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Nero Famous? Accomplishments, Achievements and Important Events

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Nero Famous? Accomplishments, Achievements and Important Events Time of their rule (dates) 54 - 68 AD Married to? Sporus (m. 67 AD–68 AD) Statilia Messalina (m. 66 AD–68 AD) Poppaea Sabina (m. 62 AD–65 AD) Claudia Octavia (m. 53 AD–62 AD) Heirs? Children: Claudia Augusta No heirs, bloodline ended with him Accomplishments was Nero famous? Accomplishments, achievements and important events: The first five years of the reign of Nero were marked by the mildness and equity of his government. He discouraged luxury, reduced the taxes, and increased the authority of the Senate. However, he sank into licentiousness, and from licentiousness to cruelty and crime. In 64 AD, most of Rome was destroyed in the Great Fire of Rome, which many Romans believed Nero himself had started in order to clear land for his planned palatial complex, the Domus Aurea. Legacy In 64 AD, most of Rome was destroyed in the Great Fire of Rome, which many Romans believed Nero himself had started in order to clear land for his planned palatial complex, the Domus Aurea. Dark Secrets? He was a cruel and dissolute tyrant who blamed the Christians for the burning of Rome His marriage to Octavia was not a happy one. She gave him no heir, and the two were estranged by A.D. 62. In that year, he divorced her then accused her of adultery and killed her. He was rumored to have had captured Christians dipped in oil and set on fire in his garden at night as a source of light. His mother turned against him when he tried to step out of her shadow, promoting her stepson Britannicus as the true heir to the throne and protesting Nero’s affair with his friend’s wife Poppaea Sabina. Brittanicus soon died under dubious circumstances, and in 59, after a failed plot to drown her in a collapsible boat, Nero had Agrippina stabbed to death in her villa. In his first five years as emperor, Nero gained a reputation for political generosity, promoting power­sharing with the Senate and ending closed­door political trials, though he generally pursued his own passions and left the ruling up to three key advisers—the Stoic philosopher Seneca, the prefect Burrus and ultimately Agrippina. Judgement - Were they a good emperor? NERO (big jerk) Nero began his reign as a fair emperor. He had a passion for music and the arts and he reduced taxes, promoted power­sharing with the Senate, and ended closed­door political trials but that didn’t last long. <­ mom (he kills her) He became the emperor very young at the age of seventeen so his ruling was mainly left up to the Stoic philosopher Seneca, prefect Burrus, and his mother Agrippina (the younger). When she protested his attempts to step out of her shadow and tried to name Britannicus as the true heir of the throne, he had her stabbed to death in her villa. His competitor also died under dubious circumstances. In 62 AD, he divorced his first wife Octavia, accused her of adultery, and then executed her so he could instead marry Poppaea Sabina, the wife of his friend Otho. Ancient writers believed that he caused the Great Fire of Rome so he could rebuild the city center although this may not be true. He probably didn’t fiddle while Rome burned. To his credit, he immediately organized relief efforts afterwards. However, he blamed the fire on the Christians ­ at the time a minority. He tortured and executed Christians in many ways: they were burned to death, crucified, and torn apart by beasts. After a rebellion, Nero was declared a public enemy of the Senate. A courier gave him a report saying that they were going to execute him by beating him to death (which wasn’t true) so he planned to commit suicide. He didn’t have the guts to do it so he made his private secretary do it for him. And that’s how Nero died a sad, sad man. .
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