View source for Nero

{{Short description|Roman emperor from AD 54 to 68}}
{{other uses}}
{{pp-semi-indef}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox royalty
| image        = Nero_Glyptothek_Munich_321.jpg
| alt          = Facing male bust
| caption      = Head of Nero from an oversized statue. [[Glyptothek]], [[Munich]]
| succession   = [[Roman emperor]]
| reign        = 13 October 54 – 9 June 68
| predecessor  = [[Claudius]]
| successor    = [[Galba]]
| birth_name   = Lucius [[Domitii|Domitius]] Ahenobarbus
| birth_date   = 15 December AD&nbsp;37
| birth_place  = [[Antium]], [[Roman Italy|Italy]], Roman Empire
| death_date   = 9 June AD&nbsp;68 (aged 30)
| death_place  = outside Rome, Italy
| burial_place = Mausoleum of the Domitii Ahenobarbi, [[Pincian Hill]], Rome
| spouses      = {{ubl|[[Claudia Octavia]]|[[Poppaea Sabina]]|[[Statilia Messalina]]|[[Sporus]]|[[Pythagoras (freedman)|Pythagoras]]}}
| issue        = [[Claudia Augusta]]
| full name    = Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus
| regnal name  = Nero Claudius Caesar [[Augustus (title)|Augustus]] Germanicus<!--Not a repository; full name as Roman emperor, no dates.-->
| dynasty      = [[Julio-Claudian]]
| father       = {{ubl|[[Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (father of Nero)|Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus]]|[[Claudius]] (adoptive)}}
| mother       = [[Agrippina the Younger]]
}}
{{Julio-Claudian dynasty|image=[[File:Great Cameo of France-removebg.png|150px]]|caption=}}

'''Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|ɪər|oʊ}} {{respell|NEER|oh}}; born '''Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus'''; 15&nbsp;December AD&nbsp;37 – 9&nbsp;June AD&nbsp;68) was a [[Roman emperor]] and the final emperor of the [[Julio-Claudian dynasty]], reigning from AD&nbsp;54 until his death in AD 68.

Nero was born at [[Antium]] in AD&nbsp;37, the son of [[Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (father of Nero)|Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus]] and [[Agrippina the Younger]] (great-granddaughter of the emperor [[Augustus]]). Nero was three when his father died.{{sfn|Suetonius, ''Nero''|loc=6}} By the time Nero turned eleven, his mother married [[Emperor Claudius]], who then [[Adoption in ancient Rome|adopted]] Nero as his heir.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Julia-Agrippina | title=Julia Agrippina &#124; Empress, Mother, Empress Nero &#124; Britannica | date=January 2024 }}</ref> Upon Claudius' death in AD 54, Nero ascended to the throne with the backing of the [[Praetorian Guard]] and the Senate. In the early years of his reign, Nero was advised and guided by his mother Agrippina, his tutor [[Seneca the Younger]], and his [[praetorian prefect]] [[Sextus Afranius Burrus]], but sought to rule independently and rid himself of restraining influences. The power struggle between Nero and his mother reached its climax when he orchestrated her murder. Roman sources also implicate Nero in the deaths of both his wife [[Claudia Octavia]] – supposedly so he could marry [[Poppaea Sabina]] – and his stepbrother [[Britannicus]].

Nero's practical contributions to Rome's governance focused on [[diplomacy]], [[trade]], and [[Culture of ancient Rome|culture]]. He ordered the construction of [[Amphitheatre|amphitheaters]], and promoted [[Athletics (physical culture)|athletic games and contests]]. He made public appearances as an actor, poet, musician, and [[Chariot racing|charioteer]], which scandalized his aristocratic contemporaries as these occupations were usually the domain of slaves, public entertainers, and [[Infamia|infamous persons]]. However, the provision of such entertainments made Nero popular among lower-class citizens. The costs involved were borne by local elites either directly or through taxation, and were much resented by the [[Roman aristocracy]].

During Nero's reign, the general [[Corbulo]] fought the [[Roman–Parthian War of 58–63]], and made peace with the hostile [[Parthian Empire]]. The Roman general [[Suetonius Paulinus]] quashed a major [[Iceni Revolt|revolt]] in [[Roman Britain|Britain]] led by queen [[Boudica]]. The [[Bosporan Kingdom]] was briefly [[Annexation|annexed]] to the empire, and the [[First Jewish–Roman War]] began. When the Roman senator [[Gaius Julius Vindex|Vindex]] rebelled, with support from the eventual Roman emperor [[Galba]], Nero was declared a public enemy and condemned to death [[Trial in absentia|''in absentia'']]. He fled Rome, and on 9 June AD&nbsp;68 committed suicide. His death sparked a brief period of [[civil war]] known as the [[Year of the Four Emperors]].

Most Roman sources offer overwhelmingly negative assessments of his personality and reign. Most contemporary sources describe him as tyrannical, self-indulgent, and debauched. The historian [[Tacitus]] claims the Roman people thought him compulsive and corrupt. [[Suetonius]] tells that many Romans believed the [[Great Fire of Rome]] was instigated by Nero to clear land for his planned  "[[Domus Aurea|Golden House]]". Tacitus claims Nero seized [[Christians]] as scapegoats for the fire and had them burned alive, seemingly motivated not by public justice, but personal cruelty. Some modern historians question the reliability of ancient sources on Nero's tyrannical acts, considering his popularity among the Roman commoners. In the eastern provinces of the Empire, a popular legend arose that Nero [[Nero Redivivus legend|had not died and would return]]. After his death, at least three leaders of short-lived, failed rebellions presented themselves as "[[Pseudo-Nero|Nero reborn]]" to gain popular support.

==Early life==
Nero was born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus on 15 December AD 37 in Antium (modern [[Anzio]]), eight months after the death of [[Tiberius]].{{sfn|Suetonius, ''Nero''|loc=6}}{{sfn|Barrett|2010}} He was an only-child, the son of the politician [[Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (father of Nero)|Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus]] and [[Agrippina the Younger]]. His mother Agrippina was the sister of the third Roman emperor [[Caligula]].{{sfn|Barrett|Fantham|Yardley|2016|p=5}} Nero was also the great-great-grandson of former emperor [[Augustus]] (descended from Augustus' only daughter, [[Julia the Elder|Julia]]).{{sfn|Malitz|2005|p=3}}
[[File:Statue of Nero.jpg|thumb|Statue of Nero in his birthplace of [[Anzio]], [[Italy]]]]

The ancient biographer [[Suetonius]], who was critical of Nero's ancestors, wrote that emperor Augustus had reproached Nero's grandfather for his unseemly enjoyment of violent [[gladiator]] games. According to Jürgen Malitz, Suetonius tells that Nero's father was known to be "irascible and brutal", and that both "enjoyed chariot races and theater performances to a degree not befitting their position".{{sfn|Malitz|2005|p=3}} Suetonius also mentions that when Nero's father Domitius was congratulated by his friends for the birth of his son, he replied that any child born to him and Agrippina would have a detestable nature and become a public danger.{{sfn|Suetonius, ''Nero''|loc=6}}

Domitius died in AD 41. A few years before his father's death, his father was involved in a serious political scandal.{{sfn|Malitz|2005|p=3}} His mother and his two surviving sisters, Agrippina and [[Julia Livilla]], were exiled to a remote island in the [[Mediterranean Sea]].{{sfn|Malitz|2005|p=4}} His mother was said to have been exiled for plotting to overthrow the emperor Caligula.{{sfn|Barrett|2010}} Nero's inheritance was taken from him, and he was sent to live with his paternal aunt [[Domitia Lepida]], the mother of later emperor [[Claudius]]'s third wife, [[Messalina]].{{sfn|Shotter|2012|p=11}}

After Caligula's death, Claudius became the new emperor. Nero's mother married Claudius in AD 49, becoming his fourth wife.{{efn|Tacitus wrote the following about Agrippina's marriage to Claudius: "From this moment the country was transformed. Complete obedience was accorded to a woman—and not a woman like Messalina who toyed with national affairs. This was a rigorous, almost masculine, despotism. In public, Agrippina was austere and often arrogant. Her private life was chaste—unless power was to be gained. Her passion to acquire money was unbounded; she wanted it as a stepping stone to supremacy."{{sfn|Shotter|2012|p=11}}}}{{sfn|Barrett|2010}} On 25 February AD 50,{{efn|The date is recorded in the [[Acta Arvalia]]<ref>[[Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae|''ILS'']] 
 [https://archive.org/details/inscriptioneslat01dessuoft/page/58/mode/2up 229.58]</ref> and the year was "in the consulate of [[Gaius Antistius Vetus (consul 50)|Gaius Antistius]] and [[Marcus Suillius Nerullinus|Marcus Suillius]]".{{sfn|Tacitus, ''Annals''|loc=[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Tacitus/Annals/12A*.html#25 12.25]}} [[Suetonius]] states that Nero was "in the eleventh year of his age", which is most likely a mistake.{{sfn|Suetonius, ''Nero''|loc=7 (n. 16)}}}} Claudius was pressured to adopt Nero as his son, giving him the new name of "Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus".{{efn|For further information see [[Adoption in ancient Rome|adoption in Rome]].}}{{sfn|Shotter|2016|p=51}} Claudius had gold coins issued to mark the adoption.{{sfn|Buckley|Dinter|2013|p=119}} Classics professor Josiah Osgood has written that "the coins, through their distribution and imagery alike, showed that a new Leader was in the making."{{sfn|Osgood|2011|p=231}} However, [[David Shotter]] noted that, despite events in Rome, Nero's step-brother [[Britannicus]] was more prominent in provincial coinages during the early 50s.{{sfn|Shotter|2016|p=52}}

[[File:Relief from the Sebasteion depicting Nero and Agrippina, Aphrodisias Museum, Turkey (20481225182).jpg|left|thumb|upright|Relief from the [[Sebasteion]] depicting Nero and his mother, [[Agrippina the Younger|Agrippina]]]]

Nero formally entered public life as an adult in AD 51 while 13 years old.{{sfn|Shotter|2016|p=51}} When he turned 16, Nero married Claudius' daughter (his step-sister), [[Claudia Octavia]]. Between the years AD 51 and AD 53, he gave several speeches on behalf of various communities, including the Ilians; the [[Apamea (Phrygia)|Apameans]] (requesting a five-year tax reprieve after an earthquake); and the northern colony of [[Bologna]], after their settlement had suffered a devastating fire.{{sfn|Osgood|2011|p=231}}

