Neronian

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Nero \Ne"ro\ (n[=e]"r[-o]), prop. n.
     A Roman emperor notorious for debauchery and barbarous
     cruelty; hence, any profligate and cruel ruler or merciless
     tyrant. -- {Ne*ro"ni*an} (n[-e]*r[=o]"n[i^]*an), a.
     [1913 Webster] Nero (originally Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus,
     later Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus). Born at


     Antium, Italy, Dec. 15, 37 a. d.: committed suicide near
     Rome, June 9, 68. Roman emperor 54-68, son of Domitius
     Ahenobarbus and Agrippina (daughter of Germanicus).
     He was adopted by his stepfather, the emperor Claudius, in
     50, and in 53 married Octavia, the daughter of Claudius by
     Messalina. In 54 Claudius was poisoned by Agrippina, who
     caused her son to be proclaimed to the exclusion of
     Britannicus, the son of Claudius. His former tutors, the
     philosopher Seneca and Burrus, commander of the pretorian
     guards, were placed at the head of the government, and the
     early years of his reign were marked, on the whole, by
     clemency and justice. He caused his rival Britannicus to be
     removed by poison in 55. In 59 he procured the assassination
     of his mother, of whose control he had become impatient.
     Burrus died in 62, whereupon Seneca retired from public life.
     Freed from the restraint of his former advisers, he gave free
     rein to a naturally tyrannical and cruel disposition. He
     divorced Octavia in order to marry Poppaea, and shortly
     afterward put Octavia to death (62). Poppaea ultimately died
     from the effects of a kick administered by her brutal
     husband. Having been accused of kindling the fire which in 64
     destroyed a large part of Rome, he sought to divert attention
     from himself by ordering a persecution of the Christians,
     whom he accused of having caused the Conflagration. He put
     Seneca to death in 65, and 66-68 visited Greece, where he
     competed for the prizes as a musician and charioteer in the
     religious festivals. He was overthrown by a revolt under
     Galba, and stabbed himself to death with the assistance of
     his secretary.
     But the imperial Reign of Terror was limited to a
     comparatively small number of families in Rome. The provinces
     ware undoubtedly better governed than in the later days of
     the Republic, and even in Rome itself the common people
     strewed flowers on the grave of Nero.
     --Hodgkin, Italy and her Invaders, I. 6.
     [Century Dict. 1906]