It’s the 9th of June 68 AD and this is the
end for me. I have been named an enemy of the people and
have been sentenced to death by beating. But I will be the one to determine my own
fate, for I am Nero the Emperor of Rome; Singer, Performer, Musician and Chariot Racer. “What an artist dies in me.” I was once heralded as a generous emperor,
bringing about a kind of Golden Age. Taxes were lowered and the arts were celebrated
everywhere. I performed in plays, sang in concerts and
played instruments to my loyal followers. There are even stories that people tell of
me playing my lyre while Rome burned in 64 AD, but I will let you judge whether you or
not you think I would do such a thing. I even postponed the Olympics in Greece by
a year so I could train and race chariots there. However, it seems that good things never last. I am unsure about how I got to this point,
on the verge of suicide and being called a tyrant and enemy of the people. I am the last in the line of the Julio-Claudian
Dynasty, but I was not always called Nero. I was born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus in
37 AD, the son of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Agrippina the Younger. My father died when I was very young and my
mother remarried, this time her Uncle, Emperor Claudius. My mother was a very persuasive woman when
she wanted to be, as Claudius adopted me and named me his successor, instead of his own
son, Britannicus. I was later wed to Octavia, Claudius’ daughter,
which only strengthened my claim to the Empire. My mother was, of course, thrilled about this. My mother is now dead. In fact, I gave the order for my mother's
murder. Such an act is usually frowned upon in Rome,
but the murder was actually better received than I had expected. I was left with no other option, you see. It all happened like this… I had been named Emperor of Rome in 54 AD,
but I was only 17, and I still wanted to explore my interests. This is when I came up with the genius solution
of leaving my two trusted advisors, Burrus and Seneca, and my mother in charge of affairs,
while I indulged in my passions. The people were happy, as the Senate shared
power with me, they had a range of entertainment options to choose from; games, plays, tournaments
and they had an Emperor blessed with creativity. The time came though, when I decided to take
more responsibility, which Seneca definitely agreed with. However, my mother was not as keen on this
idea. She took this so badly, in fact, that she
started to push Britannicus’ claim to the throne. Britannicus was younger than me and was reaching
the birthday that would mark him as an adult, an age at which he would be able to make a
legitimate claim to the Empire. Lets just say that her plan failed as Britannicus
died suspiciously the day before he could reach that birthday. I banished my mother, but this really did
not make much difference. My mother had always looked upon my personal
relationships disapprovingly. I did not want to be shackled to my wife,
Octavia, any longer, she was not providing me with an heir which made her useless. I started to look elsewhere, which infuriated
my mother. She insisted that I could not divorce Octavia,
as it would turn the people against me, and also refused to accept the other women I chose
instead. I was fed up with my mother’s interfering
and deceiving nature, and despite her meddling, I fell in love with a noblewoman, Poppaea
Sabina. I had reached my limit. In 59 AD, I began to hear whispers that my
mother was plotting to kill me. So I decided to kill her first. I asked my men to sink her boat, but that
mission failed so I stopped with the elaborate schemes and sent them to kill her in her home. I mean, anyone would have done the same in
my position. Seneca, one of my closest advisors assured
me that I had made the right decision. Without my mother’s interference, I then
started to take action and make my own decisions. I started with divorcing my wife, Octavia. I later had her executed on the grounds of
adultery. Some were very critical of this, saying that
I had fabricated the whole thing. But I do know one thing, that it was highly
convenient, as it meant I could live, at long last, with my true love Poppaea Sabina who
was already pregnant with my daughter. In January 63 AD my daughter was born. Finally I had an heir to my Dynasty. But this happiness did not last long as my
daughter died only a few months later. I was distraught and I think this was a turning
point for me. I became filled with anger and rage. The following year, in July of 64 AD, Rome
burnt in the Great Fire, which devastated the city and the people within it. I was quick to organise a relief effort to
help rebuild the city, but as the centre was already burned down I decided that it was
a great opportunity to do something new and wonderful that all the people of Rome could
appreciate, so I ordered a grand Gold Palace built, which would also contain a huge statue
of myself. Considering I gave so much back to Rome I
thought it was only fair to give something back to myself and what is better than having
a grand statute of yourself to admire? However, despite my relief efforts, I was
still receiving a lot of criticism. I don’t think the people of Rome liked the
increase in taxes, but what else was I meant to do? People even went as far as to spread rumours
saying that I caused the fire and played my lyre and sang in the palace while the city
burned. I will let you believe whomever you want,
I knew that it was more likely to be the actions of the agitating Christians. I knew there was merit to these rumors and
that I must act. I encouraged the persecution of Christians
throughout Rome, nailing them to crosses, and setting them afire at night to illuminate
the great city. Someone had to pay. Even with someone to blame for the fire, people
still began to turn against me. I suspected that at parties people were saying
things behind my back and my own political supporters were growing thin. I tried everything to gain back the people’s
support, I even gave public performances where I performed plays and sang. I made sure that everyone enjoyed these special
performances and that no one was allowed to leave, even if it meant they died while watching. These performances though were simply not
appreciated. I had to ensure that my position of power
remained intact, so I did what anyone else would do in my shoes. I eliminated my opposition, by having anyone
that opposed me or said anything bad about me executed. Some may think this harsh, but I did not want
to take any chances. I found out about a conspiracy to murder me
in 65 AD by some of the Roman officials, so I quickly had them all executed. As you can imagine I was feeling very anxious
at this time and I experienced a lot of rage, but so would anyone in my position. Unfortunately, sometimes even my wife Poppea
got in the way, like the time when she angered me and I was forced to kick her in the stomach. She had been pregnant and died soon after,
but I don’t think that it was me that killed her, it was just unfortunate timing. After the death of Poppea things turned really
dark for me. Revolts were taking place all over the Empire,
land had been lost and wars had cost Rome a lot of money. In 68 AD, the current year, I returned home
from an extended trip to Greece. Oh, how I love Greece with its Olympic Games,
you know they even started to include artistic challenges just for me? Anyway, I returned home to find the Roman
Governor Gaius Iulius Vindex of Gaul revolting against my throne. I did not think much of this revolt at the
time and so decided to just ignore it, like so many before. But this turned out to be the end of me. What I did not know was that Governor Galba,
who was supported by Governor Gaius, was gaining support within Rome and the Senate were slowly
turning against me in support of him. It was when the Praetorian Guard, whose job
it is to protect the Emperor, turned against me and renounced me as their Emperor that
I started to worry. I knew that I had to get out. The Senate named me an enemy of the people
and I fled Rome as quickly as I could. I have since heard that I am to be arrested
and beaten to death… me… a great Emperor, talented artistic athlete and musician, Nero
Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. I cannot believe that it has come to this. Oh “what an artist dies in me.”
