December 15, 37 - Nero

His reign began with the promise of capable advisors and relative stability, but the pattern that defined it emerged quickly: the systematic elimination of anyone who represented a constraint on his authority, including his own mother. The murders of Agrippina, Britannicus, and Claudia Octavia illustrate how personal consolidation of power operated at the highest levels of Roman imperial rule. As the last of the Julio-Claudian line, his reign marks both the endpoint of a dynasty and a case study in how unchecked authority could turn inward on family, rivals, and eventually the emperor himself.

From Wikipedia

Nero (Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December 37 AD – 9 June 68 AD) was Roman emperor from 54 AD until his suicide 68 AD. The final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Nero was known for his brutality.

Nero was born at Antium in AD 37, the son of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Agrippina the Younger (great-granddaughter of the emperor Augustus). Nero was three when his father died. By the time Nero turned eleven, his mother married Emperor Claudius, who then adopted Nero as his heir. Upon Claudius's death in AD 54, Nero ascended to the throne with the backing of the Praetorian Guard and 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 sought to rule independently and rid himself of restraining influences. The power struggle between Nero and his mother reached its climax when he orchestrated her murder. Roman sources also implicate Nero in the deaths of both his wife Claudia Octavia – supposedly so he could marry Poppaea Sabina – and his stepbrother Britannicus.

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