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74-614: The triumvir Octavian vowed to build a temple honoring Mars , the Roman God of War, during the battle of Philippi in 42 BC. After winning the battle, with the help of Mark Antony and Lepidus , Octavian had avenged the assassination of his adoptive father Julius Caesar . He became the Princeps of Rome in 27 BC under the name Augustus, and planned for the temple to be built in a new forum named after himself. Augustus used social propaganda by continuing Julius Caesar 's will to create

148-652: A Claudian by birth, became Augustus' stepson after the latter's marriage to Livia , who divorced Tiberius' natural father in the process. Tiberius' connection to the Julian side of the Imperial family grew closer when he married Augustus' only daughter, Julia the Elder . He ultimately succeeded Augustus as emperor in AD 14 after becoming his stepfather's adopted son and heir. Caligula ( Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus )

222-625: A Roman aristocrat could—either during his life or in his will—adopt an heir if he lacked a natural son. In accordance with Roman naming conventions, the adopted son would replace his original family name with the name of his adopted family. A famous example of this custom is Julius Caesar 's adoption of his great-nephew, Gaius Octavius . Primogeniture is notably absent in the history of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Augustus, Caligula and Nero failed to father biological and legitimate sons. Tiberius' own son, Drusus predeceased him. Only Claudius

296-624: A Temple to Mars Ultor "greater than any in existence," by placing it within the Temple, linking himself to his divine adopted father, obtaining a strong link to the Roman population through their love for the deceased dictator. The majority of the land that the Forum was to be built on was already owned by Augustus himself. However, the initial plans called for more space than he had and would have required him to purchase or expropriate further land. Instead,

370-408: A daughter or step-daughter, Rubellia Bassa , who married a maternal uncle of the future Roman Emperor Nerva by the name of Gaius Octavius Laenas . Together Laenas and Bassa had at least one child, a surmised son, who was the grandfather of Sergius Octavius Laenas Pontianus , consul in AD 131. The great-uncle/great-nephew blood relationship and/or adopted son relationship was commonly found among

444-531: A direct parallel. The statues in the forum provided excellent reasoning for Augustus to claim his restoration of the Republic. Not only were the great men of Rome's past being honored through their busts, but Augustus was also establishing his ancestry to these men, either by blood or by spirit. This provided Augustus with another connection between himself and the old Republic, an era of Roman history he continuously tried to invoke during his reign. The statues of

518-518: A governor of Syria who committed suicide after being accused of killing Germanicus, and first husband of Livia Orestilla , Caligula's second wife. The conspiracy failed and its members were executed. Vacancies after the conspiracy allowed Nymphidius Sabinus , a grandson of former imperial freedman Gaius Julius Callistus , who claimed to be an illegitimate son of Caligula, to rise in the Praetorian Guard. In late AD 67 or early 68, Vindex ,

592-513: A name which was still in use at the end of the 4th century. They were first created in 196 BC to superintend the Epulum Jovis feast on the Capitol , but their services were also requisitioned on the occasion of triumphs, imperial birthdays, the dedication of temples, games given by private individuals, and so forth, when entertainments were provided for the people, while the senate dined on

666-437: A pillow to hasten Caligula's accession. According to Suetonius, he was known for his cruelty and debauchery through his perversion on the island of Capri where he forced young boys and girls into orgies. On one account when one of the boys complained, Tiberius had his legs broken. Although Augustus' succession plans were all but ruined due to the deaths of more than several family members, including many of his own descendants, in

740-501: A public enemy and his legion was confined in the city of Clunia. Nero had regained the control of the empire militarily, but this opportunity was used by his enemies in Rome. Nymphidius Sabinus , who desired to become emperor himself, bribed the Praetorian Guard to betray Nero. Sabinus was later murdered in favour of Galba. Nero reportedly committed suicide with the help of his scribe Epaphroditus . The Senate had been trying to preserve

814-512: A semi-criminal nature, in which private citizens acted as prosecutors. They also had to collect the sacramenta (deposits forfeited by the losing party in a suit) and examined the plea of exemption put forward by those who refused to act as jurymen. Their number were increased to four, but Augustus reverted it to three. In imperial times most of their functions passed into the hands of the Vigiles . The triumviri monetalis supervised

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888-682: A visual spectacle they also symbolize that the empire might be built from many different nations, but they are all defended and kept by Rome. [REDACTED] Media related to Forum of Augustus at Wikimedia Commons Triumvir In the Roman Republic , triumviri or tresviri were commissions of three men appointed for specific tasks. There were many tasks that commissions could be established to conduct, such as administer justice, mint coins, support religious tasks, or found colonies. Most commonly, when historians refer to Roman "triumvirs", they mean two political alliances during

962-533: A year of Nero's suicide in AD 68, the Julio-Claudian dynasty was succeeded by the Flavian emperors following a brief civil war over the vacant Imperial throne. Lacking any male child and heir, Augustus married his only child—a daughter— Julia to his nephew Marcus Claudius Marcellus . Marcellus, however, died of food poisoning in 23 BC. Augustus then married his widowed daughter to his loyal friend, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa , previously married to Augustus' niece,

1036-429: The praetor urbanus . These triumviri , or the tresviri nocturni (so called because they were on the streets at night), may also have taken some responsibility for fire control . They went the rounds by night to maintain order, and among other things they assisted the aediles in burning forbidden books. It is possible that they were entrusted by the praetor with the settlement of certain civil processes of

1110-495: The Roman Forum was very crowded. Before battle, generals set off from the Temple of Mars, after attending an inaugural ceremony. Other ceremonies took place in the temple including the assumption of the toga virilis by young men. The Senate met at the Temple when discussing war and the victorious generals dedicated their spoils from their triumphs to Mars at the altar. Arms or treasure recovered from battle were often stored in

1184-684: The crisis of the Roman Republic . The informal First Triumvirate of Julius Caesar , Pompey the Great , and Marcus Licinius Crassus was a loose political alliance arranged in 60 or 59 BC that lasted until the death of Crassus in the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BC; they had no official capacity or function as actual triumviri , and the term is used as a nickname. The Second Triumvirate or tresviri reipublicae constituendae of Octavian (later Augustus), Mark Antony , and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus

1258-437: The family name of his natural father and initially renamed himself "Gaius Julius Caesar" after his adoptive father. It was also customary for the adopted son to acknowledge his original family by adding an extra name at the end of his new name. As such, Augustus' adopted name would have been "Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus". However, there is no evidence that he ever used the name Octavianus. Following Augustus' ascension as

1332-507: The invasion of Britain in AD 43. He took a personal interest in the law, presided at public trials, and issued up to twenty edicts a day; however, he was seen as vulnerable throughout his rule, particularly by the nobility. Claudius was constantly forced to shore up his position—resulting in the deaths of many senators. Claudius also suffered tragic setbacks in his personal life. He married four times (to, in order, Plautia Urgulanilla , Aelia Paetina , Valeria Messalina and, finally, Agrippina

1406-438: The senator Claudius Cassius Aggripinus, Claudia Maeciana Alexandra, Claudia Vettia Agrippina, and Claudia Dryantilla Platonis, one of the women who took part in the ludi saeculares of the year AD 204. Tiberius' lineage may have survived into the 2nd century through the offspring of his granddaughter Julia Livia , wife of Gaius Rubellius Blandus . Apart from a son, Rubellius Plautus , executed by Nero in AD 62, Julia had

1480-548: The Capitol. Their number was later increased to seven ( septemviri epulones ). Three-man commissions were also appointed for purposes such as establishing colonies ( triumviri coloniae deducendae ) or distributing land. Triumviri mensarii served as public bankers; the full range of their financial functions in 216 BC, when the commission included two men of consular rank , has been the subject of debate. Julio-Claudian dynasty The Julio-Claudian dynasty comprised

1554-564: The Elder , and Rubellius Plautus , son of Julia Livia along with his wife, children and father-in-law. In AD 64 Rome burned . Nero enacted a public relief effort as well as large reconstruction projects. To fund this, the provinces were heavily taxed following the fire. By AD 65, senators complained that they had no power left and this led to the Pisonian conspiracy, led by Gaius Calpurnius Piso , an adoptive descendant of Triumvir Marcus Licinius Crassus , grandson of Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso ,

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1628-477: The Elder , was a granddaughter of Augustus. Through Agrippina, Germanicus' children—including Caligula—were Augustus' great-grandchildren. When Augustus adopted Tiberius, the latter was required to adopt his brother's eldest son as well, thus allowing Germanicus' side of the Imperial family to inherit the Julius nomen . Claudius ( Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ), the younger brother of Germanicus,

1702-687: The Forum as well. Another use that Augustus made of the Temple was to store the standards taken by the Parthians from Crassus during his failed campaign , after their retrieval through Augustus' diplomacy in 20 BC, as depicted by the Augustus of Prima Porta . Three Aquilae were lost in 9 AD in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest of the Legions Legio XVII , Legio XVIII and Legio XIX ; all three were recovered-one in 14 AD from

1776-835: The Marsi and one in 15 AD from the Bructeri; the 3rd was recovered in 41 AD from the Chauci-and all three placed within the Temple of Mars the Avenger. The Forum was filled with a rich variety of different statues. Most notable were the statues of Augustus in full military outfit in the center of the Forum, and of Mars and Venus in the Temple. In total, there were 108 portrait statues with inscriptions of each individual's achievements, providing an important idea of how Augustus viewed his role within Roman history. The inscriptions are called elogia by modern scholars. In addition to statues of all

1850-500: The Roman triumphatores, which were either made of bronze or marble and were placed along the left side of the Forum and in the left exedrae, the entire right side and right exedrae were full of statues of men in the Julian-Claudian family. They trace Augustus's lineage back through the fourteen Alban kings to the founding ancestors Aeneas and Romulus . These figures reinforced the importance of both Roman lineage and also of

1924-680: The Younger ) and is referenced by Suetonius as being easily manipulated. This is particularly evident during his marriage to Agrippina the Younger, his niece. Messalina saw several members of the dynasty eliminated, notably arranging for the executions of Claudius' nieces Julia Livilla , daughter of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder, and Julia Livia , daughter of Livilla and Drusus the Younger, as well as Julia Livilla's husband Marcus Vinicius , her mother's husband Appius Junius Silanus , Gaius Asinius Pollio , son of Tiberius' first wife Vipsania by her second husband and whose brother Servius Asinius Celer

1998-421: The Younger . She saw that the dynasty's numbers dwindle with the execution of Marcus Junius Silanus Torquatus , a grandson of Julia the Younger, to strengthen Nero's claim, having previously arranged the death of his brother Lucius Junius Silanus Torquatus . In AD 55, Nero began taking on a more active role as an administrator. He was consul four times between AD 55 and 60. Nero consolidated power over time through

2072-538: The barbarian Germanic tribes. Agrippa died in 12 BC, and Tiberius was ordered by Augustus to divorce his wife Vipsania Agrippina , daughter of Agrippa by his first marriage, and marry his stepsister, the twice-widowed Julia. Drusus, the brother of Tiberius, died in 9 BC after falling from a horse. Tiberius shared in Augustus' tribune powers, but shortly thereafter, in 6 BC, he went into voluntary exile in Rhodes . After

2146-670: The charge of conspiracy. In addition to Cassia Longina, Junia Lepida gave birth to a son called Cassius Lepidus . Around AD 80 Lepidus had a daughter named Cassia Lepida , who married Gaius Julius Alexander Berenicianus , a descendant of Herod the Great , Ptolemy VI Philometor and Antiochus VIII Gryphus . Julia Cassia Alexandria , Lepida's daughter by Berenicianus, married Gaius Avidius Heliodorus and ultimately gave birth to Gaius Avidius Cassius . Avidius Cassius had three children with his wife (named either Volusia Vettia or Volusia Maeciana ); they were Avidius Heliodorus , Avidius Maecianus and Avidia Alexandra . In AD 175 Cassius

2220-605: The day-to-day running of the Empire to Lucius Aelius Sejanus . Sejanus created an atmosphere of fear in Rome, controlling a network of informers and spies whose incentive to accuse others of treason was a share in the accused's property after their conviction and death. Treason trials became commonplace; few members of the Roman aristocracy were safe. The trials played up to Tiberius' growing paranoia, which made him more reliant on Sejanus, as well as allowing Sejanus to eliminate potential rivals. Victims of this reign of terror related to

2294-555: The dynastic bloodline by saving Nero's life, and were additionally reluctant to let someone who was not of the family become emperor; however, once he had committed suicide, and with Galba marching on the city, it had no choice but to declare him a public enemy posthumously. With his death, the reign of the Julio-Claudian dynasty came to an end. Chaos then ensued in the Year of the Four Emperors . The lineage of Augustus endured into

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2368-413: The early deaths of both Lucius (AD 2) and Gaius (AD 4) and the exile of both Julia the Elder and Younger for adultery, a turn of events which saw the elder Julia's half brother Publius Cornelius Scipio exiled for treason, Mark Antony's son Iullus Antonius committing suicide and Julia the Younger's husband Lucius Aemilius Paullus being executed for conspiracy, Augustus was forced to recognize Tiberius as

