Nero Caesar
37 – 68 · Generation VI · Roman emperor (r. AD 54–68) · Julio-Claudian
Nero (AD 37 – AD 68). Roman emperor (r. AD 54–68). Chosen as heir over Claudius’s own son Britannicus; the last of Augustus’s line, dead by his own hand as the legions rose. He came to the throne under the guidance of his mother Agrippina, his tutor Seneca and the prefect Burrus, then shook off every restraint — he had his mother killed, and ancient writers charge him too with the deaths of his wife Claudia Octavia and his stepbrother Britannicus. He gave Rome new amphitheatres, games and contests, and went on stage himself — acting, reciting, playing and racing chariots, to the horror of the senatorial class and the delight of the crowds. His generals fought Parthia to a peace and crushed Boudica’s revolt in Britain, while the First Jewish–Roman War began on his watch. Suetonius records a widespread belief that Nero was behind the Great Fire, wanting room for the Golden House he planned; in Tacitus’s account he made the Christians scapegoats and had them burned. In the East, people long refused to believe he was dead, and expected his return.
One of 16 people of Julio-Claudian (69 BC–68) in this archive. Rome’s first imperial family: the Julii and the Claudii joined by marriage and adoption, Augustus to Nero.
Line of descent: Tiberius Claudius Nero → Drusus the Elder → Claudius Caesar → Nero Caesar.
Parents
- Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (2 BC – 41)
- Agrippina the Younger (15 – 59)
- Claudius Caesar (10 BC – 54)
Siblings
- Claudia Octavia (39 – 62) (adopted)
- Britannicus Caesar (41 – 55) (adopted)