The provision of such entertainments made Nero popular among lower-class citizens, but his performances undermined the Imperial dignity. He also made public appearances as an actor, poet, musician, and charioteer, which scandalised his aristocratic contemporaries as these occupations were usually the domain of slaves, public entertainers, and infamous persons. He ordered the construction of amphitheaters, and promoted athletic games and contests. Nero's practical contributions to Rome's governance focused on diplomacy, trade, and culture. Roman sources also implicate Nero in the deaths of his wife Claudia Octavia – supposedly so that he could marry Poppaea Sabina – and of his step brother Britannicus. His power struggle with his mother was eventually resolved when he had her murdered. 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 he soon sought to rule independently and to rid himself of restraining influences. His mother married the emperor Claudius, who eventually adopted Nero as his heir when Claudius died in AD 54, Nero became emperor with the support of the Praetorian Guard and the Senate. When Nero was two years old, his father died. Nero was born at Antium in AD 37, the son of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Agrippina the Younger, a great-granddaughter of the emperor Augustus. After being declared a public enemy by the Roman Senate, he committed suicide at age 30. Most contemporary sources describe him as tyrannical, self-indulgent, and debauched.

Nero was popular with the members of his Praetorian Guard and lower-class commoners in Rome and its provinces, but he was deeply resented by the Roman aristocracy. He was adopted by the Roman emperor Claudius at the age of 13 and succeeded him on the throne. Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( / ˈ n ɪər oʊ/ NEER-oh born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his death in AD 68.

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