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===The life and reign of Nero===
It is important to note that there are no surviving contemporary records of Nero and that many of the surviving accounts are possibly biased. Nero was born in 37 AD. His parents were Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, a member of one of the most powerful Roman families and Agrippina the Younger, sister of Emperor Caligula. He was a grant-nephew of Augustus and therefore a member of the Julian-Claudian family. Nero was not viewed as a future emperor at the time of his birth.<ref> Suetonius, Life of Nero. 5</ref> During the reign of his uncle Caligula, his mother fell from favour and his family were persecuted. His father died (of natural causes) and his mother was exiled. Nero’s fortunes changed with the assassination of his uncle Caligula. Claudius became Emperor and after a disastrous marriage, he married Agrippina the Younger, his niece.<ref>Tacitus. <i>Annals of Rome</i>. 34</ref> She was able to persuade Claudius to make her son Nero his heir and he married the daughter of Claudius from his first marriage. It is widely believed that Agrippina, probably with the help of Nero poisoned Claudius. Nero became Emperor in 54 AD at the age of seventeen.<ref> Suetonius. <i>Life of Claudius</i>. 62</ref> His mother, was a domineering woman and it is believed that she manipulated her young son to advance her own interests.
The first five years of Nero’s reign were seen as generally positive. The government was in the hands of two experienced ministers one of whom was the writer Seneca the Younger and the Burrus.<ref>Tacitus, <i>The Annals of Imperial Rome</i>, 45</ref> Agrippina the Younger vied for control of the empire with Seneca and his colleague but they remained in control. In 55 B.C it seems that Nero wanted to control the Empire and he had Seneca and Burrus dismissed. Later he killed his mother as he grew tired of her constant efforts to dominate him and control the Empire.<ref>Griffin, p 123</ref> Nero’s changed after he murdered his and according to the ancient sources he morphed into grotesque tyrant.
