Rome experienced some of its greatest economic and cultural dynamism under Nero's rule, and yet he's called everything from a murderous psychopath to a depraved tyrant. Is it time to reexamine this ...

Disfigured, awkward and clumsy, Claudius (10 BC – 54 AD / Reigned 41 – 54 AD) was the black sheep of his family and an unlikely emperor. Once in place, he was fairly successful, but his poor taste in ...

1. In popular myth, Nero is best known for “fiddling while Rome burnt” but that is impossible. The whole class of fiddle or violin-like instruments did not exist until the 11th century. 2. Nero was ...