Nero

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, commonly referred to as Nero, was Roman Emperor from A.D. 54 to his death in A.D. 68. He succeeded the Emperor Claudius, who had adopted him in A.D. 50; Claudius already had a son, Brtiannicus.

Nero was born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus in A.D. 37, during the reign of Caligula; he was the son of Julia Agrippina and Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus. Julia's father, Germanicus Caesar, had been adopted by the Emperor Tiberius and the people of Rome felt that the family were the heirs of Augutus, who had himself adopted Tiberius. Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus died in A.D. 39. Agrippina was exiled the same year, and took her son with her, but the ascension of Claudius in A.D. 41 saw them recalled to Rome. Nero was just 17 when Claudius died, and when the Praetorian Guard proclaimed him emperor he was the youngest man to have held the position.