Nero committed suicide on June 9, 68 AD, reportedly driving a dagger into his th

Featured Event 68 Event

Nero Takes Own Life: Dynasty Ends, Chaos Reigns

Nero committed suicide on June 9, 68 AD, reportedly driving a dagger into his throat with the help of his secretary Epaphroditus while lamenting "What an artist dies in me!" He was 30 years old and had ruled for 14 years. The Senate had declared him a public enemy, and his Praetorian Guard had abandoned him in favor of the governor of Hispania, Galba. Nero fled Rome and hid in a freedman's villa outside the city. His death ended the Julio-Claudian dynasty that had ruled since Augustus and plunged Rome into the Year of the Four Emperors: Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian fought for the throne in rapid succession. Vespasian emerged victorious and founded the Flavian dynasty. Nero's final years had been marked by the Great Fire of Rome (64 AD), persecution of Christians, and the revolt of Jewish Judea.

Talk About This Event

June 9, 68

1958 years ago

What Else Happened on June 9

411 BC Event

Four hundred men seized Athens without a single battle. The coup of 411 BCE didn't topple democracy with swords — it toppled it with paperwork, fear, and a care…

53 Event

Emperor Nero wed Claudia Octavia, the daughter of his predecessor Claudius, to solidify his tenuous claim to the imperial throne. This political union failed to…

62 Event

She was 20 years old, locked in a room, waiting to die. Nero had already divorced her, exiled her to Pandateria — the same island where Augustus had banished hi…

721 Event

Duke Odo of Aquitaine crushed the Umayyad Caliphate’s forces at the Battle of Toulouse, halting their northward expansion into Gaul. This decisive victory force…

747 Event

Abu Muslim Khorasani unfurled the Black Standard in the eastern province of Khorasan, launching an open revolt that would topple the Umayyad Caliphate and resha…

1310 Event

Thousands of Sienese citizens carried it through the streets singing. Not metaphorically — the entire city stopped working. Duccio di Buoninsegna had spent thre…

View all events on June 9 →

Talk to History

Have a conversation with historical figures who witnessed this era. Ask questions, explore perspectives, and bring history to life.

Start Talking

← Back to June 9

Nero Takes Own Life: Dynasty Ends, Chaos Reigns

Key Figures & Places

What Else Happened on June 9

Talk to History