(cut and pasted from MS Encarta)
"...Nero (ad37-68), fifth emperor of Rome and the last of the Julio-Claudian line.
Born Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus on December 15, 37, at Antium and originally named Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, Nero was the son of the consul Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (died about 40) and Agrippina the Younger, great-granddaughter of Emperor Augustus. In 49 Agrippina married her uncle, Emperor Claudius I, and the following year she persuaded him to adopt her son, whose name was then changed. Later, Claudius married Nero to his daughter Octavia and marked him out for succession, bypassing his own son, Britannicus. On Claudius's death (54), the Praetorian Guards, under their prefect Sextus Afranius Burrus, Agrippina's agent, declared Nero emperor at the age of 17.
The initial five years of Nero's reign, guided by Burrus and the philosopher Seneca, Nero's tutor, were marked by moderation and clemency, although Nero had his rival Britannicus poisoned. In 59 he had his mother put to death for her criticism of his mistress, Poppaea Sabina. In 62 he divorced (and later executed) Octavia and married Poppaea. Burrus died, possibly poisoned, and Seneca retired."
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