Preview

Roman Empire and Nero

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1045 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Roman Empire and Nero
Explain the role and contribution of Seneca to the reign of Nero

Seneca was the personal advisor of Nero during his reign. He was a stoic philosopher who played a vital role in the running of the empire. Seneca contributed in many aspects of Nero’s reign by introducing reforms, bringing stoicism into practice and playing a key role in the senate. Seneca aided in important decision-making. He led Nero down an appropriate path, particularly when Nero became extremely erratic. He served Nero well and made an excellent contribution during his reign.

Seneca understood the problems of Rome so he was able to introduce reforms, which benefited the people. He made conditions for slaves more humane, introduced fiscal reform and introduced a more enlightened administration in Britain. This positively contributed to the empire as he had the happiness of the people in his best interest. By introducing reforms that pleased the people he gained popularity for both himself and Nero. This was beneficial for Nero as the people of the empire could look back on Nero’s reign years later and reflect on the good decisions and excellent reforms that had taken place during the period. Tacitus says “Nothing in human affairs is more unstable and precarious than power unsupported by its own strength.” This quote by Tacitus shows us just how great the impact of Seneca was. It is telling us that without Seneca, Nero may have had the power, but had no support to advice him to make the correct decisions. Seneca was the strength to Nero’s power.

Seneca composed Nero’s first speech to the senate. This speech offered additional power to the senate and shows that Seneca was contributing to the reign of Nero right from the very start. The speech also promised to return to what life had been like under Augustus. Of course, the empire was considered a Republic during the Augustan period and the people cherished this time. Seneca and Nero were looked upon favourably when they promised to

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    There were many threats made and violent actions carried out between the two. Once Nero was emperor, he had begun to rely on his tutors Seneca and Burrus for political advice. Nero wished to establish his own independency and came to resent Agrippina’s interference. This is referred to in Suetonius’ line “the over-watchful, over-critical eye that Agrippina kept on whatever Nero said or did proved more than he could stand”. The first example of a troubled relationship is introduced in Nero’s inaugural speech, written by Seneca, which signalled her reduced influence. An example of her loss of influence is Agrippina’s absence during the Armenian Embassy’s arrival to Rome. When Agrippina approached Nero, he greeted her as if he were paying her special respect, but did not allow her to sit beside him as she had done with Claudius when Caractactus paid homage to them, which was a clear indication to show her authority was limited. It was Seneca who instructed him to do this. During this time, Agrippina was also beginning to lose political influence, as Nero removed the freedman Pallas, who was a client and advisor for…

    • 854 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Nero was only sixteen when he was declared emperor, so he ruled under the guidance of his tutor Seneca (Kuiper 122) and the Praetorian Guard, Burrus (Kinsey 93). His tutor Seneca was an excellent teacher and made sure Nero was well…

    • 1417 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pallas, an ally of Agrippina, from his duties as treasury. Seneca was suspected of having…

    • 910 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Sejanus

    • 733 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Seneca the YoungerLucius Annaeus Seneca (often known simply as Seneca; ca. 4 BC – AD 65) was a Roman Stoic…

    • 733 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Among the many Roman politicians alive in 68 C.E. was Nero, the emperor of Rome at the time. Among the other important people alive during…

    • 869 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Gaius was a Roman general. He is known for annihilating manipular military formations and restructuring the structure of the legions into separate cohorts. Marius saw the need to increase troops and the requirements for recruiting policies to be relaxed. He helped defeat the Germanic tribes, which gave him the title of “the third founder of Rome”. He was a significant part in Rome’s switch from a Republic to an Empire. He even helped legions become more loyal to their generals than to the state itself. Marius was elected seven times to the position of consul. However, on his seventh election he decided to invade Rome, but died seventeen days into his seventh consulship.…

    • 564 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Agrippina acquired political support and influence she needed through the orator Seneca and the praetorian prefect Afrianus Burrus. These two figures played an important role throughout the rule of Agrippina. They are quite often mentioned together, as if they had worked together, but they both worked individually with only the same beliefs and values in the state. Seneca and Burrus “enjoyed a unanimity rare in partners in power and were equally influential by different methods” says Tacitus. This would both be of service to, and see to the downfall of Agrippina for “although they owed their positions to her, had little love for petticoat government” Quotes Scullard.…

    • 2158 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Augustus Research Paper

    • 712 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Roman Empire was filled with beautiful art and insightful literature, but none knew how to use this literature to their advantage like Gaius Octavian Thurinus also know as Augustus. Augustus the most influential people in all of Rome's history and was responsible for turning Rome into an empire. Octavian was not directly linked to royalty, but he proved his loyalty to his uncle Julius Caesar. Caesar and Octavian had a close relationship and this relationship would grow to a point where Julius Caesar adopted Octavian as his son and made him heir to the throne. Not long after that, Julius Caesar was assassinated and Octavian would become senator of Rome, but would also be allowed to sit in council meetings. This was how Octavius came to power. But Octavian made his real mark when he decided to not take…

