Julii Caesares

Julius Caesar, a.k.a. Gaius Julius Caesar IV, the best known of the Julii Caesares

Julii Caesares is a subdivision of the patrician Julii family in the Roman Republic, and the beginnings of the Julian side of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty. All its members had the nomen Julius and the cognomen Caesar. When further historical details are lacking they can be told apart by (often recurring) praenomina, the offices they held, the era they lived in and/or known or surmised relatives.

Descendancy

Emperor Caligula and his three sisters (Agrippina the Younger, Julia Drusilla and Julia Livilla), Julii Caesares after adoption of their father Germanicus by Tiberius

The first Caesar may have been a grandson of the Lucius Julius Libo who was consul in 267 BC.^[1] His praenomen may have been Numerius^[2] or Sextus.^[3] Genealogies show a lot of variation up to the grandfather of Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator. For these earlier generations of Caesars descendancy is largely a conjectural construct by later historians,^[3] often intended to illustrate some noble or even divine descent (e.g. translatio imperii) with little or no evidence from the period these people actually lived. From the generation of the dictator's grandfather the descendance is better documented, including the adoptions from Julius Caesar's posthumous adoption of his grandnephew Octavian.

The paths chosen in the descendancy trees below are, for the generations between Libo and the grandfather of the Roman dictator, among the variants offered by historians.^[4] Other variants are indicated below in the by praenomen section.

`Lucius Julius Libo (consul 267 BC)
  `—Lucius Julius Libo II
      `?-Numerius Julius Caesar
          |?-Sextus Julius Caesar (praetor 208 BC)
          `?-Lucius Julius Caesar I
              |?-Lucius Julius Caesar (praetor 183 BC)
              |   `--Lucius Julius Caesar (praetor 166 BC)
              `--Sextus Julius Caesar I (military tribune 181 BC)
                  |--Sextus Julius Caesar II Postumus (consul 157 BC)
                  |   |--Sextus Julius Caesar (praetor 123 BC)
                  |   `--Lucius Julius Caesar II
                  |       |(x Popillia)
                  |       |--Lucius Julius Caesar III (consul 90 BC)
                  |       |   |(x Fulvia)
                  |       |   |--Lucius Julius Caesar IV (consul 64 BC)
                  |       |   |   `--Lucius Julius Caesar V (proquaestor 46 BC)
                  |       |   `--Julia x Marcus Antonius Creticus; x Publius Cornelius Lentulus Sura
                  |       |--Gaius Julius Caesar Strabo Vopiscus (aedile 90 BC)
                  |       `--Julia x Sulla
                  `?-Gaius Julius Caesar I
                      `?-Gaius Julius Caesar II
                          |(x Marcia)
                          |--Gaius Julius Caesar III (proconsul)
                          |   |(x Aurelia Cotta)
                          |   |--Julia Caesaris
                          |   |--Julia Caesaris x Marcus Atius
                          |   `--Julius Caesar (Gaius Julius Caesar IV)
                          |       |(x Cornelia Cinna minor)
                          |       |--Julia (daughter of Julius Caesar) x Pompey
                          |       |(by adoption)
                          |       `--Augustus (Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus)
                          |           |(x Scribonia)
                          |           |--Julia the Elder x M. Claudius Marcellus; x M. Vipsanius Agrippa; x Tiberius
                          |           |(by adoption)
                          |           |--Gaius Caesar (Gaius Julius Caesar)
                          |           |--Lucius Caesar (Lucius Julius Caesar)
                          |           |--Tiberius (Tiberius Julius Caesar)
                          |           |   |(x Vipsania Agrippina)
                          |           |   |--Drusus the Younger (Drusus Julius Caesar)
                          |           |   |   `--Tiberius Gemellus (Tiberius Julius Caesar Nero Gemellus)
                          |           |   |(by marriage to Julia the Elder)
                          |           |   |--(stepdaughter) Julia the Younger x Lucius Aemilius Paullus
                          |           |   |(by adoption)
                          |           |   `--Germanicus (Germanicus Julius Caesar)
                          |           |       |--Nero (Nero Julius Caesar Germanicus)
                          |           |       |--Drusus Caesar (Drusus Julius Caesar Germanicus)
                          |           |       |--Caligula (Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus)
                          |           |       |   |(x Milonia Caesonia)
                          |           |       |   `--Julia Drusilla (daughter of Caligula)
                          |           |       |--Agrippina x Gn. Domitius Ahenobarbus; x C. Sallustius Crispus; x Claudius
                          |           |       |--Julia Drusilla x Lucius Cassius Longinus; x Marcus Aemilius Lepidus
                          |           |       `--Julia Livilla x Marcus Vinicius
                          |           `--Agrippa Postumus (Marcus Julius Caesar Agrippa Postumus)
                          |--Julia Caesaris x Gaius Marius
                          `--Sextus Julius Caesar III (consul 91 BC)
                              `--Sextus Julius Caesar (flamen Quirinalis)
                                  `--Sextus Julius Caesar IV (promagistrate 46 BC)

