Birth of Madness
Nero (37 A.D. - 68 A.D) Reigned 54 - 68 A.D.
Nero was the nephew of Claudius, and the next in line for the throne after his cousin. At the time, the public wanted Claudius gone, and many conspired against him. It wasn't until Nero's mother, Agrippina, who wanted the throne for her son, that he was dealt with. She murdered Claudius secretly, and poisoned his son to eliminate the competition.
Nero ascended to the throne of Rome in 54 A.D.. He was a just and kind ruler, and cared a lot about art, sports, lawful punishment, and fair trials. In his early reign of Rome he was known by passing many good laws such as giving the senate more freedom, ended secret trials, banned capital punishment, gave assistance to cities that need help, and gave slaves the right to sue unjust owners.
Although he was thought of fondly by the people for his great leadership, he was also known for his love of fine arts and sports. He himself started many organizations dedicated to theater, music, poetry, literature, and athletics. He also was one of the first Emperors to compete in fair public events such as poetry and the Olympics.
Although he had started out as a great ruler, he quickly turned into something terrible. Nero, who was known to helping everyone, even the Jews, became a monster. As he rebelled more and more from his mother, he grew more frustrated with her need to control him and his empire. He eventually had her forcibly retired. This act stated the chaos that Nero would soon breed. Stories soon sprung up of him seducing married women and young boys. The very thought of this perverse act gave even his closet of allies feelings of disgust. There is even a fable of him marrying a young male slave, only so he could castrate then murder him. If this was true, then it wasn't the only life Nero took. It has been documented that he would dress as a commoner and hunt the city at night, looking for random people to kill. It was also during this time that Nero decided to "take care" of his mom.
After years of being controlled and manipulated by his mother, Nero had decided to finally kill her. He lured her to his coastal home where he tried to assassinate her. She escaped though, and made her way to the shore. Having not wanted her to get away, Nero sent Roman soldiers to find and eliminate her. He told the citizens that she had conspired to betray him. No one believed him.
Nero rampage went on for the rest of his rule. He did many horrible things; killing, torturing, kidnapping, raping. Everything was worse then the last. He even killed his second wife by kicking her to death, but none of that topped what he is most known for. In 64 A.D. Rome caught fire and burned. The fire lasted for six days and seven nights. Everyone in the city helped to defeat the fire as much as they could, that is except for Nero. It is said that buried deep within the terrified citizens screams and the roar of the fire, you could hear the Mad Emperor sing as the world burned around him. The people had had enough of this man. The burning of their beautiful city was too much. Although he told them the Christians were the ones who burned the city, everyone knew the demented Nero was behind it.
Rome wasn't going to deal with him any more. No one else was going to die, and no one else was going to listen to this madman. It was time to end it. He had to be killed. The assassination attempt began when a freed slave befriended an officer who was close to Nero. He too hated the Emperor and wanted him dead. They schemed for the Officer to murder Nero in his sleep, but the officer betrayed the slave at the last minute.
Nero knew more wanted him dead, and he knew that they would never stop coming. It was then in the year of 68 A.D. Nero took his closest slaves and killed himself in the county.
Rome was rid of him once and for all, and some could say he was the last crazy ruler of Rome. Rome flourished for many more years after his rule. He soon became nothing more then a piece of history in the eyes of the citizens and even more so to us, but to the unlucky souls that lived in his domain, he was, and remained the emperor who fiddled while Rome burned.
Nero was the nephew of Claudius, and the next in line for the throne after his cousin. At the time, the public wanted Claudius gone, and many conspired against him. It wasn't until Nero's mother, Agrippina, who wanted the throne for her son, that he was dealt with. She murdered Claudius secretly, and poisoned his son to eliminate the competition.
Nero ascended to the throne of Rome in 54 A.D.. He was a just and kind ruler, and cared a lot about art, sports, lawful punishment, and fair trials. In his early reign of Rome he was known by passing many good laws such as giving the senate more freedom, ended secret trials, banned capital punishment, gave assistance to cities that need help, and gave slaves the right to sue unjust owners.
Although he was thought of fondly by the people for his great leadership, he was also known for his love of fine arts and sports. He himself started many organizations dedicated to theater, music, poetry, literature, and athletics. He also was one of the first Emperors to compete in fair public events such as poetry and the Olympics.
Although he had started out as a great ruler, he quickly turned into something terrible. Nero, who was known to helping everyone, even the Jews, became a monster. As he rebelled more and more from his mother, he grew more frustrated with her need to control him and his empire. He eventually had her forcibly retired. This act stated the chaos that Nero would soon breed. Stories soon sprung up of him seducing married women and young boys. The very thought of this perverse act gave even his closet of allies feelings of disgust. There is even a fable of him marrying a young male slave, only so he could castrate then murder him. If this was true, then it wasn't the only life Nero took. It has been documented that he would dress as a commoner and hunt the city at night, looking for random people to kill. It was also during this time that Nero decided to "take care" of his mom.
After years of being controlled and manipulated by his mother, Nero had decided to finally kill her. He lured her to his coastal home where he tried to assassinate her. She escaped though, and made her way to the shore. Having not wanted her to get away, Nero sent Roman soldiers to find and eliminate her. He told the citizens that she had conspired to betray him. No one believed him.
Nero rampage went on for the rest of his rule. He did many horrible things; killing, torturing, kidnapping, raping. Everything was worse then the last. He even killed his second wife by kicking her to death, but none of that topped what he is most known for. In 64 A.D. Rome caught fire and burned. The fire lasted for six days and seven nights. Everyone in the city helped to defeat the fire as much as they could, that is except for Nero. It is said that buried deep within the terrified citizens screams and the roar of the fire, you could hear the Mad Emperor sing as the world burned around him. The people had had enough of this man. The burning of their beautiful city was too much. Although he told them the Christians were the ones who burned the city, everyone knew the demented Nero was behind it.
Rome wasn't going to deal with him any more. No one else was going to die, and no one else was going to listen to this madman. It was time to end it. He had to be killed. The assassination attempt began when a freed slave befriended an officer who was close to Nero. He too hated the Emperor and wanted him dead. They schemed for the Officer to murder Nero in his sleep, but the officer betrayed the slave at the last minute.
Nero knew more wanted him dead, and he knew that they would never stop coming. It was then in the year of 68 A.D. Nero took his closest slaves and killed himself in the county.
Rome was rid of him once and for all, and some could say he was the last crazy ruler of Rome. Rome flourished for many more years after his rule. He soon became nothing more then a piece of history in the eyes of the citizens and even more so to us, but to the unlucky souls that lived in his domain, he was, and remained the emperor who fiddled while Rome burned.