Nero and Related Topics

Bust, Naples National Archaeological Museum

Claudius

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The fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54.

A coin of Herod of Chalcis, showing him with his brother Agrippa of Judaea crowning Claudius. British Museum.

Aureus of Claudius, struck at the Lugdunum (Lyon) mint, dated 41–42. The depiction on the reverse meant to commemorate the "reception of the emperor" (imperator receptus) at the Praetorian Camp and the protection the Praetorian Guard afforded Claudius in the days following the assassination of Caligula. Issued over a number of years in both gold and silver, these type of coins were struck to serve as part of the annual military payments Claudius had promised the Guard in return for their role in raising him to the throne. Caption: TI. CLAVD. CAESAR AVG. P. M., TR. P. / IMPER. RECEPT.

Claudius issued this denarius type to emphasize his clemency after Caligula's assassination. The depiction of the goddess Pax-Nemesis, representing subdued vengeance, would be used on the coins of many later emperors. Caption: TI. CLAVD. CAESAR. AVG. P. M., TR. P. X. P. P., IMP. XVIII / PACI AVGVSTAE Pax-Nemesis standing right holding caduceus over serpent.

Bronze head of Claudius found in the River Alde at Rendham, near Saxmundham, Suffolk (British Museum). Potentially taken from the Temple of Claudius in Colonia Victricensis during the Boudican revolt.

The Porta Maggiore in Rome: remains of aqueducts Aqua Claudia and Aqua Anio Novus

Portrait of Claudius, Altes Museum, Berlin

Messalina holding her son Britannicus, Louvre

The Death of Messalina by Georges-Antoine Rochegrosse, 1916

Sculpture of Agrippina crowning her young son Nero (c. AD 54–59)

Claudius depicted as the Roman god Jupiter

A statue of Claudius in the Wesgha tal-Muzew, Mdina, Malta

After his death at the age of 63, Nero, his grand-nephew and legally adopted step-son, succeeded him as emperor.

Agrippina the Younger

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Roman empress from 49 to 54 AD, the fourth wife and niece of Emperor Claudius.

During the reign of Caligula, coins like the one pictured here were issued depicting his three sisters, Drusilla, Livilla, and Agrippina the Younger.

Coins of Agrippina and Claudius as the de facto co-rulers of the empire

Marble bust of Nero. Antiquarium of the Palatine.

Gustav Wertheimer: The Shipwreck of Agrippina (1874)

She maneuvered her son Nero into the line of succession.

Tacitus

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Roman historian and politician.

The title page of Justus Lipsius's 1598 edition of the complete works of Tacitus, bearing the stamps of the Bibliotheca Comunale in Empoli, Italy

Annals 15.44, in the second Medicean manuscript

The style of the Dialogus follows Cicero's models for Latin rhetoric.

The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals (Latin: Annales) and the Histories (Latin: Historiae)—examine the reigns of the emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero, and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors (69 AD).

The Great Cameo of France, a cameo five layers sardonyx, Rome, c. AD 23, depicting the emperor Tiberius seated with his mother Livia and in front of his designated heir Germanicus, with the latter's wife Agrippina the Elder; above them float the deceased members of their house: Augustus, Drusus Julius Caesar, and Nero Claudius Drusus

Julio-Claudian dynasty

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Coin of Kushan ruler Kujula Kadphises (circa AD 30/50-80). Obv Laureate "Julio-Claudian" style head right. Rev Kujula Kadphises seated right, raising hand; tripartite symbol to left.

The Julio-Claudian dynasty comprised the first five Roman emperors: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero.

Year of the Four Emperors

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The first civil war of the Roman Empire, during which four emperors ruled in succession: Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian.

In 68, Vindex, legate of Gallia Lugdunensis, revolted against Nero and encouraged Galba, governor of Hispania, to claim the Empire.

The Praetorians Relief with an aquila grasping a thunderbolt through its claws, in reference, to the Roman interpretatio graeca form of Jupiter.

Praetorian Guard

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Unit of the Imperial Roman army that served as personal bodyguards and intelligence agents for the Roman emperors.

Proclaiming Claudius Emperor, by Lawrence Alma-Tadema, oil on canvas, 1867. According to one version of the story of Claudius' accession, members of the Praetorian Guard found him hiding behind a curtain in the aftermath of the assassination of Caligula in AD 41, and proclaimed him emperor.

