CAPPADOCIA Caesarea NERO CLAUDIUS 54-68AD EMPEROR Ancient Silver Drachm NGC D041

Description

Ancient Roman Provincial Coin
CAPPADOCIA - Caesarea
Nero (AD 54-68), with Divus Claudius.
Silver AR Drachm (18mm, 12h). Struck circa 63-65 AD.
Certified NGC Choice Fine 6327278-013
Reference:
Sydenham,  Caesarea 71. RIC I 621.
Obverse:
NERO  CLAVD DIVI CLAVD F CAESAR AVG GERM, Laureate head of Nero right.
Reverse:
DIVOS CLAVD AVGVST  GERMANIC PATER AVG, Laureate head of Divus Claudius right.
See the
Genuine History
Collection
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (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. He was adopted by the Roman emperor Claudius at the age of 13 and  succeeded him on the throne. 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. Most contemporary sources describe him as  tyrannical, self-indulgent, and debauched. After being declared a public enemy  by the Roman Senate, he committed suicide at age 30.
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. When Nero was two years old, his father died. His mother married the  emperor Claudius, who eventually adopted Nero as his heir; when Claudius died in  54, Nero became emperor with the support of the Praetorian Guard and the Senate.  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 power struggle with his mother was eventually  resolved when he had her murdered. Roman sources also implicate Nero in the  deaths of his wife Claudia Octavia – supposedly so that he could marry Poppaea  Sabina – and of his foster-brother Britannicus.
Nero's practical contributions to Rome's governance focused on  diplomacy, trade, and culture. He ordered the construction of amphitheaters, and  promoted athletic games and contests. 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. The provision of such entertainments made  Nero popular among lower-class citizens, but his performances undermined the  Imperial dignity. The costs involved were borne by local elites either directly  or through taxation, and were much resented.
During Nero's reign, the general Corbulo fought the  Roman–Parthian War of 58–63, and made peace with the hostile Parthian Empire.  The Roman general Suetonius Paulinus quashed a major revolt in Britain led by  the Iceni's queen Boudica. The Bosporan Kingdom was briefly annexed to the  empire, and the First Jewish–Roman War began. When the Roman senator Vindex  rebelled, with support from the eventual Roman emperor Galba, Nero was declared  a public enemy and condemned to death in absentia. He fled Rome, and on 9 June  AD 68 he committed suicide. His death sparked a brief period of civil war known  as the Year of the Four Emperors.
Most Roman sources offer overwhelmingly negative assessments  of his personality and reign. The historian Tacitus claims the Roman people  thought him compulsive and corrupt. Suetonius tells that many Romans believed  that the Great Fire of Rome was instigated by Nero to clear land for his planned  "Golden House". Tacitus claims that Nero seized Christians as scapegoats for the  fire and had them burned alive, seemingly motivated not by public justice but by  personal cruelty. Some modern historians question the reliability of the ancient  sources on Nero's tyrannical acts, considering his popularity among the Roman  commoners. In the eastern provinces of the Empire, a popular legend arose that  Nero had not died and would return. After his death, at least three leaders of  short-lived, failed rebellions presented themselves as "Nero reborn" in order to  gain popular support.