He was the son of Tiberius Claudius Nero, a Roman senator from an old Patrician family who had served under Julius Caesar, ...

He may have been the first to choose a successor and call it hereditary succession, but he was not the last – Claudius sidelined his own son in favor of Nero, while Nerva "adopted" Trajan to ...

Tiberius knew he was not first choice ... She persuaded Claudius to disinherit his own son. She then murdered Claudius. Now Nero was emperor. Again, a good start soon gave way to a darker side ...

Explores the history of the Roman Empire through the eyes of Empress Livia Drusilla, examining the reign of her husband Augustus, as well as the reigns of Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero.