both entertainment and union. The same amphitheater was also likely used for performance arts and musicals as Nero himself was a noted singer and lyre player that encouraged other nobles to take up lessons. Following the burning of Rome in 64, Nero coordinated the rebuilding of Rome that included the building of his palace that many noted may have been planned as part of the fire.

Although Julius Caesar was an excellent leader, he was not as great of a ruler as Augustus Caesar. A major key to being a good leader is that the leader should try to keep his or her people safe. Peace and protection is far better than havoc and destruction. Julius Caesar was a warlord, not a

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.

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 was a good ruler, his first years were known as a golden age. Some examples are that he reduced-taxes, improved the economy, and was kind hearted toward people in general. Many people had mixed feeling about the emperor, but most of them disliked him. I’m a 16 year old female girl, I live in Rome, Italy. My house is located about 12 miles

Nero’s reign as emperor was a dark one in which he became known as possibly the worst emperor in roman history. Nero executed and persecuted many innocent people. He ignored his responsibilities as emperor as the empire began to crumble around him. Nero was an evil emperor who rose to power very quickly, had very bad relationships with his wives, and eventually allowed his passions to over rule his responsibilities as emperor.

In ancient history there have been many great leaders who had saved the Roman Empire from destruction and demise. The leaders and heroes of the Roman Empire are countless, but one leader stands out from all the rest. Augustus Caesar’s contributions to Roman history helped make Rome the dominant empire we know of today. Augustus Caesar was without a question the greatest political leader in the history of the Roman Empire.

He had all the attributes of an ideal leader, and the Roman Empire experienced an epoch of strength, efficient administration and economic stability.

The leadership of Rome, especially Julius Caesar is one of the most important components that has made the Roman Empire successful. Julius Caesar has various leadership qualities, which has helped expand Rome. Julius Caesar was an intelligent military general and politician and he rose through the ranks throughout time. Caesar was very ambitious, he decided to run for consul, he developed an alliance with two powerful Roman men, Crassus and Pompey. This alliance worked out really well for Caesar, after a year in the consul Caesar was put as the governor of Gaul and soon he took over many countries, such as Britain. Julius Caesar is very brave, when Pompey and the senate decided to call Caesar back without his army, Caesar came back with his army because he believed that it was the right thing to do for Rome. Julius Caesar went back to Rome crossing the Rubicon River, which represents a very risky act and waged civil war in Rome. Julius Caesar has eventually won through his determined spirit he has achieved his goal, he has been named the dictator of Rome for life. Julius Caesar is a fair and equal man, therefore he won over many Roman citizens trust and loyalty. Julius Caesar provided land for his troops in return for their hard work and helping him win battles, Julius Caesar also restructured debts of many Roman debtors. Julius