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Suetonius’ account of the life of Nero does not shy away from the emperor’s alleged barbarism. In this biography from The Twelve Caesars, the Roman historian recounts numerous examples of Nero’s narcissism, perversion, and cruelty. It is from this account that we get the legend that Nero “fiddled as Rome burned.” When the heirless emperor ended his own life, it marked he fall of the Julio-Claudian empire and led to rejoicing in the streets.

Domitian succeeded his older brother Titus as Roman emperor. In “The Life of Domitian,” Suetonius remarks on the emperor’s innovative approach to governing that granted the empire safety and peace. As an individual, he preferred to go it alone and was naturally suspicious of others, a trait which inevitably led to his downfall. The final of three Flavian emperors, Domitian is also the last entry in Suetonius’ The Twelve Caesars.

Galba was the first emperor in the infamous Year of the Four Emperors. After Nero’s suicide, which marked the death of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Galba took control of the empire. A mere seven months later, he was assassinated. This short biography comes from Suetonius’ The Twelve Caesars and deals largely with Galba’s brief rule amid the first Roman civil war.

“I came, I saw, I conquered,” Julius Caesar famously said. Yet his life of conquest ended with assassination at the hands of his former comrades. Roman biographer Suetonius details the rise and fall of Julius Caesar in this short biography, excerpted from The Twelve Caesars. This compelling account contains cinematic scenes from Caesar’s life, including his capture by pirates and the time he fell weeping before a statue of Alexander the Great.

Augustus adopted Tiberius as his heir after noting his success in military campaigns across Germany. Tiberius was reluctant to take rule, however, and gained a reputation as “the exile” after he sent himself on an eight-year, self-imposed exile to Rhodes. Eventually he did take control of the empire, but he gained a reputation for cruelty which led Rome to rejoice at his eventual death. In this excerpt from The Twelve Caesars, Roman biographer Suetonius digs deep into both the conquests and character of Tiberius.

The tumultuous time that followed Nero’s suicide is known as The Year of the Four Emperors. In rapid succession, the Roman empire was ruled briefly by Galba, Otho, and Vitellius. Vespasian was a military commander, and with the help of his loyal soldiers and military allies, he defeated Vitellius and lay claim to his rule. Vespasian’s assumption of the empire, chronicled in this short biography by Suetonius, marked the start of the Flavian dynasty.