Emperor Nero's most notorious murders of his friends, family, and perceived enemies

Nero ascended to the throne of the Roman Empire in AD 54 at the age of sixteen.

He became the last emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, a lineage that traced its origins to Julius Caesar and Augustus.

His mother, Agrippina the Younger, played a crucial role in securing her son's ascent to power.

Through her marriage to Emperor Claudius, she positioned Nero as his successor, bypassing Claudius's biological son, Britannicus.

After Claudius's suspicious death, Nero took the throne, promising stability and prosperity.  

During the early years of his reign, Nero focused on maintaining his popularity among the people and the Senate, portraying himself as a benevolent ruler interested in the arts, culture, and public games.

However, within a few years, his rule turned into one of the most infamous periods in Roman history.

He increasingly viewed those around him with suspicion, fearing conspiracies and plots against his life.

As a result, Nero's paranoia led to a series of purges that claimed the lives of many senators, advisors, and even his closest family members. 

His willingness to murder those within his own circle demonstrated his complete disregard for Roman traditions of clemency and mercy.

By turning to violence so early in his reign, Nero established a dangerous precedent that would ultimately lead to his downfall. 

Britannicus was the son of Emperor Claudius and his third wife, Messalina. He held a legitimate claim to the Roman throne, as he was the biological son of the emperor.

In contrast, Nero was his adopted brother. When Claudius married Agrippina the Younger, Nero's ambitious mother, Britannicus was only a child, and his claim to the throne was overshadowed by Nero's rising prominence.

Agrippina successfully persuaded Claudius to adopt Nero as his son, which placed Nero ahead of Britannicus in the line of succession.

With Claudius's sudden death in AD 54, widely believed to have been caused by poisoning orchestrated by Agrippina, Nero ascended to the throne at the age of sixteen.

To many, Britannicus remained the rightful heir, a constant reminder of Nero's tenuous hold on power. 

Fearful of losing his grip on the throne, Nero viewed Britannicus as a direct threat to his authority.

Nero's advisors, including Seneca and Burrus, also saw the young Britannicus as a possible rallying point for factions within the Senate and the Praetorian Guard who might oppose Nero's reign.

With these fears in mind, Nero decided that Britannicus could not be allowed to live.

His paranoia grew, believing that as long as Britannicus remained alive, his own position would never be secure.

To eliminate this threat, Nero resorted to the ultimate solution: murder. 

During a banquet in the imperial palace in February AD 55, Britannicus was dining with the emperor and other members of the court.

Nero ordered a cup of wine to be brought to Britannicus, which was first tasted by a slave to dispel any fears of poisoning.

However, the first cup was not laced with poison. When Britannicus complained that the wine was too hot, a second cup was offered, this time mixed with cold water that contained a lethal dose of poison.

Britannicus immediately convulsed and collapsed in front of the guests, who were stunned into silence.

Nero calmly dismissed the incident, claiming that Britannicus suffered from a known epileptic condition.

Nevertheless, the murder of Britannicus, a boy of only fourteen, shocked Rome. 

Nero’s mother, Agrippina the Younger was a formidable figure in Roman politics.

She was the daughter of Germanicus, a beloved Roman general, and the sister of Emperor Caligula.

Her marriage to Emperor Claudius in AD 49 was seen as the beginning of her quest for power.

She quickly positioned her son, Nero, as the heir to the throne and wielded significant influence over Claudius.

Later, when Nero became emperor, she worked tirelessly to maintain her control over her son.

She even lived with him in the palace on the Palatine Hill. Proximity to the halls of power allowed her to secure her position at court, and many thought she was essentially the co-ruler with her son during the early years of his reign. 

Initially, Nero relied heavily on her guidance, but he soon began to chafe under her domineering presence.

Agrippina’s desire to control her son became a source of conflict as Nero grew older and more independent.

He resented her constant interference in his personal and political life. To assert his authority, Nero gradually distanced himself from Agrippina and began to undermine her influence at court.

In response, Agrippina grew increasingly desperate to maintain her power, threatening to support other claimants to the throne.

This power struggle between mother and son escalated, with both sides maneuvering for control over the empire’s future.

As their relationship deteriorated, it became clear that Rome could not accommodate both of their ambitions. 

Fearing that Agrippina would conspire against him, Nero decided that she had to be eliminated.

His mother’s persistent meddling and the threat she posed to his rule drove Nero to consider the unthinkable: matricide.

He viewed her as a dangerous rival who could not be allowed to live, particularly after she began to publicly criticize his decisions and rumored to be plotting with the Praetorian Guard.

Nero believed that as long as Agrippina remained alive, his reign would never be secure.

He enlisted the help of his close advisor, Anicetus, the commander of the fleet at Misenum, to devise a plan that would make her death appear accidental. 