[[Claudius]] died in AD 54; many ancient historians claim that he was poisoned by Agrippina. Shotter has written that "Claudius' death...has usually been regarded as an event hastened by Agrippina, due to signs that Claudius was showing a renewed affection for his natural son." He notes that among ancient sources, the Roman historian [[Josephus]] was uniquely reserved in describing the poisoning as a rumor.{{sfn|Shotter|2016|p=53}} Contemporary sources differ in their accounts of the poisoning. Tacitus says that the poison-maker [[Locusta]] prepared the toxin, which was served to the Emperor by his servant [[Halotus]]. Tacitus also writes that Agrippina arranged for Claudius' doctor [[Gaius Stertinius Xenophon|Xenophon]] to administer poison, in the event that the Emperor survived.{{sfn|Shotter|2016|p=53}} Suetonius differs in some details, but also implicates Halotus and Agrippina.{{efn|Suetonius wrote "That Claudius was poisoned is the general belief, but when it was done and by whom is disputed. Some say that it was his taster, the eunuch Halotus, as he was banqueting on the Citadel  with the priests; others that at a family dinner Agrippina served the drug to him with her own hand in mushrooms, a dish of which he was extravagantly fond.. His death was kept quiet until all the arrangements were made about the succession."<ref>Suetonius, [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Claudius*.html#44 Life of Claudius 44–45]</ref>}} Like Tacitus, Cassius Dio writes that the poison was prepared by Locusta, but in Dio's account it is administered by Agrippina instead of Halotus. In ''[[Apocolocyntosis]]'', [[Seneca the Younger]] does not mention mushrooms at all.{{sfn|Shotter|2016|p=54}} Agrippina's involvement in Claudius' death is not accepted by all modern scholars.<ref>{{cite book |last=Garzetti |first=Albino |title=From Tiberius to the Antonines|publisher=Routledge |date=2014 |isbn=978-1-317-69844-9|page=589|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bk3XAwAAQBAJ}}</ref>

Before Claudius' death, Agrippina had maneuvered to remove Claudius' sons' tutors in order to replace them with tutors that she had selected. She was also able to convince Claudius to replace two prefects of the Praetorian Guard (who were suspected of supporting Claudius' son) with [[Sextus Afranius Burrus|Afranius Burrus]] (Nero's future guide).{{sfn|Shotter|2012|p=13}} Since Agrippina had replaced the guard officers with men loyal to her, Nero was subsequently able to assume power without incident.{{sfn|Barrett|2010}}

==Reign (AD 54–68)==
The main ancient Roman literary sources for Nero's reign are [[Tacitus]], [[Suetonius]] and [[Cassius Dio]].{{sfn|Griffin|2002|p=37}} They found Nero's construction projects overly extravagant and claim that their cost left Italy "thoroughly exhausted by contributions of money" with "the provinces ruined".<ref>[[Suetonius]], "Life of Nero", [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#31 § 31].</ref><ref>Tacitus, ''[[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#45 XV.45|Annals]]'' [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#45 XV.45|XV.45]].</ref> Modern historians note that the period was riddled with deflation and that Nero intended his spending on public-work and charities to ease economic troubles.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Thornton |first=Mary Elizabeth Kelly |title=Nero's New Deal |journal=Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association |volume=102 |page=629 |year=1971 |jstor=2935958 |doi=10.2307/2935958 |issn=0065-9711}}</ref>

===Early reign===
[[File:Bust of Roman emperor as pharaoh-E 27418-IMG 3389-gradient.jpg|thumb|left|Bust of Nero as pharaoh]]

Nero became emperor in AD 54, aged 16. His tutor, [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]], prepared Nero's first speech before the Senate. During this speech, Nero spoke about "eliminating the ills of the previous regime".{{sfn|Malitz|2005|p=16}} [[H. H. Scullard]] writes that "he promised to follow the Augustan model in his principate, to end all secret trials ''intra cubiculum'', to have done with the corruption of court favorites and freedmen, and above all to respect the privileges of the Senate and individual Senators."{{sfn|Scullard|2011|p=257}} His respect for Senatorial autonomy, which distinguished him from Caligula and Claudius, was generally well received by the [[Roman Senate]].{{sfn|Malitz|2005|p=18}}

Scullard writes that Nero's mother, Agrippina, "meant to rule through her son". Agrippina murdered her political rivals: Domitia Lepida the Younger, the aunt that Nero had lived with during Agrippina's exile; [[Marcus Junius Silanus (consul 46)|Marcus Junius Silanus]], a great-grandson of Augustus; and [[Tiberius Claudius Narcissus|Narcissus]].{{sfn|Scullard|2011|p=257}} One of the earliest coins that Nero issued during his reign shows Agrippina on the coin's [[obverse]] side; usually, this would be reserved for a portrait of the emperor. The Senate also allowed Agrippina two [[lictors]] during public appearances, an honor that was customarily bestowed upon only magistrates and the [[Vestalis Maxima]].{{sfn|Malitz|2005|p=16}} In AD 55, Nero removed Agrippina's ally [[Pallas (freedman)|Marcus Antonius Pallas]] from his position in the treasury. Shotter writes the following about Agrippina's deteriorating relationship with Nero: "What Seneca and Burrus probably saw as relatively harmless in Nero—his cultural pursuits and his affair with the slave girl [[Claudia Acte]]—were to her signs of her son's dangerous emancipation of himself from her influence." Britannicus was poisoned after Agrippina threatened to side with him.{{sfn|Shotter|2012|p=12}} Nero, who was having an affair with Acte,{{efn|Sources describe Acte as a slave girl (Shotter) and a freedwoman (Champlin and Scullard).}} exiled Agrippina from the palace when she began to cultivate a relationship with his wife Octavia.{{sfn|Scullard|2011|p=257}}
[[File:Nerón y Séneca-Barrón.png|thumb|Emperor Nero being instructed by [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]], work by Spanish sculptor [[Eduardo Barrón González|Eduardo Barrón]]]]

Jürgen Malitz writes that ancient sources do not provide any clear evidence to evaluate the extent of Nero's personal involvement in politics during the first years of his reign. He describes the policies that are explicitly attributed to Nero as "well-meant but incompetent notions" like Nero's failed initiative to abolish all taxes in AD 58. Scholars generally credit Nero's advisors Burrus and Seneca with the administrative successes of these years. Malitz writes that in later years, Nero panicked when he had to make decisions on his own during times of crisis.{{sfn|Malitz|2005|p=19}}

Nevertheless, his early administration ruled to great acclaim. A generation later those years were seen in retrospect as an exemplar of good and moderate government and described as ''Quinquennium Neronis'' by [[Trajan]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Anderson |first1=J. G. C. |last2=Haverfield |first2=F. |date=1911 |title=Trajan on the Quinquennium Neronis |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/295862 |journal=The Journal of Roman Studies |volume=1 |pages=173–179 |doi=10.2307/295862 |jstor=295862 |s2cid=163727450 |issn=0075-4358|url-access=subscription }}</ref>{{sfn|Malitz|2005|p=17}} Especially well received were fiscal reforms which among others put tax collectors under more strict control by establishing local offices to supervise their activities.<ref>Günther, Sven (2014) '[https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/43505/chapter/364128738?login=false Taxation in the Greco-Roman World: The Roman Principate]', ''Oxford Handbook Topics in Classical Studies''.</ref> After the affair of [[Lucius Pedanius Secundus]], who was murdered by a desperate slave, Nero allowed slaves to file complaints about their treatment to the authorities.<ref name=britannica>{{cite web |title=Nero {{!}} Roman emperor |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nero-Roman-emperor |url-status=live |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=2 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801180237/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nero-Roman-emperor |archive-date=1 August 2017}}</ref>

===Residences===
Outside of Rome, Nero had several villas or palaces built, the ruins of which can still be seen today. These included the Villa of Nero at Antium, his place of birth, where he razed the villa on the site to rebuild it on a more massive and imperial scale and including a theatre. At [[Subiaco, Lazio]], near Rome he had 3 artificial lakes built, with waterfalls, bridges and walkways for the luxurious villa.<ref>Nero's villa https://www.tibursuperbum.it/eng/escursioni/subiaco/VillaNerone.htm</ref> He stayed at the [[Villa of Nero]] at [[Olympia, Greece]], during his participation at the [[Ancient Olympic Games|Olympic Games]] of AD 67.

===Matricide===
[[Image:Nero and Poppaea Sabina.jpg|thumb|Coin of Nero and [[Poppaea Sabina]] Billon tetradrachm of Alexandria, Egypt, 25 mm, 12.51 gr. Obverse: radiate head right; ΝΕΡΩ. ΚΛΑΥ. ΚΑΙΣ. ΣΕΒ. ΓΕΡ. ΑΥ. Reverse: draped bust of Poppaea right; ΠΟΠΠΑΙΑ ΣΕΒΑΣΤΗ. Year LI = 10 = 63–64.]]According to [[Suetonius]], Nero had his former freedman [[Anicetus (freedman)|Anicetus]] arrange a shipwreck, which Agrippina managed to survive. She then swam ashore and was executed by Anicetus, who reported her death as a suicide.{{sfn|Barrett|2010}}{{sfn|Suetonius, ''Nero''|loc=[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#34 34]}} ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome'' cautiously notes that Nero's reasons for killing his mother in AD 59 are "not fully understood".{{sfn|Barrett|2010}} According to [[Tacitus]], the source of conflict between Nero and his mother was Nero's affair with [[Poppaea Sabina]]. In ''[[Histories (Tacitus)|Histories]]'' Tacitus writes that the affair began while Poppaea was still married to [[Rufrius Crispinus]], but in his later work ''[[Annals (Tacitus)|Annals]]'' Tacitus says Poppaea was married to [[Otho]] when the affair began.{{sfn|Barrett|Fantham|Yardley|2016|p=214}} In ''Annals'' Tacitus writes that Agrippina opposed Nero's affair with Poppaea because of her affection for his wife [[Claudia Octavia|Octavia]]. [[Anthony A. Barrett]] writes that Tacitus' account in ''Annals'' "suggests that Poppaea's challenge drove [Nero] over the brink".{{sfn|Barrett|Fantham|Yardley|2016|p=215}} A number of modern historians have noted that Agrippina's death would not have offered much advantage for Poppaea, as Nero did not marry Poppaea until AD 62.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dawson |first=Alexis |date=1969 |title=Whatever Happened to Lady Agrippina? |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3296108 |journal=The Classical Journal |volume=64 |issue=6 |pages=253–267 |jstor=3296108 |issn=0009-8353}}</ref>{{sfn|Barrett|Fantham|Yardley|2016|p=215}} Barrett writes that Poppaea seems to serve as a "literary device, utilized [by Tacitus] because [he] could see no plausible explanation for Nero's conduct and also incidentally [served] to show that Nero, like Claudius, had fallen under the malign influence of a woman."{{sfn|Barrett|Fantham|Yardley|2016|p=215}}

===Decline===
Modern scholars believe that Nero's reign had been going well in the years before Agrippina's death. For example, Nero promoted the exploration of the [[Nile river]] sources with a [[Nero exploration of Nile river|successful expedition]].{{sfn|Buckley|Dinter|2013|p=364}} After Agrippina's exile, Burrus and Seneca were responsible for the administration of the Empire.{{sfn|Scullard|2011|p=258}} However, Nero's "conduct became far more egregious" after his mother's death.{{sfn|Barrett|2010}} [[Miriam T. Griffin]] suggests that Nero's decline began as early as AD 55 with the murder of his stepbrother Britannicus, but also notes that "Nero lost all sense of right and wrong and listened to flattery with total credulity" after Agrippina's death. Griffin points out that Tacitus "makes explicit the significance of Agrippina's removal for Nero's conduct".{{sfn|Griffin|2002|p=84}}<ref>[[Tacitus]], ''Annals'', [[s:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#13|XIV.13]]</ref>

