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Documentary, 8 Days That Made Rome S01E06 - The Downfall of Nero
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00:00Ancient Rome, one of the greatest superpowers in history, whose far-reaching legacy continues to shape our lives.
00:09For close on a thousand years, the Romans dominated the known world.
00:16Theirs was an extraordinary empire that heralded an age of unprecedented prosperity and stability,
00:23but that also ruled through violence and oppression.
00:28Rome's rise to greatness wasn't inevitable.
00:32Its epic history was often decided by single critical moments.
00:39In this series, I'm exploring eight key days that I believe help to explain Rome's remarkable success.
00:49To understand the full significance of these eight days, I'm travelling across the Roman world.
00:55I am incredibly lucky to get access to this archaeological site.
01:01Unearthing brand new evidence.
01:03This is what remains of Nero's legendary golden house.
01:06It's only now that we're beginning to get a true sense just how extraordinary it was.
01:12And investigating the complexities of what it was to be Roman.
01:23This is the day on the 9th of June, 68 AD, when Rome's first imperial dynasty came to an end.
01:32With the pitiful death of a depraved and power-obsessed emperor, Nero.
01:38Rome was the capital of the ancient world's greatest empire.
01:48A multi-ethnic powerhouse founded on military strength, whose economy was driven by sophisticated technology
01:55and the sweat of slaves, and which at its height was ruled by one supremely powerful man, the emperor.
02:07In 54 AD, that man was Nero, Rome's fifth emperor, who oversaw a gigantic empire now sprawling across three continents.
02:18But during Nero's reign, something went very badly wrong.
02:26His extreme behaviour, his vanity and cruelty, eventually united Rome against him,
02:33leading to his own squalid death as a hunted fugitive,
02:36and leaving Rome to be fought over by a succession of military strongmen.
02:41The final day of Nero's reign saw the bloody humiliation of Rome's most notorious emperor.
02:49But it was much more than that.
02:52It was the end of Rome's first dynasty, ushering in an age of struggle and civil war.
02:59And it gives us the Rome that we think that we know, extreme, debauched, sensational.
03:06The story starts in 54 AD, when a golden-haired, 16-year-old Nero succeeded his decrepit stepfather,
03:21the emperor Claudius, to become the most powerful man in the known world.
03:26But according to the Roman historian Tacitus, behind the scenes,
03:34two people with very different outlooks were battling for control of this teenage emperor.
03:41The first was Nero's mother Agrippina, great-granddaughter of Augustus,
03:47widow and niece of the late emperor Claudius.
03:51The second was his tutor, the celebrated philosopher Seneca.
03:56Of all our lessons, this was always the most important.
04:00That I must show mercy?
04:01Yes.
04:02No virtue is greater than mercy for an emperor or a prince.
04:06And always avoid immoral pleasures.
04:09They make us weak and womanish.
04:12Is that so, my dear Seneca?
04:14Lady Agrippina, do not agree.
04:17No.
04:19Well, surely power is more important than mercy.
04:23Her mercy without power is just an idea.
04:27Indeed.
04:29But the young emperor's power is without limit.
04:33Come, Seneca.
04:34The senators awaited.
04:36We will put your fine words to the test.
04:46Hell, Nero!
04:48Hell, Nero!
04:51Again, I humbly thank you for your reception.
04:55Nero's first speech to Rome senators was written by Seneca
04:58and promised a reign marked by modesty and restraint.
05:02Let you be assured that in my house...
05:05We're told that, uniquely for a woman,
05:08Agrippina sometimes listened in.
05:11The Senate shall retain its ancient powers.
05:16Nero's mother was the dominant figure in his early reign.
05:20And we can find evidence to prove this
05:24in the furthest corners of the empire.
05:33This is Aphrodisias in modern-day Turkey,
05:37but in the 1st century AD,
05:39a thriving Greek city under Roman rule.
05:41The people of Aphrodisias,
05:46like those right across the empire,
05:48would have celebrated the accession of the new emperor.
05:51But just look at how they're doing it here.
05:55These sculptures would originally have adorned
05:57a prominent public building.
05:59And you've got Nero on the left here.