Funeral inscription of Quintus Pomponius Poeninus, soldier of the IV Praetorian Cohort

A Praetorian soldier armed with standard Roman weapon in 2nd century AD

Under Nero, the pay of a Praetorian was three and a half times that of a legionary, augmented by prime additions of donativum, granted by each new emperor.

Domitian

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Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96.

The Flavian family tree, indicating the descendants of Titus Flavius Petro and Tertulla

A denarius of Domitian. Caption: CAES. DOMIT. AVG. GERM. P. M., TR. P. XIIII.

A sestertius of Domitian. Caption: IMP. CAES. DOMIT. AVG. GERM. CO[N]S. IV, CENS. PERP. P. / IOVI VICTORI.

The Roman Empire during the Year of the Four Emperors (69); Blue areas indicate provinces loyal to Vespasian and Gaius Licinius Mucianus; Green areas indicate provinces loyal to Vitellius

The Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis (detail), by Rembrandt (1661). During the Batavian rebellion, Domitian eagerly sought the opportunity to attain military glory, but was denied command of a legion by superior officers.

The Triumph of Titus, by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1885), depicting the Flavian family during the triumphal procession of 71. Vespasian proceeds at the head of the family, dressed as pontifex maximus, followed by Domitian with Domitia Longina, and finally Titus, also dressed in religious regalia. An exchange of glances between Titus and Domitia suggests an affair upon which historians have speculated. Alma-Tadema was known for his meticulous historical research on the ancient world.

A silver tetradrachm of Domitian from the Antioch Mint in Syria. c 91–92 AD.

Upon his accession, Domitian revalued the Roman currency by increasing the silver content of the denarius by 12%. This coin commemorates the deification of Domitian's son.

A rock inscription at Gobustan, Azerbaijan (then Caucasian Albania), mentioning Domitian and Legio XII Fulminata

The Roman province of Dacia (purple area) after the conquest of Trajan in 106, with the Black Sea to the far right.

The genius of Domitian with the aegis and a cornucopia, marble statue, Capitoline Museums, Rome

Coin of Domitian, found in the Buddhist stupa of Ahin Posh, dedicated under the Kushan Empire in 150–160, in modern Afghanistan.

Domitian in military garb, wearing the muscle cuirass with decorative reliefs, from Vaison-la-Romaine, France

According to Suetonius, Domitian worshipped Minerva as his protector goddess with superstitious veneration. In a dream, she is said to have abandoned the emperor prior to the assassination.

Upon the death of Domitian, Nerva was proclaimed Emperor by the Senate.

Domitian as Emperor (Vatican Museums), possibly recut from a statue of Nero

Bust of Domitian wearing the civic crown, from the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Rome

Nevertheless, ancient sources allege poverty for the Flavian family at the time of Domitian's upbringing, even claiming Vespasian had fallen into disrepute under the emperors Caligula (37–41) and Nero (54–68).

Ancient bust of Seneca, part of the Double Herm of Socrates and Seneca

Seneca the Younger

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Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and, in one work, satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature.

Nero and Seneca, by Eduardo Barrón (1904). Museo del Prado

Manuel Domínguez Sánchez, The suicide of Seneca (1871), Museo del Prado

Lodovico Lana, Death of Seneca, National Gallery of Art

First page of the Naturales Quaestiones, made for the Catalan-Aragonese court

Woodcut illustration of the suicide of Seneca and the attempted suicide of his wife Pompeia Paulina

Plato, Seneca, and Aristotle in a medieval manuscript illustration (c. 1325–35)

The "Pseudo-Seneca", a Roman bust found at Herculaneum, one of a series of similar sculptures known since the Renaissance, once identified as Seneca. Now commonly identified as Hesiod

"Seneca", ancient hero of the modern Córdoba; this architectural roundel in Seville is based on the "Pseudo-Seneca" (illustration above)

Baroque marble imaginary portrait bust of Seneca, by an anonymous sculptor of the 17th century. Museo del Prado

In AD 41, Seneca was exiled to the island of Corsica under emperor Claudius, but was allowed to return in 49 to become a tutor to Nero.

Caligula

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The third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 to 41.