He began to build a new palace, the [[Domus Transitoria]], from about AD 60.{{sfn|Buckley|Dinter|2013|loc=Chapter 19: Buildings of an emperor - How Nero transformed Rome}} It was intended to connect all of the imperial estates that had been acquired in various ways, linking the [[Palatine]] with the [[Gardens of Maecenas]], [[Horti Lamiani]], [[Horti Lolliani]], etc.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Roma/Rome/_Texts/PLATOP*/Domus_Transitoria.html|title = LacusCurtius • Domus Transitoria (Platner & Ashby, 1929)}}</ref>{{sfn|Suetonius, ''Nero''|loc=31.1}}

In AD 62, Nero's adviser [[Sextus Afranius Burrus|Burrus]] died.{{sfn|Barrett|2010}} That same year, Nero called for the first treason trial of his reign (''maiestas'' trial) against Antistius Sosianus.<ref>[[Tacitus]], ''Annals'' [[s:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#48|XIV.48]].</ref>{{sfn|Griffin|2002|p=53}} He also executed his rivals [[Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix|Cornelius Sulla]] and [[Rubellius Plautus]].{{sfn|Malitz|2005|p=x}} Jürgen Malitz considers this to be a turning point in Nero's relationship with the [[Roman Senate]]. Malitz writes that "Nero abandoned the restraint he had previously shown because he believed a course supporting the Senate promised to be less and less profitable."{{sfn|Malitz|2005|p=22}}

After Burrus' death, Nero appointed two new Praetorian prefects: [[Faenius Rufus]] and [[Ofonius Tigellinus]]. Politically isolated, Seneca was forced to retire.{{sfn|Scullard|2011|p=26}} According to Tacitus, Nero divorced Octavia on grounds of infertility, and banished her.<ref name="annals-xiv-60">[[Tacitus]], ''Annals'' [[s:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#60|XIV.60]].</ref> After public protests over Octavia's exile, Nero accused her of adultery with Anicetus, and she was executed.<ref>[[Tacitus]], ''Annals'' [[s:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#64|XIV.64]].</ref>{{sfn|Griffin|2002|p=99}}

In AD&nbsp;64 during the [[Saturnalia]], Nero is said to have married [[Pythagoras (freedman)|Pythagoras]], a [[freedman]].{{sfn|Tacitus, ''Annals''|loc=[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/e/roman/texts/tacitus/annals/15b*.html#37 15.37]}}{{sfn|Cassius Dio|loc=[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/62*.html 13, 28]}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.umich.edu/~classics/news/newsletter/winter2004/weddings.html | title=Roman Same-Sex Weddings from the Legal Perspective |last=Frier |first=Bruce W. |publisher=University of Michigan |work=Classical Studies Newsletter, Volume X |year=2004 |access-date=24 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111230041201/http://www.umich.edu/~classics/news/newsletter/winter2004/weddings.html |archive-date=30 December 2011 }}</ref><ref name="Champlin146">[[#Champlin|Champlin]], p. 146</ref>

===Great Fire of Rome===
{{Main|Great Fire of Rome}}
[[File:Robert, Hubert - Incendie à Rome -.jpg|thumb|''The Fire of Rome'' by [[Hubert Robert]] (1785)]]
The Great Fire of Rome began on the night of 18 to 19 July 64, probably in one of the merchant shops on the slope of the [[Aventine Hill|Aventine]] overlooking the [[Circus Maximus]], or in the wooden outer seating of the Circus itself. Rome had always been vulnerable to fires, and this one was fanned to catastrophic proportions by the winds.<ref name=champlin122>[[#Champlin|Champlin]], p. 122</ref><ref name="tacitus-annals-xv-38">{{harvnb|Tacitus, ''Annals''|loc=[[s:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#38|15.38]]}}.</ref> Tacitus, Cassius Dio, and modern archaeology describe the destruction of mansions, ordinary residences, public buildings, and temples on the Aventine, Palatine, and Caelian hills.<ref name=champlin122/><ref name=champlin>[[#Champlin|Champlin]], p. 125</ref> The fire burned for over seven days before subsiding; it then started again and burned for three more. It destroyed three of Rome's 14 districts and severely damaged seven more.{{sfn|Scullard|2011|p=260}}<ref name="annals-xv-40">[[Tacitus]], ''[[Tacitus]]'', [[s:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#40|XV.40]]</ref>

Some Romans thought the fire an accident, as the merchant shops were timber-framed and sold flammable goods, and the outer seating stands of the Circus were timber-built. Others claimed it was arson committed on Nero's behalf. The accounts by [[Pliny the Elder]], Suetonius, and Cassius Dio suggest several possible reasons for Nero's alleged arson, including his creation of a real-life backdrop to a theatrical performance about the burning of Troy. Suetonius wrote that Nero started the fire to clear the site for his planned palatial [[Domus Aurea|Golden House]].<ref>[[#Champlin|Champlin]], p. 182</ref> This would include lush artificial landscapes and a 30-meter-tall statue of himself, the [[Colossus of Nero]], the site of its construction would become known as the Colosseum, though later the famous [[Colosseum|Flavian Amphitheater]] was built, and to posterity the word 'Colosseum' was incorrectly misappropriated as the name of the theater.<ref>Roth, Leland M. (1993). ''Understanding Architecture: Its Elements, History and Meaning''. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, pp. 227–28. {{ISBN|0-06-430158-3}}.</ref><ref>Ball, Larry F. (2003). ''The Domus Aurea and the Roman architectural revolution''. Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|0-521-82251-3}}.</ref><ref>Warden reduces its size to under {{convert|100|acre|km2}}. {{cite journal|author=Warden, P.G.|title=The Domus Aurea Reconsidered|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/989644|journal= Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians |volume=40 |issue=4|year=1981|pages= 271–78|doi=10.2307/989644|jstor=989644|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Suetonius and Cassius Dio claim that Nero sang the "[[Iliupersis|Sack of Ilium]]" in stage costume while the city burned.<ref>[[#Champlin|Champlin]], p. 77</ref>{{sfn|Suetonius, ''Nero''|loc=[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#38 38]}}{{sfn|Cassius Dio|loc=[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/62*.html#16 62.16]}} The popular legend that Nero played the [[lyre]] while Rome burned "is at least partly a literary construct of [[Flavian dynasty|Flavian]] propaganda ... which looked askance on the abortive Neronian attempt to rewrite Augustan models of rule".{{sfn|Buckley|Dinter|2013|p=2}}

Tacitus suspends judgment on Nero's responsibility for the fire; he found that Nero was in Antium when the fire started, and returned to Rome to organize a relief effort, providing for the removal of bodies and debris, which he paid for from his own funds.<ref name="annals-xv-39">[[Tacitus]], ''Annals'', [[s:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#39|XV.39]]</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Walsh|first=Joseph J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RX-tDwAAQBAJ&q=nero+search+debris+rome+fire+victims&pg=PT57|title=The Great Fire of Rome: Life and Death in the Ancient City|year= 2019|publisher=JHU Press|isbn=978-1-4214-3372-1|language=en}}</ref> After the fire, Nero opened his palaces to provide shelter for the homeless, and arranged for food supplies to be delivered in order to prevent starvation among the survivors.<ref name="annals-xv-39"/>

Tacitus writes that to remove suspicion from himself, Nero accused Christians of starting the fire.<ref>[[#Champlin|Champlin]], p. 121</ref> According to this account, many Christians were arrested and brutally executed by "being thrown to the beasts, crucified, and being burned alive".<ref>[[#Champlin|Champlin]], pp. 121–122</ref> Tacitus asserts that in his imposition of such ferocious punishments, Nero was not motivated by a sense of justice, but by a penchant for personal cruelty.<ref name="annals-xv-44">[[Tacitus]], ''[[Annals (Tacitus)|Annals]]''. XV.44.</ref>

Houses built after the fire were spaced out, built in brick, and faced by [[porticos]] on wide roads.<ref name="annals-xv-43">[[Tacitus]], ''Annals'', [[s:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#43|XV.43]]</ref> Nero also built himself a new palace complex known as the [[Domus Aurea]] in an area cleared by the fire. The cost to rebuild Rome was immense, requiring funds the state treasury did not have. To find the necessary funds for the reconstruction, Nero's government increased taxation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.historyextra.com/period/roman/emperor-nero-facts-biography-tyrant-crimes-accomplishments/ |title=Emperor Nero: the tyrant of Rome |publisher=BBC History Magazine and BBC History Revealed |access-date=3 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506004906/https://www.historyextra.com/period/roman/emperor-nero-facts-biography-tyrant-crimes-accomplishments/ |archive-date=6 May 2021 }}</ref> Particularly heavy [[tributes]] were imposed on the provinces of the empire.<ref>[[Tacitus]], ''Annals'' [[s:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#45|XV.45]].</ref> To meet at least a portion of the costs, Nero devalued the [[Roman currency]], increasing inflationary pressure for the first time in the Empire's history.{{efn|Nero or his moneyers reduced the weight of the [[denarius]] from 84 per [[Roman pound]] to 96 (3.80&nbsp;grams to 3.30&nbsp;grams). He also reduced the silver purity from 99.5% to 93.5%—the silver weight dropping from 3.80&nbsp;grams to 2.97&nbsp;grams. He also reduced the weight of the [[aureus]] from 40 per Roman pound to 45 (7.9&nbsp;grams to 7.2&nbsp;grams). [[Tulane University]] hand-out, [https://web.archive.org/web/20010210220413/http://www.tulane.edu/~august/handouts/601cprin.htm archived]. {{better source needed|date=October 2023}}}}

===Later years===
In AD 65, [[Gaius Calpurnius Piso (conspirator)|Gaius Calpurnius Piso]], a Roman statesman, organized a [[Pisonian conspiracy|conspiracy against Nero]] with the help of [[Subrius Flavus]] and [[Sulpicius Asper]], a tribune and a centurion of the Praetorian Guard.{{sfn|Tacitus, ''Annals''|loc=[[s:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#49|15.49]]}} According to Tacitus, many conspirators wished to "rescue the state" from the emperor and restore the [[Roman Republic|Republic]].{{sfn|Tacitus, ''Annals''|loc=[[s:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#50|15.50]]}} The freedman Milichus discovered the conspiracy and reported it to Nero's secretary, [[Epaphroditus (freedman of Nero)|Epaphroditus]].{{sfn|Tacitus, ''Annals''|loc=[[s:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#55|15.55]]}} As a result, the conspiracy failed and its members were executed, including [[Marcus Annaeus Lucanus|Lucan]], the poet.{{sfn|Tacitus, ''Annals''|loc=[[s:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#70|15.70]]}} Nero's previous advisor [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]] was accused by Natalis; he denied the charges but was still ordered to commit suicide, as by this point he had fallen out of favor with Nero.{{sfn|Tacitus, ''Annals''|loc=[[s:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#60|15.60–62]]}}

