Information about emperor nero

Many ancient historians believe he was fed a poisonous mushroom by Agrippina. He was the youngest Roman emperor ever since. At that time, Nero the evil leader was driven to get rid of his mother. Britannicus is believed to have died because Nero poisoned him.

Four years later, the evil leader ordered that his mother be killed. However, the evil leader quickly grew bored and hated him. Another reason, because Nero had an affair with Poppaea Sabina. The evil leader then killed his wife after 8 years of marriage.

Nero accuses Octavia of being sterile and committing adultery. Emperor Nero the evil leader had several times strangled Octavia to death. However, the age of their marriage was not long, because Sabina finally died at the hands of Emperor Nero, the evil leader.

Shortly after their marriage, their relationship was filled with quarrels until one day Emperor Nero kicked Sabina in the stomach who was pregnant with her second child. The fetus and Sabina died in AD After that Emperor Nero experienced a long period of mourning and gave Sabina a state funeral.

Nero, much to his relief, found his actions applauded. The senators said that they believed his life was at risk and congratulated him on killing his own mom. His marriage to Octavia was not a happy one. She gave him no heir, and the two were estranged by A. In that year, he divorced her then accused her of adultery and killed her. Nero may have taken the step of killing her as a way to protect his position as emperor. Nero would go on to marry the already pregnant Poppaea Sabina in that same year, and she would give birth to their daughter who lived only about three months in January, A.

He took the death of their infant daughter hard and had the baby deified. Ancient writers say Nero killed her with a kick to the belly.

However, the newly deciphered poem from Egypt casts doubt on this, showing Poppaea in the afterlife wanting to stay with Nero. On the night of July 18, A.

At the time it occurred, Nero was at Antium but immediately returned to Rome to oversee relief efforts. While ancient writers tend to blame Nero for starting the fire, this is far from certain. Much of Rome was made with combustible material and the city was overcrowded. Unfortunately, Octavia was not off the hook. Her banishment at the hands of Nero and Poppaea was resented in Rome, infuriating the capricious Emperor even more. Hearing the news that a rumour of her renstatement was met with widespread approval, he effectively signed her death warrant.

Her head was then chopped off and sent to Poppaea. Her strong and ruthless nature was seen as a good match for Nero, yet it did not take long before the two fatally clashed. After a fierce argument over how much time Nero was spending at the races, the intemperate Emperor violently kicked Poppaea in the abdomen whilst she was pregant with his second child — she died as a result in 65 AD.

Nero went into a long period of mourning, and gave Sabina a state funeral. Despite his violent reputation, Nero had an uncanny knack for knowing what actions would endear him to the Roman public. After putting on several public musical performances, cutting taxes and even ersuading the King of Parthia to come to Rome and take part in a lavish ceremony, he soon became the darling of the crowds. Nero was so popular, in fact, that after his death there were three separate attempts by impostors over thirty years to gather support by assuming his appearance — one of which was so successful that it almost lead to a civil war.

This immense popularity amongst the common people of the empire, however, only made the educated classes distrust him even more. Nero is said to have been obsessed with his own popularity and far more impressed by the theatrical traditions of the Greeks than Roman austerity — something that was considered simultaneously scandalous by his senators yet superb by the inhabitants of the eastern part of the empire.

The fire started on the slope of the Aventine overlooking the Circus Maximus and ravaged the city for over six days. It was noted that Nero was conveniently not present in Rome at the time, and most contemporary writers, including Pliny the Elder, Suetonius and Cassius Dio held Nero responsible for the fire. Nero's palace is among those destroyed, making it impossible for him to have stood on the roof, serenading the blaze.

Marcus Reuter I think that the story of Nero rushing back to Rome to serenade the burning city from the roof of his palace can safely be classified as nothing more than a myth. The claim that Nero had the fire started to make room for his new palace doesn't stand up to examination either. Marcus Reuter If Nero really had wanted to find space to build his new palace, he would have had any number of other possibilities. He could have simply confiscated properties and had buildings torn down.

It is more likely that the fire started by accident. Marcus Reuter He oversees the firefighting efforts, he proves himself a ruler concerned for his people, he has the parks opened for the homeless, he ensures there is sufficient grain. Essentially, he fulfils all the expectations the Roman populace has in this situation, which absolutely does not conform to the image of an insane, power-hungry tyrant.

