1. Nero was the fifth Roman emperor.

2. Since Nero’s uncle Claudius had no sons, Nero was first in line as his successor.

3. Nero was not yet 17 years old when he became emperor.

4. As a young emperor Nero put an end to some distasteful elements of Claudius’s reign, like secret trials before the emperor.

5. Nero forced his mother, Agrippina, to retire in year 56 and ruled without outside influence from then on.

6. Nero’s mother was put to death at his orders in year 59.

7. Nero remained married to Octavia, Claudius’s daughter, until his death.

8. Nero remained married to his second wife, Poppaea Sabina, until his death.

9. Nero fancied himself a poet, charioteer, and lyre player in addition to emperor.

10. Nero’s artistic and theatrical performances endeared him to his Roman subjects.

11. When a great fire ravaged Rome in 64, Nero had the city reconstructed in the Greek style.

12. Nero’s subjects correctly assumed that he himself set the fire in Rome in order to rebuild the city according to his whims.

13. Seeing that his subjects blamed him for the fire, Nero attempted to shift responsibility to the Christians.