Julio-Claudian dynasty
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The Julio-Claudian Dynasty refers to the first five Roman Emperors: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. They ruled the Roman Empire from 27 BC to AD 68, when the last of the line, Nero, committed suicide. These five rulers were linked through marriage and adoption into the familial gens Julia and gens Claudia. Julius Caesar is sometimes inaccurately seen as its founder, although he was not an emperor and had no Claudian connections; Augustus is the more widely accepted founder.
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[edit] Dynastic relations
This dynasty is known as the Julio-Claudians because its members were drawn from two of the patrician gentes of Ancient Rome, the Julii and the Claudii. Its founder, Augustus, was a Julian through adoption by his great-uncle, Gaius Julius Caesar.
Tiberius was born a Claudian but, like Augustus before him, became a Julian upon his adoption.
Caligula, however, had both Julian and Claudian ancestry being a Julio-Claudian, and was also a direct blood great-grandson of Augustus.
Claudius was a Claudian, though he was also descended from the Julian family through his maternal grandmother Octavia Minor—sister of Augustus—whose own maternal grandmother was Julia, Caesar's sister.
Like Caligula before him, Nero also shared Julian and Claudian ancestry. Nero, again like Caligula, was a descendant of Augustus, a great-great-grandson.
[edit] Rise and fall of the Julio-Claudians
[edit] Augustus
All responsible rulers, acknowledging that they are not immortal, try to choose a worthy political heir in a most careful fashion, and Augustus was no different. Lacking any male child, he married his only natural daughter Julia to Marcus Claudius Marcellus, his nephew by his own sister Octavia Minor. However, Marcellus died of food poisoning in 23 BC. Reports of later historians that this poisoning, and other later deaths, were organized by Livia Drusilla, wife of Augustus, are unproven, and inconclusive at best.
Augustus then married his widowed daughter to his loyal friend, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. This marriage produced five children, three sons and two daughters: Gaius Caesar, Lucius Caesar, Vipsania Julia, Agrippina, and Postumus Agrippa. All male children were potential heirs, especially the first two children, who were adopted by Augustus. Augustus also showed great favor towards Livia's children from her first marriage, Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus and his brother Tiberius Claudius Nero, successful military leaders who had fought against the barbaric Germanic tribes.
Agrippa died in 12 BC, and Tiberius was ordered by Augustus to divorce his beloved wife Vipsania Agrippina and to marry the twice widowed Julia. Drusus, the brother of Tiberius died in 9 BC, as he fell from a horse. Tiberius shared in Augustus' tribune powers, but shortly thereafter in 6 BC, he departed for Rhodes, into voluntary exile. After the early deaths of both Lucius (2) and Gaius (4), Augustus banished Postumus Agrippa for reasons unknown to us around 6 or 7 to the small island of Planasia. Tiberius was recalled to Rome and was officially adopted by Augustus. He was the only remaining reasonable choice.
[edit] Tiberius
On 19 August 14, Augustus died. In his will Postumus Agrippa and Tiberius were named as co-heirs. However, Postumus was quickly executed. Who ordered his death is unclear, but the way was clear for Tiberius to assume the same powers that his stepfather had.
Despite his difficult relationship with the Senate, Tiberius's first years were generally good. He stayed true to Augustus’s plans for the succession and favored his adopted son Germanicus over his natural son, Drusus, as did the Roman populace. On Tiberius's request, Germanicus was granted proconsular power and assumed command in the prime military zone of Germania, where he suppressed the mutiny there and led the formerly restless legions on campaigns against Germanic tribes from 14 to 16 AD. Germanicus died at Syria in 19 AD 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 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 paronoia, which made him more reliant on Sejanus, as well as allowing Sejanus to eliminate potential rivals.
Tiberius, perhaps sensitive to this ambition, rejected Sejanus's initial proposal to marry Livilla in 25 AD, but later had withdrawn his objections so that, in 30 AD, Sejanus was betrothed to Livilla's daughter, Tiberius' granddaughter. Sejanus’ family connection to the Imperial house was now imminent, and in 31 AD Sejanus held the Consulship with the emperor as his colleague, an honor Tiberius reserved only for heirs to the throne. When he was summoned to a meeting of the Senate on 18 October in that year he probably expected to receive a share of 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.
Rome’s second Emperor died at the port town of Misenum on March 16, 37 AD, at the age of seventy-eight in a reign of 23 years. Suetonius writes that the Prefect of the Praetorian Guard Naevius Sutorius Macro smothered Tiberius with 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 into sexual pleasure and orgies. On one account when one of the boys complained, Tiberius broke his legs. However Suetonius' claims have to be taken with a degree of scepticism.