06:02And then over here is his mother, Agrippina,
06:05who is crowning him with a laurel wreath.
06:08Now, this is really remarkable
06:10because it suggests that Nero's subjects
06:12thought that Agrippina was the kingmaker,
06:16that she was the power behind the throne.
06:20For ancient Rome,
06:21which was a conservative and macho society,
06:24this would have been deeply troubling.
06:28Men, not mothers, were meant to be in charge.
06:32In a world where women were barred from political office,
06:36Agrippina had a remarkable record
06:38as a shrewd and driven political operator.
06:41But there was a price to pay.
06:45With a woman like Agrippina,
06:47who clearly does have influence,
06:50how does the Roman world deal with that?
06:52How do they deal with her?
06:53There's something really quite worrying
06:55about the idea of women having political power
06:57as far as Roman men are concerned.
06:59And that worry manifests itself
07:01and all the rumours kind of swirling around the imperial court and beyond.
07:05There are some very shocking stories associated with Agrippina
07:08that, in a sense, she uses her sexuality,
07:12but not to pursue pleasure, but to pursue power.
07:14She seduces her uncle,
07:17and that's how she manages to marry Claudius,
07:19and she gets Claudius to adopt her own son, Nero,
07:22from a previous marriage,
07:23to become Claudius' successor.
07:27Notoriously, she's alleged to have fed poisoned mushrooms
07:30to her husband in order to get him out of the way
07:32and make room for Nero.
07:33But Agrippina's attempts to dominate her teenage son would backfire.
07:39If he dies!
07:40As his own disturbing character began to emerge,
07:44driving Rome into a political crisis
07:46that would ultimately end with his own death.
07:55Despite Seneca's advice,
07:57Nero soon began to exhibit a taste for cruelty and debauchery.
08:03His choice of mistresses led to furious arguments with his mother,
08:10who felt her control slipping away.
08:15Then, four months into his reign,
08:17she crossed a line.
08:19Do I have to remind you how you got here?
08:23You are here because of me,
08:26and I can remove that favour just as quickly
08:29and bestow it on another.
08:34My half-wit, half-prother.
08:37He lacks both the character and the intelligence to rule.
08:41No matter.
08:42Would me by his side to guide him?
08:46But I am the first citizen of Rome,
08:49and your son.
08:51And he is the son of a divine emperor.
08:54Then he is indeed mightier than me.
09:07What have you done?
09:08Help us.
09:14You.
09:15Do something.
09:16Take him to my physician.
09:17If he dies...
09:25If he dies...
09:25Then what,
09:28mother?
09:29By eliminating his stepbrother, Britannicus,
09:51Nero not only took care of a potential rival at court,
09:54he gave Rome's elite its first glimpse
09:57of his true, vicious nature.
10:00Enough to shatter all illusions of a new golden age.
10:06But what, as we might say today,
10:23was the mood on the streets?
10:25Well, when Nero came to power,
10:28Rome was the biggest city in the world,
10:31with a population of around a million.
10:34This was a metropolis of shocking inequality,
10:37with the very richest owning up to 400 slaves.
10:41This part of Rome would have been crowned with plebs.
10:47Ordinary citizens,
10:48many living in blocks of flats three storeys high.
10:52Women here gave birth, on average,
10:54to nine children in their lifetimes,
10:56although only half survived to the age of ten
10:59because of disease.
11:03You have to try to imagine the atmosphere of the place.
11:06It was edgy, it was charged,
11:09it was seething.
11:11Nero knew he needed to keep the masses on side.
11:15He'd flatter them with gifts,
11:16building gyms and baths.
11:19But the author Spatoneus also describes
11:21a series of unsavory night-time forays
11:24when Nero took to the city's streets.
11:28Careful where you put your feet
11:30or I'll cut them off for you.
11:33I must ask that you don't.
11:36Your emperor is very fond of his feet.
11:41Please, I beg your mercy.
11:49My tutor once taught me about mercy.
11:53But I've quite forgotten the lesson.
11:56Must have drunk too much wine.
11:57Call your wife to me.
12:09She's not very pretty, is she?
12:12No matter.
12:14I am the man of very broad tastes.
