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105-703: The Via Domitiana was not built from scratch, but was based on an existing road and it also used works undertaken in the Neronian period for the construction of the Fossa Neronis (the canal intended to connect Rome to Pozzuoli). The road left the Appian Way at Formiae or Sinuessa. It followed the coast and crossed the rivers Savona and Volturna, passed through an area of coastal lagoons by Linterne and Cumae and ended in Pozzuoli . In 102 Trajan extended

210-560: A successful expedition . After Agrippina's exile, Burrus and Seneca were responsible for the administration of the Empire. However, Nero's "conduct became far more egregious" after his mother's death. Miriam T. Griffins suggests that Nero's decline began as early as AD 55 with the murder of his stepbrother Britannicus, but also notes that "Nero lost all sense of right and wrong and listened to flattery with total credulity" after Agrippina's death. Griffin points out that Tacitus "makes explicit

315-454: A "literary device, utilized [by Tacitus] because [he] could see no plausible explanation for Nero's conduct and also incidentally [served] to show that Nero, like Claudius, had fallen under the malign influence of a woman." Modern scholars believe that Nero's reign had been going well in the years before Agrippina's death. For example, Nero promoted the exploration of the Nile river sources with

420-643: A Roman colonia for retired soldiers. A Roman temple had been erected there to Claudius, at great expense to the local population. Combined with brutal treatment of the Britons by the veterans, this had caused resentment towards the Romans. The Iceni and the Trinovantes comprised an army of 120,000 men. Dio claimed that Boudica called upon the British goddess of victory Andraste to aid her army. Once

525-622: A brief period of civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors . Most Roman sources offer overwhelmingly negative assessments of his personality and reign. Most contemporary sources describe him as tyrannical, self-indulgent, and debauched. The historian Tacitus claims the Roman people thought him compulsive and corrupt. Suetonius tells that many Romans believed the Great Fire of Rome

630-571: A national heroine. Alfred, Lord Tennyson 's poem Boädicéa (written in 1859, and published in 1864) drew on Cowper's poem. Depicting the Iceni queen as a violent and bloodthirsty warrior, the poem also forecasted the rise of British imperialism. Tennyson's image of Boudica was taken from the engraving produced in 1812 by Stothard. Another work, the poem "Boadicea" (1859) by Francis Barker, contained strongly patriotic and Christian themes. A range of Victorian children's books mentioned Boudica; Beric

735-563: A new Leader was in the making." However, David Shotter noted that, despite events in Rome, Nero's step-brother Britannicus was more prominent in provincial coinages during the early 50s. Nero formally entered public life as an adult in AD 51 while 13 years old. When he turned 16, Nero married Claudius' daughter (his step-sister), Claudia Octavia . Between the years AD 51 and AD 53, he gave several speeches on behalf of various communities, including

840-677: A popular patriotic song in Britain during the 18th and 19th centuries. During the late 18th century, Boudica was used to develop ideas of English nationhood. Illustrations of Boudica during this period—such as in Edward Barnard's New, Complete and Authentic History of England (1790) and the drawing by Thomas Stothard of the queen as a classical heroine—lacked historical accuracy. The illustration of Boudica by Robert Havell in Charles Hamilton Smith 's The Costume of

945-442: A public enemy. Nero prepared himself for suicide , pacing up and down muttering Qualis artifex pereo ("What an artist the world is losing!"). Losing his nerve, he begged one of his companions to set an example by killing himself first. At last, the sound of approaching horsemen drove Nero to face the end. However, he still could not bring himself to take his own life, but instead forced his private secretary, Epaphroditus, to perform

1050-462: A speech Cassius Dio gives Boudica The Romans' next actions were described by Tacitus, who detailed pillaging of the countryside, the ransacking of the king's household, and the brutal treatment of Boudica and her daughters. According to Tacitus, Boudica was flogged and her daughters were raped . These abuses are not mentioned in Dio's account, who instead cites three different causes for the rebellion:

1155-609: A story about a British heroine he called 'Bunduca'. A variation of this name was used in the Jacobean play Bonduca (1612), a tragicomedy that most scholars agree was written by John Fletcher , in which one of the characters was Boudica. A version of that play called Bonduca, or the British Heroine was set to music by the English composer Henry Purcell in 1695. One of the choruses, " Britons, Strike Home! ", became

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1260-408: A substantial body of Roman legion infantry were eliminated. The governor of the province, Gaius Suetonius Paulinus , assembled his remaining forces and defeated the Britons . Although order was restored for some time, Nero considered abandoning the province. Julius Classicianus replaced the former procurator, Catus Decianus, and Classicianus advised Nero to replace Paulinus who continued to punish

1365-514: A theatre. At Subiaco, Lazio , near Rome he had 3 artificial lakes built, with waterfalls, bridges and walkways for the luxurious villa. He stayed at the Villa of Nero at Olympia, Greece , during his participation at the Olympic Games of AD 67. According to Suetonius , Nero had his former freedman Anicetus arrange a shipwreck, which Agrippina managed to survive. She then swam ashore and