Nero was said to have kicked Poppaea to death in AD 65, before she could give birth to his second child. Modern historians, noting the probable biases of Suetonius, Tacitus, and Cassius Dio, and the likely absence of eyewitnesses to such an event, propose that Poppaea may have died after miscarriage or in childbirth.<ref>Rudich, Vasily (1993)  ''Political Dissidence Under Nero''. Psychology Press. pp. 135–136. {{ISBN|9780415069519}}</ref> Nero went into deep mourning; Poppaea was given a sumptuous [[state funeral]] and [[Imperial cult (ancient Rome)#Divus, deus and the numen|divine honors]], and was promised a temple for her cult. A year's importation of incense was burned at the funeral. Her body was not cremated, as would have been strictly customary, but embalmed after the Egyptian manner and entombed;<!--Please don't link to [[Mausoleum of Augustus]] or [[Tomb of the Julii]]--> it is not known where.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Counts |first=Derek B |date=1996 |title=Regum Externorum Consuetudine: The Nature and Function of Embalming in Rome |jstor=25011039 |journal=Classical Antiquity |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=189–202 |doi=10.2307/25011039 |issn=0278-6656 }} See p. 193 n. 18 ("we should not consider it an insult that Poppaea was not buried in the Mausoleum of Augustus, as were other members of the imperial family until the time of Nerva") and p. 196 n. 37 (citing Pliny, ''Natural History'', 12.83 for the funeral's lavishness).</ref>

In AD 67, Nero married [[Sporus]], a young boy who is said to have greatly resembled Poppaea. Nero had him castrated and married him with all the usual ceremonies, including a dowry and a bridal veil. It is believed that he did this out of regret for his killing of Poppaea.{{sfn|Cassius Dio|loc=62.28}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Suetonius |editor1-first=Robert A |editor1-last=Kaster |chapter=Nero |title=Studies on the Text of Suetonius' 'De Vita Caesarum' |year=2016 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/oseo/instance.00233087 |isbn=978-0-19-875847-1}}</ref>

===Revolt of Vindex and Galba and Nero's death===
In March 68, [[Vindex|Gaius Julius Vindex]], the governor of [[Gallia Lugdunensis]], rebelled against Nero's tax policies.<ref name="Cassius-22">Cassius Dio, [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/63*.html#22 63.22].</ref><ref>Donahue, John, [http://www.roman-emperors.org/galba.htm "Galba (68–69 A.D.)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080911211039/http://www.roman-emperors.org/galba.htm |date=11 September 2008 }} at ''De Imperatoribus Romanis''.</ref> [[Lucius Virginius Rufus|Lucius Verginius Rufus]], the governor of [[Germania Superior]], was ordered to put down Vindex's rebellion.<ref name="cassiusdio-lxiii-24">[[Cassius Dio]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/63*.html#24 63.24].</ref> In an attempt to gain support from outside his own province, Vindex called upon [[Galba|Servius Sulpicius Galba]], the governor of [[Hispania Tarraconensis]], to join the rebellion and to declare himself emperor in opposition to Nero.<ref name="Plutarch-galba-5">{{harvnb|Plutarch, ''Galba''|loc=[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Galba*.html#5 Galba 5]}}.</ref>
[[Image:Nero Palatino Inv618.jpg|thumb|left|upright|A marble bust of Nero, Antiquarium of the [[Palatine]].]]

At the [[Battle of Vesontio (68)|Battle of Vesontio]] in May 68, Verginius' forces easily defeated those of Vindex, and the latter committed suicide.<ref name="cassiusdio-lxiii-24"/> However, after defeating the rebel, Verginius' legions attempted to proclaim their own commander as Emperor. Verginius refused to act against Nero, but the discontent of the legions of Germania and the continued opposition of Galba in Hispania did not bode well for him.<ref>[[Cassius Dio]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/63*.html#25 63.25].</ref>

While Nero had retained some control of the situation, support for Galba increased despite his being officially declared a "public enemy".<ref name="Plutarch-galba-5"/> The prefect of the [[Praetorian Guard]], [[Gaius Nymphidius Sabinus]], also abandoned his allegiance to the Emperor and came out in support of Galba.{{sfn|Plutarch, ''Galba''|loc=[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Galba*.html#8 Galba 8]}}

In response, Nero fled Rome with the intention of going to the port of [[Ostia Antica|Ostia]] and, from there, to take a fleet to one of the still-loyal eastern provinces. According to Suetonius, Nero abandoned the idea when some army officers openly refused to flee with him — one of them going so far as to quote [[Turnus]]'s line from [[Virgil]]'s ''[[Aeneid]]'': "Is it so dreadful a thing, then, to die?" Nero then toyed with the idea of fleeing to [[Parthian Empire|Parthia]], throwing himself upon the mercy of Galba, or appealing to the people and begging them to pardon him for his past offences "and if he could not soften their hearts, to entreat them at least to allow him the [[Egypt (Roman province)|prefecture of Egypt]]". Suetonius reports that the text of this speech was later found in Nero's writing desk, but that he dared not give it from fear of being torn to pieces before he could reach the Forum.{{sfn|Suetonius, ''Nero''|loc=47}}

Nero returned to Rome and spent the evening in the palace. After sleeping, he awoke at about midnight to find the palace guard had left. Dispatching messages to his friends' palace chambers for them to come, he received no answers. Upon going to their chambers personally, he found them all abandoned. When he called for a [[gladiator]] or anyone else adept with a sword to kill him, no one appeared. He cried, "Have I neither friend nor foe?" and ran out as if to throw himself into the [[Tiber]].{{sfn|Suetonius, ''Nero''|loc=47}}
Returning, Nero sought a place where he could hide and collect his thoughts. An imperial freedman, [[Phaon (freedman)|Phaon]], offered his villa, {{convert|4|mi|abbr=on}} outside the city. Travelling in disguise, Nero and four loyal [[freedman|freedmen]] — [[Epaphroditus (freedman of Nero)|Epaphroditus]], [[Phaon (freedman)|Phaon]], [[Neophytus (freedman)|Neophytus]], and [[Sporus]] — reached the villa, whereupon Nero ordered them to dig a grave for him.<ref>[[Aurelius Victor]], ''[[Epitome de Caesaribus]] 5''</ref> At this time, Nero learned that the Senate had declared him a public enemy.{{sfn|Suetonius, ''Nero''|loc=48–49}} Nero prepared himself for [[forced suicide|suicide]], pacing up and down muttering ''Qualis artifex pereo'' ("What an artist the world is losing!"). Losing his nerve, he begged one of his companions to set an example by killing himself first. At last, the sound of approaching horsemen drove Nero to face the end. However, he still could not bring himself to take his own life, but instead forced his private secretary, Epaphroditus, to perform the task.{{sfn|Suetonius, ''Nero''|loc=49}}

[[File:A select collection of views and ruins in Rome and its vicinity - recently executed from drawings made upon the spot (1815) (14592716650).jpg|thumb|upright|An 1815 illustration of the alleged tomb of Nero; actually tomb of proconsul [[Gaius Vibius Marianus]].]]
When one of the horsemen entered and saw that Nero was dying, he attempted to stop the bleeding, but efforts to save Nero's life were unsuccessful. Nero's final words were "Too late! This is fidelity!".{{sfn|Suetonius, ''Nero''|loc=49}} He died on 9 June 68,{{efn|[[Cassius Dio]] [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/66*.html 66.4]: "from the death of Nero to the beginning of Vespasian's rule a year and twenty-two days elapsed". Vespasian's reign officially began on 1 July ([[Suetonius]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Vespasian*.html#6 ''Vespasian'' 6]), which places the death on 9 June. Furthermore, [[Epiphanius of Salamis|Epiphanius]]' ''[[On Weights and Measures]]'' ([https://www.tertullian.org/fathers/epiphanius_weights_03_text.htm III]) gives a reign length of "thirteen years and seven months and twenty-seven days". [[Jerome]] ([https://www.tertullian.org/fathers/jerome_chronicle_03_part2.htm 2070]) gives "13 years, 7 months and 28 days" (using [[inclusive counting]]).}} the anniversary of the death of his first wife, [[Claudia Octavia]], and was buried in the Mausoleum of the Domitii Ahenobarbi, in what is now the [[Villa Borghese]] ([[Pincian Hill]]) area of Rome.{{sfn|Suetonius, ''Nero''|loc=50}} According to [[Sulpicius Severus]], it is unclear whether Nero took his own life.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf211/npnf211.ii.vi.ii.xxix.html#fnf_ii.vi.ii.xxix-p2.1|title=Philip Schaff: NPNF-211. Sulpitius Severus, Vincent of Lerins, John Cassian – Christian Classics Ethereal Library|website=ccel.org|access-date=24 November 2019}}</ref>

With his death, the [[Julio-Claudian dynasty]] ended.<ref name=agrippina>{{cite book|last = Barrett| first = A. A| title = Agrippina: sister of Caligula, wife of Claudius, mother of Nero| location = London| date = 1996|isbn=978-0713468540|publisher=Routledge}}</ref>{{rp|19}} Chaos would ensue in the [[Year of the Four Emperors]].<ref name="tacitus-histories-I.2">{{harvnb|Tacitus, ''Histories''|loc=[[s:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 1#2|1.2]]}}.</ref>

===After Nero===
{{see also|Nero Redivivus legend|Pseudo-Nero}}
[[Image:Nero-nancy.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Apotheosis]] of Nero, c. after 68. Artwork portraying Nero rising to divine status after his death.]]
According to Suetonius and Cassius Dio, the people of Rome celebrated the death of Nero.{{sfn|Cassius Dio|loc=[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/63*.html 63]}}{{sfn|Suetonius, ''Nero''|loc=57}} Tacitus, though, describes a more complicated political environment. Tacitus mentions that Nero's death was welcomed by senators, nobility, and the upper class.<ref name="histories-i-4">{{harvnb|Tacitus, ''Histories''|loc=[[s:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 1#4|1.4]]}}.</ref> The lower class, slaves, frequenters of the arena and the theater, and "those who were supported by the famous excesses of Nero", on the other hand, were upset with the news.<ref name="histories-i-4"/> Members of the military were said to have mixed feelings, as they had allegiance to Nero but had been bribed to overthrow him.<ref name="tacitus-histories-I.5">{{harvnb|Tacitus, ''Histories''|loc=[[s:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 1#5|1.5]]}}.</ref>

Eastern sources, namely [[Philostratus]] and [[Apollonius of Tyana]], mention that Nero's death was mourned as he "restored the liberties of [[Roman Greece|Hellas]] with a wisdom and moderation quite alien to his character", and that he "held our liberties in his hand and respected them".{{sfn|Philostratus, ''Vita Apollonii''|loc=[https://www.livius.org/sources/content/philostratus-life-of-apollonius/philostratus-life-of-apollonius-5.41-43/ 5.41]}} Modern scholarship generally holds that, while the Senate and more well-off individuals welcomed Nero's death, the general populace was "loyal to the end and beyond, for Otho and Vitellius both thought it worthwhile to appeal to their [[nostalgia]]".{{sfn|Griffin|2002|p=186}}