12:18Please, my lord Nero.
12:24You must let these people go.
12:30I
12:30must.
12:39Do you want to take their place?
12:41Come on.
12:50I'm joking, of course.
12:53Let us find a new tavern.
12:56This one is boring me.
13:00Suetonius tells us that some of these visits
13:02to the slums ended far worse,
13:04with stabbings and corpses thrown into sewers.
13:09Nero's night-time excursions show a lust for violence,
13:13for violence's sake.
13:15It's the polar opposites of the virtuous,
13:18restrained dignity that good Roman was supposed to demonstrate.
13:24For Agrippina,
13:26this reckless behaviour was a source of growing concern,
13:30as was her rapidly diminishing influence over Nero.
13:34Five years into his reign,
13:37they came here to the Bay of Naples together,
13:40to celebrate the annual festival of Minerva,
13:43where things came to a head.
13:46It seems that Agrippina was indeed losing her grip.
13:50Her attempts to reassert control had infuriated Nero,
13:54and he'd had her thrown out of the palace.
13:58Desperate to claw back some influence,
14:00it was said that she'd even tried to seduce her own son.
14:05Now, I think that's probably untrue,
14:08but it is indicative of a problem.
14:10Tongues were starting to wag.
14:13The rumour merchants were beginning to peddle stories
14:16that there were cracks in the imperial machine.
14:20Now, all this really mattered,
14:23because we should never forget
14:24how publicly life was played out in ancient Rome.
14:27For instance, it was vital that the emperor
14:30was seen to engage in religious worship,
14:33and one of the reasons he'd come down here to this festival,
14:36it was a way of showing off your reverence for the gods
14:39and showing off to the people.
14:45During the festival,
14:46Nero suddenly became affectionate
14:48and attentive towards his mother,
14:51even giving her a gorgeous gift,
14:53a luxurious new boat.
14:55But then a horror.
14:59One night, as she was travelling back across this bay
15:02from a boozy banquet,
15:04one of the crew gave a signal,
15:06and a lead wave came crashing down to the cabin,
15:09killing the man beside her
15:10and throwing Agrippina and one of her maidservants
15:13into the water.
15:15The servant, thinking that this would save her,
15:18cried out that she was the emperor's mother.
15:20One of Nero's henchmen pushed her under the waves.
15:30Miraculously, Agrippina escaped the slaughter
15:33and sought refuge in her villa.
15:38Wait!
15:39I bring word from your son,
15:55the emperor.
15:55He is shocked by your accident.
16:07He waits anxiously
16:09for news of your health.
16:13Tell him I am fine.
16:17He mustn't worry.
16:18I just need some time to rest.
16:22Tell him I will come and see him
16:24in a day or so.
16:30Let me find my servants
16:32to attend to your needs.
16:35You must be weary
16:36after your journey here.
16:38Rome's politics
17:06had long been bloody.
17:09But,
17:10to order the murder
17:11of your own mother
17:12was unprecedented
17:14and violated
17:15the central Roman values
17:17of piety
17:19and virtue.
17:21The story of how Nero
17:23turned this appalling crime
17:25into a PR triumph
17:27helps us to understand
17:30how political power
17:31worked in ancient Rome.
17:32First,
17:36Nero created
17:37his own
17:37fake news story
17:39claiming that
17:40Agrippina
17:41had actually
17:42tried to kill him
17:43and that his actions
17:45had saved Rome
17:46from anarchy.
17:48And then he
17:49shored up his position
17:50by naked bribery
17:51of the plebs.
17:53The density
17:54and the horror
17:55of the things
17:55that Nero did
17:56ought to have damaged him
17:57but they don't
17:59because of
17:59the scale
18:00of his attempt
18:01to win
18:02the plebs over.
18:05Nero's popularity
18:06with the plebs
18:07is very considerable
18:08and it rests
18:10on his ability
18:10to deliver
18:12what the Roman poet
18:13Juvenal
18:14called
18:14bread and circuses.
18:15This is what keeps
18:16the plebs content.