1470-441: A tribe who inhabited what is now the English county of Norfolk and parts of the neighbouring counties of Cambridgeshire , Suffolk and Lincolnshire . The Iceni produced some of the earliest known British coins. They had revolted against the Romans in 47 when the Roman governor Publius Ostorius Scapula planned to disarm all the peoples of Britain under Roman control. The Romans allowed the kingdom to retain its independence once

1575-553: A tribune and a centurion of the Praetorian Guard. According to Tacitus, many conspirators wished to "rescue the state" from the emperor and restore the Republic . The freedman Milichus discovered the conspiracy and reported it to Nero's secretary, Epaphroditus . As a result, the conspiracy failed and its members were executed, including Lucan , the poet. Nero's previous advisor Seneca was accused by Natalis; he denied

1680-685: A wisdom and moderation quite alien to his character", and that he "held our liberties in his hand and respected them". Modern scholarship generally holds that, while the Senate and more well-off individuals welcomed Nero's death, the general populace was "loyal to the end and beyond, for Otho and Vitellius both thought it worthwhile to appeal to their nostalgia ". Nero's name was erased from some monuments, in what Edward Champlin regards as an "outburst of private zeal". Many portraits of Nero were reworked to represent other figures; according to Eric R. Varner, over 50 such images survive. This reworking of images

1785-519: A work whose impact resulted in Boudica's reinvention as a British imperialistic champion. One of the earliest possible mentions of Boudica (excluding Tacitus' and Dio's accounts) was the 6th century work De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae by the British monk Gildas . In it, he demonstrates his knowledge of a female leader whom he describes as a "treacherous lioness" who "butchered the governors who had been left to give fuller voice and strength to

1890-403: A yearly tribute for our very bodies? How much better it would be to have been sold to masters once for all than, possessing empty titles of freedom, to have to ransom ourselves every year! How much better to have been slain and to have perished than to go about with a tax on our heads!... Among the rest of mankind death frees even those who are in slavery to others; only in the case of the Romans do

1995-519: Is often explained as part of the way in which the memory of disgraced emperors was condemned posthumously, a practice known as damnatio memoriae . Champlin doubts that the practice is necessarily negative and notes that some continued to create images of Nero long after his death. Damaged portraits of Nero, often with hammer blows directed to the face, have been found in many provinces of the Roman Empire, three recently having been identified from

2100-460: Is thought that her words were never recorded during her life. Although imaginary, these speeches, designed to provide a comparison for readers of the antagonists' demands and approaches to war, and to portray the Romans as morally superior to their enemy, helped create an image of patriotism that turned Boudica into a legendary figure. Boudica was the consort of Prasutagus , king of the Iceni ,

2205-512: Is unclear whether Nero took his own life. With his death, the Julio-Claudian dynasty ended. Chaos would ensue in the year of the Four Emperors . According to Suetonius and Cassius Dio, the people of Rome celebrated the death of Nero. Tacitus, though, describes a more complicated political environment. Tacitus mentions that Nero's death was welcomed by senators, nobility, and the upper class. The lower class, slaves, frequenters of

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2310-684: The Florentine scholar Petruccio Ubaldini in The Lives of the Noble Ladies of the Kingdom of England and Scotland (1591) includes two female characters, 'Voadicia' and 'Bunduica', both based on Boudica. From the 1570s to the 1590s, when Elizabeth I 's England was at war with Spain, Boudica proved to be a valuable asset for the English. The English poet Edmund Spenser used the story of Boudica in his poem The Ruines of Time , involving

2415-471: The Legio IX Hispana , attempted to relieve Camulodunum, but suffered an overwhelming defeat. The infantry with him were all killed and only the commander and some of his cavalry escaped. After this disaster, Catus Decianus, whose behaviour had provoked the rebellion, fled abroad to Gaul . Suetonius was leading a campaign against the island of Mona , off the coast of North Wales. On hearing

2520-704: The Roman Empire is referred to in four works from classical antiquity written by three Roman historians: the Agricola ( c.  98 ) and Annals ( c.  110s ) by Tacitus ; a mention of the uprising by Suetonius in his Lives of the Caesars (121); and the longest account, a detailed description of the revolt contained within Cassius Dio 's history of the Empire ( c.  202  – c.  235 ). Tacitus wrote some years after

2625-460: The Roman emperor in his will . When he died, his will was ignored, and the kingdom was annexed and his property taken. According to the Roman historian Tacitus , Boudica was flogged and her daughters raped . The historian Cassius Dio wrote that previous imperial donations to influential Britons were confiscated and the Roman financier and philosopher Seneca called in the loans he had forced on

2730-604: The Scala Theatre , London, in November 1909 before a national tour, and she was described in a 1909 pamphlet as "the eternal feminine... the guardian of the hearth, the avenger of its wrongs upon the defacer and the despoiler". A "vocal minority" has claimed Boudica as a Celtic Welsh heroine. A statue of Boudica in the Marble Hall at Cardiff City Hall was among those unveiled by David Lloyd George in 1916, though

2835-472: The Tiber . Returning, Nero sought a place where he could hide and collect his thoughts. An imperial freedman, Phaon , offered his villa, 4 mi (6.4 km) outside the city. Travelling in disguise, Nero and four loyal freedmen , Epaphroditus , Phaon , Neophytus , and Sporus , reached the villa, where Nero ordered them to dig a grave for him. At this time, Nero learned that the Senate had declared him