Nero's name was erased from some monuments, in what Edward Champlin regards as an "outburst of private zeal".<ref>[[#Champlin|Champlin]], p. 29.</ref> Many portraits of Nero were reworked to represent other figures; according to Eric R. Varner, over 50 such images survive.<ref name="pollini">{{Cite journal |last=Pollini |first=John |date=2006 |title=Review of Mutilation and Transformation: Damnatio Memoriae and Roman Imperial Portraiture |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25067270 |journal=The Art Bulletin |volume=88 |issue=3 |pages=590–597 |jstor=25067270 |issn=0004-3079}}</ref> This reworking of images is often explained as part of the way in which the memory of disgraced emperors was condemned posthumously,<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.11141/ia.42.2|title = Sanctioning Memory: Changing Identity – Using 3D laser scanning to identify two 'new' portraits of the Emperor Nero in English antiquarian collections| journal=Internet Archaeology| issue=42|year = 2016|last1 = Russell|first1 = Miles| last2=Manley| first2=Harry| doi-access=free}}</ref> a practice known as ''[[damnatio memoriae]]''. Champlin doubts that the practice is necessarily negative and notes that some continued to create images of Nero long after his death.<ref>[[#Champlin|Champlin]], pp. 29–31.</ref> Damaged portraits of Nero, often with hammer blows directed to the face, have been found in many provinces of the Roman Empire, three recently{{when|date=October 2025}} having been identified from the [[United Kingdom]].<ref name="pollini" /><ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.11141/ia.32.5|title = Finding Nero: shining a new light on Romano-British sculpture| journal=Internet Archaeology| issue=32|year = 2013|last1 = Russell|first1 = Miles| last2=Manley| first2=Harry| doi-access=free}}</ref>

The civil war during the [[Year of the Four Emperors]] was described by ancient historians as a troubling period.<ref name="tacitus-histories-I.2"/> According to Tacitus, this instability was rooted in the fact that emperors could no longer rely on the perceived legitimacy of the imperial bloodline, as Nero and those before him could.<ref name="histories-i-4"/> [[Galba]] began his short reign with the execution of many of Nero's allies.<ref>[[Tacitus]], ''Histories'' [[s:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 1#6|I.6]].</ref> One such notable enemy included [[Nymphidius Sabinus]], who claimed to be the son of Emperor [[Caligula]].{{sfn|Plutarch, ''Galba''|loc=[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Galba*.html#9 9]}}

[[Otho]] overthrew Galba. Otho was said to be liked by many soldiers because he had been a friend of Nero and resembled him somewhat in temperament.<ref>[[Tacitus]], ''Histories'' [[s:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 1#13|I.13]].</ref> It was said that the common Roman hailed Otho as Nero himself.<ref name="suetonius-otho-7">[[Suetonius]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Otho*.html#7 Life of Otho 7].</ref> Otho used "Nero" as a surname and reerected many statues to Nero.<ref name="suetonius-otho-7"/> [[Vitellius]] overthrew Otho. Vitellius began his reign with a large funeral for Nero complete with songs written by Nero.<ref>Suetonius, [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Vitellius*.html#11 Life of Vitellius 11].</ref>

After Nero's death in AD 68, there was a widespread belief, especially in the eastern provinces, that he was not dead and somehow would return.<ref>Suetonius, [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#57 Life of Nero 57]; Tacitus, ''Histories'' [[s:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 2#8|II.8]]; Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/66*.html#19 66.19] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221122094705/https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/66%2A.html#19 |date=22 November 2022 }}</ref> This belief came to be known as the [[Nero Redivivus|Nero Redivivus legend]]. The [[legend]] of Nero's return lasted for hundreds of years after Nero's death. [[Augustine of Hippo]] wrote of the legend as a popular belief in AD 422.<ref name="augustine">Augustine of Hippo, ''City of God''. [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf102.iv.XX.19.html XX.19.3] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070302004357/http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf102.iv.XX.19.html |date=2 March 2007 }}</ref>

At least [[pseudo-Neros|three Nero impostors]] emerged leading rebellions. The first, who sang and played the cithara or lyre, and whose face was similar to that of the dead emperor, appeared in 69 AD during the reign of Vitellius.<ref name="tacitus-histories-II.8">Tacitus, ''Histories'' [[s:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 2#8|II.8]].</ref> After persuading some to recognize him, he was captured and executed.<ref name="tacitus-histories-II.8"/> Sometime during the reign of [[Titus]] (79–81), another impostor appeared in Asia and sang to the accompaniment of the lyre and looked like Nero, but he, too, was killed.{{sfn|Cassius Dio|loc=[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/66*.html#19 66.19]}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/66%2A.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=14 December 2022 |archive-date=22 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221122094705/https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/66%2A.html |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> Twenty years after Nero's death, during the reign of [[Domitian]], there was a third pretender. He was supported by the Parthians, who only reluctantly gave him up,{{sfn|Suetonius, ''Nero''|loc=57}} and the matter almost came to war.<ref name="tacitus-histories-I.2"/>

==Military conflicts==
{{multiple image
| align             = right
| direction         = vertical
| width             = 190
| image1            = Gold Aureus of Nero.png
| caption1          = [[Aureus]] of Nero, {{circa}} AD 64
| image2            = INC-3007-a Ауреус. Нерон. Ок. 64—68 гг. (аверс).png
| caption2          = Aureus of Nero, {{circa}} AD 68
| total_width       = 
}}

===Boudica's uprising===
{{Further|Boudican revolt}}
In Britannia (Britain) in AD 59, [[Prasutagus]], leader of the [[Iceni]] tribe and a [[client king]] of Rome during Claudius' reign, had died. The client state arrangement was unlikely to survive following the death of Claudius. The will of the Iceni tribal King Prasutagus, leaving control of the Iceni to his daughters, was denied. When the Roman [[Procurator (ancient Rome)|procurator]] [[Catus Decianus]] scourged Prasutagus' wife [[Boudica]] and raped her daughters, the Iceni revolted. They were joined by the Celtic [[Trinovantes]] tribe and [[Boudica's Rebellion|their uprising]] became the most significant provincial rebellion of the 1st century AD.{{sfnm|Shotter|2012|1p=32|Scullard|2011|2p=254}} Under Queen Boudica, the towns of Camulodunum (Colchester), Londinium (London) and Verulamium (St. Albans) were burned, and a substantial body of [[Roman legion]] infantry were eliminated. The governor of the province, [[Gaius Suetonius Paulinus]], assembled his remaining forces and [[Defeat of Boudica|defeated the Britons]]. Although order was restored for some time, Nero considered abandoning the province.{{sfn|Suetonius, ''Nero''|loc=18, 39–40}} [[Gaius Julius Alpinus Classicianus|Julius Classicianus]] replaced the former procurator, Catus Decianus, and Classicianus advised Nero to replace Paulinus who continued to punish the population even after the rebellion was over.{{sfn|Scullard|2011|p=265}} Nero decided to adopt a more lenient approach by appointing a new governor, [[Petronius Turpilianus]].{{sfn|Shotter|2012|p=33}}

===Peace with Parthia===
{{further|Roman–Parthian War of 58–63}}
Nero began preparing for war in the early years of his reign, after the [[Parthian Empire|Parthian]] king [[Vologases I of Parthia|Vologeses]] set his brother [[Tiridates I of Armenia|Tiridates]] on the [[Roman Armenia|Armenian]] throne. Around AD 57 and AD 58 [[Domitius Corbulo]] and his legions advanced on Tiridates and captured the Armenian capital [[Artaxata]]. [[Tigranes VI of Armenia|Tigranes]] was chosen to replace Tiridates on the Armenian throne. When Tigranes attacked [[Adiabene]], Nero had to send further legions to defend Armenia and Syria from Parthia.

The Roman victory came at a time when the Parthians were troubled by revolts; when this was dealt with they were able to devote resources to the Armenian situation. A Roman army under Paetus surrendered under humiliating circumstances and though both Roman and Parthian forces withdrew from Armenia, it was under Parthian control. The triumphal arch for Corbulo's earlier victory was part-built when Parthian envoys arrived in AD 63 to discuss treaties. Given ''imperium'' over the eastern regions, Corbulo organised his forces for an invasion but was met by this Parthian delegation. An agreement was thereafter reached with the Parthians: Rome would recognize Tiridates as king of Armenia, only if he agreed to receive his [[diadem]] from Nero. A coronation ceremony was held in Italy AD 66. Dio reports that Tiridates said "I have come to you, my God, worshiping you as [[Mithras]]." Shotter says this parallels other divine designations that were commonly applied to Nero in the East including "The New [[Apollo]]" and "The New Sun". After the coronation, friendly relations were established between Rome and the eastern kingdoms of Parthia and Armenia. Artaxata was temporarily renamed Neroneia.{{sfn|Scullard|2011|pp=265–266}}{{sfn|Shotter|2012|p=35}}

===First Jewish War===
{{main|First Jewish–Roman War}}
In 66, there was a Jewish revolt in Judea stemming from Greek and Jewish religious tension.<ref>Josephus, ''War of the Jews'' [[s:The War of the Jews/Book II#Chapter 13|II.13.7]].</ref> In 67, Nero dispatched [[Vespasian]] to restore order.<ref>Josephus, ''War of the Jews'' [[s:The War of the Jews/Book III#Chapter 1|III.1.3]].</ref> This revolt was eventually put down in 70, after Nero's death.<ref>Josephus, ''War of the Jews'' [[s:The War of the Jews/Book IV#Chapter 10|VI.10.1]].</ref> This revolt is famous for Romans breaching the walls of Jerusalem and destroying the Second [[Temple of Jerusalem]].<ref>Josephus, ''War of the Jews'' [[s:The War of the Jews/Book VII#Chapter 1|VII.1.1]].</ref>

==Pursuits==
[[File:Portrait of Nero, 1st cent. A.D. (CAM S-1088, 1-10-2020).jpg|thumb|upright|Bust of Nero, c. AD 60. [[Corinth]], Archaeological Museum]]
Nero studied poetry, music, painting, and sculpture. He both sang and played the ''[[cithara]]'' (a type of [[lyre]]). Many of these disciplines were standard education for the Roman elite, but Nero's devotion to music exceeded what was socially acceptable for a Roman of his class.{{sfn|Griffin|2002|pp=41–42}} Ancient sources were critical of Nero's emphasis on the arts, chariot-racing and athletics. Pliny described Nero as an "actor-emperor" (''scaenici imperatoris'') and Suetonius wrote that he was "carried away by a craze for popularity...since he was acclaimed as the equal of Apollo in music and of the Sun in driving a chariot, he had planned to emulate the [[Labours of Hercules|exploits of Hercules]] as well."<ref name=champlin/>{{rp|53}}

In AD 67 Nero participated in the [[Ancient Olympic Games|Olympics]]. He had bribed organizers to postpone the games for a year so he could participate,<ref>{{Cite book|title=The ancient Olympic games|last=Judith.|first=Swaddling|year=1984|orig-year=1980|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0292703735|edition= 1st University of Texas Press |location=Austin|oclc=10759486}}</ref> and artistic competitions were added to the athletic events. Nero won every contest in which he was a competitor. During the games Nero sang and played his lyre on stage, acted in tragedies and raced chariots. He won a 10-horse chariot race, despite being thrown from the chariot and leaving the race. He was crowned on the basis that he would have won if he had completed the race. After he died a year later, his name was removed from the list of winners.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.randomhistory.com/history-of-olympic-controversies.html|title=Going for Gold: A History of Olympic Controversies|website=www.randomhistory.com|access-date=11 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112042909/http://www.randomhistory.com/history-of-olympic-controversies.html|archive-date=12 January 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Champlin writes that though Nero's participation "effectively stifled true competition, [Nero] seems to have been oblivious of reality."<ref name=champlin/>{{rp|54–55}}