Male lineage

Male lineage with the same uncertainties for the generations between Libo, the consul, and Julius Caesar's grandfather as in the general descendancy tree above:

Abbreviations for praenomina

Without adoptions

Some of the adopted Julii Caesares had Julii Caesares among their ancestors before adoption. From the emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty only Tiberius, Augustus' stepson when he married Livia, had no such ancestor before adoption. Expliciting these blood lines without the adoptions (note that the offspring of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder appears twice, they descended from Julii Caesares both from the paternal and the maternal side):

              `--Sextus Julius Caesar I (military tribune 181 BC)
                  |--Sextus Julius Caesar II Postumus (consul 157 BC)
                  |   |--Sextus Julius Caesar (praetor 123 BC)
                  |   `--Lucius Julius Caesar II
                  |       |(x Popillia)
                  |       |--Lucius Julius Caesar III (consul 90 BC)
                  |       |   |(x Fulvia)
                  |       |   |--Lucius Julius Caesar IV (consul 64 BC)
                  |       |   |   `--Lucius Julius Caesar V (proquaestor 46 BC)
                  |       |   `--Julia Antonia
                  |       |       |(x Marcus Antonius Creticus)
                  |       |       `--Mark Antony
                  |       |           |(x Octavia the Younger)
                  |       |           `--Antonia Minor
                  |       |               |(x Nero Claudius Drusus)
                  |       |               `--Germanicus (Germanicus Julius Caesar)
                  |       |                   |(x Agrippina the Elder)
                  |       |                   |--Nero (Nero Julius Caesar Germanicus)
                  |       |                   |--Drusus Caesar (Drusus Julius Caesar Germanicus)
                  |       |                   |--Caligula (Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus)
                  |       |                   |   |(x Milonia Caesonia)
                  |       |                   |   `--Julia Drusilla (daughter of Caligula)
                  |       |                   |--Agrippina the Younger
                  |       |                   |--Julia Drusilla
                  |       |                   `--Julia Livilla
                  |       |--Gaius Julius Caesar Strabo Vopiscus (aedile 90 BC)
                  |       `--Julia Cornelia
                  `?-Gaius Julius Caesar I
                      `?-Gaius Julius Caesar II
                          |(x Marcia)
                          |--Gaius Julius Caesar III (proconsul)
                          |   |(x Aurelia Cotta)
                          |   |--Julia Caesaris (eldest sister of Julius Caesar)
                          |   |--Julia Caesaris (youngest sister of Julius Caesar)
                          |   |   |(x Marcus Atius)
                          |   |   `--Augustus (Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus)
                          |   |       |(x Scribonia)
                          |   |       `--Julia the Elder                                           
                          |   |           |(x M. Vipsanius Agrippa)
                          |   |           |--Gaius Caesar (Gaius Julius Caesar)
                          |   |           |--Julia the Younger
                          |   |           |--Lucius Caesar (Lucius Julius Caesar)
                          |   |           |--Agrippina the Elder
                          |   |           |   |(x Germanicus)
                          |   |           |   |--Nero (Nero Julius Caesar Germanicus)
                          |   |           |   |--Drusus Caesar (Drusus Julius Caesar Germanicus)
                          |   |           |   |--Caligula (Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus)
                          |   |           |   |   |(x Milonia Caesonia)
                          |   |           |   |   `--Julia Drusilla (daughter of Caligula)
                          |   |           |   |--Agrippina the Younger
                          |   |           |   |--Julia Drusilla
                          |   |           |   `--Julia Livilla
                          |   |           `--Agrippa Postumus (Marcus Julius Caesar Agrippa Postumus)
                          |   `--Julius Caesar (Gaius Julius Caesar IV)
                          |       |(x Cornelia Cinna minor)
                          |       `--Julia (daughter of Julius Caesar)
                          |--Julia Caesaris (wife of Marius)
                          `--Sextus Julius Caesar III (consul 91 BC)
                              `--Sextus Julius Caesar (flamen Quirinalis)
                                  `--Sextus Julius Caesar IV (promagistrate 46 BC)

Men (by praenomen)

Germanicus, descendant of Lucius Julius Caesar III through his mother Antonia Minor, became one of the Julii Caesares himself after adoption by Tiberius, adopted into the Julii Caesares by Augustus, the posthumously adopted son of Julius Caesar

When a praenomen recurs, without other distinguishing features of the name, there is a tradition to use ordinals in order to distinguish the names.^[5]

Among these praenomina below, Drusus and Nero were originally cognomina of the gentes Livia and Claudia respectively and Germanicus an agnomen (from Germanicus's father Drusus's victory in Germania).

