Nero

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, commonly known as Nero, was the Roman emperor from 54 to 68 CE and the last ruler of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Born in 37 CE at Antium, he was the son of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Agrippina the Younger. His mother secured his adoption by Claudius, making him heir to the throne.

On Claudius’s death, Nero became emperor in 54 CE, with Seneca the Younger and Burrus as key advisers. Early in his reign he moved to consolidate power, eventually ordering the assassination of his mother, Agrippina, in 59 CE. The Great Fire of Rome occurred in 64 CE; while blame fell on Nero in popular legend, many historians doubt he started it. In the aftermath he pursued urban renewal and built the Domus Aurea, a vast palace complex.

Towards the end of his reign, revolts and civil strife culminated in the Year of the Four Emperors (68–69 CE). Nero died by suicide, with the aid of a freedman, ending the Julio-Claudian line. Damnatio memoriae followed his death, and his reputation as a tyrant persisted in later sources.

The name Nero has also been used in other contexts, including a German software company.