Nero established the Neronian games in AD 60. Modeled on Greek style games, these games included musical, gymnastic, and equestrian contests. According to Suetonius the gymnastic contests were held in the Saepta area of the [[Campus Martius]].<ref name=champlin/>{{rp|288}}

==Historiography==
{{further|Nero in the arts and popular culture}}
The history of Nero's reign is problematic in that no historical sources survived that were contemporary with Nero. These first histories, while they still existed, were described as biased and fantastical, either overly critical or praising of Nero.<ref>{{harvnb|Tacitus, ''Annals''|loc=[[s:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 1#1|1.1]], [[s:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#20|13.20]]}}; {{harvnb|Josephus, ''Antiquitates Judaicae''|loc=[[s:The Antiquities of the Jews/Book XX#Chapter 8|20.8.3]]}}; Tacitus, ''Agricola'', [[s:Agricola#10|10]].</ref> The original sources were also said to contradict on a number of events.<ref>{{harvnb|Tacitus, ''Annals''|loc=[[s:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#20|13.20]], [[s:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 14#2|14.2]]}}.</ref> Nonetheless, these lost primary sources were the basis of surviving secondary and tertiary histories on Nero written by the next generations of historians.<ref>{{harvnb|Tacitus, ''Annals''|loc=[[s:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#20|13.20]]}}; {{harvnb|Josephus, ''Antiquitates Judaicae''|loc=[[s:The Antiquities of the Jews/Book XIX#Chapter 1|19.1.13]]}}.</ref> A few of the contemporary historians are known by name. [[Fabius Rusticus]], [[Cluvius Rufus]] and [[Pliny the Elder]] all wrote condemning histories on Nero that are now lost.{{sfn|Tacitus, ''Annals''|loc=[[s:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 13#20|13.20]]}} There were also pro-Nero histories, but it is unknown who wrote them or for what deeds Nero was praised.<ref>{{harvnb|Tacitus, ''Annals''|loc=[[s:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 1#1|1.1]]}}; {{harvnb|Josephus, ''Antiquitates Judaicae''|loc=[[s:The Antiquities of the Jews/Book XX#Chapter 8|20.8.3]]}}.</ref>

The bulk of what is known of Nero comes from [[Tacitus]], [[Suetonius]], and [[Cassius Dio]], who were all of the upper classes. Tacitus and Suetonius wrote their histories on Nero over 50 years after his death, while Cassius Dio wrote his history over 150 years after Nero's death. These sources contradict one another on a number of events in Nero's life, including the death of [[Claudius]], the death of [[Agrippina the Younger|Agrippina]], and the Roman fire of AD 64, but they are consistent in their condemnation of Nero.

;Cassius Dio
[[Cassius Dio]] (c. 155–229) was the son of [[Cassius Apronianus]], a Roman senator. He passed the greater part of his life in public service. He was a senator under [[Commodus]] and governor of Smyrna after the death of [[Septimius Severus]]; and afterwards suffect consul around 205, and also proconsul in Africa and Pannonia.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Spawforth |first=Anthony |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bVWcAQAAQBAJ |title=The Oxford Classical Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-19-954556-8 |page=288}}</ref>

Books 61–63 of Dio's ''Roman History'' describe the reign of Nero. Only fragments of these books remain and what does remain was abridged and altered by [[John Xiphilinus (historian)|John Xiphilinus]], an 11th-century monk.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

;Dio Chrysostom
[[Dio Chrysostom]] (c. 40–120), a Greek philosopher and historian, wrote the Roman people were very happy with Nero and would have allowed him to rule indefinitely. They longed for his rule once he was gone and embraced imposters when they appeared:

{{blockquote|Indeed the truth about this has not come out even yet; for so far as the rest of his subjects were concerned, there was nothing to prevent his continuing to be Emperor for all time, seeing that even now everybody wishes he were still alive. And the great majority do believe that he still is, although in a certain sense he has died not once but often along with those who had been firmly convinced that he was still alive.<ref>Dio Chrysostom, ''Discourse'' XXI, On Beauty.</ref>}}

;Epictetus
[[Epictetus]] (c. 55–135) was the slave to Nero's scribe Epaphroditos.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.college.columbia.edu/core/content/epictetus |title=Epictetus – The Core Curriculum |website=www.college.columbia.edu|access-date=29 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170622144307/http://www.college.columbia.edu/core/content/epictetus|archive-date=22 June 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>{{better source needed |date=February 2025}} He makes a few passing negative comments on Nero's character in his work, but makes no remarks on the nature of his rule. He describes Nero as a spoiled, angry and unhappy man.<ref>{{cite web|title=Epictetus, Discourses, book 3, About Cynism.|url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0236:text=disc:book=3:chapter=22|access-date=6 May 2021|website=Perseus Digital Library }}</ref>

;Josephus
The historian [[Josephus]] (c. 37–100), while calling Nero a tyrant, was also the first to mention bias against Nero. Of other historians, he said:
[[Image:Josephus.jpg|thumb|left|upright|A circa 18th-century woodcut of the historian [[Josephus]] (c. 37–100), who accused other historians of slandering Nero.]]

{{blockquote|But I omit any further discourse about these affairs; for there have been a great many who have composed the history of Nero; some of which have departed from the truth of facts out of favour, as having received benefits from him; while others, out of hatred to him, and the great ill-will which they bore him, have so impudently raved against him with their lies, that they justly deserve to be condemned. Nor do I wonder at such as have told lies of Nero, since they have not in their writings preserved the truth of history as to those facts that were earlier than his time, even when the actors could have no way incurred their hatred, since those writers lived a long time after them.{{sfn|Josephus, ''Antiquitates Judaicae''|loc=[[s:The Antiquities of the Jews/Book XX#Chapter 8|20.8.3]]}} }}

;Lucan
Although more of a poet than a historian, [[Lucan]] (c. 39–65) has one of the kindest accounts of Nero's rule. He writes of peace and prosperity under Nero, in contrast to previous war and strife. Ironically, he was later involved in a conspiracy to overthrow Nero and was executed.<!-- FAILED VERIFICATION! <ref>Marcus Annaeus Lucanus, [http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext96/pcwar10.txt ''Pharsalia'' (Civil War) (''c.'' 65)] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20070726025149/http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext96/pcwar10.txt |date=26 July 2007 }}</ref> -->

;Philostratus
[[Philostratus]] II, "the Athenian" (c. 172–250), spoke of Nero in the ''[[Life of Apollonius of Tyana]]'' (Books 4–5). Although he has a generally bad or dim view of Nero, he speaks of others' positive reception of Nero in the East.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

;Pliny the Elder
The history of Nero by [[Pliny the Elder]] (c. 24–79) did not survive. Still, there are several references to Nero in Pliny's ''Natural Histories''. Pliny has one of the worst opinions of Nero and calls him an "enemy of mankind".<ref>Pliny the Elder, ''Natural Histories'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Pliny_the_Elder/7*.html#viii VII.8.46].</ref>

;Plutarch
[[Plutarch]] (c. 46–127) mentions Nero indirectly in his account of the Life of Galba and the Life of Otho, as well as in the Vision of Thespesius in Book 7 of the Moralia, where a voice orders that Nero's soul be transferred to a more offensive species.<ref>Plutarch, ''Moralia'', ed. by G. P. Goold, trans. by Phillip H. De Lacy and Benedict Einarson, Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1959), 7: 269–299.</ref> Nero is portrayed as a tyrant, but those that replace him are not described as better.

;Seneca the Younger
[[File:0 Buste de Néron exposé au Colisée - Rome 111001.JPG|thumb|Bust of Nero c. AD 54/55-59]]
[[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]] (c. 4 BC–AD 65), Nero's teacher and advisor, writes very positively of Nero.<ref>Seneca the Younger, [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/10001/10001-h/10001-h.htm ''Apocolocyntosis'' 4] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060503234818/http://www.gutenberg.org/files/10001/10001-h/10001-h.htm |date=3 May 2006 }}</ref>

;Suetonius
{{Main|Lives of the Twelve Caesars}}
[[Suetonius]] (c. 69–130) was a member of the equestrian order, and he was the head of the department of the imperial correspondence. While in this position, Suetonius started writing biographies of the emperors, accentuating the anecdotal and sensational aspects. By this account, Nero raped the [[vestal virgin]] Rubria.{{sfn|Suetonius, ''Nero''|loc=28}}

;Tacitus
{{Main|Annals (Tacitus)}}
The ''Annals'' by [[Tacitus]] (c. 56–117) is the most detailed and comprehensive history on the rule of Nero, despite being incomplete after the year AD 66. Tacitus described the rule of the Julio-Claudian emperors as generally unjust. He also thought that existing writing on them was unbalanced:

{{blockquote|The histories of Tiberius, Caius, Claudius and Nero, while they were in power, were falsified through terror, and after their death were written under the irritation of a recent hatred.{{sfn|Tacitus, ''Annals''|loc=[[s:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 1#1|1.1]]}} }}

Tacitus was the son of a [[Promagistrate|procurator]], who married into the elite family of Agricola. He entered his political life as a senator after Nero's death and, by Tacitus' own admission, owed much to Nero's rivals. Realising that this bias may be apparent to others, Tacitus protests that his writing is true.{{sfn|Tacitus, ''Histories''|loc=[[s:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 1#1|1.1]]}}

;Girolamo Cardano
In 1562, [[Girolamo Cardano]] published in Basel his ''Encomium Neronis'', which was one of the first historical references of the [[modern era]] to portray Nero in a positive light.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Manuwald |first=Gesine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cp5k_JpKO6QC&pg=PA21 |title=Nero in Opera: Librettos as Transformations of Ancient Sources |year=2013 |publisher=De Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-031751-0 |page=21 |language=en}}</ref>

==In Jewish and Christian tradition==
===Jewish tradition===
An [[aggadah]] in the [[Talmud]] relates that at the end of [[year 66]], a conflict broke out between Greeks and [[Jews]] in [[Jerusalem]] and [[Caesarea Maritima]]. During the [[Great Jewish Revolt]], as related in tractate ''[[Gittin]]'' 56a:7,<ref>{{Cite Talmud|b|Gittin|56a}}</ref> Nero went to Jerusalem and shot arrows in all four directions; all the arrows landed in the city. He then asked a passing child to repeat the [[Tanakh]] verse he had learned that day. The child responded, "I will lay my vengeance upon [[Edom]] by the hand of my people [[Jewish peoplehood|Israel]]" ([[Ezekiel 25]]:14).<ref>{{bibleverse|Ezekiel|25:14|jps}}</ref> Upon hearing this, Nero became terrified: he believed that [[God in Judaism|God]] wanted the [[Second Temple]] to be destroyed, but that he would punish the one to carry out its destruction. Nero said, "He desires to lay waste [[Temple in Jerusalem|His House]] and to lay the blame on me," so he fled, [[Conversion to Judaism|converted]] to [[Judaism]] to escape retribution, and sent [[Vespasian]] to quell the revolt.<ref>{{Cite Talmud|b|Gittin|56a}}</ref>