2940-538: The United Kingdom . The civil war during the year of the Four Emperors was described by ancient historians as a troubling period. According to Tacitus, this instability was rooted in the fact that emperors could no longer rely on the perceived legitimacy of the imperial bloodline, as Nero and those before him could. Galba began his short reign with the execution of many of Nero's allies. One such notable enemy included Nymphidius Sabinus , who claimed to be

3045-509: The lyre while Rome burned "is at least partly a literary construct of Flavian propaganda ... which looked askance on the abortive Neronian attempt to rewrite Augustan models of rule". Tacitus suspends judgment on Nero's responsibility for the fire; he found that Nero was in Antium when the fire started, and returned to Rome to organize a relief effort, providing for the removal of bodies and debris, which he paid for from his own funds. After

3150-693: The Armenian capital Artaxata . Tigranes was chosen to replace Tiridates on the Armenian throne. When Tigranes attacked Adiabene , Nero had to send further legions to defend Armenia and Syria from Parthia. Iceni Revolt Boudica or Boudicca ( / ˈ b uː d ɪ k ə , b oʊ ˈ d ɪ k ə / , from Brythonic * boudi 'victory, win' + * -kā 'having' suffix, i.e. 'Victorious Woman', known in Latin chronicles as Boadicea or Boudicea , and in Welsh as Buddug , pronounced [ˈbɨðɨɡ] )

3255-507: The Briton (1893), a novel by G. A. Henty , with illustrations by William Parkinson, had a text based on the accounts of Tacitus and Dio. Boadicea and Her Daughters , a statue of the queen in her war chariot , complete with anachronistic scythes on the wheel axles, was executed by the sculptor Thomas Thornycroft . He was encouraged by Prince Albert , who lent his horses for use as models. The statue, Thornycroft's most ambitious work,

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3360-555: The Britons. Boudica died, by suicide or illness, shortly afterwards. The crisis of 60/61 caused Nero to consider withdrawing all his imperial forces from Britain, but Suetonius's victory over Boudica confirmed Roman control of the province. Interest in these events was revived in the English Renaissance and led to Boudica's fame in the Victorian era and as a cultural symbol in Britain. The Boudican revolt against

3465-473: The Emperor. The poem is also an interesting testimony on the construction of roads under the Roman Empire. This Italian road or road transport-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Neronian Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( / ˈ n ɪər oʊ / NEER -oh ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus ; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68)

3570-448: The Empire, a popular legend arose that Nero had not died and would return . After his death, at least three leaders of short-lived, failed rebellions presented themselves as " Nero reborn " to gain popular support. Nero was born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus on 15 December AD 37 in Antium (modern Anzio ), eight months after the death of Tiberius . He was an only-child, the son of the politician Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Agrippina

3675-504: The Iceni to his daughters, was denied. When the Roman procurator Catus Decianus scourged Prasutagus' wife Boudica and raped her daughters, the Iceni revolted. They were joined by the Celtic Trinovantes tribe and their uprising became the most significant provincial rebellion of the 1st century AD. Under Queen Boudica, the towns of Camulodunum (Colchester), Londinium (London) and Verulamium (St. Albans) were burned, and

3780-513: The Ilians; the Apameans (requesting a five-year tax reprieve after an earthquake); and the northern colony of Bologna , after their settlement had suffered a devastating fire. Claudius died in AD 54; many ancient historians claim that he was poisoned by Agrippina. Shotter has written that "Claudius' death...has usually been regarded as an event hastened by Agrippina, due to signs that Claudius

3885-689: The Original Inhabitants of the British Islands from the Earliest Periods to the Sixth Century (1815) was an early attempt to depict her in an historically accurate way. Cowper's 1782 poem Boadicea: An Ode was the most notable literary work to champion the resistance of the Britons, and helped to project British ideas of imperial expansion. It caused Boudica to become a British cultural icon and be perceived as

3990-584: The Via Domitiana to Naples. It was damaged by Alaric in 420 AD and ultimately destroyed by Gaiseric in 455 AD. It was partially restored under various rulers of the Kingdom of Naples in the Middle Ages and in its modern guise is a major coast road leading north from Naples. Statius wrote an entire poem on the theme of Via Domitiana. He recalled the progress made by the new road and praised

4095-522: The Younger . His mother Agrippina was the sister of the third Roman emperor Caligula . Nero was also the great-great-grandson of former emperor Augustus (descended from Augustus' only daughter, Julia ). The ancient biographer Suetonius , who was critical of Nero's ancestors, wrote that emperor Augustus had reproached Nero's grandfather for his unseemly enjoyment of violent gladiator games. According to Jürgen Malitz, Suetonius tells that Nero's father

4200-403: The Younger, the aunt that Nero had lived with during Agrippina's exile; Marcus Junius Silanus , a great-grandson of Augustus; and Narcissus . One of the earliest coins that Nero issued during his reign shows Agrippina on the coin's obverse side; usually, this would be reserved for a portrait of the emperor. The Senate also allowed Agrippina two lictors during public appearances, an honor that