[edit] Caligula
With the death Tiberius, yet another tragedy for the Julio-Cladian Dynasty opened up with the accession of Caligula. Tiberius Claudius Nero born on August 31, 12 AD most commonly known as Caligula, was the third Roman Emperor ruling from 37AD to 41AD.
When Tiberius died on March 16, 37 AD, Caligula was in a perfect position 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 a matter of months. Backed by Naevius Sutorius Macro, Caligula asserted his dominance.
His first acts were generous in spirit: he gave cash bonuses to the Praetorian Guards, declared that Treason trials were a thing of the past, recalled exiles, and helped those who had been harmed by the Imperial Tax system. He was loved by many simply by being the beloved son of the popular Germanicus. Moreover, he was, unlike Tiberius, a direct blood descendant of Augustus. He was also a great-grandson of Mark Antony.
On becoming Emperor, Caligula performed a spectacular stunt. He ordered a temporary floating bridge to be built using ships as pontoons, stretching for over two miles from the resort of Baiae to the neighboring port of Puteoli. He then proceeded to ride his horse across, wearing the breastplate of Alexander the Great. This act was in defiance of an astrologer's prediction that he had "no more chance of becoming Emperor than of riding a horse across the Gulf of Baiae". However, following this auspicious start to his reign, Caligula fell seriously ill in October of 37AD, and "emerged as a monster of lust and diabolical cruelty". As loving as the people was at the beginning of his reign the same goes for their hate and fear near the end of his reign, and in their minds the only way of getting him off the throne was by murder.
The conspiracy that ended Caligula's life was hatched among the officers of the Praetorian Guard, many for purely personal reasons. On January 24, 41 AD, the praetorian tribune Cassius Chaerea and other guardsmen caught Caligula alone in a secluded palace corridor and cut him down. Together with another aggrieved tribune, Cornelius Sabinus, he also killed Caligula's wife Caesonia and their infant daughter, Julia Drusilla by smashing her head against a wall.
[edit] Claudius
With Caligula’s execution, Claudius became emperor by the instigation of the Praetorian Guards.
On February 25, 50 AD Nero became heir to the then-Emperor, his grand-uncle and adoptive father Claudius, as Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus, succeeding to the throne with Claudius' death on October 13, 54 AD.
[edit] Nero
At the time of his ascension to the throne Nero was young and much was left to his mother, Agrippina the Younger, his advisor and tutor Seneca, and head of the Praetorian Guards, Burrus. The matters of the Empire were handled effectively and the Senate enjoyed a period of renewed influence in state affairs. However, problems would soon arise from Nero's personal life and the increasing competition for influence among Agrippina, Seneca, and Burrus.
Nero was reportedly unsatisfied with his marriage to Octavia and tended to neglect her, and so entered into an affair with Claudia Acte, a former slave. While this was not uncommon, it was frowned upon if the relationship was for more than just sexual gratification. In 55 AD, Agrippina attempted to intervene in favor of Octavia and demanded that her son dismiss Claudia Acte. Burrus and Seneca, on the other hand, chose to support Nero and his decision to ignore his mother. As Nero's angry grew at Agrippina’s unofficial rule, he began to plot his own mother’s murder, justifying his tactics by claiming that she was conspiring against him, which was not the case.
When Poppaea, his favorite mistress, became pregnant, Nero decided to marry her, but his marriage to Octavia had to be dissolved before doing so. At first he resorted to accusing her of adultery; however, Nero had already gained a reputation for this offense while Octavia was reputed to be an example of Roman virtue. Since no evidence of infidelity could be found, Nero decided to declare the divorce on grounds of infertility, leaving him free to marry Poppaea and wait for her to give birth. However, he had miscalculated the public reaction to his divorce. A false rumor that he intended to recall Octavia caused her partisans to celebrate openly, and the festivities soon became a riot in which the mob vandalized Poppaea's portraits and carried Octavia's in triumph on their shoulders. Nero resorted to force, both to put down the riot and to get rid of Octavia. He now succeeded in convicting Octavia of adultery based on a "confession" from his admiral Anicetus, who was rewarded with a comfortable exile while Octavia was summarily executed. Nero was then free to marry Poppaea, who gave birth to his daughter. However, the child died in infancy, and Nero promptly deified her. When Poppaea subsequently died during another pregnancy, malicious rumors blamed Nero for her death as a result of physical abuse, but this story is a familiar topos in the biographies of tyrannical rulers, and merits some skepticism. In any case, he deified her and had her mummified in Egyptian fashion rather than cremated. Blasphemy against the deified Poppaea became a useful charge against his political enemies, a fact that undoubtedly helps to explain the bitter hostility of historians toward her.