The Talmud adds that the sage [[Rabbi Meir]], who lived during [[Mishnah]]'s collation and was a prominent supporter of [[Bar Kokhba's revolt]] against Roman rule, was a descendant of Nero.<ref name="m808">{{cite web | title=Rabbi Meir | website=Oxford Reference | date=27 June 2025 | url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100148111 | access-date=27 June 2025}}</ref> Rabbi Meir was considered one of the greatest of the ''[[Tannaim]]'' of the third generation (139–163).<ref name="t120">{{cite web | last=Marvin | first=Tamar Ron | title=Iyar 5784: Rabbi Meir Baal ha-Nes | website=Stories from Jewish History | date=15 May 2024 | url=https://trmarvin.substack.com/p/iyar-5784-rabbi-meir-baal-ha-nes?r=mwtl9&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true | access-date=27 June 2025}}</ref> 

The Talmudic stories about Nero's conversion and Rabbi Meir being of his descendant met various reactions by later Jewish scholars. [[Azariah de Rossi]] and Rabbi [[David Gans]] suggest that Nero may have converted secretly, explaining the absence of historical records.{{cn|date=June 2025}} The [[Maharal]] takes the Talmudic narrative at face value, interpreting it as a reflection of Nero's moral character rather than a literal historical account.{{cn|date=June 2025}} Modern scholars{{such as|date=June 2025}} view the story as a rabbinic motif linking a non-Jewish figure to a Jewish sage; others, including Rabbi Zvi Ron, allegorize it as a lesson about the consequences of refusing to mediate conflict.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Reuven Chaim |last1=Klein |date= 2023 |title= Are historical sections of the Talmud actually historical? Critical tools for understanding historical claims in rabbinic literature |url=https://www.academia.edu/127965994|journal=Journal of Philological Pedagogy |volume=12 |issue= |publisher=Chandler School of Education |pages=42–75 |doi=10.17613/rjp5a-md343 }}</ref>

Contemporary Roman and Greek sources do not support the Talmudic legend about Nero's alleged trip to Jerusalem or conversion to Judaism.<ref>[[Benjamin Isaac|Isaac, Benjamin]]. 2004. ''The Invention of Racism in Classical Antiquity''. [[Princeton University Press]]. pp. 440–491. {{ISBN|978-0-691-12598-5 }}.</ref> There is also no record of Nero having any offspring who survived infancy: his only recorded child, [[Claudia Augusta]], died aged 4 months.

===Christian tradition===
[[File:Siemiradski Fackeln.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|''[[Nero's Torches]]'', Henryk Siemiradzki]]
[[Tacitus]] details Nero's extensive torture and execution of [[Christians]] after the [[Great Fire of Rome]] in 64,<ref name="annals-xv-44"/> while [[Suetonius on Christians|Suetonius]] mentions Nero punishing Christians for their "new and mischievous superstition," without linking it to the fire.{{sfn|Suetonius, ''Nero''|loc=16}} Christian theologian [[Tertullian]] ({{circa|155–230}}) was the first to call Nero the first [[Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire|persecutor of Christians]], writing "Examine your records. There you will find that Nero was the first that persecuted this doctrine."<ref>[[Tertullian]]. ''[[Apologeticus|Apologeticum]]'' (lost text), quoted in [[Eusebius]]'s ''[[Church History (Eusebius)|Ecclesiastical History]]'', [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250102.htm II.25.4], translated by [[Arthur Cushman McGiffert|A. C. McGiffert]]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061213030543/http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250102.htm|date=13 December 2006}}</ref> [[Lactantius]] (c. 240–320) also said that Nero "first persecuted the servants of God" (i.e., Christians, in this case),<ref name="lactantius">[[Lactantius]], ''[[De mortibus persecutorum]]'' [https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0705.htm Chapter II].</ref> as did [[Sulpicius Severus]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/sulpiciusseveruschron2.html|title=Sulpicius Severus: Chronicles II|website=www.thelatinlibrary.com}}</ref> However, Suetonius writes that, "since the Jews constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, the [emperor [[Claudius]]] expelled them from Rome" ("''Iudaeos impulsore Chresto assidue tumultuantis Roma expulit''").<ref>[[Suetonius]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Claudius*.html#25 Life of Claudius  25] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120630034237/http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Claudius*.html#25 |date=30 June 2012 }}</ref> These expelled "Jews" may have, in fact, been [[early Christians]], although Suetonius is not explicit in either direction. In his mention of [[Priscilla and Aquila]], the [[Authorship of Luke–Acts|author]] of the Christian [[book of Acts]] includes the couple among the "Jews" affected by [[Claudius' expulsion of Jews from Rome]] ([[Acts 18]]:2).<ref>{{Bibleverse|Acts of the Apostles|18:2}}</ref>

====Martyrdoms of Peter and Paul====
The earliest evidence suggesting that Nero ordered the execution of an [[apostle]] is found in the [[First Epistle of Clement]], which was sent to the [[Early Christianity#Early centers|Christian community in Corinth]] and is traditionally dated c. AD 96.<ref>[[#Champlin|Champlin]], p. 123</ref> The [[New Testament apocrypha|apocryphal]] [[Ascension of Isaiah]], a Christian text from the 2nd century, relates, "the slayer of his mother, who himself (even) this king, will persecute the plant which the [[Twelve Apostles]] of the Beloved have planted. Of the Twelve one will be delivered into his hands"—this is interpreted as referring to Nero.<ref name="ascension">{{Cite web|url=http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/ascension.html|title=The Ascension of Isaiah|website=www.earlychristianwritings.com}}</ref>{{better source needed |date=February 2025}}

Bishop [[Eusebius of Caesarea]] (c. 275–339) was the first to report that [[Paul the Apostle]] was beheaded and [[Saint Peter#Connection to Rome#Peter|Peter was crucified in Rome]] during the reign of Nero.<ref>Eusebius, [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250102.htm ''Ecclesiastical History'' II.25.5] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061213030543/http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250102.htm |date=13 December 2006 }}</ref> He claims Nero's persecution resulted in the deaths of Peter and Paul, but without specific orders. However, first-century accounts suggest Paul survived his two years in Rome, traveled to [[Hispania]], and was tried again in Rome before his death.<ref>In the [http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/actspaul.html apocryphal Acts of Paul] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20061020181752/http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/actspaul.html archive]);

in the [http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/actspeter.html apocryphal Acts of Peter] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20160712172717/http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/actspeter.html archive]);

in the [http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/1clement-lightfoot.html First Epistle of Clement 5:6]) ([https://web.archive.org/web/20061020184723/http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/1clement-lightfoot.html archive]; and

in [http://www.bible-researcher.com/muratorian.html The Muratorian Fragment] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20061018165434/http://www.bible-researcher.com/muratorian.html archive])</ref>

Peter is said to have been crucified [[Cross of St. Peter|upside-down]] in Rome during Nero's reign in the apocryphal [[Acts of Peter]] (c. 200).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/actspeter.html|title=The Acts of Peter|website=www.earlychristianwritings.com}}</ref> The account ends with Paul still alive and Nero abiding by [[God in Christianity|God]]'s command not to persecute Christians any longer. By the fourth century, a number of writers were stating that Nero killed Peter and Paul.<ref name="lactantius"/><ref>[[John Chrysostom]] wrote Nero knew Paul personally and had him killed, John Chrysostom, [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1907.htm ''Concerning Lowliness of Mind'' 4] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070703235446/http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1907.htm |date=3 July 2007}}; [[Sulpicius Severus]] says Nero killed Peter and Paul, Sulpicius Severus, [http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/sulpiciusseveruschron2.html ''Chronica'' II.28–29]</ref>

====Antichrist====
The [[Sibylline Oracles]] (books 5 and 8), written in the second century, speak of Nero returning and bringing destruction.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/sib/index.htm|title=The Sibylline Oracles 5.361–76, 8.68–72, 8.531–157|website=www.sacred-texts.com}}</ref>{{sfn|Griffin|2002|p=15}} Within Christian communities, these writings, along with others, fueled the belief{{when|date=June 2025}} that Nero would be resurrected as the [[Antichrist]].<ref>[[Sulpicius Severus]] and [[Victorinus of Pettau]] also say that Nero is the Antichrist, [http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/sulpiciusseveruschron2.html Sulpicius Severus, ''Chronica'' II.28–29]; [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0712.htm Victorinus of Pettau, ''Commentary on the Apocalypse'' 17] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070206014610/http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0712.htm |date=6 February 2007}}</ref> In 310, [[Lactantius]] wrote that Nero "suddenly disappeared, and even the burial place of that noxious wild beast was nowhere to be seen. This has led some persons of extravagant imagination to suppose that, having been conveyed to a distant region, he is still reserved alive; and to him they apply the Sibylline verses." Lactantius maintains that it is not right to believe this.<ref name="lactantius"/><ref>[[#Champlin|Champlin]], p. 20</ref>

In 422, [[Augustine of Hippo]], referring to [[2 Thessalonians 2]]:1–11, that he believed that Paul mentioned the coming of the Antichrist. Although he rejects the view, Augustine mentions that many Christians believed Nero was or would return as the Antichrist. He wrote that, "in saying, 'For the mystery of iniquity doth already work,'<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=60&chapter=2&verse=7&version=9&context=verse|title=2 Thessalonians 2:7 – Passage Lookup – King James Version|publisher=BibleGateway.com|access-date=2010-11-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081229123239/http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=60&chapter=2&verse=7&version=9&context=verse|archive-date=2008-12-29|url-status=live}}</ref> he alluded to Nero, whose deeds already seemed to be as the deeds of Antichrist."<ref name="augustine"/>

Some modern Christian biblical scholars, such as Delbert Hillers ([[Johns Hopkins University]]) of the [[American Schools of Oriental Research]] and the editors of the ''Oxford Study Bible'' and ''HarperCollins Study Bible'', contend that the [[number of the beast]] in the [[Book of Revelation]] is a code for Nero,<ref>{{cite book|author=Cory, Catherine A.|title=The Book of Revelation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IzzAFl2ONfAC&pg=PA61|year=2006|publisher=Liturgical Press|isbn=978-0-8146-2885-0|pages=61–|access-date=27 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160504104449/https://books.google.com/books?id=IzzAFl2ONfAC&pg=PA61|archive-date=4 May 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Garrow, A.J.P.|title=Revelation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SkOg-tEYbR4C&pg=PA86|date=2002|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-203-13308-8|pages=86–|access-date=27 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160511222846/https://books.google.com/books?id=SkOg-tEYbR4C&pg=PA86|archive-date=11 May 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Hillers, Delbert|title=Rev. 13, 18 and a scroll from Murabba'at|doi=10.2307/1355990|journal= Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research |volume=170 |issue=170|year=1963|page= 65|jstor=1355990|s2cid=163790686}}</ref> a view that is also supported in [[Roman Catholic]] biblical commentaries.<ref>Brown, Raymond E.; Fitzmyer, Joseph A. and Murphy, Roland E. eds. (1990). ''[[Jerome Biblical Commentary|The New Jerome Biblical Commentary]]''. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. p. 1009. {{ISBN|978-0136149347}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Just, S.J.|title=''The Book of Revelation, Apocalyptic Literature, and Millennial Movements'', University of San Francisco, USF Jesuit Community|url=http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/Apocalyptic.htm|access-date=18 May 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070601223850/http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/Apocalyptic.htm|archive-date=1 June 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> The claim is in regard to the "Babylon" mentioned in [[Revelation 17]]:1–18,<ref>{{bibleverse|Revelation|17:1–18|NKJV}}</ref> which, according to [[Scott G. Sinclair]], in the period of the book's authorship, referred to Rome (e.g., 1 Peter 5:13).<ref>{{cite journal |  first = Scott Gambrill |last = Sinclair |  url = https://scholar.dominican.edu/religion-course-materials/2/ | title = The Book of Revelation (Course Lecture Notes) |journal = The Scott Sinclair Lecture Notes Collection | date = 2016 | publisher =  Dominican University of California  |issue= 2 | pages = 36–37 |doi = 10.33015/dominican.edu/2016.sinclair.02 | format = PDF| quote = Nero persecuted the church at Rome, and the Beast whose number is 666 probably represents him. [...] Revelation also draws many parallels between "Babylon" (Rome) and the New Jerusalem. [...] In John's social situation the emperor did appear to be the Almighty, and Rome did appear to be the Heavenly City}} (attributed to the [[public domain]])<!-- ????? --></ref>

