Editing Nero (section)

==Early life==
Nero was born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus on 15 December AD 37 in Antium (modern [[Anzio]]), eight months after the death of [[Tiberius]].{{sfn|Suetonius, ''Nero''|loc=6}}{{sfn|Barrett|2010}} He was an only-child, the son of the politician [[Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (father of Nero)|Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus]] and [[Agrippina the Younger]]. His mother Agrippina was the sister of the third Roman emperor [[Caligula]].{{sfn|Barrett|Fantham|Yardley|2016|p=5}} Nero was also the great-great-grandson of former emperor [[Augustus]] (descended from Augustus' only daughter, [[Julia the Elder|Julia]]).{{sfn|Malitz|2005|p=3}}
[[File:Statue of Nero.jpg|thumb|Statue of Nero in his birthplace of [[Anzio]], [[Italy]]]]

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 was known to be "irascible and brutal", and that both "enjoyed chariot races and theater performances to a degree not befitting their position".{{sfn|Malitz|2005|p=3}} 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.{{sfn|Suetonius, ''Nero''|loc=6}}

Domitius died in AD 41. A few years before his father's death, his father was involved in a serious political scandal.{{sfn|Malitz|2005|p=3}} His mother and his two surviving sisters, Agrippina and [[Julia Livilla]], were exiled to a remote island in the [[Mediterranean Sea]].{{sfn|Malitz|2005|p=4}} His mother was said to have been exiled for plotting to overthrow the emperor Caligula.{{sfn|Barrett|2010}} 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]].{{sfn|Shotter|2012|p=11}}

After Caligula's death, Claudius became the new emperor. Nero's mother married Claudius in AD 49, becoming his fourth wife.{{efn|Tacitus wrote the following about Agrippina's marriage to Claudius: "From this moment the country was transformed. Complete obedience was accorded to a woman—and not a woman like Messalina who toyed with national affairs. This was a rigorous, almost masculine, despotism. In public, Agrippina was austere and often arrogant. Her private life was chaste—unless power was to be gained. Her passion to acquire money was unbounded; she wanted it as a stepping stone to supremacy."{{sfn|Shotter|2012|p=11}}}}{{sfn|Barrett|2010}} On 25 February AD 50,{{efn|The date is recorded in the [[Acta Arvalia]]<ref>[[Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae|''ILS'']] 
 [https://archive.org/details/inscriptioneslat01dessuoft/page/58/mode/2up 229.58]</ref> and the year was "in the consulate of [[Gaius Antistius Vetus (consul 50)|Gaius Antistius]] and [[Marcus Suillius Nerullinus|Marcus Suillius]]".{{sfn|Tacitus, ''Annals''|loc=[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Tacitus/Annals/12A*.html#25 12.25]}} [[Suetonius]] states that Nero was "in the eleventh year of his age", which is most likely a mistake.{{sfn|Suetonius, ''Nero''|loc=7 (n. 16)}}}} Claudius was pressured to adopt Nero as his son, giving him the new name of "Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus".{{efn|For further information see [[Adoption in ancient Rome|adoption in Rome]].}}{{sfn|Shotter|2016|p=51}} Claudius had gold coins issued to mark the adoption.{{sfn|Buckley|Dinter|2013|p=119}} Classics professor Josiah Osgood has written that "the coins, through their distribution and imagery alike, showed that a new Leader was in the making."{{sfn|Osgood|2011|p=231}} However, [[David Shotter]] noted that, despite events in Rome, Nero's step-brother [[Britannicus]] was more prominent in provincial coinages during the early 50s.{{sfn|Shotter|2016|p=52}}

[[File:Relief from the Sebasteion depicting Nero and Agrippina, Aphrodisias Museum, Turkey (20481225182).jpg|left|thumb|upright|Relief from the [[Sebasteion]] depicting Nero and his mother, [[Agrippina the Younger|Agrippina]]]]

Nero formally entered public life as an adult in AD 51 while 13 years old.{{sfn|Shotter|2016|p=51}} 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 the Ilians; the [[Apamea (Phrygia)|Apameans]] (requesting a five-year tax reprieve after an earthquake); and the northern colony of [[Bologna]], after their settlement had suffered a devastating fire.{{sfn|Osgood|2011|p=231}}

[[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 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.{{sfn|Shotter|2016|p=53}} 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 [[Gaius Stertinius Xenophon|Xenophon]] to administer poison, in the event that the Emperor survived.{{sfn|Shotter|2016|p=53}} Suetonius differs in some details, but also implicates Halotus and Agrippina.{{efn|Suetonius wrote "That Claudius was poisoned is the general belief, but when it was done and by whom is disputed. Some say that it was his taster, the eunuch Halotus, as he was banqueting on the Citadel  with the priests; others that at a family dinner Agrippina served the drug to him with her own hand in mushrooms, a dish of which he was extravagantly fond.. His death was kept quiet until all the arrangements were made about the succession."<ref>Suetonius, [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Claudius*.html#44 Life of Claudius 44–45]</ref>}} 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.{{sfn|Shotter|2016|p=54}} Agrippina's involvement in Claudius' death is not accepted by all modern scholars.<ref>{{cite book |last=Garzetti |first=Albino |title=From Tiberius to the Antonines|publisher=Routledge |date=2014 |isbn=978-1-317-69844-9|page=589|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bk3XAwAAQBAJ}}</ref>

Before Claudius' death, Agrippina had maneuvered to remove Claudius' sons' tutors in order to replace them with tutors that she had selected. She was also able to convince Claudius to replace two prefects of the Praetorian Guard (who were suspected of supporting Claudius' son) with [[Sextus Afranius Burrus|Afranius Burrus]] (Nero's future guide).{{sfn|Shotter|2012|p=13}} Since Agrippina had replaced the guard officers with men loyal to her, Nero was subsequently able to assume power without incident.{{sfn|Barrett|2010}}