Drusus

• Drusus Julius Caesar (13 BC – AD 23, military commander, etc.), son of Tiberius and father of Tiberius Gemellus;
• Drusus Julius Caesar Germanicus, i.e. Drusus Caesar (AD 7 – AD 33), son of Germanicus;

Gaius

• I: Gaius Julius Caesar I can possibly be identical to Gaius Julius (historian), a senator who around 143 BC would have written a Roman history in Greek. May have been a son of Sextus, the military tribune (and so a brother of the consul of 157 BC). May have been the father of the next Gaius.^[3]
• II: Gaius Julius Caesar II, grandfather of Caesar, may have been a praetor.^[3]
• Gaius Julius Caesar Strabo Vopiscus, second cousin of Caesar's father (c.130 BC – 87 BC, quaestor, aedile, killed by partisans of Marius);
• III: Gaius Julius Caesar (proconsul), father of Caesar and proconsul of Asia in 90s BC (c. 135 BC – 85 BC, quaestor, praetor, supporter of Marius)^[6]
• IV: Gaius Julius Caesar, most famous member (100 BC – 44 BC, consul, dictator, etc.);
• V: Gaius Julius Caesar (Octavianus), i.e. Augustus, Caesar's adopted son, first Roman emperor (63 BC – AD 14, Emperor from 27 BC);
• VI Gaius Julius Caesar (Agrippa), i.e. Gaius Caesar (20 BC – AD 4), formerly Gaius Vipsanius Agrippa (as biological son of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa). He was the grandson and later the adopted son of Augustus;
• VII: Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus, i.e. Caligula (AD 12 – AD 41, Emperor from AD 37), the third Roman emperor, who was a great-grandson of Augustus and son of Germanicus.

Germanicus

• Germanicus Julius Caesar, i.e. Germanicus (15 BC – AD 19, military commander, etc.), nephew of Tiberius and grandson of Octavia Minor, Augustus' sister;

Lucius

• I: Lucius Julius Caesar I^[7] may have been the son of Numerius Julius Caesar^[2] or identical to Lucius Julius Libo II, with Sextus Julius Caesar (praetor 208 BC) as his son, in which case the latter would be the father of Sextus Julius Caesar (military tribune 181 BC) identical to Sextus Julius Caesar (consul 157 BC).^[1]
• Lucius Julius Caesar (praetor 183 BC)^[4]
• Lucius Julius Caesar (praetor 166 BC)^[4]
• II: Lucius Julius Caesar II, first cousin of Caesar's grandfather, grandson of Lucius Julius Caesar I;
• III: Lucius Julius Caesar (consul 90 BC), second cousin of Caesar's father (d. 87 BC, praetor 94 BC, consul 90 BC, killed by partisans of Marius);
• IV: Lucius Julius Caesar (consul 64 BC), third cousin of Caesar, consul in 64 BC (d. aft. 43 BC, consul 63 BC);
• V: Lucius Julius Caesar V, third cousin once removed of Caesar, son of the consul in 64 BC (proquaestor 46 BC, killed soon aft. Battle of Thapsus);
• VI: Lucius Caesar (17 BC – AD 2), i.e. Lucius Vipsanius Agrippa, became Lucius Julius Caesar after adoption by Augustus.

Marcus

• Marcus Julius Caesar Agrippa Postumus, i.e. Agrippa Postumus a.k.a. Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa Postumus (as son of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa) was the grandson and later the adopted son of Augustus (12 BC – AD 14);

Nero

• Nero Julius Caesar Germanicus, i.e. Nero (son of Germanicus) (AD 6 – AD 31);

Numerius

• Numerius Julius Caesar may have lived living in the time of Hannibal.^[2] He may be identical to Lucius Julius Libo II, in which case Sextus Julius Caesar (praetor 208 BC) may have been his son, with Sextus Julius Caesar (military tribune 181 BC) a son of the latter and identical to Sextus Julius Caesar (consul 157 BC).^[8]

