Nero

Nero (/ˈnɪəroʊ/ NEER-oh; full name: Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was the fifth Roman emperor and the last emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his suicide in 68. He was adopted by the Roman emperor Claudius at the age of 13 and succeeded him to the throne. Nero seems to have been popular with the members of his Praetorian Guard, and with lower-class commoners in Rome and the provinces, but was deeply resented by the Roman aristocracy. Most contemporary sources describe him as tyrannical, self-indulgent and debauched. After being declared a public enemy by the Roman Senate, he committed suicide aged 30.

Nero was born at Antium in AD 37, the son of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Agrippina the Younger, a great-granddaughter of the emperor Augustus. When Nero was two years old, his father died. His mother married the emperor Claudius, who eventually adopted Nero as his heir; when Claudius died in 54, Nero became emperor, with the support firstly of the Praetorian Guard, and then of 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 he soon sought to rule independently, and to rid himself of restraining influences. His power struggle with his mother was eventually resolved when he had her murdered.