Claudius rules and rules well. Everyone is saying it. If only he had as much skill with his wives as he did administering the empire.

When the 50's began, Claudius was married to his fourth wife, Agrippina the Younger. She was ambitious and committed to seeing her son become the heir to the empire. When Claudius indicated his natural son, Britannicus, might be his preference for the succession, Agrippina ended Claudius.

You may have heard of this son of Agrippina - his name was Nero. For the first five years as emperor, Nero took little interest in ruling. That was for the best and those years were long remembered for their good governance. But strains began to appear between Nero and his mother. Eventually, when she crossed him one too many times, he ordered her killed. What goes around, comes around, I guess...

The young emperor faced a challenge from the Parthians in Armenia, that initially, went perfectly.