Nerva: ‘Pater Patriae’ – Aging Roman Emperor Who Succeeded In Time Of Crisis

A. Sutherland  - AncientPages.com - Following the assassination of Domitian of the Flavian Dynasty (81–96) on September 18, 96, a new Emperor appeared on the same day. Domitian was succeeded by his friend and advisor Nerva, an aging senator with no biological children or known wives.

Left: Bronze statue of Nerva in the Forum Romanum, Rome. Image credit: Steerpike - CC BY-SA 3.0; Right: Rome, Forum Nervae, the "Colonnacce" (remains of columns against the internal wall of Forum Nerva. Image credit: Lalupa - Public Domain

Nerva (Marcus Cocceius Nerva) was the son of a wealthy Roman lawyer and belonged to the Italian nobility. Like his family members, who successfully held high offices in the Republic and later in the early Empire, Nerva also lived as was expected of him. He was born in the village of Narni (Umbria), not far from the city of Rome, on November 8, 30. Despite the unrest in Roman society, Nerva became an official who consistently secured high posts.

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