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Life and times of Emperor Nero
Life and times of Emperor Nero
Life and times of Emperor Nero
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“Every journey has an end.” For Emperor Nero his journey was short lived, ending at the young age of 30. His reign was full of lust, conspiracies, and murder all of which could top anything Forensic Files could have ever dreamed possible. He was not always destined to be the next Emperor to Rome and it would take a lot of planning, mostly by his mother, to make his succession possible. However, the young Emperor was a member of the unofficial dynasty of Rome, the Julio-Claudian’s, a lineage dating all the way back to Emperor Augustus who was the first and very beloved Emperor of Rome. Despite being a part of the Julio-Claudian legacy, Emperor Nero’s hegemony was filled with murder and questionable decisions that all eventually cultivated to his suicide. To start off with, to understand Emperor Nero one must understand the importance of his ancestry. He was born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus to Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Julia Agrippina, also known as Agrippina the Younger, in AD 37 . The combination of Gnaeus and Julia was like a match made in elite heritage for Nero. Gnaeus’ mother, Nero’s grandmother, was Antonia the Elder. She was the daughter of Mark Antony, one of the three members of the Second Triumvirate of Rome, and Octavia the Younger, Emperor Augustus’ …show more content…
Because, once Caligula became Emperor, he took many symbolic actions to show that his three sisters, including Agrippina, were just as important and as powerful as he was . Emperor Caligula might have even made the young Lucius his heir had it not been for his sisters, Drusilla, death and his mental spiral downward. The Emperor then became paranoid. Accusing his remaining sisters of conspiracy, banishing them to the Pontine Islands, and auctioning off their estates and belongings . The toddler was left in the care of his ailing father and no hopes of every seeing the
Tacitus was born in 56ad and died in 115ad. His book the Annals is a history of the Julio Claudian emperors. The book starts with Augustus and ends with Nero. The way that Tacitus describes Tiberius 's reign is rather different from how that emperor is remembered. When people think of Tiberius they usually think of an old man on Capri ignoring the needs of the empire while enjoying himself with perverse entertainment. The way Tacitus describes his reign it 's almost as if he is describing a completely different person.
Those who were Emperors would mastermind plans to seek and destroy those individuals who wished to take over their position as Emperor, and those who wished to become Roman Emperor would mastermind plans to assassinate those who were Roman Emperors at the time. What caught the attention of men and others throughout history, including historians, is the fact that Agrippina was a woman. Women were not looked upon as being capable of carrying out mastermind plans to such great extent as Agrippina, and instead of giving Agrippina the credit she deserves, not for poisoning people, but for the ability to do so without war or great bloodshed, unlike many of the men who plotted to assassinate the Roman Emperor, Agrippina was merely labled as a ruthless poisoner. Agrippina was patient and did not wish to harm anyone other than who her targets were, and she did so in ways that would only lead to the intended person’s death. With that said, Agrippina did not poison those that she poisoned for the fun of it all, but she did so to secure what she believed to be her son’s rightful position of Roman Emperor. Agrippina was brave and willing to do anything that was necessary to secure her son’s role as Emperor, and after many poisonous schemes of murder, Nero became Emperor of Rome from 54 to 68
On August 31st, 12 AD Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder gave birth to the third Roman emperor during the Julio-Claudian Dynasty. During the beginning of his reign, it seemed to be, as most would call it “a dream come true”. But after a few favorable accomplishments, Caligula became the deranged tyrant he is known for today.
Nero was one of a select body of rulers including King Arthur, Frederick Barbarossa, Frederick II "Stupor Mundi" and Hitler - men cut off by sudden or mysterious deaths which people refused to believe had ever really happened, weaving return sagas round their memory. The circumstances surrounding Nero's suicide by sword blow in sixty-eight AD - let alone the more bizarre aspects of his reign - were so mysterious they gave rise to a host of stories and legends.... ... middle of paper ... ... In addition, some have opted for gematria based on Hebrew letters, others on Greek.
In the Ancient Roman times which was a very chaotic time period, with many different power struggles that led to some of the best and worst people ruling the Roman Empire Over the ages different emperors made their way to the throne, whether they killed to get there or inherited it from their parents, they all left distinct marks although some left bigger marks than others. The three considered the worst emperors, are Nero, Caligula, and Commodus (Champlin, E, 2003). Out of the three worst Roman emperors, the worst was Caligula because of the hideous crimes he committed compared the Commodus and Nero
The deaths of Caligula's mother Agrippina and brother Nero, however, were not enough to please Tiberius's supremacy over Roman politics. Caligula’s other brother, Drusus, who was infuriated by the death of his father,...
...and cautious nature, he had a cruel streak, as suggested by his addiction to gladiatorial games and his fondness for watching his defeated opponents executed. He conducted closed-door trials of leading citizens that frequently resulted in their ruin or deaths -- an unprecedented and tyrannical pattern of behavior. He had his wife Messalina executed, and he personally presided over a court in the Praetorian Camp in which many of her hangers-on lost their lives. He abandoned his own son Britannicus to his fate and favored the advancement of Nero as his successor. At the same time, his reign was marked by some notable successes: the invasion of Britain, stability and good government in the provinces, and successful management of client kingdoms. Claudius, then, is a more enigmatic figure than the other Julio-Claudian emperors: at once careful, intelligent, aware and respectful of tradition, but given to bouts of rage and cruelty, willing to sacrifice precedent to expediency, and utterly ruthless in his treatment of those who crossed him. Augustus's suspicion that there was more to the timid Claudius than met the eye was more than fully borne out by the events of his unexpected reign.