18:19Nero is good
18:21at making sure
18:22that corn supply
18:23is maintained
18:24so that the plebs
18:24don't starve
18:25and he is
18:27a showman
18:28and so he's
18:28giving them
18:29not just
18:30the same games
18:31that their forefathers
18:32would have had
18:33but more games
18:34bigger games
18:35better games
18:35better plays
18:36more singing
18:36more chariot racing
18:38more wild beast fights.
18:40There's this popularity
18:41of the plebs
18:42as a firewall
18:42that protects him
18:43from rivals
18:45within the Senate
18:46but also protects him
18:47from the effects
18:47of scandals.
18:48and Nero
18:52seemed intent
18:53on creating
18:54more scandal.
18:57Many sophisticated
18:57Ronans
18:58were captivated
18:59by Greek
19:00culture and art.
19:03For Nero though
19:04this was
19:05an obsession.
19:07With what Tacitus
19:08described as
19:09his passion
19:10for the incredible
19:11and with no
19:13disapproving mother
19:14around to hold
19:15him in check
19:15Nero now decided
19:17that he would
19:18join the ranks
19:19of celebrated
19:20Greek poets
19:21and musicians
19:21by appearing
19:23on stage.
19:25For Roman
19:26aristocrats
19:27this was
19:28completely taboo.
19:32You have to
19:33remember
19:33that this was
19:34a society
19:34where any
19:35kind of a performer
19:36an actor
19:38a singer
19:39or a dancer
19:39were considered
19:40to be the same
19:41social rank
19:42as prostitutes.
19:44Basically
19:45untouchable
19:46lowlife.
19:47hear ye
19:56O lords
19:57of the underworld
19:58to the horror
20:00of the senators
20:01Nero now planned
20:03to perform
20:04in public
20:04at Rome's
20:06biggest theatrical
20:07festival.
20:08Exalted ruler
20:09of the heavens.
20:12Did you make him
20:13our offer
20:13first prize?
20:14Yes, but he refused.
20:17Exalted ruler
20:18of the heavens.
20:18He says he wants
20:19to win fairly
20:20tomorrow.
20:21From every corner
20:22of the sky
20:23let the loud
20:25thunders roll
20:26hurl thy fires.
20:28For Rome senators
20:29this was like
20:30a prime minister
20:31or a president
20:32going on a TV
20:33reality show
20:34only worse.
20:36He seeks their applause
20:38and adoration
20:38and he thinks
20:40this is how.
20:42Send thy
20:43three-fork
20:43flaming bolt!
20:45It was embarrassing
20:47it was humiliating
20:48and it was
20:49politically
20:49destabilizing
20:51because if Rome's
20:52emperor looked
20:53a fool
20:53then Rome's
20:55empire
20:55looked foolish
20:57for putting up
20:58with him.
20:58Let night
21:01stay on forever.
21:03He will destroy
21:04us all.
21:07We must stop him.
21:09Recover
21:10with endless
21:11darkness
21:11boundless crimes.
21:22I fear
21:23it is too late
21:24for that.
21:24But it wasn't
21:30just the stage
21:31appearances
21:31there were
21:33wild tales
21:34of sexual
21:34deviance
21:35orgies
21:37with elaborate
21:38role play
21:38involving men
21:40women
21:40children
21:41even animals.
21:45Some of the
21:46stories that we
21:47hear about Nero
21:48are so extreme
21:49what do you
21:51think is going
21:52on?
21:52Do you think
21:53he is
21:53psychologically
21:54different in
21:55some way?
