Though the infamous emperor Nero ruled Rome for less than two decades, his reign witnessed tremendous changes to the empire's capital city. Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus -- more often known as Nero -- was a great-grandson of Caesar Augustus. When he was a child, he and his mother, Agrippina, were exiled by Agrippina's brother, emperor Gaius Caligula, to the tiny Pontian Islands. Two years later, however, the banishment was lifted when Agrippina's uncle, Claudius, took hold of the empire. Nero's mother soon convinced Claudius to marry her and make Nero his heir. In 54 A.D., Claudius was murdered, purportedly a victim of poisonous mushrooms given to him by Agrippina. Nero became the emperor of Rome at age 16. Several years later, Nero had his power-hungry mother moved to a separate residence; shortly thereafter, he allegedly had her killed. There was no end to Nero's ambition. One of his grandest plans was to tear down a third of Rome so that he could build an elaborate series of palaces that would be known as Neropolis. The senate, however, objected ardently to this proposal. Exactly what happened next has remained a mystery for nearly 2,000 years.
Famous as the emperor who "fiddled while Rome burned", Nero is one of the more interesting characters to wear the imperial purple. The first five years of his reign were considered the "Golden Time" of Imperial Rome. However, he was more passionate about the arts and chariot racing than he wa about governing the Empire, which soon made him extremely unpopular with the army and the Senate. Emotionally and psychologically unstable, having a flare for the dramatic, and possessing nearly unlimited resources made Nero a truly shocking figure at points during his reign. On the good side, he was responsible for one of the greatest flourishing of the arts in the history of Rome. In the end, several rebellions and mutinees brought about his death through suicide. He was the last of the Julio-Claudian emperors.
2007-02-08 21:54:35
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answer #2
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answered by Anonymous
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Nero reigned Rome as Emperor from 54 to 68 AD.
Nero was preceded by Emperor Claudio
and was succeeded by Emperor Servius Sulpicius Galba
2007-02-08 22:01:36
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answer #3
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answered by Anonymous
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Claudius was before Nero. Nero ruled form 54 to 68AD. Don't know his succesor.
2007-02-08 21:55:41
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answer #4
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answered by aboveparrequestrian 2
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Go here ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nero ) It'lll tell you everything you needta know
2007-02-08 21:55:09
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answer #5
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answered by tracey_n_allen 1
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