Nero, or Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus was a part of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, alongside his mother who were the last of the Germanic family. His birth name was Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus until he took on his stepfather's name and Augustus’s name. His rise to power was mostly by marriage all arranged by his mother Agrippina who wanted power and social status, and for him to get married to his step-sister Octavia. By marrying into the Julian family, Agrippina helped secure her and her son’s position of power. Not only ambitious, Agrippina was also malicious, poisoning her first and second husband solely to help secure her position in the house. Once Nero received his toga of manhood, the senate
Claudius (another Roman emperor) passed away when Nero was seventeen years old, leaving the Emperorship to Nero. According to Suetonius, Nero immediately turned over all Roman public and private affairs to his mother's management. Primary sources then go on to list Nero's accomplishments and contemporary ideas, such as the founding of a colony at Antium for retired centurions, Nero's promise to base roman law upon that of Augustus, and Nero's obvious attempts to always look generous and merciful.... ... middle of paper ... ... CP Jones, Plutarch and Rome, Oxford House University Press, Ely House, 1971.
Tacitus lived under the reign of Domitian, twenty years after Nero. His family originated from southern Gaul. After becomng a barrister he was promoted to the position of provincial governor in 112-113AD in Asia. Under the reign of Domitian, Tacitus was incredibly lucky that he managed to survive, unlike many of his colleagues. Domitian disposed of rivals and opposition, thus making him a very paranoid man. The killings of these men started Tacitus' anti-emperor feelings. Domitian's reign was modelled on Tiberius' who Tacitus also heavily criticised. But, in Annals 13 and 14, Tacitus concentrated n Nero, whom he despised.
Tiberius was a hindrance to Rome’s success as an empire, and he made numerous poor decisions that caused the problems that eventually led to Rome’s downfall and dark age. Tiberius’s mother Livia wanted really badly for her son to become emperor. To please his mother, Tiberius married Augustus's daughter, Julia, whom Tiberius did not love, so he could become emperor. The Senate knew that Tiberius was up to no good and did not trust him. Also, Tiberius did not know how to rule, so as the adopted son of Augustus, he copied what his father did (Wasson). Imitating Augustus led to a disaster because Tiberius did not have the same skills needed to be emperor (“Tiberius”). Tiberius made Rome less politically stable by abandoning his responsibilities, creating paranoia, and by being indecisive.
The first half of Suetonius’ biography of Tiberius reflects very well on him. He is described as being so humble as to be almost annoying about it. Suetonius quotes a senator saying, “others were slow in doing what they promised, but that he was slow to promise what he was already doing.” However, the second half of the biography, which addresses Tiberius’ ruthlessness leads me to believe that Suetonius did not think highly of Tiberius’ in the second half of his reign. To illustrate this, I will give a brief summary of the biography. Then I will give my reasons for believing that the first two years of Tiberius’ reign was good. Finally, I will show how Tiberius turned sour, and became like the many other bad emperors.
Caligula, first known as Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, is remembered as a tyrant, a villain, a madman, and much more horrible things. Many words can describe the dominant third Roman emperor. Additional figures in the early Roman history can be defined as menacing, but Caligula overpowers most. Think of the worst possible thing you can think of, and Caligula can possibly match that. Even though he had a rough start to his short life, he made himself worse and worse to the rest of the world as his life went on. Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus should be remembered for his rise to power, his interesting tactics to win, and his surprisingly short tyranny.
He did not want to have to share his power with someone else so he went to the Roman Senate and demanded that Tiberius’ will be invalid. The Roman Senate declared Caligula the Roman emperor, that would be Rome’s third emperor. It has been said that for his first six months as emperor he was a good ruler. The people of Rome fell in love with Caligula, but it wasn’t long after he became emperor Caligula became ill with what they called “brain fever”. He seriously became insane, he would have his family members killed (MRREESE 2014). There has been talk about him having sexual relations with his sister (Cohen 2012). Caligula would have his rivals killed, children killed and forced the family members to watch. He would also have people tortured and killed if they did not respect him. He would have intercourse with married women while his guests were dining, then come back to the table and brag about it. Caligula raised the taxes and would often take property of the wealthy, then have them killed. Caligula had been married four times and cheated on all of his wives with both men and women. Each wife knew of the infidelity. The people of Rome have had enough of Caligula and his hatefulness towards
let's start with Nero’s path to becoming an emperor. He was an insane Lunatic who would do anything (and when I say anything i really mean anything). He was born in A.D. 37, Nero was mentored by his helpful philosopher whose name was Seneca (he eventually forced to commit suicide). Nero murdered his way to the throne, which he occupied from approximately A.D. 54-68. His life was filled with violence (he had even caused his own mother to be killed!?!) and bloodshed. As you could tell he wasn't the