Nero
Nero was born on December 15, AD 37. His mother was called Agrippina the
Younger; his father was called Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus. In AD 49 Nero
became the emperor’s stepson when Claudius had his wife executed for adultery
and then married Agrippina. Claudius died in AD 54, so Nero found himself
emperor of Rome at 16 years old. By law, Nero could not rule the empire because
he was too young, so his mother had to advise him and make all of the important
decisions. Nero had very strict penalties. Nero soon became involved in music
and theater and less interested in ruling Rome. His mother disapproved greatly
and voiced her opinion openly. As a result, Nero tried to kill Agrippina by
giving her a defective boat, but Agrippina swam to shore. Therefore, Nero
then hired an assassin to kill her. Soon after, Nero had his wife, Octavia,
killed in AD 62. In July of AD 64 there was a fire in the Circus Maximus,
which was the place where the chariot races were held. People believed that
Nero started the fire because he wanted to expand his palace, so when the
fire occurred, he had people stay in his gardens. Nero quickly put the blame
on Christians, then arrested people who believed in Christianity. Nero
started to go to Greece very often because he preferred their civilization
and culture. He then played in almost every contest in Greece. Nero did not
come back to Rome for 15 months. Nero soon found out that the people
in Rome were starting to hate him. When he came back the Senate decided to
order that Nero should be killed. Nero soon realized that the only safety
he could get was by leaving the city. The city found out and not before long
he was caught and arrested. As soon as that happened Nero stabbed himself
in the throat with a dagger. Nero died on June 9, AD 68.