21:56It's clear
21:57that if you
21:58are an emperor
21:59if you have
21:59unlimited power
22:00if you have
22:01access to
22:02everybody's bodies
22:03and you can do
22:04what you like
22:05that you might
22:06well have a
22:08larger array
22:09of interests
22:10than most of us
22:11might imagine
22:12but I think
22:12also with Nero
22:13he is very much
22:15interested in
22:16acting
22:17and in playing
22:18and in taking
22:19on roles
22:19and perhaps
22:20that kind
22:21of interest
22:22led into
22:23game playing
22:25in his
22:26erotic life
22:26it's interesting
22:28isn't it
22:28because his
22:29activities
22:29almost give us
22:30the Rome
22:31we think
22:32that we know
22:32that we want
22:33to think
22:33that it was
22:34a place
22:34of absolute
22:35debauchery
22:36and extremity
22:37I think
22:38that we are
22:39told about
22:40the debauchery
22:41of Rome
22:41because those
22:42who write
22:43about it
22:44subsequently
22:45want to show
22:46us that
22:47with moral
22:47corruption
22:48comes political
22:49corruption
22:49this was the
22:53crucial point
22:54the emperor's
22:55moral corruption
22:56could be used
22:57as proof
22:57that he was
22:58unfit
22:59to rule
23:00but Nero
23:02didn't care
23:02he'd killed
23:04his stepbrother
23:04and his mother
23:05and got away
23:06with it
23:06he thought
23:07he was
23:08untouchable
23:08right up
23:10until the
23:11final day
23:11of his reign
23:12Nero
23:20emperor of Rome
23:22was alienating
23:24the city's elite
23:25with his outrageous
23:26behaviour
23:26hear ye
23:28O lords
23:29of the underworld
23:30but as long as
23:32he kept Rome's
23:32plebs on side
23:33his rule
23:34seemed secure
23:35only on the
23:39last day
23:39of his reign
23:40would he find out
23:41just how many
23:42enemies he'd
23:42made
23:43as Nero's reign
23:47progressed
23:48his behaviour
23:49became increasingly
23:50erratic
23:51now a combination
23:53of ancient
23:54evidence
23:54and our modern
23:55understanding
23:56of the human
23:56mind and medicine
23:57could perhaps
23:59explain why
24:00just have a look
24:01at this
24:02so this
24:04is a coin
24:05from Nero's
24:06early reign
24:07but
24:09just ten years
24:12later
24:12he seemed
24:13to have put on
24:14a massive amount
24:15of weight
24:16and particularly
24:17around his neck
24:18and jaw
24:19this could just
24:20be a result
24:21of his debauched
24:22lifestyle
24:22but one new
24:24theory was
24:25recently put forward
24:26that this is a
24:27symptom of
24:28Cushing's disease
24:29now Cushing's disease
24:30can cause anxiety
24:31and depression
24:32and insomnia
24:33and in some
24:35cases
24:36psychosis
24:37it's just a
24:39theory
24:40but it is
24:41certainly
24:41not impossible
24:43because something
24:44was definitely
24:45going on
24:46in 64 AD
24:5010 years
24:51into Nero's reign
24:52Rome was hit
24:54by a terrifying
24:55disaster
24:55that would
24:56really test
24:57his relationship
24:58with the plebs
24:59one night
25:01next to the
25:02Circus Maximus
25:03the great
25:04chariot racing
25:05stadium
25:05a fire broke
25:07out
25:07it tore
25:09through Rome's
25:09tightly packed
25:10streets
25:10and burned
25:11for six days
25:13hundreds of
25:14people died
25:15and a third
25:15of the city
25:16was destroyed
25:16it was the
25:18greatest disaster
25:19this place
25:20had ever known
25:20came to be known
25:22as the great
25:23fire of Rome
25:24Rome was so
25:26traumatised
25:27that quickly
25:28rumours started
25:29to fly
25:29that the fire
25:30had been started
25:30on the orders
25:31of Emperor
25:32Nero himself
25:33and men and
25:34women started
25:35to whisper
25:35that the playboy
25:37emperor had been
25:37spotted strumming
25:39his lyre
25:39and singing
25:40while the city
25:41burned
25:42for once
25:44rumours
25:45of Nero's
25:46excess
25:46were much
25:47exaggerated
25:47he wasn't
25:49even in Rome
25:50our best source
25:51Chacitus
25:52puts Nero
25:53in Antium
25:53that night
25:5430 miles away
25:56but the rumours
