Nerva

Nerva (30–98), born Marcus Cocceius Nerva at Narni, north of Rome, was Roman emperor from 96 to 98 and the first of the Five Good Emperors. He skipped the usual careers and was a courtier. Exposing the Pisonian conspiracy against Nero in 65 earned triumphal honours. He backed the Flavians and held the consulship in 71 and 90.

After Domitian's murder in 96, the Senate made Nerva emperor with promises to restore liberties. His reign was troubled: strained finances, weak army authority. In October 97 the Praetorian Guard revolted and forced him to adopt an heir; he chose Trajan.

On 1 January 98 he suffered a stroke and died 27 January. The Senate deified him; he was the last emperor laid in the Mausoleum of Augustus. Tacitus wrote that he blended sovereignty and freedom. Trajan succeeded him, and the adoptive line ran through the Five Good Emperors to 180.