==See also==
* [[List of Roman emperors]]
* [[Roman pharaoh]]

==Notes==
{{notelist|30em}}

==References==
{{reflist|20em}}

==Bibliography==

===Ancient sources===
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |author=[[Josephus]] |chapter=Books II–VI |title=[[The Jewish War]] |translator=[[William Whiston]] |year=1737a |orig-date={{circa}} 75 AD |chapter-url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/josephus/war-2.html |ref={{harvid|Josephus, ''Bellum Judaicum''}} }}
* {{Cite book |author=[[Josephus]] |chapter=Chapters XIX–XX |title=[[Antiquities of the Jews]] |translator=[[William Whiston]] |year=1737b |orig-date={{circa}} 94 AD |chapter-url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/josephus/ant-20.html |ref={{harvid|Josephus, ''Antiquitates Judaicae'' }} }}
* {{Cite book |author=[[Plutarch]] |chapter=Life of Galba |title=[[Parallel Lives]] |translator=[[Bernadotte Perrin]] |year=1923 |orig-date={{circa}} 100 AD |chapter-url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Galba*.html |ref={{harvid|Plutarch, ''Galba''}} }}
* {{Cite book |author=[[Tacitus|P. Cornelius Tacitus]] |title=[[Histories (Tacitus)|Histories]] |translator=Frederick W. Shipley |publisher=[[Loeb Classical Library]] |year=1925 |orig-date={{circa}} 105 AD |chapter=Books 1–4 |chapter-url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Tacitus/Histories/1A*.html |ref={{harvid|Tacitus, ''Histories''}} }}
* {{Cite book |author=[[Tacitus|P. Cornelius Tacitus]] |title=[[Annals (Tacitus)|Annals]] |translator=Frederick W. Shipley |publisher=[[Loeb Classical Library]] |year=1924 |orig-date={{circa}} 116 AD |chapter=Books 13–16 |chapter-url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Tacitus/Annals/13A*.html |ref={{harvid|Tacitus, ''Annals''}} }}
* {{Cite book |author=[[Suetonius|C. Suetonius Tranquillus]] |chapter=Life of Nero |chapter-url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html |title=[[The Twelve Caesars]] |translator=[[John Carew Rolfe]] |publisher=[[Loeb Classical Library]] |year=1914 |ref={{harvid|Suetonius, ''Nero''}} |orig-date={{circa}} AD 121}}
* {{Cite book |author=[[Philostratus]] |chapter=Books 4–5 |chapter-url=https://www.livius.org/sources/content/philostratus-life-of-apollonius/philostratus-life-of-apollonius-4.1-5/ |title=[[Life of Apollonius of Tyana]] |translator=[[F. C. Conybeare]] |publisher=[[Loeb Classical Library]] |year=1912 |orig-date={{circa}} 220 |ref={{harvid|Philostratus, ''Vita Apollonii''}} }}
* {{Cite book |author=[[Cassius Dio|L. Cassius Dio]] |chapter=Books 61–63 |chapter-url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/60*.html |title=[[Roman History (Cassius Dio)|Roman History]] |translator=Earnest Cary |publisher=[[Loeb Classical Library]] |year=1927 |ref={{harvid|Cassius Dio}} |orig-date={{circa}} 230}}
{{refend}}

===Modern sources===
{{refbegin|30em}}
*{{Citation |last=Barrett |first=Anthony A. |title=Nero |date=2010 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780195170726.001.0001/acref-9780195170726-e-863 |encyclopedia=Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome |editor-last=Gagarin |editor-first=Michael |access-date=|publisher=|doi=10.1093/acref/9780195170726.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-517072-6|url-access=subscription }}
* {{cite book |last=Champlin |first=Edward |author-link=Edward Champlin |title=Nero |url=https://archive.org/details/nerocham00cham |url-access=registration |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-674-01822-8 |ref=Champlin}}
*{{Cite book |last=Malitz |first=Jürgen |title=Nero |url=https://archive.org/details/nero0000mali |url-access=registration |date=2005 |publisher=Blackwell |isbn=978-1-4051-4475-9 |location=Malden, MA}}
*{{cite book |last=Shotter |first=David |date=2016 |title=Nero Caesar Augustus: Emperor of Rome |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VMC3AwAAQBAJ |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-138-14015-8}}
*{{cite book |last=Shotter |first=David |title=Nero |publisher=[[Routledge]] |date=2012 |isbn=978-1-134-36432-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PGb6jHIVDKEC}}
*¨{{cite book |last=Osgood |first=Josiah |date=2011 |isbn=978-0-521-88181-4 |title=Claudius Caesar: Image and Power in the Early Roman Empire |publisher=Cambridge University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xUH09iE-bRAC}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Barrett |first1=Anthony A. |last2=Fantham |first2=Elaine |author2-link=Elaine Fantham |last3=Yardley |first3=John C. |title=The Emperor Nero: A Guide to the Ancient Sources |date=2016 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-8110-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2G9PCwAAQBAJ}}
* {{Cite book |last=Drinkwater |first=John F. |title=Nero. Emperor and Court |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-108-47264-7 |location=Cambridge}}
* {{cite book |first1=Emma |last1=Buckley |first2=Martin |last2=Dinter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8OgVKbssrT0C |title=A Companion to the Neronian Age |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |date=2013 |isbn=978-1118316535}}
* {{cite book |last=Griffin |first=Miriam T. |title=Nero: The End of a Dynasty |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vuQXk4DC08gC |date=2002 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-61044-0}}
* {{cite book |last=Scullard |first=H.H. |title=From the Gracchi to Nero: a history of Rome 133 B.C. to A.D. 68 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |date=2011 |isbn=978-0-415-58488-3}}
* {{cite journal |last=Rogers |first=Robert Samuel |title=Heirs and Rivals to Nero |journal=[[Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association]] |volume=86 |pages=190–212 |year=1955 |issn=0065-9711 |jstor=283618 |doi=10.2307/283618}}
* {{cite EB1911 |last=Pelham |first=Henry Francis |authorlink=Henry Francis Pelham |wstitle=Nero |volume=19 |pages=390–393}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Sister project links|auto=y}}
* [https://www.sien-neron.fr/?lang=en International Society for Neronian Studies]
* [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nero-Roman-emperor Nero, Roman Emperor], ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' online
* [https://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/nero.html The Roman Empire in the First Century: Nero], [[PBS]].org
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/nero.shtml Nero (37 AD – 68 AD)], [[BBC]].co.uk
* [https://www.livescience.com/40277-emperor-nero-facts.html Emperor Nero: Facts & Biography], ''[[Live Science]]'' online
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140818231142/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2014/09/emperor-nero/draper-text Roman Emperor Nero: Rethinking Nero], ''[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]]'' online

{{S-start}}
{{S-hou|[[Julio-Claudian dynasty]]|15 December|37|9 June|68}}
{{S-off}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Claudius]] }}
{{S-ttl|title=[[List of Roman emperors|Roman emperor]]|years=54–68 }}
{{S-aft|after=[[Galba]] }}
{{s-bef|before=[[Marcus Aefulanus|M. Aefulanus]],<br />and ''ignotus''|as=suffect consuls}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Roman consuls|Roman consul]]|years=55|regent1=[[Lucius Antistius Vetus (consul 55)|L. Antistius Vetus]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Numerius Cestius]]|as=suffect consul}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Lucius Duvius Avitus|L. Duvius Avitus]], and<br />[[Publius Clodius Thrasea Paetus|P. Clodius Thrasea Paetus]]|as=suffect consuls}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Roman consul]]|years=57–58 |regent1=[[Lucius Calpurnius Piso (consul 57)|L. Calpurnius Piso]] (57) |regent2=[[Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus (consul 58)|M. Valerius Messalla Corvinus]] (58)}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Gaius Fonteius Agrippa|C. Fonteius Agrippa]]|as=suffect consul}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Titus Sextius Africanus|T. Sextius Africanus]],<br />and [[Marcus Ostorius Scapula (consul 59)|M. Ostorius Scapula]]|as=suffect consuls}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Roman consul]]|years=60 |regent1=[[Cossus Cornelius Lentulus (consul AD 60)|Cossus Cornelius Lentulus]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Gaius Velleius Paterculus (consul 60)|C. Velleius Paterculus]],<br />and [[M. Manilius Vopiscus]]|as=suffect consuls}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Silius Italicus|Ti. Catius Asconius Silius Italicus]],<br />and [[Publius Galerius Trachalus|P. Galerius Trachalus]]|as=ordinary consuls}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Roman consul]]|years=68 (suffect)<br />''sine collega''}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Gaius Bellicius Natalis|C. Bellicius Natalis]],<br />and [[Publius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus|P. Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus]]|as=suffect consuls}}
{{S-end}}

{{Roman emperors}}
{{Ancient Olympic winners}}
{{Pharaohs}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Nero| ]]
[[Category:1st-century Roman emperors]]
[[Category:37 births]]
[[Category:68 deaths]]
[[Category:Ancient Roman adoptees]]
[[Category:Ancient Roman philhellenes]]
[[Category:Anti-Christian sentiment in Europe]]
[[Category:Children of Claudius]]
[[Category:Claudii Nerones]]
[[Category:Damnatio memoriae]]
[[Category:Domitii Ahenobarbi]]
[[Category:Heads of state who died by suicide]]
[[Category:Historical figures with ambiguous or disputed sexuality]]
[[Category:Male suicides]]
[[Category:Matricides]]
[[Category:People from Anzio]]
[[Category:People in the Book of Revelation]]
[[Category:People of the Year of the Four Emperors]]
[[Category:Persecution of early Christians]]
[[Category:Politicide perpetrators]]
[[Category:Poppaea Sabina]]
[[Category:Roman emperors to suffer posthumous denigration or damnatio memoriae]]
[[Category:Roman pharaohs]]
[[Category:Roman-era Olympic competitors]]
[[Category:Royalty who died by suicide]]
[[Category:Suicides by sharp instrument in Italy]]
[[Category:Suicides in Ancient Rome]]
[[Category:Talmud people]]
[[Category:Uxoricides]]