Marcus Annaeus Lucanus, known as Lucan, was a prominent Roman poet of the Silver Age of Latin literature. Born in Corduba, Hispania, he was the nephew of the philosopher Seneca the Younger and enjoyed early success in Nero's court. His most famous and only surviving work is the epic poem Pharsalia, which details the civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great. Lucan's republican sympathies eventually led to a falling out with Emperor Nero, and he was forced to commit suicide at the age of 25 after being implicated in the Pisonian conspiracy.