4305-442: The accompaniment of sacrifices, banquets, and wanton behaviour" in sacred places, particularly the groves of Andraste. Suetonius regrouped his forces. He amassed an army of almost 10,000 men at an unidentified location, and took a stand in a defile with a wood behind. The Romans used the terrain to their advantage, launching javelins at the Britons before advancing in a wedge-shaped formation and deploying cavalry. The Roman army

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4410-558: The administrative successes of these years. Malitz writes that in later years, Nero panicked when he had to make decisions on his own during times of crisis. Nevertheless, his early administration ruled to great acclaim. A generation later those years were seen in retrospect as an exemplar of good and moderate government and described as Quinquennium Neronis by Trajan . Especially well received were fiscal reforms which among others put tax collectors under more strict control by establishing local offices to supervise their activities. After

4515-485: The affair of Lucius Pedanius Secundus , who was murdered by a desperate slave, Nero allowed slaves to file complaints about their treatment to the authorities. Outside of Rome, Nero had several villas or palaces built, the ruins of which can still be seen today. These included the Villa of Nero at Antium, his place of birth, where he razed the villa on the site to rebuild it on a more massive and imperial scale and including

4620-416: The arena and the theater, and "those who were supported by the famous excesses of Nero", on the other hand, were upset with the news. Members of the military were said to have mixed feelings, as they had allegiance to Nero but had been bribed to overthrow him. Eastern sources, namely Philostratus and Apollonius of Tyana , mention that Nero's death was mourned as he "restored the liberties of Hellas with

4725-408: The blame upon herself for not expelling the Romans as they had done when Julius Caesar invaded. The willingness of those seen as barbarians to sacrifice a higher quality of living under the Romans in exchange for their freedom and personal liberty was an important part of what Dio considered to be motivation for the rebellions. The first target of the rebels was Camulodunum (modern Colchester ),

4830-562: The burning of Troy. Suetonius wrote that Nero started the fire to clear the site for his planned palatial Golden House . This would include lush artificial landscapes and a 30-meter-tall statue of himself, the Colossus of Nero , sited more or less where the Colosseum would eventually be built. Suetonius and Cassius Dio claim that Nero sang the " Sack of Ilium " in stage costume while the city burned. The popular legend that Nero played

4935-468: The charges but was still ordered to commit suicide, as by this point he had fallen out of favor with Nero. Nero was said to have kicked Poppaea to death in AD 65, before she could give birth to his second child. Modern historians, noting the probable biases of Suetonius, Tacitus, and Cassius Dio, and the likely absence of eyewitnesses to such an event, propose that Poppaea may have died after miscarriage or in childbirth. Nero went into deep mourning; Poppaea

5040-459: The cithara or lyre, and whose face was similar to that of the dead emperor, appeared in 69 AD during the reign of Vitellius. After persuading some to recognize him, he was captured and executed. Sometime during the reign of Titus (79–81), another impostor appeared in Asia and sang to the accompaniment of the lyre and looked like Nero, but he, too, was killed. Twenty years after Nero's death, during

5145-467: The corruption of court favorites and freedmen, and above all to respect the privileges of the Senate and individual Senators." His respect for Senatorial autonomy, which distinguished him from Caligula and Claudius, was generally well received by the Roman Senate . Scullard writes that Nero's mother, Agrippina, "meant to rule through her son". Agrippina murdered her political rivals: Domitia Lepida

5250-482: The deaths of both his wife Claudia Octavia – supposedly so he could marry Poppaea Sabina – and his stepbrother Britannicus . Nero's practical contributions to Rome's governance focused on diplomacy , trade , and culture . He ordered the construction of amphitheaters , and promoted athletic games and contests . He made public appearances as an actor, poet, musician, and charioteer , which scandalized his aristocratic contemporaries as these occupations were usually

5355-459: The domain of slaves, public entertainers, and infamous persons . However, the provision of such entertainments made Nero popular among lower-class citizens. The costs involved were borne by local elites either directly or through taxation, and were much resented by the Roman aristocracy . During Nero's reign, the general Corbulo fought the Roman–Parthian War of 58–63 , and made peace with

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5460-555: The endeavours of Roman rule." Both Bede 's Ecclesiastical History of the English People (731) and the 9th century work Historia Brittonum by the Welsh monk Nennius include references to the uprising of 60/61—but do not mention Boudica. No contemporary description of Boudica exists. Dio, writing more than a century after her death, provided a detailed description of the Iceni queen (translated in 1925): "In stature she

5565-449: The evening in the palace. After sleeping, he awoke at about midnight to find the palace guard had left. Dispatching messages to his friends' palace chambers for them to come, he received no answers. Upon going to their chambers personally, he found them all abandoned. When he called for a gladiator or anyone else adept with a sword to kill him, no one appeared. He cried, "Have I neither friend nor foe?" and ran out as if to throw himself into

5670-632: The event that the Emperor survived. Suetonius differs in some details, but also implicates Halotus and Agrippina. Like Tacitus, Cassius Dio writes that the poison was prepared by Locusta, but in Dio's account it is administered by Agrippina instead of Halotus. In Apocolocyntosis , Seneca the Younger does not mention mushrooms at all. Agrippina's involvement in Claudius' death is not accepted by all modern scholars. Before Claudius' death, Agrippina had maneuvered to remove Claudius' sons' tutors in order to replace them with tutors that she had selected. She

