"Let him kill, as long as he rules"

On December 15, 37 AD, Agrippina the Younger gave birth to a boy named Lucius by Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus. This happened nine months after Agrippina's brother, Caligula, became the Roman Emperor, so, as historian I. O. Knyazky aptly noted, Lucius was a "child of Caligula's reign."

The boy's great-grandfather timely sided with Octavian, securing the family's place in the new imperial elite. His grandfather married into the house of the Caesars by wedding Antonia the Elder, Augustus's niece. Thus, Lucius's father was a great-nephew of the first emperor, and his mother was his great-granddaughter. According to Suetonius, after the birth of his son, Gnaeus allegedly remarked that "nothing could be born from him and Agrippina but horror and grief for humanity"—a dubious testimony, more indicative of historians' desire to cast even the infancy of the future emperor in a negative light.

Shortly after Lucius's birth, his mother was exiled for participating in a conspiracy against her own brother, and his father died of illness, so the boy was sent to his aunt. But in 41 AD, Caligula was eventually killed, and Lucius was reunited with his mother.

Being a cruel and domineering woman, Agrippina saw her son as a tool for gaining power. According to Tacitus, in response to a prophecy about her death at her son's hand, she replied, "Let him kill, as long as he rules"—likely apocryphal, but reflective of her character. At the court of the new emperor—her uncle Claudius—Agrippina began to intrigue against his wife Messalina, who was eventually executed in 48 AD.

The influential freedman Pallas, at Agrippina's instigation, convinced the emperor to marry his own niece. Lucius was adopted by his cousin Claudius and received the name Nero Claudius Caesar, under which he remained in history. Moreover, the adopted son of the emperor married his biological daughter Octavia.

The philosopher Seneca became the young man's mentor. Nero received an excellent education, as evidenced by his genuine interest in poetry, music, and Hellenic culture. However, the tense atmosphere of constant intrigue in the Julio-Claudian dynasty undoubtedly affected his character. Under different circumstances, Nero might have become a true "philosopher on the throne," but events unfolded otherwise.

Power and Mother

On October 13, 54 AD, Claudius died—either from Agrippina's poison or old age. The emperor never managed to make a final choice between his biological son Britannicus from his former wife Messalina and his adopted son Nero from his current wife Agrippina. However, at the time of Claudius's death, his closest confidant and Britannicus's ally, Narcissus, was absent from the capital, so Agrippina easily secured the support of the Praetorian Prefect Burrus, whose Praetorians proclaimed the 16-year-old Nero as the new princeps. Claudius's will was never published, and Narcissus was executed.

Having placed the young emperor on the throne, Agrippina immediately quarreled with the tandem of Seneca and Burrus, intending to rule the entire empire through her son. However, the philosopher and the Praetorian Prefect managed to sway Nero to their side. Then Agrippina began to support Britannicus as a replacement for her own son, but the emperor, with the consent of his mentors, ordered the poisoning of his rival. Nero then dismissed his mother's ally Pallas and stripped Agrippina of her honors, forcing her to leave Rome. In 59 AD, the emperor, again with the consent of his mentors, ordered the murder of his own mother as a source of endless intrigue.

After Agrippina survived a staged shipwreck, a detachment led by the fleet prefect Anicetus was sent to her villa. According to legend, before her death, she exclaimed for the soldiers to strike her womb, which had borne the emperor, after which she was stabbed with swords.

"The Glorious Five Years"

However, Nero's reign was marked by more than just intrigue. According to Aurelius Victor, even Emperor Trajan called the first five years of Nero's rule "golden." It is generally believed that the successes of this period were solely due to the wisdom of his mentors. Although ancient tradition exaggerates their influence, the closeness of Seneca and Burrus to the emperor is undeniable. The "Golden Five Years" from 54 to 59 AD indeed coincided with their greatest influence.

The tutor Seneca composed a treatise "On Mercy" for his ward, in which he acknowledged the preeminent role of the princeps but emphasized the need to follow republican virtues—moderation and mercy. Indeed, in the early years of his reign, the young emperor showed restraint. In state affairs, he relied less on freedmen and once again elevated the Senate, which even resumed minting coins with the legend "E X SC" (ex senatus consulto).