    • 712 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This loss of power brought about a series of civil wars fought among generals with the backing of their distinct armies. Julius Caesar eventually prevailed when in 49 BCE he rode into Italy with his army against the orders of the Senate. In 44 BCE he declared himself dictator for life, but was murdered by a crew of strict republicans on the Ides of March 44 BCE. This once again plunged Rome into civil war and while Caesar's heir, his grand-nephew Octavian, and Marc Antony initially joined sides to avenge his death, they soon turned against each other and Octavian eventually triumphed over Antony and his ally, Cleopatra. Octavian was given the honorific title 'Augustus' in 27 BCE and ruled Rome for the next 40 years. While he claimed to have restored the Republic, Augustus held many important administrative and religious positions simultaneously and so, in fact, became the first emperor. He attempted to maintain control over the Empire by improving road systems and augmenting town growth. He also united the Empire through his use of the arts as a form of self-promotion and to promote the themes of his administration, such as peace, allegiance to Rome, and respect for tradition. He visually improved the city by constructing new buildings that were worthy of the powerful Empire. He made art into the materialization of Roman government which was an idea continued by his descendants and was declared a god-- as had been his father, Julius Caesar-- at his death in 14…

    • 803 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Nero Claudius Caesar

    • 126 Words
    • 1 Page

    Nero Claudius Caesar, was born under the name Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, in the year 37 AD and was adopted by his uncle, Emperor Claudius. Nero’s mother had married Claudius after the death of her late husband. She later killed poised Claudius, leaving the throne wide open for 17 year old Nero. In his 5 years as emperor, Nero became highly disliked by both his citizens and fellow members of the Roman government. Nero is probably the most infamous Roman emperor, as he had assassinated his wife, mother along with numerous other people assassinated. He is also infamously known for his widespread massacre of Christians, which he blamed for the great Roman fire. He committed suicide, when he realized that everyone was against him in 68…

    • 126 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cicero, Roman Senator and Philosopher, set up specific qualities of an ideal Roman ruler. A clear role in what it takes to effectively lead. A leader must first lead a dignified life for them to lead a successful empire. Leaders must demonstrate a work ethic and ability to gain respect. With that respect, leaders must love and care for their subordinates to show their compassionate towards the Roman people. Leaders must then demonstrate ethics to provide plans that must be followed in order to bring success to their empire. Politically, Cicero’s ideals reflected on both Marcus Aurelius and Commodus in various distinct ways. Marcus Aurelius and Commodus were men that ruled the empire of Rome and their governance had a profound impact in the Roman history. However while Marcus Aurelius was a grown just, benevolent man who fought for the power of Rome and successfully won the battle, Commodus was young, ignorant, cruel ruler, who demanded respect soon after he took position as emperor, and seriously weakened Roman Empire.…

    • 859 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Emperor Nero was a sick human being who seriously lacked humility. He thought of himself as a god and would perform inhumane deeds such as stealing from sacred temples or killing innocent Christian people. Nero roughly killed about one hundred thousand Christians for no good reason whatsoever. He would use them to light up his parties or he would throw them into the gladiator pit, facing them against ferocious animals or deadly ruthless warriors. Nero's serious lack of humility caused him to perform poorly as a leader. If Nero had shown more humility throughout his time as leader, he would most likely have been not only a better person, but also a better leader. A good leader needs to display virtue in order to lead his people to…

    • 129 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Roman Empire Dbq

    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages

    From C.A. 300 CE to 476 CE Rome began a steady decline to its collapse. Some historians disagree with this and have other theories. One of the other theories is that the Roman Empire did not collapse as the Eastern Empire did not collapse until “Fall of Rome at Constantinople in 1453.” The base of this theory is that the Eastern Empire became the Byzantium Empire, however it was no longer the Roman Empire as there were no longer any Roman Emperors. Another theory by Peter Wells is “The Roman Empire “fell” only in the minds of people who had a particular and limited view of what the Roman Empire was and who understood events such as Alaric’s capture of Rome in A.D. 410 as marking its end.” Wells argues that the change was extremely gradual and continued well past 476 CE. While Wells theory is more valid, the empire still did not exist after 476 CE.…

    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Augustus A Visionary

    • 866 Words
    • 4 Pages

    There were many things that were noticeable that made Augustus a pioneer and a visionary. The first that is noticeable is that he takes chances. At the beginning of his rein he had to make a decision. Take a chance and get revenge or carry on and not do anything about his allies turning on him behind his back. He knew if he lost this war he would lose everything and that Rome would no longer be the same and maybe not even be in existence.…

    • 866 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The main change that Augustus brought to Rome that made him so powerful was the change in government. He changed Rome from being a Roman Republic with a senate to a dictatorship with an Emperor. This form of government lasted for centuries. He said: “May it be my privilege to have the happiness of establishing the commonwealth on a firm and secure basis and thus enjoy the reward which I desire, but only if I may be called the author of the best possible government; and bear with me the hope when I die that the foundations which I have laid for its future government, will stand firm and stable.”— Augustus Caesar (http://janusquirinus.org/essays/Augustus1.html). But, Augustus was not perfect. Soon after entering into the emperor position he faced four major problems. He needed to secure the borders of Rome from attack, set up a stable and reliable senate, the army had grown too large, and urban farmers were having problems with their slaves wanting freedom. They were all tough and hard decisions for him, but Augustus was very knowledgeable and succeeded in finding solutions to all of these problems. He reduced the size of the army and provided money to the men who had served in war for more…

    • 972 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays