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Home / Periods / Julio-Claudian Dynasty / Reign of Nero

Phase

Reign of Nero

54–68 CE

Nero came to power as a young emperor under the influence of advisers, family politics and the legacy of the Julio-Claudian house. His reign saw major public building, performative culture, aristocratic suspicion and increasingly severe conflict within the imperial elite.

Provincial crises also shaped the period. The Boudican revolt in Britain, unrest in Judaea and later the outbreak of rebellion among governors exposed weaknesses in the imperial system. Nero’s suicide in AD 68 ended the Julio-Claudian dynasty and opened the Year of the Four Emperors.

The Centurions begins immediately after Nero’s death, when loyalty to the dead emperor still affects the German imperial bodyguard and the Batavian units. For novelists, dynastic collapse, provincial soldiers and the first great imperial succession crisis provide natural sources of conflict and character.

Related people for Reign of Nero

Agrippina the Younger15–59 Aulus Plautius6 BCE–57 Boudica30–61 Britannicus41–55 Caligula12–41 Caratacus15–54 Claudia Acte40–c. 1st century Claudia Octavia40–62 Claudius11 BCE–54 Gaius Julius Civilisc. 25–after 70 Gaius Suetonius Paulinus10–c. 60s Galba4 BCE–69 Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo7–67 Lucan39–65 Messalina20–48 Nero37–68 Paul the Apostle5–66 Petroniusc. 27–66 Poppaea Sabina30–65 Saint Peter2 BCE–65 Senecac. 0s BCE–65 Sextus Afranius Burrus1–62 Sporus49–69 Tigellinus10–69 Titus39–81 Vespasian9–79 Vindex25–68

Series

Series about Reign of Nero (4 series)

Legion of the Damned Roman Thrillers in Order

by Jeff Jones 5 books 4.5(3,789)

The Legion of the Damned Roman Thrillers follows Marcus Corvo, a young centurion given command of a disposable unit recruited from slaves, prisoners, deserters and former gladiators. During Nero’s reign, the improvised legion is sent wherever conventional troops or imperial officials cannot afford to fail, from the Armenian…

The Nero Trilogy in Order

by Conn Iggulden 3 books 4.4(9,216)

The Nero Trilogy recounts the rise and fall of Nero through the ambitions of his mother Agrippina and the lethal politics of the Julio-Claudian court. It begins with Nero’s childhood, follows his elevation over Britannicus and ends with revolt, imperial collapse and his death.

The Calidus in Order

2 books 4.1(560)

The Calidus mysteries are set in first-century Rome during the reign of Nero and follow a recently freed slave whose position gives him access to very different levels of Roman society. Calidus begins by investigating the suspicious death of his former master, moving between slaves’ quarters, senatorial households…

Nero Series in Order

by Margaret George 2 books 4.0(5,563)

Margaret George’s Nero duology reconstructs the life of Rome’s last Julio-Claudian emperor, beginning with a childhood in which imperial blood makes Nero a target and ending with the collapse of his reign. Told largely through Nero’s own perspective, the series follows his passage through the courts of Caligula…

Books

24 Best Novels About the Reign of Nero

Non-Fiction

2 Best Non-Fiction Books About the Reign of Nero

Histories, biographies and reference works are listed separately from the historical novels above.