In March AD 59, Nero invited Agrippina to his villa at Baiae, a luxurious retreat on the Bay of Naples. He hoped to lure her into a trap.

Anicetus arranged for a specially designed boat to collapse and sink while at sea, intending to drown Agrippina.

When the boat began to sink, Agrippina’s instincts and quick thinking allowed her to swim to safety, foiling the assassination attempt.

She made her way back to her villa at Antium, suspicious of Nero’s intentions. Fearing her retaliation, Nero panicked and ordered Anicetus to finish the job.

That night, soldiers were sent to her villa to carry out the brutal deed. They found Agrippina in her bedchamber and stabbed her to death. 

The next victim of Nero’s murders was his own wife, Octavia. She was also a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, since she was the daughter of Emperor Claudius and his third wife, Messalina.

Her marriage to Nero in AD 53 was arranged to consolidate political alliances and strengthen Nero's claim to the throne.

At the time of their marriage, Nero was sixteen and Octavia was only thirteen. She was known for her quiet demeanor and virtuous character, traits that stood in stark contrast to the extravagance and scandal often associated with Nero's court.

From the beginning, their marriage was an unhappy union. As Nero's reign progressed, he grew increasingly dissatisfied with Octavia. 

This was primarily because he had become infatuated with beautiful noblewoman named Poppaea Sabina.

Ancient authors suggest that Poppaea manipulated Nero into believing that Octavia posed a threat to his rule and suggesting that her noble lineage and ties to Claudius could be used by political factions against him.

So, to remove Octavia, Nero accused her of adultery, a charge that was both baseless and absurd given her well-known chastity.

However, the accusation served Nero's purposes, allowing him to divorce her and banish her to the island of Pandateria.

Her exile did not satisfy Poppaea or Nero's paranoia, and soon after, they decided that Octavia's death was necessary to eliminate any lingering threats to their position. 

Octavia's execution in 62 AD sparked outrage among the Roman people. To mask the true nature of her death, Nero's agents spread false rumors that she had conspired against him.

The public, however, did not believe these fabricated stories. Many Romans viewed Octavia as a victim of Nero's cruelty and Poppaea's ambition.

Her death, seen as unjust and brutal, fueled discontent within the empire and led to protests in the streets of Rome.

Statues of Octavia were adorned with flowers, and citizens openly mourned her, chanting her name in defiance of the emperor.

For a brief moment, the public outcry suggested a rebellion against Nero's tyrannical rule. 

The execution of Octavia significantly damaged Nero's popularity and deepened the mistrust between him and the Roman people.

Before her death, he had enjoyed a degree of support among the populace, largely due to his early promises of reform and generosity.

Yet, the cold-blooded murder of a beloved and innocent figure turned public opinion sharply against him. 

The death of his first wife might have seemed to be a victory for the romantic union between Nero and Poppaea Sabina.

However, things would quickly sour between them. Poppaea had already been married twice before: first to Rufrius Crispinus, a commander of the Praetorian Guard, but she later divorced him to marry Otho, a close friend of Nero.

When Nero began to show interest in her, she willingly seduced him. In AD 62, following Octavia's execution, Poppaea divorced Otho, married Nero, and became empress. 

Their marriage was passionate, but also intensely volatile, driven by Nero's own possessiveness and Poppaea's manipulative tendencies.

In AD 65, while pregnant with his child, Poppaea and Nero reportedly had a heated argument in the imperial palace.

According to historical accounts, Nero, in a fit of rage, struck Poppaea in the abdomen, causing her to collapse.

She died shortly thereafter, either from the trauma or complications related to her pregnancy. At the Villa of Phaon, where they often stayed, whispers of her tragic death spread quickly through Rome.

Many believed that Nero’s violent temper had directly led to her death, while others suggested a more sinister plot. 

Some historians argue that Nero’s actions were an impulsive outburst, driven by his well-documented temper and lack of self-control.

His violent streak, previously demonstrated in his treatment of Britannicus and Agrippina, suggested that Poppaea's death could have resulted from a moment of uncontrolled anger.

Yet, other sources propose that her death might have been more calculated.

Poppaea had begun to lose favor with Nero, who may have viewed her as another potential threat to his increasingly fragile authority.

By eliminating Poppaea, Nero could have rid himself of a powerful, ambitious woman who had begun to exert too much control over his decisions. 

When the Great Fire of Rome broke out in Rome on the night of July 18, AD 64, it raged for six days and destroyed large portions of the city.

Apparently, it had started in the merchant shops around the Circus Maximus, a crowded area filled with wooden structures that easily caught fire.

Then, fueled by a strong wind, the fire spread rapidly, consuming approximately two-thirds of Rome’s districts.