26:01didn't have to be
26:01true
26:02to seriously
26:03damage
26:03Nero's popularity
26:04and what he did
26:06next
26:07really rubbed
26:08the plebs'
26:09noses in it
26:10he seized
26:11100 acres
26:13of prime
26:13real estate
26:14cleared by the fire
26:15to build himself
26:17a magnificent
26:18new palace
26:20we know
26:22from written
26:22descriptions
26:23that it was
26:23an unsurpassed
26:24wonder of Roman
26:25architecture
26:26and art
26:27the palace
26:29was lost
26:29for more than
26:30a thousand years
26:31buried 30 metres
26:33beneath the streets
26:34of Rome
26:34but today
26:36we're able
26:37to explore
26:37its fabled
26:38corridors
26:39once more
26:39I can't tell you
26:46what a treat
26:46it is to be here
26:47this is what remains
26:49of the Domus Aurea
26:51Nero's legendary
26:52golden house
26:53and it's been
26:54undergoing
26:55a massive
26:56programme
26:56conservation
26:57for years
26:58so it's only
26:59now
27:00that we're
27:00beginning
27:00to get
27:01a true
27:01sense
27:02of just
27:03how
27:03extraordinary
27:04it was
27:05welcome
27:07to the Domus Aurea
27:09the house of Nero
27:10thank you
27:11and what a room
27:12to meet in
27:13this is incredible
27:14so what would this
27:15originally have been
27:16used for
27:16this is the
27:17most important
27:18room of this
27:19part of Domus Aurea
27:20probably
27:21was a dining room
27:23or a walking
27:25room
27:25by Nero
27:26with his
27:27friends
27:28or ambassadors
27:29and he's a masterpiece
27:31of Roman architecture
27:32I mean it's amazing
27:34so what
27:34so what I can see
27:35so the bricks
27:36and the cement
27:37and even the whitewash
27:38so almost all of this
27:39this is the original Roman
27:41almost all
27:42of the structure
27:43is original
27:43and you can see
27:45there for example
27:46the remains
27:48of the decoration
27:49in the marble
27:50of this room
27:51what really strikes you
27:52though
27:53is this incredible
27:54oculus
27:55so this hole
27:56in the dome
27:57because the light
27:58is just pouring
27:59in here
28:00the name of the Domus Aurea
28:01came from the use
28:03of some materials
28:04for example
28:04the golden leaves
28:05used in the decoration
28:07but especially
28:08for the use
28:09of the light
28:09in the architecture
28:11amazing
28:12a palace of light
28:13a palace of light
28:14Nero's golden house
28:17was a wonder
28:19of the age
28:20walls were studded
28:22with precious stones
28:23the dining room
28:25even had a ceiling
28:26that rotated
28:27to mimic the heavens
28:28and there was
28:30a 120 foot high statue
28:32of the sun god
28:33Sol
28:34or was it
28:36as some said
28:37Nero himself
28:39these halls
28:40once bustled
28:41with hundreds
28:41of slaves and staff
28:43all at the beck and call
28:44of an increasingly
28:45out of touch
28:47dictator
28:47when the building
28:49was finally finished
28:50one Roman author
28:51tells us
28:52that Nero
28:53simply said
28:54at last
28:55I have shelter
28:56fit for a human
28:58his court
29:00had become
29:01a place of fear
29:02and paranoia
29:03and with good reason
29:05in 65 AD
29:07a plot
29:09to kill the emperor
29:10was uncovered
29:10its ringleaders
29:12including several
29:13high-ranking senators
29:15Nero responded
29:19with a rain of terror
29:21executing
29:22all those
29:23connected with the conspiracy
29:25when even Seneca
29:28was implicated
29:29Nero granted
29:31his old mentor
29:32a special dispensation
29:34why have I not long
29:40ago escaped
29:41from all this torture
29:42why should I be armed
29:46and yet wait
29:47for death to come
29:48my master said
29:53that you told him
29:55that life's great art
29:57is dying
29:59he remembers well
30:08dying well
30:11frees one
30:12from living ill
30:13the seven wonders
30:17of the ancient world
30:19will someday
30:19be leveled
30:20to the ground
30:20and now
30:25is my time
30:25take him
30:53Seneca
31:09ended his own life
31:10with calm detachment
31:11embodying the stoic ideals