2442-401: The end, Tiberius remained faithful to his predecessor's wishes that the next emperor would hail from the Julian side of the Imperial family. Thus, Tiberius was succeeded by Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, the sole-remaining son of his nephew and adopted son Germanicus. The new emperor was a great grandson of Augustus through his mother Agrippina the Elder thus making him a Julian but he

2516-561: The era of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty , the house that succeeded the Flavians . Augustus' bloodline outlived his dynasty through the descendants of his first granddaughter, Julia the Younger , who married Lucius Aemilius Paullus and gave birth to Aemilia Lepida . After marrying Marcus Junius Silanus Torquatus , Aemilia gave birth to several children, including Junia Calvina and Junia Lepida . Although Calvina died childless, she

2590-651: The execution and banishment of his rivals and slowly usurped authority from the Senate. He reportedly arranged the death of his own mother and after divorcing his wife Claudia Octavia , daughter of Claudius' and Messalina, he had her killed. Other relatives whom Nero was believed to have had killed were Claudius' daughter by Aelia Paetina, Claudia Antonia , her husband and half-brother of Messalina, Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix , Decimus Junius Silanus Torquatus , brother of Marcus and Lucius Junius Silanus Torquantus, as well as Marcus' son, also named Lucius, his aunt Domitia Lepida

2664-691: The famous men of the Republic for which an inscription has survived are: Other statues included an ivory Athena Alea , sculpted by Endoeus , which Augustus took from its temple in Tegea , in Greece. A large statue called the Genius of Augustus was placed in the northern portico, currently referred to as the Hall of the Colossus- the possible base is still intact and visible. Fragments of this statue are now located in

2738-526: The father of Caligula and brother of Claudius. Caligula adopted his cousin Tiberius Gemellus (grandson of the emperor Tiberius) shortly before executing him. Claudius adopted his great-nephew and stepson Nero, who, lacking a natural or adopted son of his own, ended the reign of the Julio-Claudian dynasty with his fall from power and subsequent suicide. Augustus ( Imperator Caesar Divi Filius Augustus ), as Caesar's adopted son and heir, discarded

2812-605: The first emperor of the Roman Empire in 27 BC, his family became a de facto royal house , known in historiography as the "Julio-Claudian dynasty". For various reasons, the Julio-Claudians followed in the example of Julius Caesar and Augustus by utilizing adoption as a tool for dynastic succession. The next four emperors were closely related through a combination of blood relation, marriage and adoption. Tiberius ( Tiberius Caesar Divi Augusti Filius Augustus ),

2886-652: The first five Roman emperors : Augustus , Tiberius , Caligula , Claudius , and Nero . This line of emperors ruled the Roman Empire , from its formation (under Augustus, in 27 BC) until the last of the line, Emperor Nero , committed suicide (in AD 68). The name Julio-Claudian is a historiographical term, deriving from the two families composing the imperial dynasty: the Julii Caesares and Claudii Nerones. Julius and Claudius were two Roman family names ; in classical Latin, they came second. Roman family names were inherited from father to son, but

2960-483: The first year. In the first year of his reign, Nero had left all of the day-to-day running of the Empire to his mother Agrippina the Younger . He was made Emperor over his step-brother, Claudius' son Britannicus , who he had killed. Agrippina was believed to have poisoned Claudius, having allegedly poisoned her second husband Gaius Sallustius Crispus Passienus . She had also arranged the deaths of Caligula's third wife, Lollia Paulina and Messalina's mother Domitia Lepida

3034-516: The governor of Gallia Lugdunensis in Gaul , rebelled against Nero's tax policies. Lucius Virginius Rufus , the governor of superior Germany, was sent to put down the rebellion. To gain support, Vindex called on Galba , the governor of Hispania Citerior (in the Iberian Peninsula ), to become emperor. Virginius Rufus defeated Vindex's forces and Vindex committed suicide. Galba was declared

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3108-491: The imperial family included Gaius Asinius Gallus Saloninus , second husband of Tiberius' first wife Vipsania, who had since died, and Decimus Haterius Agrippa , grandson of Agrippa and husband of Augustus' great-niece. Tiberius, perhaps sensitive to this ambition, rejected Sejanus's initial proposal to marry Livilla , Germanicus' sister and the widow of Tiberius' son Drusus the Younger, who had since died, in AD 25, but later had withdrawn his objections so that, in AD 30, Sejanus

