Eight Days That Made Rome

Historian Bettany Hughes focuses on events leading up to and after June 9, 68 AD, when Emperor Nero took his life. She examines his relationship with his mother, fondness for debauchery and how casual violence and murder began to destabilise what had once been touted as a new 'golden age' for Rome. Nero's death plunged the empire into anarchy and civil war. From here on in, the Roman Empire would be plagued by military coups and revolt, one of the crucial factors in its eventual decline.