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Tiberius Claudius Nero

Last of the Julio-Claudians

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Early Life

Mother, Agrippina (the Younger, II)

Father, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus

Died of dropsy/edema in 40 AD

Son, Nero, born in 37

Full name, Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus

Germanicus

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Growing Up

Last of the Julio-Claudians

Became emperor on 13 Oct 54 AD

Was 16 at the time

Major early influences

Agrippina, his mother

Seneca, his tutor

Burrus, head of the Praetorian Guard

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Competition

Agrippina vs. Seneca and Burrus

Nero had married Octavia, daughter of

Claudius in 53, the year before

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Bye Mom

Agrippina, seeing her influence slipping,

begins to push Brittanicus as legitimate

heir.Brittanicus poisoned at a banquet, Nero

unaffected; says it was epilepsy

Agrippina retires and Nero stages herdeath in 59

Ship breaks, she swims to safety

Executed, nobody believes the suicide story

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Poor Octavia

Her mother was Messalina

Her brother was Brittanicus

Tacitus calls her virtuous and is beloved

by Romans

Nero grows bored, has affairs and gets a

woman Poppaea pregnant

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Octavias End Nero divorces her, marries Poppaea within 12

days; called Octavia barren Poppaea was already married to a man named Otho

Nero banishes Octavia to the same island that Juliaof Augustus was sent to.

Romans protest, and Nero gives in to Poppaeawho wants her killed

She is forced to commit suicide They have her open her veins, she panics, which stops

bleeding

She was then suffocated and her head brought to Poppaea

Nero says her and Agrippinas ghosts haunted him

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Madness and Fire

By 62, Nero kills whomsoever he pleases

64 AD, the Great Fire of Rome

Burned for 5 days

Rome was 14 districts

4 were completely destroyed

7 badly damaged

Nero wasnt even in Rome

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The Great Fire

Neros rebuilding project goes wrong

Too expensive

He built his Domus Aurea golden house on the oldSubura (poor section)

He blames the Christians for the fire

In 65, he kicks Poppaea to death

She was pregnant

She isnt cremated; stuffed with spices and put in the

Mausoleum of Augustus

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The End is Ner-o

He holds performances of singingScandalous for an emperor

Competes in the Olympics in 67Falls of the chariot, still wins

Parthian War

Corbulo, a great general, wins, but Nero hashim commit suicide

The army is no longer on his side

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Death

Galba, governor of Gaul, goes into open

rebellion

The Senate declares him an enemy

The Praetorian Guard sides with Galba

Nero flees to his country home and commits

suicide on 9 June 68 AD

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69 AD The Year of the Four Emperors

Galba Otho Vitellius Vespasian