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