One of Nero's areas of activity was the fight against tax collectors and corrupt officials. He created a consular commission to curb abuses and also implemented a tax reform, reducing and abolishing some taxes to increase the efficiency of others. The emperor fought for the rights of provincials against corrupt governors, which went against the common Roman view of the provinces solely as a source of profit.

Incidentally, a vivid example of such exploitative attitudes was... the renowned philosopher Seneca himself. In just four years of service to the emperor, Seneca's fortune, according to Tacitus and Dio Cassius, reached 300 million sesterces, which the philosopher earned through usury. According to one version, the famous Boudica uprising in Britain was provoked by Seneca lending large sums to British leaders and then unexpectedly and insistently demanding repayment with interest.

Nero paid great attention to "bread and circuses." He ensured the uninterrupted supply of grain to Rome and eagerly appeared in public, borrowing a penchant for theatrical effects from Caligula. In honor of the fifth and tenth anniversaries of his reign, the emperor held the Quinquennial Games, surpassing the Olympic Games—competitions for singers, poets, athletes, and horsemen.

As for foreign policy, from 58 to 63 AD, Rome fought with Parthia for control over Armenia. After a difficult campaign, the commander Corbulo retained the Armenian crown in the hands of the Parthian dynasty on the condition that it recognized itself as a vassal of Rome.

Tyrant

In 62 AD, Burrus died of illness. Subsequently, Nero would be suspected of poisoning the tiresome advisor. Gaius Ofonius Tigellinus replaced Burrus as the Praetorian Prefect, becoming the emperor's new closest associate, including as the organizer of his banquets and orgies. A man of humble origin, he began to compete with the more noble-born Seneca. Eventually, the latter retired.

In the same year, 62 AD, Nero divorced Octavia—Claudius's biological daughter, whom Agrippina had once forced him to marry. Immediately after the divorce, the emperor married his pregnant mistress Poppaea Sabina, who soon achieved Octavia's murder—her veins were forcibly opened.

The rise of Tigellinus as the new favorite and the marriage to Poppaea marked the beginning of a new, more brutal period of Nero's reign. Becoming increasingly paranoid, the emperor began to eliminate all close and distant relatives who might claim the throne instead of him. By 68 AD, he had not left alive a single member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, including collateral branches.

Repressions among the elite were not something new to shock Roman society. The real tragedy in 64 AD was the Great Fire of Rome, which destroyed much of the Eternal City. Contrary to popular rumors, Nero was not its culprit—Tacitus directly refutes this version. The emperor organized a large-scale reconstruction: narrow streets were replaced with wide avenues, and buildings were constructed from stone with fireproof porticos. However, the construction of the new Golden Palace and increased taxes for the first time sparked widespread discontent against the emperor.

Christians were blamed for the fire, leading to the first mass persecutions in history—many were executed or sent to the gladiatorial arena. It was during this time that the apostles Peter and Paul met their martyrdom.

Repressions, the sidelining of Seneca, and the rise of Tigellinus and Poppaea increasingly turned the Senate against Nero. In 65 AD, a conspiracy arose led by Gaius Calpurnius Piso. Sometimes Seneca himself is included among the conspirators.

The conspiracy was uncovered through the informant Milichus. Most of its participants were executed or committed suicide. Among the latter was Seneca, whom the emperor directly ordered to do so to avoid a public trial. The old philosopher opened his veins, but due to his age, the blood flowed slowly. Then he was given poison and placed in a hot bath, but even this did not hasten his end. Only after the former princeps's mentor was moved to a steam room did he finally die.

Seneca met his death with stoic calm, comparing himself to Socrates. He went down in history as a positive figure and a model of Roman virtues, but a careful reader might notice how the renowned philosopher himself hastened his own end. It is unlikely that Seneca can be called a successful mentor and teacher of morality, especially since he himself indulged his ward in the murders of Britannicus and Agrippina to maintain political power. Seneca's financial dealings, which provoked an entire uprising in Britain, also cast a shadow on his image.

Others forced to commit suicide by opening their veins included the leader of the senatorial opposition Publius Clodius Thrasea Paetus, the author of "Satyricon" Petronius Arbiter, and the author of "Pharsalia" Marcus Annaeus Lucan.