3182-465: The issuing of Roman coins. Their number was increased by Julius Caesar to four, but again reduced by Augustus. As they acted for the senate they only coined copper money under the empire, the gold and silver coinage being under the exclusive control of the emperor. Tresviri epulones , a priestly body, assisted at public banquets. Their number was subsequently increased to seven, and by Caesar to ten, although they continued to be called septemviri ,

3256-401: The late antiquity. The last reference to the forum dates to 395 AD. Archaeological data indicates that the structures were systematically dismantled in the first half of the 6th century, probably because it was seriously damaged in an earthquake or during the wars. The Forum of Augustus was among the first of the great public buildings of Rome which disappeared that also explains the rapid loss of

3330-413: The memory of its original name. In the 9th century a Basilian monastery was erected on the podium of the ruined temple. By the 10th century, the forum had become so congested with ruins and vegetation, that the locals had given it the name Hortus mirabilis (the wonderful garden). The Forum of Augustus was built to both house a temple honouring Mars, and to provide another space for legal proceedings, as

3404-593: The mother or maternal grandmother of Lucius Fundanius Lamia Aelianus . Fundanius married Rupilia, sister of Rupilia Faustina , and had a son, Lucius Plautius Lamia Silvanus , consul in AD 145, as well as a daughter, Fundania, married to Marcus Annius Libo , consul in AD 128. Fundania's offspring included Marcus Annius Libo , suffect consul in AD 161, and Annia Fundania Faustina (d. AD 192), wife of Titus Pomponius Proculus Vitrasius Pollio . Faustina and both of her children, Titus Fundanius Vitrasius Pollio (d. AD 182) and Vitrasia Faustina , were executed by Commodus on

3478-460: The mutiny there and led the formerly restless legions on campaigns against Germanic tribes from AD 14 to 16. Germanicus died in Syria in AD 19 and, on his deathbed, accused the governor of Syria, Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso , of murdering him at Tiberius's orders. With Germanicus dead, Tiberius began elevating his own son Drusus to replace him as the Imperial successor. By this time Tiberius had left more of

3552-501: The nearby Museum of the Imperial Fora . The forum is made of ashlar blocks of peperino tufa with Carrara marble . Its construction also includes colonnades made of giallo antico , from Numidia, with the second storey of colonnades made from africano and pavonazzetto . These materials are from all over the Empire, but the enclosing walls were made of local Roman stone; although the different coloured stone would create

3626-624: The next Roman emperor. Augustus banished his grandson Postumus Agrippa, who was adopted after the death of his brothers, to the small island of Planasia (around AD 6 or 7) where he was later executed, and Tiberius was recalled to Rome and officially adopted by Augustus. By Augustus' request, Tiberius adopted his nephew Germanicus, son of his late brother Drusus and biological great-nephew of Augustus through his mother. Germanicus subsequently married Augustus' granddaughter Agrippina. On 19 August AD 14, Augustus died. Tiberius had already been established as Princeps in all but name, and his position as heir

3700-511: The plans were altered slightly, so some asymmetry is apparent, especially in the Eastern corner of the precinct. Suetonius states that Augustus did not want to take the houses of the nearby owners by force. These land issues, as well as numerous architectural mishaps, prolonged construction. The incomplete forum and its temple were inaugurated, 40 years after they were first vowed, in 2 BC. In 19 AD Tiberius added two triumphal arches either side of

3774-422: The prestigious lineage that Augustus himself held. By advertising this lineage, he reinforced his power and authorities as a leader. Also, by placing himself amongst great figures and heroes, he further portrayed himself and his own importance. He paints himself as one of ‘the greats’ worthy of the power he held. Whilst all the elogia record the deeds of these great men, Augustus's Res Gestae Divi Augusti acts as

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3848-476: The rulers of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. The other recurring relationship between emperor and successor is that of stepfather/stepson, a relationship not by blood but by marriage: The uncle/nephew relationship is also prominent: There were several instances of Emperors being father-in-law and son-in-law to each other: The following bullet points illustrate the lineage of Julio-Claudian emperors (adoptions included; emperors in bold ): No Julio-Claudian emperor