Indeed, he sounds more like a reasonable, responsible ruler. Even Tacitus, the only one of the three writers alive during the disaster, credits Nero with effective crisis management. The emperor remains in Rome while the city burns and helps coordinate the rescue efforts, visiting those affected. In order to save sections of the Roman capitol, Nero has firebreaks cut through the streets. Marcus Reuter After the fire, Nero proves himself to be a forward-thinking statesman.

He orders the implementation of construction regulations designed to prevent a repeat of the catastrophe Rome has just experienced. For example, he mandates that fire-resistant materials be used during reconstruction, and that there must be sufficient space between the buildings. The Rome that rises from the ruins has far wider streets, and Nero's fire-safety regulations remain in place into late antiquity.

But, immediately after the blaze, rumors surface that the fire was caused by arson, and that the emperor may be responsible. Martin Zimmermann In order to quell the accusations levelled at him, Nero had to find someone to hold responsible for the Great Fire of Rome.

Some in his inner circle suggested that the Christians would make ideal scapegoats. He is said to have had hundreds of innocent Christians brutally put to death, the first persecution of Christians in history…. Eventually, the emperor settles on a new religious sect that is widely disliked and seems to have a motive. The same applies to the Great Fire of Rome.

But why were the Christians targeted? What was their significance in ancient Rome? What were their goals? They have strange rituals: burying their dead in catacombs, belief in a single god, refusing to believe in the divine nature of the emperor, all of which are counter to Roman custom. Christian religious history has often censored, exaggerated or falsified facts. The same applies to Nero's alleged "persecution of Christians.

In addition to their unfamiliar practices, early Christians might have hoped for a disaster like the Great Fire. Manfred Clauss In this early period, the Christians yearned for the end of the world — and yet it refused to arrive. The first Christians died, and there was still no indication of an approaching Armageddon. It is therefore easy to imagine that the early Christians celebrated an event such as the Great Fire of Rome as a signal that the end of the world was finally near.

Manfred Clauss Jesus told his apostles to follow him, and it was widely understood that he also meant in death, and in the manner of death. Jesus Christ was executed by the Romans. Accordingly, the early Christians would have considered their execution at the hands of the Romans an honorable death.

In this context, it made sense to claim responsibility for the fire, accept blame and be executed in order to get into heaven.

Whether or not Christians set the fire, their claims of responsibility bring them sudden notoriety. The previously unknown sect is now infamous throughout the city. He punishes the Christians in accordance with the law at the time: arsonists are publically burned at the stake.

It is a cruel method of execution, a spectacle, theatre for the people of Rome. As emperor he had to deal with a major catastrophe, the Great Fire of Rome. According to the historians, he found the guilty parties and had them publically punished in accordance with the laws of the time, so that his people's sense of pain and loss could be drowned in the thrill of revenge.

One could almost say that he acted in the only way he could to preserve his reign. Nero's greatest treasure, the "Domus Aurea" or "Golden House" lies buried below these ruins surrounding the Colosseum.

Nero's grand estate was eventually submerged below other structures. No trace remains — at least at ground level. The buildings were only discovered by accident in , when someone fell through a hole in the remains of the Baths of Trajan. Below the baths were the high rooms of the Domus Aurea. Many frescoes and wall decorations were still intact. Nothing like it had been seen before.

Only now, after many years of extensive research, is it possible to reconstruct the palace compound at its full scale and artistic beauty. The emperor has artists brought in from all over the Roman Empire to decorate his "Golden House". Martin Zimmermann One of the main reasons Nero became so unpopular with the governing political class was that he started this massive construction project in Rome to build his "Golden House", the likes of which had never been seen in the city before.

The palace complex, located in the heart of Rome, consists of several buildings surrounded by extensive gardens, lakes and pools to cool the air. Nero even has some of the roofs covered in gold, which gives rise to the name: the "Golden House".

This massive palace, built over the remains of parts of the city decimated by fire, soon causes controversy. It is enormously expensive to maintain: Behind the scenes, an army of servants is at the emperor's beck and call, day and night.

In fact, the great halls of the palace may represent the zenith of Nero's power. He successfully waged war against Armenia and Britain, finally ending conflicts that simmered for years.

Was he insane, a megalomaniac, was he in fact not responsible for his actions due to insanity? Nero has a statue of himself built at the heart of the Domus Aurea. The statue is nearly feet high and visible across Rome. Many, including Rome's elites, as well as later historians, feel that he has lost touch with reality. Martin Zimmermann Nero was not an insane ruler.