In 65 AD, Poppaea died—ancient authors claim that a drunken Nero beat his pregnant wife to death, although there are also versions of a natural death. The emperor mourned his departed wife greatly but soon married for the third time to Statilia Messalina.

"What an artist dies!"

In 67 AD, Nero went to Greece to participate in the Olympic Games, which were postponed for two years for him. There he ordered the execution of Corbulo, who had returned from the East, and who committed suicide. This turned the army against the emperor. At the same time, Nero learned of a new uprising, this time in Judea, and sent Titus Flavius Vespasian to quell it—the future founder of the Flavian dynasty.

After winning at the Olympic Games, Nero triumphantly returned to Italy, but here he was informed that the governor of Lugdunensis Gaul, Gaius Julius Vindex, had raised a rebellion. Although Vindex himself was soon defeated, the baton of rebellion was taken up by the governor of Tarraconensis Spain, Servius Sulpicius Galba.

Galba's army was rapidly approaching Rome. Nero planned to flee to the eastern provinces, which remained loyal to him, but at the decisive moment, the Senate, the Praetorians, and his closest associates, including his favorite Tigellinus, turned against him. In despair, Nero returned to an empty palace, from which everyone had fled except the slaves.

Accompanied by four servants, he reached a suburban villa, where after much hesitation, he stabbed himself with the words: "What an artist dies!" At that moment, a detachment of horsemen sent by the Senate to arrest Nero, already declared a "public enemy," arrived at the villa. The emperor was still alive when one of the soldiers unsuccessfully tried to stop the bleeding. Misinterpreting the horsemen's intentions, Nero said: "Here is loyalty," and died. He was 30 years old.

Posthumous Legacy

After Nero's death, a widespread belief emerged in the eastern provinces that the emperor had not died but was hiding, waiting for the right moment to return to power. The persistence of this belief is vividly demonstrated by the fact that during the Flavian era, at least three impostors appeared, claiming to be Nero. This raises a legitimate question: if the emperor was such an odious tyrant, why did his name continue to serve as a banner for so long?

The explanation lies in the upheavals that followed Nero's death. The civil war in the "Year of the Four Emperors" (68–69 AD) shook Roman society, and against this backdrop, the 13 years of the previous reign became a symbol of lost stability.

Nero's repressions affected only a narrow circle of the elite and marginal sects, like Christians. In the eyes of the majority of the population, the emperor reduced taxes, rebuilt Rome after the fire, fought against the senatorial oligarchy, and protected the provinces from the greed of tax collectors and corrupt governors. Long after his death, flowers were still brought to Nero's grave. As the orator of the 2nd century, Dio Chrysostom, noted, "Nero died, but not once and for all," and subsequent events were "less worthy." Talk of the emperor's return persisted until the 5th century.

Conversely, in ancient historiography, formed by representatives of the elite, as well as in the Christian tradition, Nero firmly established himself as a great persecutor. Early Christians often identified this emperor with the Antichrist, whose imminent return heralds the approach of the End of the World.

This image of a young, cruel, and eccentric tyrant, prone to public theatrics, has migrated into popular culture, as evidenced by Henryk Sienkiewicz's novel "Quo Vadis."

Currently, historical science has moved away from the uncritical acceptance of early Christian accounts, as well as those of ancient authors like Tacitus, Suetonius, and Dio Cassius, which are more didactic in nature, where historical truth is desirable but not essential. Nevertheless, their works cannot be entirely dismissed, if only because they are the only complete surviving written sources from that era, albeit written much later.

Similar to other members of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, there is a trend toward the historical rehabilitation of Nero's image. While generally agreeing with such an assessment, it is still important not to excessively whitewash him. He was a cruel man, shaped by the atmosphere of constant court intrigues by his own mother and numerous favorites. By turning the Senate and the army against him, Nero ultimately not only lost his throne and life but also buried with him the first dynasty of Roman princeps.

Following Nero's death came a civil war—the "Year of the Four Emperors"—which became a harsh trial for the people, who, in Tacitus's words, ascribed to Galba, "could not endure either true slavery or true freedom."