Part 2 - Winds of Change: Claudius was Rome’s unlikely emperor. Despite his much-ridiculed appearance, he had become a good ruler, passing visionary laws and conquering Britain.
After the murder of his wife, Messalina, Claudius remarried – this time to his niece, Agrippina. Eager for power, she wasted no time removing her rivals and even convinced Claudius to make her own son, Nero, his heir. The only obstacle left now was Claudius himself. Agrippina poisoned his food and immediately announced Nero as emperor. Nero was young and was guided by his mother and his tutor, the philosopher Seneca. This did not last long: soon, Nero wanted to rule himself. Seneca used subtlety to control his student but Agrippina was much more heavy-handed. Before long, Nero was sick of his mother’s interference and decided to kill her. When his original plot failed, he sent soldiers to finish the job. The murder scandalized Rome. Things got worse. In Britain, the tribal queen, Boudicca, mounted a huge rebellion, burning towns and killing thousands before finally being defeated. In Judaea, decades of oppression and a foolish governor combined into a massive revolt that would take years to put down.
In Rome, a huge fire destroyed much of the city. Nero opened up public buildings to house the homeless, but rumors that he had been singing and dancing while Rome burned turned public opinion against him. He looked for a scapegoat and found one in the Christians. Jesus had died 30 years earlier, but energetic missionaries, such as Paul, had spread his message across the empire. Rome had relatively few Christians and they were not widely trusted. Nero rounded them up and executed them brutally, throwing some to the lions, burning others and crucifying many more.
As Nero’s reign descended into terror, Seneca found himself seriously compromising his deep-seated principles. Time and again, he asked Nero for permission to retire, but was always denied. Eventually he pretended to be ill and was released from service. It would be a short retirement. After he discovered a plot, Nero began a brutal purge in which many were killed or, like Seneca, were forced to commit suicide. After the Senate declared him a ‘public enemy’, Nero escaped to the country and killed himself. The Augustan dynasty was dead and, with no heir, civil war loomed.
- Years of Eruption: Nero’s death in 68 AD ended the Augustan dynasty and left Rome without a ruler. The empire descended into civil war as generals fought each other for the throne. Vespasian was one of Rome’s top generals and was fighting Jewish rebels in Judaea. But he realized that he had as much claim to the throne as any other general. Encouraged by his soldiers, he suspended the war and marched on Rome.
Rome became a battlefield in which around 50,000 people were killed. At the end, Vespasian was emperor. But he lacked authority. He knew he needed a foreign victory to secure his throne. He turned his attention back to Judaea. By 70 AD, the last Jewish rebels had retreated to the walled city of Jerusalem. After a long siege, the walls crumbled and the rebels fled to the temple. The Romans burned it to the ground, killing everyone inside.
Back in Rome, this great victory brought in a new age of confidence and optimism. Vespasian also started a massive building program. This included early work on what would become the Coliseum – a huge amphitheater for games and gladiators, the movie stars of ancient Rome.
In 79 AD, the Romans suffered a double blow: Vespasian died and Pompeii was swallowed up by the ash and mud of Mount Vesuvius. A witness to both these events was Pliny the Younger. His uncle commanded the fleet around Naples and died at Pompeii, a victim of his own curiosity.
Pliny the Younger became a senior adviser to Vespasian’s second son, Domitian. It was a difficult balance, because Pliny was an honorable man and Domitian was a tyrant in the worst traditions of Caligula and Nero. Like them, Domitian’s rule was cut short. He was murdered by a group that included his own wife. Rome was again in the hands of the generals.
This time they chose not to fight, but rather to work together and choose a new emperor. They chose Trajan, a Spanish-born Senator and general. It was a bold move, but very successful. With trusted advisers, such as Pliny the Younger, Trajan expanded the Roman Empire to its greatest size and launched public works, tax relief and a child welfare program. His reign turned the Roman Empire into a multicultural global society that's still relevant today, over 2,000 years later.
*Note: The last two episodes (E2 and E4) are merged in one file.
https://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/