Marble portrait of Caligula from the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Portrait of Agrippina the Elder, Caligula's mother

Caligula Depositing the Ashes of his Mother and Brother in the Tomb of his Ancestors, by Eustache Le Sueur, 1647

A denarius of Gaius Caligula. Caption: C. CAESAR AVG. GERM. P. M. TR. POT.

The Vatican Obelisk was first brought from Egypt to Rome by Caligula. It was the centerpiece of a large racetrack he built.

The hull of one of two ships recovered from Lake Nemi during the 1930s. This massive vessel served as an elaborate floating palace for the Emperor.

Map of the Roman Empire and neighboring states during the reign of Gaius Caligula (37–41 AD).

Ruins of the Temple of Castor and Pollux in the Forum Romanum. Ancient resources as well as recent archaeological evidence suggest that, at one point, Caligula had the palace extended to annex this structure.

Caligula and Roma Cameo depicting Caligula and Roma, a personification of Rome

Roman sestertius depicting Caligula, c. AD 38. The reverse shows Caligula's three sisters, Agrippina, Drusilla and Julia Livilla, with whom Caligula was rumoured to have carried on incestuous relationships. Caption: C. CAESAR AVG. GERMANICVS PON. M. TR. POT. / AGRIPPINA DRVSILLA IVLIA S. C.

Bust of Caligula from Palazzo Massimo in Rome

Fanciful Renaissance depiction of Caligula

Marble bust of Caligula with traces of original paint beside a plaster replica trying to recreate the polychrome traditions of ancient sculpture.

Quadrans celebrating the abolition of a tax in AD 38 by Caligula.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Woods|first1=David|title=Caligula's Quadrans|journal=The Numismatic Chronicle|issn=0078-2696|year=2010|volume=170|pages=99–103|jstor=42678887}}</ref> The obverse of the coin contains a picture of a Pileus which symbolizes the liberation of the people from the tax burden. Caption: C. CAESAR DIVI AVG. PRON[EPOS] (great-grandson of) AVG. / PON. M., TR. P. III, P. P., COS. DES. RCC. (probably Res Civium Conservatae, i.e. the interests of citizens have been preserved)

Roman gold coins excavated in Pudukottai, India, examples of Indo-Roman trade during the period. One coin of Caligula (AD 37–41), and two coins of Nero (AD 54–68). British Museum. Caption: C. CAESAR AVG. PON. M., TR. POT. III, COS. III. - NERO CAESAR. AVG. IMP. - NERO CAESAR AVG. IMP.

Bust of Caligula from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

The Assassination of the Emperor Caligula, by Lazzaro Baldi

Caligula's death marked the official end of the Julii Caesares in the male line, though the Julio-Claudian dynasty continued to rule until the fall of his nephew, Nero.

Titus

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Roman emperor from 79 to 81.

The province of Judaea during the 1st century.

A map of the Roman Empire during the Year of the Four Emperors (AD 69). Blue areas indicate provinces loyal to Vespasian and Gaius Licinius Mucianus.

Destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem, Francesco Hayez, oil on canvas (1867) depicts the destruction and looting of the Second Temple by the Roman Army.

Titus's triumph after the First Jewish-Roman War was celebrated with the Arch of Titus in Rome, which shows the treasures taken from the Temple, including the Menorah and the trumpets of Jericho.

Statue of Titus modelled after the Doryphoros of Polykleitos, 79–81 AD, Vatican Museums

A Roman denarius depicting Titus, c. 79. The reverse commemorates his triumph in the Judaean Wars, representing a Jewish captive kneeling in front of a trophy of arms. Caption: IMP. T. CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG. / TRibunus POTestas VIII, COnSul VII

The Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 completely destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum. Plaster casts of actual victims found during excavations are now on display in some of the ruins.

The Flavian Amphitheatre, better known as the Colosseum, was completed after 10 years construction during the reign of Titus and inaugurated with spectacular games that lasted for 100 days. See Inaugural games of the Flavian Amphitheatre.

Marble statue of Titus found near the Lateran Baptistry, Chiaramonti Museum of the Vatican Museums

The Arch of Titus, on the Via Sacra, just to the south-east of the Roman Forum in Rome

The Triumph of Titus, by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1885). The composition suggests a love affair between Titus and Domitian's wife, Domitia Longina (see below).

The campaign came to a brief halt with the death of emperor Nero in 68, launching Vespasian's bid for the imperial power during the Year of the Four Emperors.

A report on Nero

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