Nero focused much of his attention on diplomacy , trade and enhancing the cultural life of the empire , but according to the historian Tacitus he was viewed by the Roman people as compulsive and corrupt . He ordered theatres built and promoted athletic games . During his reign , the redoubtable general Corbulo conducted a successful war and negotiated peace with the Parthian Empire . His general Suetonius Paulinus crushed a revolt in Britain . Nero annexed the Bosporan Kingdom to the empire and began the First Jewish – Roman War .