3922-485: The same day. After Caligula's death, the Senate attempted and failed to restore the Republic. Claudius , Caligula's paternal uncle, became emperor by the instigation of the Praetorian Guards. Despite his lack of political experience, and the disapproval of the people of Rome, Claudius proved to be an able administrator and a great builder of public works. His reign saw an expansion of the empire, including

3996-507: The sister of Marcellus. This marriage produced five children, three sons and two daughters: Gaius Caesar , Lucius Caesar , Julia the Younger , Agrippina the Elder , and Agrippa Postumus . Gaius and Lucius, the first two children of Julia and Agrippa, were adopted by Augustus and became heirs to the throne; however, Augustus also showed great favour toward his wife Livia's two children from her first marriage: Tiberius and Drusus . They were successful military leaders who had fought against

4070-557: The son of Drusus the Younger and grandson of Tiberius, co-heirs. Drusus III's wife Aemilia Lepida was later forced to commit suicide after being accused of adultery. Rome's second Emperor died at the port town of Misenum on 16 March AD 37, at the age of 78 years, having reigned for 23 years. Suetonius writes that the Prefect of the Praetorian Guard Naevius Sutorius Macro smothered Tiberius with

4144-506: The temple in honour of Drusus the Younger and Germanicus and their victories in Germania. With the dedication of the Forum of Trajan in 112 AD, the number of inscriptions found in the Forum of Augustus decline, which suggests that many of its functions were transferred to the new venue, although Hadrian made some repairs. The educational and cultural use of the exedrae were recorded in

4218-488: The throne, over Claudius' own son Britannicus . Claudius died on 13 October AD 54, and Nero became emperor. A number of ancient historians accuse Agrippina of poisoning Claudius, but details on these private events vary widely. These events are recounted in book 12 of the Annals of Tacitus, book 61 of Cassius Dio's Roman History, and in the biographies of Nero and Claudius by Suetonius. Nero became emperor in AD 54 at sixteen,

4292-461: The tribunician power. Instead, however, Tiberius' letter to the Senate, completely unexpectedly, requested the destruction of Sejanus and his faction. A purge followed, in which Sejanus and his most prominent supporters were killed. With Drusus dead and having had Germanicus' elder two sons Nero and Drusus convicted of treason and killed, along with their mother Agrippina, Tiberius appointed Caligula, Germanicus' youngest son, and Tiberius Gemellus ,

4366-496: The youngest emperor yet. Like his maternal uncle Caligula before him, Nero was also a direct descendant of Augustus, a fact which made his ascension to the throne much easier and smoother than it had been for Tiberius or Claudius. Ancient historians describe Nero's early reign as being strongly influenced by his mother Agrippina the Younger , his tutor Seneca , and the Praetorian Prefect Burrus , especially in

4440-472: Was a Claudian on the side of his father, Nero Claudius Drusus, younger brother of Tiberius. However, he was also related to the Julian branch of the Imperial family through his mother, Antonia Minor. As a son of Antonia, Claudius was a great-nephew of Augustus. Moreover, he was also Augustus' step-grandson due to the fact that his father was a stepson of Augustus. Unlike Tiberius and Germanicus, both of whom were born as Claudians and became adopted Julians, Claudius

4514-454: Was a blood descendant of his immediate predecessor. Although Tiberius and Claudius had potential heirs ( Tiberius Gemellus , grandson of Tiberius through his son Drusus, and Britannicus , son of Claudius, respectively) available for the succession, both were, in turn, ultimately succeeded by their great-nephews Caligula and Nero, respectively. The fact that ordinary father-son (or grandfather-grandson) succession did not occur has contributed to

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4588-434: Was accused of having affairs with Caligula's other sisters Agrippina the Younger and Julia Livilla and he was executed. He had previously had Drusilla's first husband Lucius Cassius Longinus killed and upon the death of Agrippina's husband Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus , he seized his inheritance. Several unsuccessful assassination attempts were made on Caligula's life. The successful conspiracy that ended Caligula's life

4662-809: Was also a Claudian through his father Germanicus being the son of Livia 's younger son Drusus the Elder . More commonly remembered in history by his childhood nickname Caligula , he was the third Roman Emperor ruling from AD 37 to 41. When Tiberius died on 16 March AD 37, Caligula was well-positioned to assume power, despite the obstacle of Tiberius's will, which named him and his cousin Tiberius Gemellus as joint heirs. Caligula ordered Gemellus killed within his first year in power. Backed by Naevius Sutorius Macro, Caligula asserted himself as sole princeps, though he later had Macro disposed of as well. . Following Gemellus' death, Caligula marked his brother-in-law, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus , husband of his sister Julia Drusilla , as his heir. However, after Drusilla's death, Lepidus