5775-406: The extent of its destruction is unclear. Dio and Tacitus both reported that around 80,000 people were said to have been killed by the rebels. According to Tacitus, the Britons had no interest in taking the Roman population as prisoners, only in slaughter by " gibbet , fire, or cross". Dio adds that the noblest women were impaled on spikes and had their breasts cut off and sewn to their mouths, "to

5880-513: The fire an accident, as the merchant shops were timber-framed and sold flammable goods, and the outer seating stands of the Circus were timber-built. Others claimed it was arson committed on Nero's behalf. The accounts by Pliny the Elder , Suetonius, and Cassius Dio suggest several possible reasons for Nero's alleged arson, including his creation of a real-life backdrop to a theatrical performance about

5985-496: The fire, Nero opened his palaces to provide shelter for the homeless, and arranged for food supplies to be delivered in order to prevent starvation among the survivors. Tacitus writes that to remove suspicion from himself, Nero accused Christians of starting the fire. According to this account, many Christians were arrested and brutally executed by "being thrown to the beasts, crucified, and being burned alive". Tacitus asserts that in his imposition of such ferocious punishments, Nero

6090-612: The first treason trial of his reign ( maiestas trial) against Antistius Sosianus. He also executed his rivals Cornelius Sulla and Rubellius Plautus . Jürgen Malitz considers this to be a turning point in Nero's relationship with the Roman Senate . Malitz writes that "Nero abandoned the restraint he had previously shown because he believed a course supporting the Senate promised to be less and less profitable." After Burrus' death, Nero appointed two new Praetorian prefects: Faenius Rufus and Ofonius Tigellinus . Politically isolated, Seneca

6195-516: The governor of Hispania Tarraconensis , to join the rebellion and to declare himself emperor in opposition to Nero. At the Battle of Vesontio in May 68, Verginius' forces easily defeated those of Vindex, and the latter committed suicide. However, after defeating the rebel, Verginius' legions attempted to proclaim their own commander as Emperor. Verginius refused to act against Nero, but the discontent of

6300-594: The hostile Parthian Empire . The Roman general Suetonius Paulinus quashed a major revolt in Britain led by queen Boudica . The Bosporan Kingdom was briefly annexed to the empire, and the First Jewish–Roman War began. When the Roman senator Vindex rebelled, with support from the eventual Roman emperor Galba , Nero was declared a public enemy and condemned to death in absentia . He fled Rome, and on 9 June AD 68 committed suicide. His death sparked

6405-401: The intention of going to the port of Ostia and, from there, to take a fleet to one of the still-loyal eastern provinces. According to Suetonius, Nero abandoned the idea when some army officers openly refused to obey his commands, responding with a line from Virgil 's Aeneid : "Is it so dreadful a thing then to die?" Nero then toyed with the idea of fleeing to Parthia , throwing himself upon

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6510-547: The legions of Germania and the continued opposition of Galba in Hispania did not bode well for him. While Nero had retained some control of the situation, support for Galba increased despite his being officially declared a "public enemy". The prefect of the Praetorian Guard , Gaius Nymphidius Sabinus , also abandoned his allegiance to the Emperor and came out in support of Galba. In response, Nero fled Rome with

6615-478: The mercy of Galba, or appealing to the people and begging them to pardon him for his past offences "and if he could not soften their hearts, to entreat them at least to allow him the prefecture of Egypt ". Suetonius reports that the text of this speech was later found in Nero's writing desk, but that he dared not give it from fear of being torn to pieces before he could reach the Forum. Nero returned to Rome and spent

6720-528: The name by which she was known during most of her life is unknown. The English linguist and translator Kenneth Jackson concluded that the name Boudica —based on later developments in Welsh ( Buddug ) and Irish ( Buaidheach )—derives from the Proto-Celtic feminine adjective * boudīkā 'victorious', which in turn is derived from the Celtic word * boudā 'victory', and that the correct spelling of

6825-741: The name in Common Brittonic (the British Celtic language) is Boudica , pronounced [boʊˈdiːkaː] . Variations on the historically correct Boudica include Boudicca , Bonduca , Boadicea , and Buduica . The Gaulish version of her name is attested in inscriptions as Boudiga in Bordeaux , Boudica in Lusitania , and Bodicca in Algeria. Boudica's name was spelt incorrectly by Dio, who used Buduica . Her name

6930-402: The new emperor. Nero's mother married Claudius in AD 49, becoming his fourth wife. On 25 February AD 50, Claudius was pressured to adopt Nero as his son, giving him the new name of "Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus". Claudius had gold coins issued to mark the adoption. Classics professor Josiah Osgood has written that "the coins, through their distribution and imagery alike, showed that

7035-475: The news of the Iceni uprising, he left a garrison on Mona and returned to deal with Boudica. He moved quickly with a force of men through hostile territory to Londinium, which he reached before the arrival of Boudica's army but, outnumbered, he decided to abandon the town to the rebels, who burned it down after torturing and killing everyone who had remained. The rebels also sacked the municipium of Verulamium (modern St Albans ), north-west of London, though

