Terentius Maximus, also known as the Pseudo-Nero, was a Roman who rebelled during the reign of Titus, but was suppressed. He resembled

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...

in appearance and in action, as he was known to perform singing with the accompaniment of the lyre. He gained his followers first in Asia, and then gained many more during his march to the

Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

. He later fled to

Parthia Parthia ( ''Parθava''; ''Parθaw''; ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Medes during the 7th century BC, was incorporated into the subsequent Achaemeni ...

and tried to gain support there by claiming (supposedly in the person of Nero) that the people there owed him some requital for the return of

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

. Artabanus III, a Parthian leader, out of anger towards Titus, both received him and made preparations to reinstate him to Rome.Cassius Dio, Roman History LXVI.19.3
/ref> He was executed when his true identity was revealed.

In literature

In 1936,

Lion Feuchtwanger Lion Feuchtwanger (; 7 July 1884 – 21 December 1958) was a German Jewish novelist and playwright. A prominent figure in the literary world of Weimar Republic, Weimar Germany, he influenced contemporaries including playwright Bertolt Brecht. ...

wrote The Pretender (''Der falsche Nero''), a fictional novel in which he compared Terentius Maximus with

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

Notes

Terentii 1st-century deaths 1st-century Roman usurpers Impostor pretenders Year of birth unknown Nero {{AncientRome-bio-stub