31:14he'd consistently championed
31:16many Romans
31:21saw the case
31:21as an exemplary death
31:23revealing a view
31:24of suicide
31:25that's radically
31:26different to our own
31:28deeply troubling
31:29for a modern audience
31:31what kind of attitude
31:34did the Romans
31:35have to suicide
31:37for Romans
31:38suicide could be
31:39acceptable
31:39and indeed
31:40quite praiseworthy
31:41under certain circumstances
31:42so if a general
31:44lost a battle
31:45disastrously
31:46he might vindicate
31:47his honour
31:47by killing himself
31:48and that was actually
31:49seen as a
31:49praiseworthy thing to do
31:51around this time
31:52it almost seems
31:53that there's a
31:53there's a more
31:53kind of robust
31:54philosophical rationale
31:56for suicide
31:57suicide
31:57almost is seen
31:58as a kind of
31:59road to freedom
32:00for someone
32:01whose circumstances
32:02are very constrained
32:04after 14 years
32:07of rule
32:08Nero
32:09had terrorised
32:10Rome's elite
32:10into submission
32:11but even though
32:13his enemies
32:14in the capital
32:14were dead
32:15across Rome's
32:16vast empire
32:17there were governors
32:19and generals
32:19with old Roman values
32:21and powerful armies
32:23under their command
32:24and it was from
32:26their ranks
32:27that the decisive move
32:29against Nero
32:29would come
32:30in 68 AD
32:32the governor of Spain
32:34Galba
32:35came out
32:36in open revolt
32:37against Nero
32:38he was
32:39he declared
32:40not a servant
32:41of the emperor
32:42but of SPQR
32:44the senate
32:45and the people
32:47of Rome
32:47and then
32:49he ordered his troops
32:51to march
32:52on the city
32:52Nero was confident
32:56of defeating Galba
32:57but when his troops
32:59began to desert
33:00en masse
33:00and join the rebels
33:01he realised
33:03just how much
33:04he was despised
33:05even the support
33:08of the once
33:08adoring plebs
33:09evaporated
33:10soon
33:12only the Praetorian Guard
33:14the elite troops
33:16stationed in Rome
33:17itself
33:17stood between
33:18Nero
33:19and Galba's
33:20rebel army
33:21the Praetorian Guard
33:246,000 strong
33:25were a potent force
33:27in Roman politics
33:28it was the Praetorians
33:30who butchered
33:31the emperor Caligula
33:32and his family
33:33when he'd overstepped
33:34the mark
33:34and who'd chosen
33:36Claudius
33:36to replace him
33:37they had the power
33:39to make
33:40or break
33:41an emperor
33:41according to
33:44Suetonius
33:45as Nero
33:46prepared to flee Rome
33:47he had a final meeting
33:48with the prefects
33:49of the guard
33:50why did you not come
33:57when I sent for you
33:58we received no call
34:00that may be
34:04I must leave the city
34:07in the morning
34:08I will need your men
34:11for my safe passage
34:13I can count on your support
34:17and protection
34:18I am your lord
34:25and emperor
34:26and I demand
34:26your service
34:27my lord
34:29you must be careful
34:31your singing voice
34:33to hell with my singing
34:35is it such a terrible thing
34:41to die
34:41yes
34:47yes it is
34:51Nero
34:55deserted by his own guards
34:57finally grasped
34:59the mortal danger
35:00he was in
35:01he was in
35:31guards
35:37phaion
35:40come attend
35:42your emperor
35:43wait
35:48spores
36:06come
36:07we must leave
36:08now
36:09but where to
36:11where are we going
36:14wait
36:20wait my lord
36:21come
36:22let us curl ourselves
36:24into the tiber
36:25it will carry us
36:26either to safety
36:27or our eternal liberty
36:29my lord
36:33i've come from
36:34the praetorian camp
36:35they too have sided
36:37with the traitor
36:38galba
36:38my gentle
36:41phaion
36:42hasn't abandoned me
36:43we must leave
36:44rome
36:44we must be
36:45quick and quiet
36:46there is a curfew
36:47in force
36:48and our presence
36:49will attract attention
36:50nero
36:55friendless and hunted
36:56in his own capital
36:57made a desperate
36:58attempt to flee
36:59rome
37:00but on the final day
37:03of his reign
37:03there'd be no escape
37:069th of june
37:1568 ad