7140-533: The period was riddled with deflation and that Nero intended his spending on public-work and charities to ease economic troubles. Nero became emperor in AD 54, aged 16. His tutor, Seneca , prepared Nero's first speech before the Senate. During this speech, Nero spoke about "eliminating the ills of the previous regime". H. H. Scullard writes that "he promised to follow the Augustan model in his principate, to end all secret trials intra cubiculum , to have done with

7245-511: The population even after the rebellion was over. Nero decided to adopt a more lenient approach by appointing a new governor, Petronius Turpilianus . Nero began preparing for war in the early years of his reign, after the Parthian king Vologeses set his brother Tiridates on the Armenian throne. Around AD 57 and AD 58 Domitius Corbulo and his legions advanced on Tiridates and captured

7350-598: The rebellion, but his father-in-law Gnaeus Julius Agricola was an eyewitness to the events, having served in Britain as a tribune under Suetonius Paulinus during this period. Cassius Dio began his history of Rome and its empire about 140 years after Boudica's death. Much is lost and his account of Boudica survives only in the epitome of an 11th-century Byzantine monk , John Xiphilinus . He provides greater and more lurid detail than Tacitus, but in general his details are often fictitious. Both Tacitus and Dio give an account of battle-speeches given by Boudica, though it

7455-533: The recalling of loans that were given to the Britons by Seneca ; Decianus Catus's confiscation of money formerly loaned to the Britons by the Emperor Claudius ; and Boudica's own entreaties. The loans were thought by the Iceni to have been repaid by gift exchange. Dio gives Boudica a speech to her people and their allies reminding them that life was much better before the Roman occupation, stressing that wealth cannot be enjoyed under slavery and placing

7560-440: The reconstruction, Nero's government increased taxation. Particularly heavy tributes were imposed on the provinces of the empire. To meet at least a portion of the costs, Nero devalued the Roman currency , increasing inflationary pressure for the first time in the Empire's history. In AD 65, Gaius Calpurnius Piso , a Roman statesman, organized a conspiracy against Nero with the help of Subrius Flavus and Sulpicius Asper ,

7665-506: The reign of Domitian , there was a third pretender. He was supported by the Parthians, who only reluctantly gave him up, and the matter almost came to war. In Britannia (Britain) in AD 59, Prasutagus , leader of the Iceni tribe and a client king of Rome during Claudius' reign, had died. The client state arrangement was unlikely to survive following the death of Claudius. The will of the Iceni tribal King Prasutagus, leaving control of

7770-497: The reluctant Britons. In 60/61, Boudica led the Iceni and other British tribes in revolt. They destroyed Camulodunum (modern Colchester ), earlier the capital of the Trinovantes , but at that time a colonia for discharged Roman soldiers. Upon hearing of the revolt, the Roman governor Gaius Suetonius Paulinus hurried from the island of Mona (modern Anglesey) to Londinium , the 20-year-old commercial settlement that

7875-524: The revolt had begun, the only Roman troops available to provide assistance, aside from the few within the colony, were 200 auxiliaries located in London, who were not equipped to fight Boudica's army. Camulodunum was captured by the rebels; those inhabitants who survived the initial attack took refuge in the Temple of Claudius for two days before they were killed. Quintus Petillius Cerialis , then commanding

7980-585: The significance of Agrippina's removal for Nero's conduct". He began to build a new palace, the Domus Transitoria , from about AD 60. It was intended to connect all of the imperial estates that had been acquired in various ways, with the Palatine including the Gardens of Maecenas , Horti Lamiani , Horti Lolliani , etc. In AD 62, Nero's adviser Burrus died. That same year, Nero called for

8085-782: The slope of the Aventine overlooking the Circus Maximus , or in the wooden outer seating of the Circus itself. Rome had always been vulnerable to fires, and this one was fanned to catastrophic proportions by the winds. Tacitus, Cassius Dio, and modern archaeology describe the destruction of mansions, ordinary residences, public buildings, and temples on the Aventine, Palatine, and Caelian hills. The fire burned for over seven days before subsiding; it then started again and burned for three more. It destroyed three of Rome's 14 districts and severely damaged seven more. Some Romans thought

8190-471: The son of Emperor Caligula . Otho overthrew Galba. Otho was said to be liked by many soldiers because he had been a friend of Nero and resembled him somewhat in temperament. It was said that the common Roman hailed Otho as Nero himself. Otho used "Nero" as a surname and reerected many statues to Nero. Vitellius overthrew Otho. Vitellius began his reign with a large funeral for Nero complete with songs written by Nero. After Nero's death in AD 68, there

8295-468: The south facade, sculpted by L J Watts in 1902; another depiction of her is in a stained glass window by Clayton and Bell in the council chamber. Boudica was adopted by the suffragettes as one of the symbols of the campaign for women's suffrage . In 1908, a "Boadicea Banner" was carried in several National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies marches. She appears as a character in A Pageant of Great Women written by Cicely Hamilton , which opened at

8400-658: The task. When one of the horsemen entered and saw that Nero was dying, he attempted to stop the bleeding, but efforts to save Nero's life were unsuccessful. Nero's final words were "Too late! This is fidelity!". He died on 9 June 68, the anniversary of the death of his first wife, Claudia Octavia , and was buried in the Mausoleum of the Domitii Ahenobarbi, in what is now the Villa Borghese ( Pincian Hill ) area of Rome. According to Sulpicius Severus , it

8505-454: The throne with the backing of the Praetorian Guard and the Senate. In the early years of his reign, Nero was advised and guided by his mother Agrippina, his tutor Seneca the Younger , and his praetorian prefect Sextus Afranius Burrus , but sought to rule independently and rid himself of restraining influences. The power struggle between Nero and his mother reached its climax when he orchestrated her murder. Roman sources also implicate Nero in

8610-600: The uprising was suppressed. On his death in AD 60/61, Prasutagus made his two daughters as well as the Roman Emperor Nero his heirs. The Romans ignored the will, and the kingdom was absorbed into the province of Britannia . Catus Decianus , procurator of Britain, was sent to secure the Iceni kingdom for Rome. "Have we not been robbed entirely of most of our possessions, and those the greatest, while for those that remain we pay taxes? Besides pasturing and tilling for them all our other possessions, do we not pay

8715-465: The usual ceremonies, including a dowry and a bridal veil. It is believed that he did this out of regret for his killing of Poppaea. In March 68, Gaius Julius Vindex , the governor of Gallia Lugdunensis , rebelled against Nero's tax policies. Lucius Verginius Rufus , the governor of Germania Superior , was ordered to put down Vindex's rebellion. In an attempt to gain support from outside his own province, Vindex called upon Servius Sulpicius Galba ,

8820-441: The very dead remain alive for their profit. Why is it that, though none of us has any money (how, indeed, could we, or where would we get it?), we are stripped and despoiled like a murderer's victims? And why should the Romans be expected to display moderation as time goes on, when they have behaved toward us in this fashion at the very outset, when all men show consideration even for the beasts they have newly captured?" —Part of

8925-538: Was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty , reigning from AD 54 until his death in AD 68. Nero was born at Antium in AD ;37, the son of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Agrippina the Younger (great-granddaughter of the emperor Augustus ). Nero was three when his father died. By the time Nero turned eleven, his mother married Emperor Claudius , who then adopted Nero as his heir. Upon Claudius' death in AD 54, Nero ascended to

9030-417: Was a queen of the ancient British Iceni tribe, who led a failed uprising against the conquering forces of the Roman Empire in AD 60 or 61. She is considered a British national heroine and a symbol of the struggle for justice and independence. Boudica's husband Prasutagus , with whom she had two daughters, ruled as a nominally independent ally of Rome. He left his kingdom jointly to his daughters and to

9135-487: Was a widespread belief, especially in the eastern provinces, that he was not dead and somehow would return. This belief came to be known as the Nero Redivivus Legend . The legend of Nero's return lasted for hundreds of years after Nero's death. Augustine of Hippo wrote of the legend as a popular belief in AD 422. At least three Nero impostors emerged leading rebellions. The first, who sang and played

9240-621: Was also able to convince Claudius to replace two prefects of the Praetorian Guard (who were suspected of supporting Claudius' son) with Afranius Burrus (Nero's future guide). Since Agrippina had replaced the guard officers with men loyal to her, Nero was subsequently able to assume power without incident. The main ancient Roman literary sources for Nero's reign are Tacitus , Suetonius and Cassius Dio . They found Nero's construction projects overly extravagant and claim that their cost left Italy "thoroughly exhausted by contributions of money" with "the provinces ruined". Modern historians note that

9345-483: Was also misspelled by Tacitus, who added a second 'c.' After the misspelling was copied by a medieval scribe , further variations began to appear. Along with the second 'c' becoming an 'e,' an 'a' appeared in place of the 'u', which produced the medieval (and most common) version of the name, Boadicea . The true spelling was totally obscured when Boadicea first appeared in around the 17th century. William Cowper used this spelling in his poem Boadicea, an Ode (1782),

9450-612: Was customarily bestowed upon only magistrates and the Vestalis Maxima . In AD 55, Nero removed Agrippina's ally Marcus Antonius Pallas from his position in the treasury. Shotter writes the following about Agrippina's deteriorating relationship with Nero: "What Seneca and Burrus probably saw as relatively harmless in Nero—his cultural pursuits and his affair with the slave girl Claudia Acte —were to her signs of her son's dangerous emancipation of himself from her influence." Britannicus

9555-399: Was executed by Anicetus, who reported her death as a suicide. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome cautiously notes that Nero's reasons for killing his mother in AD 59 are "not fully understood". According to Tacitus , the source of conflict between Nero and his mother was Nero's affair with Poppaea Sabina . In Histories Tacitus writes that the affair began while Poppaea

9660-470: Was forced to retire. According to Tacitus, Nero divorced Octavia on grounds of infertility, and banished her. After public protests over Octavia's exile, Nero accused her of adultery with Anicetus, and she was executed. In AD 64 during the Saturnalia , Nero married Pythagoras , a freedman . The Great Fire of Rome began on the night of 18 to 19 July 64, probably in one of the merchant shops on

9765-498: Was given a sumptuous state funeral and divine honors , and was promised a temple for her cult. A year's importation of incense was burned at the funeral. Her body was not cremated, as would have been strictly customary, but embalmed after the Egyptian manner and entombed; it is not known where. In AD 67, Nero married Sporus , a young boy who is said to have greatly resembled Poppaea. Nero had him castrated and married him with all

9870-429: Was heavily outnumbered — according to Dio the rebels numbered 230,000 — but Boudica's army was crushed, and according to Tacitus, neither the women nor the animals were spared. Tacitus states that Boudica poisoned herself; Dio says she fell sick and died, after which she was given a lavish burial. It has been argued that these accounts are not mutually exclusive. Boudica may have been an honorific title, in which case

9975-406: Was instigated by Nero to clear land for his planned " Golden House ". Tacitus claims Nero seized Christians as scapegoats for the fire and had them burned alive, seemingly motivated not by public justice, but personal cruelty. Some modern historians question the reliability of ancient sources on Nero's tyrannical acts, considering his popularity among the Roman commoners. In the eastern provinces of

10080-586: Was interpreted by historians, poets and dramatists . Boudica appeared as 'Voadicia' in a history, Anglica Historia , by the Italian scholar Polydore Vergil , and in the Scottish historian Hector Boece 's The History and Chronicles of Scotland (1526) she is 'Voada'—the first appearance of Boudica in a British publication. Boudica was called 'Voadicia' in the English historian Raphael Holinshed 's Chronicles , published between 1577 and 1587. A narrative by

10185-547: Was involved in a serious political scandal. His mother and his two surviving sisters, Agrippina and Julia Livilla , were exiled to a remote island in the Mediterranean Sea . His mother was said to have been exiled for plotting to overthrow the emperor Caligula. Nero's inheritance was taken from him, and he was sent to live with his paternal aunt Domitia Lepida , the mother of later emperor Claudius 's third wife, Messalina . After Caligula's death, Claudius became

10290-449: Was known to be "irascible and brutal", and that both "enjoyed chariot races and theater performances to a degree not befitting their position". Suetonius also mentions that when Nero's father Domitius was congratulated by his friends for the birth of his son, he replied that any child born to him and Agrippina would have a detestable nature and become a public danger. Domitius died in AD 41. A few years before his father's death, his father

10395-466: Was not motivated by a sense of justice, but by a penchant for personal cruelty. Houses built after the fire were spaced out, built in brick, and faced by porticos on wide roads. Nero also built himself a new palace complex known as the Domus Aurea in an area cleared by the fire. The cost to rebuild Rome was immense, requiring funds the state treasury did not have. To find the necessary funds for

10500-613: Was poisoned after Agrippina threatened to side with him. Nero, who was having an affair with Acte, exiled Agrippina from the palace when she began to cultivate a relationship with his wife Octavia. Jürgen Malitz writes that ancient sources do not provide any clear evidence to evaluate the extent of Nero's personal involvement in politics during the first years of his reign. He describes the policies that are explicitly attributed to Nero as "well-meant but incompetent notions" like Nero's failed initiative to abolish all taxes in AD 58. Scholars generally credit Nero's advisors Burrus and Seneca with

10605-539: Was produced between 1856 and 1871, cast in 1896, and positioned on the Victoria Embankment next to Westminster Bridge in 1902. Boudica was once thought to have been buried at a place which lies now between platforms 9 and 10 in King's Cross station in London. There is no evidence for this and it is probably a post-World War II invention. At Colchester Town Hall , a life-sized statue of Boudica stands on

10710-472: Was showing a renewed affection for his natural son." He notes that among ancient sources, the Roman historian Josephus was uniquely reserved in describing the poisoning as a rumor. Contemporary sources differ in their accounts of the poisoning. Tacitus says that the poison-maker Locusta prepared the toxin, which was served to the Emperor by his servant Halotus . Tacitus also writes that Agrippina arranged for Claudius' doctor Xenophon to administer poison, in

10815-653: Was still married to Rufrius Crispinus , but in his later work Annals Tacitus says Poppaea was married to Otho when the affair began. In Annals Tacitus writes that Agrippina opposed Nero's affair with Poppaea because of her affection for his wife Octavia . Anthony A. Barrett writes that Tacitus' account in Annals "suggests that Poppaea's challenge drove [Nero] over the brink". A number of modern historians have noted that Agrippina's death would not have offered much advantage for Poppaea, as Nero did not marry Poppaea until AD 62. Barrett writes that Poppaea seems to serve as

10920-556: Was the rebels' next target. Unable to defend the settlement, he evacuated and abandoned it. Boudica's army defeated a detachment of the Legio IX Hispana , and burnt both Londinium and Verulamium . In all, an estimated 70,000–80,000 Romans and Britons were killed by Boudica's followers. Suetonius, meanwhile, regrouped his forces, possibly in the West Midlands , and despite being heavily outnumbered, he decisively defeated

11025-578: Was very tall, in appearance most terrifying, in the glance of her eye most fierce, and her voice was harsh; a great mass of the tawniest hair fell to her hips; around her neck was a large golden necklace; and she wore a tunic of divers colours over which a thick mantle was fastened with a brooch. This was her invariable attire." During the Renaissance the works of Tacitus and Cassius Dio became available in England, after which her status changed as it

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