Historical Figure
Nero
37–68
Roman emperor from AD 54 to 68
Talk to Nero
Have a conversation with this historical figure through AI
Key Dates
Birth
37 December 15, 37 →Biography
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his suicide in AD 68.
Timeline
Nero, later to become Roman emperor, is given the title princeps iuventutis (head of the youth).
March 4 →Roman emperor Claudius dies from poisoning under mysterious circumstances. He is succeeded by his adopted son Nero, rather than by Britannicus, his son with Messalina.
October 13 →Roman Emperor Claudius is poisoned to death under mysterious circumstances. His 17-year-old stepson Nero succeeds him to the Roman throne.
October 13 →Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus, heir to the Roman emperorship, dies under mysterious circumstances in Rome. This clears the way for Nero to become Emperor.
February 11 →The death under mysterious circumstances of Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus, heir to the Roman Empire, on the eve of his coming of age clears the way for Nero to become Emperor.
February 11 →Great Fire of Rome: a fire begins to burn in the merchant area of Rome and soon burns completely out of control. According to a popular, but untrue legend, Nero fiddled as the city burned.
July 19 →Great fire of Rome: a fire begins to burn in the merchant area of Rome and soon burns completely out of control. The Emperor Nero reportedly plays his lyre and sings while watching the blaze from a safe distance.
July 18 →The freedman Milichus betrayed Piso's plot to kill the Emperor Nero and all the conspirators are arrested.
April 19 →The Roman Emperor Nero commits suicide, after quoting Homer's Iliad, thus ending the Julio-Claudian dynasty and starting the civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors.
June 9 →More from the Late Antiquity
Explore what happened on the days that shaped Nero's life. Today In History connects historical figures with the events, births, and deaths that defined their era. Browse all historical figures or explore today's events.