Three of them were completely devastated, while in the rest, thousands of homes and public buildings were reduced to ashes, and countless Roman citizens were left homeless.

In the aftermath, rumors spread that Nero had ordered the fire to clear land for his ambitious plans to rebuild Rome with grandiose palaces and monuments.

To deflect these suspicions, Nero sought a scapegoat to placate the angry and frightened populace. 

Blaming the Christians for the fire served Nero’s purposes well. Christianity was still a small and relatively obscure sect in AD 64.

As a result, it was viewed with suspicion by many Romans. Christians were seen as adherents of a strange and exclusive religion, distinct from the traditional Roman gods, which made them convenient targets.

Nero capitalized on these sentiments by accusing the Christians of arson, presenting them as enemies of the state who sought to destroy Rome.

By directing the public's anger towards this marginalized group, Nero aimed to divert attention away from himself and restore his waning popularity.

Soon after the fire, he issued a decree calling for the arrest and punishment of Christians.

This is often considered to be the first significant persecution of Christians in Roman history. 

According to historical accounts, hundreds of Christians were arrested, and many were condemned to die in the most gruesome ways.

Some were sewn into animal skins and thrown to wild dogs, who tore them apart in the arenas.

Others were crucified, with their bodies left to hang in public view as a warning to others.

Yet perhaps the most infamous form of execution involved Christians being coated in tar and set alight and used as torches to illuminate Nero’s gardens at night.

The Roman historian Tacitus described these punishments in vivid detail in order to emphasize the cruel and sadistic nature of Nero’s actions.

He noted that the cruelty was so extreme that it began to evoke sympathy for the Christians, even among those who despised their beliefs. 

The persecution of Christians under Nero resulted in the deaths of an estimated few hundred followers, though precise numbers remain uncertain due to the lack of reliable records.

Nonetheless, this wave of violence had a lasting impact on the early Christian community.

For Nero, the persecution served its purpose in the short term, temporarily shifting public outrage away from his rule.

However, his reputation for cruelty deepened further. The brutal treatment of Christians did little to quell the suspicions about his involvement in the fire, and instead, added to the perception of him as a tyrant willing to sacrifice anyone to protect his interests. 

In his last few years in power, Nero's reign became infamous for a series of political purges that eliminated anyone he perceived as a threat to his power.

His actions targeted a wide range of individuals, from political rivals to family members and former allies.

In AD 65, after the discovery of the Pisonian conspiracy, a plot led by Gaius Calpurnius Piso to assassinate Nero and install himself as emperor, Nero unleashed a brutal campaign against those suspected of disloyalty.

Numerous senators, equestrians, and even members of Nero's inner circle were implicated and subsequently executed or forced to commit suicide. 

Among the most notable victims of Nero’s political purges was Seneca, his former tutor and advisor.

Once a powerful and influential figure in Nero's court, Seneca had guided the young emperor during the early years of his reign, promoting policies of moderation and clemency.

Over time, however, Seneca’s influence waned as Nero grew more self-assured and susceptible to flattery and manipulation by others.

By AD 65, Nero viewed Seneca with suspicion, fearing his intellectual influence and potential involvement in conspiracies.

To protect his position, Nero accused Seneca of participating in the Pisonian conspiracy, though the evidence was flimsy and likely fabricated.

Seneca was ordered by Nero to take his own life, which he did with a famous stoic dignity. 

The executions extended to other prominent figures, such as Gaius Petronius, known as the 'arbiter of elegance' in Nero's court, and Faenius Rufus, the Praetorian Prefect, both accused of conspiring against Nero.

To consolidate his power further, Nero also targeted Lucan, a poet and nephew of Seneca, whose popularity and outspoken nature made him a perceived threat.

Lucan was also accused of plotting against Nero and forced to commit suicide. The relentless purges decimated the ranks of the Roman aristocracy.

Unfortunately, it removed experienced and capable leaders who could have offered counsel or stability to Nero’s increasingly erratic rule.

By eliminating so many prominent figures, Nero effectively dismantled the traditional power structures that had helped govern Rome.

The Senate soon became filled with Nero's sycophants and those too fearful to speak out against his excesses.

The Praetorian Guard also lost many of its seasoned commanders, which left it vulnerable to bribery. 

Ultimately, Nero’s purges left a legacy of fear and resentment that ultimately contributed to his downfall.

By the time of his death in AD 68, he had alienated nearly every segment of Roman society—senators, equestrians, the military, and even the common people.

His unchecked brutality led to a series of revolts across the empire. Then, the year following Nero’s death, known as the Year of the Four Emperors, plunged Rome into further civil war.

It was at that point that it became clear that the widespread purges had decimated the Roman aristocracy as well as weakened the empire’s ability to maintain stability in the face of growing internal pressures.