Nerva: The First Good Emperor of Rome

On the 8 of November, [A.D. 35], I was born into this glorious world (Henderson 169). My noble family raised me in fairest Narnia in Umbria (Birley 30). Although I was born into a Senatorial family, I pursued neither a military career nor a public speaking one (Wend).

From as far back as my ancestors can be traced, somehow they have always been involved in the political realm (Birley 30). My dearest great-grandfather, M. Cocceius Nerva, was consul [36 B.C.]; his grandfather, a man with the same name, was a fine jurist who accompanied Tiberius to Capri in [26 A.D.] (Wend). I was a son of a Roman lawyer in an aristocratic family (Woolf 364). On my maternal side, my darling mother’s Aunt Rubellia Bassa, was the great-granddaughter of Tiberius himself, and my great-uncle, L. Cocceius Nerva, played a part in the negotiations that secured a treaty in 40 B.C. between Octavian and Antony (Wend).

I held various priesthoods, being augur, sodalis Augustalis, and a Palatine salius (Birley 30). With the title of praetor designate in 65, I was instrumental in revealing the conspiracy of Piso against the emperor Nero (Wend). Because of this glorious accomplishment, I received triumphal ornaments and my statue placed in his fine palace (Wend).When I served as an urban quaestor, the lowest ranking regular magistrate whose responsibility was the treasury, I began to work my way up in the political realm (Birley 30). [A.D. 71], I was Consul for the first time under Vespasian’s rule (Henderson 170). [71 A.D.] My loyalty was rewarded with a joint consulship with the Vespasian, the only time he ever held the office without his son Titus (Wend). I was Consul a second time under Domitian [A.D. 92] (Henderson 170). This honor was perhaps the resu...

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