Significant Events


The Burning of Rome

   

   Nero wanted a new rome and was a motive for him burning Rome down. In 64 A.D. a large fire swept across Rome and destroyed most of the city. It has not been proven that Nero set the fire that destroyed Rome. It is questionable however since shortly after the fire Nero went on a building campaign. One of the buildings built after the fire was his palace the Domus Aurea, "the golden house."
It covered almost a third of all of Rome (50 Hectares). His hate for the Christians was shown through this natural disaster when he blamed the christians for committing this capital crime and had them executed in horrible ways. Some sources say that he was so upset with the building of his new palace that he set fire to Rome for a second time.This was not the most disgusting thing of his reign. The suspicion of Nero began after this event and would continue through future events such as the murder of his mother.

    Nero's Murder of His mother


    Nero was fed up with his mother's aid in his rule. This led to him deciding that he should kill his mother, so he could take complete control of the Roman government.
    Nero's exemplary rule ended with the murder of his mother.  After attempting on many occasions to poison or drown her, he finally had her stabbed to death.  Nero told the Senate that she was killed because of her plots against him, and they accepted it without question.  A few years later, Nero had his wife Octavia killed so that he could marry his mistress, Poppaea.  He later kicked Poppaea to death when she complained about him coming home late.  Many people began criticizing the emperor, but he ignored most of it.

    After the death of his mother, Nero felt the need to express his hidden talents as an artist.  He became a singer and a poet, and needed to be accepted as such so badly that he organized a band of people whose sole function was to clap after his performances.  Publicly he was considered to be atrocious in both fields, but audiences turned out in great numbers for his stage appearances. There was nobody who liked Nero as their ruler because everyone suspected he killed his own mother.


Nero's Death


    When rebellion broke out in Gaul and other urgent affairs needed to be tended to in the empire, Nero responded by taking an artistic tour of Greece, leaving the responsibilities of government to underlings. Finally fed up with Nero's misrule, first Vindex in Gaul and then Galba in Spain rose in rebellion. Nero panicked and attempted to flee, even when he might have led an army to put down the rebellions. He was still liked by many of the soldiers in the army because he had always treated them well. The Senate declared Nero a public enemy and condemned him to death by flogging with rods "In the ancient manner" at the urging of Nymphidius Sabinus, Nero's Praetorian Prefect. Upon hearing this, Nero fled and hid in the house of an ex-slave. He begged to have someone take a dagger and put an end to his life because he lacked the nerve to do so himself. Finally, when he heard the clatter of horses’ hooves announcing the arrival of Roman cavalry troops coming to arrest him, he clumsily stabbed himself in the throat. As he slowly bled to death, he lamented "What an artist the world is losing!"
    What the Roman world really lost was an inept tyrant and what it gained was a year of bloody civil war as five men ravaged the countryside with their armies in their quest for the throne. Four of them would be dead before that year was up. The death of this tyrant which was thought to be a good thing, really led to more chaos than that during the rule of Nero.




                                                                          Nero Claudius Caesar




   
   














http://www.roman-emperors.org/nero.htm