The Life and Times of Nero Essay

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.

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 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

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 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

Agrippina the Younger had four main factors that highly influenced her power before her marriage to Claudius. She was born into the Julio-Claudian bloodline making her an Imperial woman of a noble dynasty, she was as a result of her family background reasonably wealthy and educated, she had the backing of the Roman Army as her father Germanicus was the commander of the 5th legion of the army in Germany and finally her two marriages which provided her with wealth and a son to be heir of the throne.

Nero and Tiberius both started off as great leaders of Rome. Throughout their leadership many events occurred that caused the general publics view to change on both of them. Comparing Nero, the careless leader to Tiberius, the leader with great accomplishments I found that they are complete opposites. Analyzing the accomplishments, treatment of people, and the overall personality of Nero and Tiberius it can be concluded that Tiberius is a better leader than Nero.

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

A ghoul remembers his first meal. If I were one of these flesh-eating creatures, I would eat one of the most infamous Emperors of Rome, Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. Nero killed his own mother, burned down the city of Rome, and is believed by some to be the Antichrist. In his time as Emperor, he committed multiple killings. In 59 AD, he killed his mother. Nero directed killings of Christians, and many believe he was the Emperor who ordered the killings of Peter and Paul. Nero apparently kicked his second wife to death. In his reign, there was a massive fire that swept through Rome. This fire destroyed three of the fourteen Roman districts. Nero was out of town during the fire. Some believe Nero might have started it due to a dislike

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.

Suetonius wrote The Twelve Caesars as a biography about twelve Roman Caesars. This essay will compare and contrast two of them, Divus Julius and Nero. Even though the two men both became Emperors who ruled Rome, they could not have been more different. Both had certain authority and public powers during each of their reigns. Their lives were also scattered with times of virtue and scandal. This was a different time from today. Human behavior and morals played a significant role in those ruling over others. Some had them and some not so much. In the end, their stories will ultimately give the reader an illustration of these two men and what their stories tell us about the lives of Roman emperors in the first century.

The monumental tragedy of burning ancient Rome, known as the Great Fire of Rome, was noteworthy in history although, it has crucial details that still confuse us. According to Tacitus, a roman historian, wrote in The Annals (around year 116) that an urban fire broke out in the merchant area of the city of Rome on the night between 18 and 19 July in the year 64 AD. The fire widespread devastation consumed all in its path for six days and seven nights, leaving almost seventy percent of the city in ruins. Only four of the fourteen districts of Rome were saved from the fire. Three districts were totally destroyed. The remaining seven were significantly affected. For years, many historians including Tacitus stated that Nero, the ruler of the time,

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

Emperor Nero, infamously known as one of the most malevolent, oppressive, and tyrannical leader throughout history, was the last ruler of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty. He was born outside Rome in Antium and his mother married his great uncle, Emperor Claudius, in order for her son to be the next Emperor of Rome. It wasn’t apparent that her son was to become one of the most feared and cruel leaders in Roman history from 54 CE to 68 CE. By examining his achievements and failures as an emperor, his influences and changes over the entire economic, political and social spectrum are revealed.

Lucius Annaeus Seneca commonly called “Seneca the Younger”, born around 4 BCE to one of Rome most celebrated literary family. His father, Marcus Annaeus was a brilliant public speaker and author. His nephew, Lucian was a renowned poem writer and provided essential help to the process of satire. Seneca recognized himself as a person with advance knowledge, a distinguished academician, scriptwriter, and a person of discipline. In addition, he considered himself to be a statesman with an unstable occupation in the era of three emperors. In 37 CE, Seneca has a disagreement with the emperor’s Caligula and nearly went to jail for life.