On the night July 18 to July 19, 64 AD the Great Fire of Rome erupted, Nero was reportedly vacationing in his native Anzio but had to return in haste; the fire burned for a week. Rumor circulated that Nero had played his Lyre and sang, on top of Quirinal Hill, while the city was burning. The confused population searched for a scapegoat and soon rumors held Nero responsible. The motivation attributed to him was intending to immortalize his name by renaming Rome to "Neropolis". Nero had to engage in finding a scapegoat of his own and chose for his target a small Eastern sect called the Christians. He ordered known Christians to be thrown to the lions in arenas, while others were crucified in large numbers. Nero was probably not in fact responsible for the fire of 64, but some of his actions in the immediate aftermath of the disaster inevitably fueled resentment that in turn bred conspiracy theories. Although he enacted sensible regulations for rebuilding the city in a safer manner, he also appropriated a huge tract of land in the heart of the city for his new palace, the Domus Aurea (Golden House).
Back in Rome, Nero found a rather cold atmosphere. Gaius Julius Vindex, the governor of Gallia Lugdunensis, revolted, and this brought Nero to a paranoid search for eventual threats; in this state of mind he ordered the elimination of any Patrician with suspect ideas. His once faithful servant Galba, governor of Iberia, was one of those dangerous nobles, so Nero ordered his death. Galba, lacking an alternative choice, declared his loyalty to the Senate and to the People of Rome no longer recognizing Nero's power. Moreover, he started organizing his own campaign for the empire: as a result, Lucius Clodius Macer, legate of the legion III Augusta in Africa, revolted and stopped sending grain to Rome. Nymphidius corrupted the imperial guard, which turned against Nero on the promise of financial reward by Galba. The Senate deposed Nero, who committed suicide on June 9, 68 AD. With his death, the Julio-Claudian dynasty came to an end.
[edit] Great-nephews
It is interesting how commonly the blood relationship of great-uncle /great-nephew is found between the rulers of Julio-Claudian dynasty.
- Augustus was the great-nephew of Julius Caesar (and his adopted son).
- Caligula was the great-nephew of Tiberius (and his adopted son).
- Claudius was the great-nephew of Augustus.
- Nero was the great-nephew of Claudius (and his adopted son).
The other recurring relationship between emperor and successor is that of stepfather/stepson, a relationship not by blood but by marriage:
- Tiberius was Augustus's stepson.
- Nero, as well as being Claudius' great-nephew, was also his stepson (his mother Agrippina being Claudius' niece, and also Claudius' fourth wife).
The uncle/nephew relationship also is prominent: Tiberius was Claudius' uncle, and Claudius was Caligula's uncle.
No Julio-Claudian emperor was a blood descendent of his immediate predecessor. Both Tiberius and Claudius had male direct descendants (Tiberius' grandson Tiberius Gemellus, Claudius' son Britannicus) available for the succession, but their great-nephews were preferred.
The fact that ordinary father-son (or grandfather-grandson) succession did not occur has contributed to the image of the Julio-Claudian court presented in Robert Graves' I, Claudius, a dangerous world where scheming family members were all too ready to murder the obvious, direct heirs so as to bring themselves, their own immediate families, or their lovers closer to the succession.
[edit] Emperors of the dynasty
[edit] Further reading
- Matyszak, Philip. The Sons of Caesar: Imperial Rome's First Dynasty. London: Thames & Hudson, 2006 (hardcover, ISBN 0-500-25128-2).
- Anthony Kamm, The Romans an Introduction
- Suetonius, The Lives of the twelve Caesars: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/suetonius-index.html
- Anthony A. Barrett, Agrippina : sex, power, and politics in the early Empire
- Lecture and notes from CLCV 1003A(Classical Roman Civilization); Carleton University
- Wood, Susan, "The Incredible, Vanishing Wives of Nero," http://www.portraitsofcaligula.com/3/miscellaneous1.htm
- Holztrattner, Franz, Poppaea Neronis Potens: Studien zu Poppaea Sabina, Berger & Söhne: Graz-Horn, 1995
- N.A. "Octavia," tragedy preserved with the writings of Seneca.
- Tacitus, Annals.
- Suetonius, Lives of the 12 Caesars.
[edit] See also
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