Son of Praetorian, Cneius Domitius Ahenobarbus, and of Agrippine the Young person, it was, by his mother, the nephew of Caligula and the descendant of Auguste. It is besides thanks to the intrigues of Agrippine that he arrived at the power: she made it adopt by its second husband, the emperor Claude (51), and made him marry the girl of this last, Octavie; it is still it which operated against Britannicus, son of Claude, so that with the death of this one, the Praetorian guard proclaims Néron emperor.

The reign of the young emperor was initially impresses of wisdom. But, weak of nature and made drunk by the power, it yielded soon to an amazing cruelty: it made poison Britannicus (55), to kill Agrippine (59) and Octavie (62), which it had repudiated with the profit of Poppée. Consequently, its extravagances did not know any more limits: taking with serious its talents of artist, it appeared in competitions of circus or was made applaud the theater. Shown to have made set fire to Rome (64), it diverted the suspicions on the Christians and launched against them a persecution campaign.

To take pleasure in the plebs, it organized plays and spectacles which, in spite of spoliations and devaluations, ruined the Treasury. It alienated the sympathy of the senators, while adapting their fortune, but managed to thwart their plots (conspiracy of Rammer, 65).

After having condemned to died all its adversaries, among which the writers Sénèque, Lucain and Pétrone, Néron could not control the movements of revolt in the Empire: Julius Vindex raised Beats it and organized the insurrection, to which Galba joined, governor of Spain citérieure. This last was recognized emperor by the senate (68).

Declared public enemy, Néron, constrained to flee Rome, chooses to be made kill by one freed. Under his reign, the foreign policy was however some successes: it restores Roman protectorate on Arménie (59), which disputed to him Parthes, and, triumphing over the rebellions, it maintained its authority on Brittany (61), like on Judaea (67).