Perhaps the most infamous of Rome's emperors, Nero Claudius Caesar (37-68 A.D.) ruled Rome from 54 A.D. until his death by suicide 14 years later. He is best known for his debaucheries, political murders, persecution of Christians and a passion for music that led to the probably apocryphal rumor that Nero "fiddled" while Rome burned during the great fire of 64 A.D. Born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, Nero took his familiar name when he was adopted at age 13 by his great-uncle, the emperor Claudius. Nero's mother, Agrippina the Younger, had married Claudius after arranging the death of her second husband and was the driving force behind her son's adoption. A cuirass is a piece of armour consisting of breastplate and backplate fastened together. Musei Vaticani, Vatican City.