37:16nero
37:18accompanied by his
37:19last loyal servants
37:20tried to flee the city
37:21and ran straight
37:24into a praetorian
37:25but the old soldier
37:28instinctively saluted
37:29his emperor
37:30a narrow escape
37:32for nero
37:32we should
37:36leave the road
37:37i know the way
37:38follow my lead
37:39by dawn
37:46nero had reached
37:47the outskirts of rome
37:48where he took refuge
37:50in the villa of phaion
37:51who was one of his
37:52few remaining
37:53loyal servants
37:54the historian
37:55suetonius
37:56tells us in vivid detail
37:58about the last moments
37:59of nero's reign
38:00with soldiers
38:03closing in
38:04nero was running
38:06out of options
38:07but if i can reach
38:09alexandria
38:10they will not
38:11follow me there
38:12but all the roads
38:13are blocked
38:14galba's troops
38:16are marching on rome
38:17he would not even
38:19make the coast
38:19then what
38:22the senators say
38:28they will beat me
38:29to death
38:30with iron bars
38:31in the forum
38:33what an end
38:37is this
38:37for an emperor
38:38i must hasten
38:54my own end
38:55what an artist
39:16the world
39:17is losing
39:17if only i knew
39:26how
39:26will not one of you
39:34make the ultimate
39:35sacrifice
39:36show your emperor
39:39how it is done
39:39my dear
39:45epaphroditus
39:46will you take
39:52the sword
39:52take it
39:56show me the way
40:05to eternity
40:05do to yourself
40:10as i would
40:12we're coming
40:16what loyalty
40:30such was the end
40:46of rome's first
40:47imperial dynasty
40:48the mighty house
40:50of julius caesar
40:51and augustus
40:52but what happened
40:56next is why i think
40:57this day is so
40:58significant
40:58the senate and the
41:01people of rome
41:02had a chance to
41:02give up on emperors
41:03and to return to
41:04the republic
41:05but would they
41:08take it
41:08well in fact
41:11the resurrection
41:12of the limited
41:13democracy of the
41:14early republic
41:15wasn't given
41:16a second thought
41:17the senate
41:18and the army
41:19declared
41:20galba emperor
41:21the roman author
41:23tacitus
41:23tells us
41:24that it took
41:25a little bit
41:25of time
41:26for the significance
41:26of this
41:27to sink in
41:28although nero's
41:31death
41:31was at first
41:32welcomed with joy
41:33it then caused
41:34mixed emotions
41:35not only in the city
41:37among senators
41:37and people
41:38but also among
41:39all the legions
41:40and generals
41:41for the secret
41:43of the empire
41:44was now revealed
41:45that an emperor
41:47could be made
41:48elsewhere
41:49than in rome
41:50galba was very
41:52definitely
41:53not made in rome
41:55he was a provincial
41:56governor
41:57he was a rebel
41:57general
41:58and he had no
41:59connection whatsoever
42:00to augustus's family
42:01critically
42:03what he did have
42:04however
42:04to support his claim
42:06was the backing
42:07of a powerful army
42:09nero's death
42:13propelled rome
42:14into a dangerous
42:15new phase
42:16of its history
42:16an era
42:18of soldier emperors
42:19civil wars
42:20and military coups
42:22rome was plagued
42:23by the issues
42:24of which romans
42:25in this super state
42:26should hold sway
42:27the consequences
42:29for empire
42:30were profoundly
42:31destabilizing
42:33nero's
42:34shaming downfall
42:35ushered in
42:36a volatile age
42:37when emperors
42:38seized power
42:39by the sword
42:40and lived in
42:41constant fear
42:42of conspiracy
42:43and revolt
42:44but even so
42:46brilliant leaders
42:48would emerge
42:49to conquer
42:50new territories
42:51and build
42:51spectacular monuments
42:53and bring
42:54even greater
42:56glory
42:57to rome
42:58next time
43:00and let the games
43:01begin
43:02rome's new dynasty
43:05the flavians
43:06seek to cement
43:07their grip
43:08on power
43:09through their blood
43:10that's what i'm giving
43:12you brother
43:12on the day
43:13that they unveil
43:14the most famous
43:15arena in history
43:16you
43:46You
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