4736-439: Was also killed around this time, Claudius' son-in-law Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus , and his parents Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi and Scribonia . Messalina herself was finally executed after being charged with adultery. Claudius' reign also included several attempts on his life. In order to gain political support, he married Agrippina and adopted his great-nephew Nero . With his adoption on 25 February AD 50, Nero became heir to

4810-463: Was betrothed to Julia Livia , daughter of Livilla and Drusus the Younger. Sejanus' family connection to the Imperial house was now imminent, and in AD 31 Sejanus held the Consulship with the emperor as his colleague, an honour Tiberius reserved only for heirs to the throne. When he was summoned to a meeting of the Senate later that year on 18 October AD 31, he probably expected to receive a share of

4884-418: Was born into the Julian and Claudian branches of the Imperial family, thereby making him the first actual "Julio-Claudian" emperor. His father, Germanicus , was the son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia Minor , the son of Livia and the daughter of Octavia Minor respectively. Germanicus was also a great-nephew of Augustus on his mother's side and nephew of Tiberius on his father's side. His wife, Agrippina

4958-439: Was confirmed in Augustus' will. Despite his difficult relationship with the Senate, Tiberius' first years were generally good. He stayed true to Augustus's plans for the succession and favoured his adopted son and nephew Germanicus over his natural son, Drusus , as did the Roman populace. On Tiberius' request, Germanicus was granted proconsular power and assumed command in the prime military zone of Germania, where he suppressed

5032-495: Was formed in 43 BC by passage of the lex Titia . Created for a five-year term and renewed for another five years, it officially lasted until the last day of 33 BC or possibly into 27 BC. The triumviri capitales oversaw prisons and executions, along with other functions that, as Andrew Lintott notes, show them to have been "a mixture of police superintendents and justices of the peace." The capitales were first established around 290 to 287 BC. They were supervised by

5106-605: Was hatched by the disgruntled Praetorian Guard with backing by the Senate. The historian Josephus claims that the conspirators wished to restore the Republic while the historian Suetonius claims their motivations were mostly personal. On 24 January AD 41, the Praetorian tribune Cassius Chaerea and his men stopped Caligula alone in an underground passage leading to a theater. They stabbed him to death. Together with another tribune, Cornelius Sabinus, he killed Caligula's wife Caesonia and their infant daughter Julia Drusilla on

5180-468: Was married to Lucius Vitellius , whose elder brother was the short-lived emperor Vitellius . Her younger sister, Junia Lepida, married Gaius Cassius Longinus and produced a daughter called Cassia Longina. The Roman general Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo married Cassia, who provided him with two daughters, including Domitia Longina , later wife of the emperor Domitian . By her first husband, Lucius Aelius Lamia Plautius Aelianus , Domitia Longina may have been

5254-492: Was not adopted into the Julian family. Upon becoming emperor, however, he added the Julian-affiliated cognomen Caesar to his full name. Nero ( Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ) was a great-great-grandson of Augustus and Livia through his mother, Agrippina the Younger . The younger Agrippina was a daughter of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder, as well as Caligula's sister. Through his mother, Nero

5328-538: Was outlived by his son, Britannicus , although he opted to promote his adopted son Nero as his successor to the throne. Adoption ultimately became a tool that most Julio-Claudian emperors utilized in order to promote their chosen heir to the front of the succession. Augustus—himself an adopted son of his great-uncle, the Roman dictator Julius Caesar —adopted his stepson Tiberius as his son and heir. Tiberius was, in turn, required to adopt his nephew Germanicus ,

5402-410: Was proclaimed emperor after he received erroneous news of the death of Marcus Aurelius , whose survival made Cassius a usurper of the empire. Cassius' rebellion ended three months into his bid for the throne when one of his centurions assassinated him in favour of Marcus Aurelius. Cassius' daughter, Avidia, is known to have had four children with her husband, Titius Claudius Dryantianus Antonius :

5476-529: Was related by blood to the Julian and Claudian branches of the Imperial family. However, he was born into the Domitii Ahenobarbi on his father's side. Nero became a Claudian in name as a result of Agrippina's marriage to her uncle, Claudius, who ultimately adopted her son as his own. He succeeded Claudius in AD 54, becoming the last direct descendant of Augustus to rule the Roman Empire. Within

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