Perhaps the most unknown Roman emperor – Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (37-68 AD) ruled Rome from 54 AD until his death – for 14 years.
He is known for his debauched lifestyle, political assassinations, persecution of Christians and of course, his proverbial passion for music and poetry.
This is where the claim that Nero "had fun" while Rome burned comes from.
Lucius Domitius, the first child of Gnaeus Domitius and Agrippina, was born on December 15, 37 AD, in Antium, near Rome, shortly after the accession of Caligula, the brother of Nero's mother, Agrippina.
At the age of 13, he was adopted by his uncle. His mother married for the third time - to Claudius. This played a key role in the future "career growth" of Nero.
Agrippina arranged Nero's marriage to Claudius' daughter - Octavia. After the sudden death of Emperor Claudius - historians suggest that Agrippina poisoned him with mushrooms - Nero became his "accidental" heir.
During his first five years as emperor, Nero gained a reputation as a generous politician, encouraging shared power with the Senate. He put an end to political trials behind closed doors, although in most cases he pursued his own interests. Nero relied heavily on three advisors - the philosopher Seneca, the prefect Burrus, and of course, Agrippina.
Seneca encouraged Nero to step out of his mother's shadow. She also turned against her son and encouraged her other child - Britannicus, as the true heir to the throne, to undermine Nero by revealing his relationship with Poppea Sabina.
However, the emperor was well aware of his mother's tricks. Soon his brother died under suspicious circumstances, and a few years later, Agrippina drowned. Empress Octavia was also executed, and Nero married Poppea.
Three years later, a famous Roman historian recorded that in a “nervous outburst”, Nero killed Poppea with a single blow to her stomach.
After his mother's death, Nero gave himself over completely to his long-standing artistic and aesthetic passions. During private feasts, the emperor sang and played the lyre, and encouraged people from high society to take dancing lessons. The emperor ordered that public games be held in Rome every five years.
However, historians claim that his most lasting artistic achievement was the rebuilding of Rome after the fire that destroyed the "eternal city".
Early on the morning of June 19, flames broke out in several stalls around the Circus Maximus, which quickly spread throughout the city.
Over the next 9 days, three of Rome's 14 districts were completely destroyed, and seven - severely damaged.
Several historians claim that while Rome burned, Nero stood on the roof of his palace, dressed in stage clothes, and sang. Rumors that the emperor had started the fire quickly spread.
Whoever was responsible for the fire, Nero diverted the angry crowd’s attention from himself by blaming the followers of the growing Christian religion.
To appease the angry Romans gathered in front of the Palatine, the emperor promised them that he would feed those who had lost everything and that he would punish the guilty. And so began the persecution of Christians in Rome. Many were captured and all of them were subjected to hellish torments.
Nero turned the tragic moment into a spectacle and announced that this time the Christians would have the main role in the folk games.
From there was born the well-known expression “The people are hungry for bread and spectacles”. Some of those sentenced to death were dressed in animal skins and torn apart by wild animals. Others were crucified on crosses in the courtyard of the imperial palace, and later burned as living torches.
The burning bodies illuminated the Palatine Hill for a long time.
Nero emptied the Roman treasury, rebuilding the city around his palace. At the center of this, he ordered a tall bronze statue of himself to be erected.
By the end of Nero's reign, the Roman Empire was under great strain. The cost of rebuilding Rome, rebellions in England and Judea, and conflicts with Parthia forced Nero to devalue the imperial currency, reducing the silver content of the denarius by 10%.
In 65 AD A conspiracy arose in the high ranks of the Roman Empire to assassinate the emperor, as well as a prefect, several senators, and officers.
The old councilor Seneca was accused of being the "head" of the conspiracy and ordered to commit suicide.
Despite the problems in the empire, Nero decided to travel – he toured Greece, where he performed as a singer and musician, participated in theatrical performances, and drove a chariot. From a distance, he ordered what should happen to the state and initiated an extremely expensive project – digging a canal.
After his return to Rome, Nero did not take action against the uprising in Gaul, on the contrary – caused more unrest in Africa and Spain, where the governor Galba proclaimed himself secretary of the Senate and the Roman people.
Soon the Praetorian Guard began to obey only Galba, the Senate also declared Nero an enemy of the people.
Nero tried to escape, but realizing that his arrest and execution were inevitable, he committed suicide.
Fifty years later, the historian Suetonius reported Nero's last sentence: “What an artist dies in me!“
Source: debati.bg