Sextus

• Sextus Julius Caesar (praetor 208 BC) may have been the grandson of Lucius Julius Libo (in which case he may have been the father of Sextus Julius Caesar I)^[1] or the brother of Lucius Julius Caesar I.^[3]
• I: Sextus Julius Caesar (military tribune 181 BC), military tribune in Liguria under Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus in 181 BC.^[2][7] Father of^[3] or identical to^[8] the Sextus Julius Caesar who was consul in 157 BC. Possibly the great-great-grandfather of Julius Caesar, the Roman Dictator.^[3]
• II: Sextus Julius Caesar (consul 157 BC), curule aedile in 165 BC and consul in 157 BC, son of the previous,^[3] or identical to the previous^[8] and/or identical to the next.^[8]
• Sextus Julius Caesar (praetor urbanus 123 BC) might have been a brother of Lucius Julius Caesar II^[4][3] or identical to the previous.^[8]
• III: Sextus Julius Caesar (consul 91 BC), paternal uncle of Caesar (d. 90 BC or 89 BC, consul 91 BC, military commander, supporter of Marius);
• Sextus Julius Caesar (flamen Quirinalis), may be identical to IV, son of III
• IV: Sextus Julius Caesar (governor of Syria), first cousin of Caesar (quaestor in 48 BC, military commander in Syria, friend of Julius Caesar).

Tiberius

• Tiberius Julius Caesar, i.e. Tiberius (42 BC – AD 37, Emperor from AD 14), stepson, son-in-law and adopted son of Augustus, second Roman emperor;
• Tiberius Julius Caesar Nero Gemellus, i.e. Tiberius Gemellus (AD 19 – AD 37), grandson of Tiberius.

Women (chronological)

Julia Caesaris, daughter of Julius Caesar

Julia the Elder, granddaughter of Julius Caesar's sister, daughter of Augustus, was known in her time as Julia Caesaris filia (Julia, Caesar's daughter) or Julia Augusti filia (Julia, Augustus' daughter)

Feminine names were their father's gens and cognomen declined in the female form, and so all female members are Julia Caesaris.

• Julia Cornelia, Sulla's wife, was the daughter of Lucius Julius Sex. f. Sex. n. Caesar (Lucius Julius Caesar II).
• Julia Caesaris (wife of Marius) was the daughter of Gaius Julius C. f. Sex. n. Caesar (Gaius Julius Caesar II), which made him the father-in-law of Gaius Marius.^[9]
• Julia Antonia was the daughter of Lucius Julius L. f. Sex. n. Caesar (Lucius Julius Caesar III), which made him the father-in-law of Marcus Antonius Creticus and grandfather of Marcus Antonius.
• Julia Caesaris (eldest sister of Julius Caesar) and Julia Caesaris (youngest sister of Julius Caesar) were the daughters of Gaius Julius C. f. C. n. Caesar (Gaius Julius Caesar III). They were Julius Caesar's elder sisters. The youngest of the two was Augustus' maternal grandmother, which made C. Julius Caesar III his great-grandfather.
• Gaius Julius C. f. C. n. Caesar (Gaius Julius Caesar IV, a.k.a. Julius Caesar) had only one daughter. Julia (daughter of Julius Caesar) married Pompey.
• Julia the Elder, Augustus' daughter
• Julia the Younger, Augustus' granddaughter
• Julia (daughter of Drusus the Younger), daughter of Julius Caesar Drusus and Livilla
• Agrippina the Younger, eldest daughter of Germanicus
• Julia Drusilla, sister of the previous
• Julia Livilla, youngest daughter of Germanicus
• Drusilla the Younger, daughter of Caligula

References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Griffin 2009 p. 13–14 (info partly derived from Livy 27.22.9)
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Everett Francis Briggs. A Briggs memorial: some ancestors of John Briggs of Taunton, Massachusetts : with collateral Deighton (Williams), Whitney, and Mayflower-Rogers lines, p. 5 Family History Publishers, 1997 ISBN 0965435512 ISBN 9780965435512
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 William Smith. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. 1870. Volume 1 p. 536 ff.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Napoleon III. Histoire de Jules César Volume 1, p. 253 Paris: H. Plon 1865
5. ↑ Wurts 1945
6. ↑ Griffin 2009 pp. 15–16
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Wurts 1945 Vol. 4 p. 627
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Griffin 2009 p. 14
9. ↑ Griffin 2009 p. 15

Sources

• Miriam Griffin. A Companion to Julius Caesar, p. 13 ff. John Wiley & Sons, 2009. ISBN 1444308459 ISBN 9781444308457
• John S. Wurts. Magna Charta. Brookfield Publishing Company, 1945

External links

• Numerius Julius Caesar (and subsequent pages) at homepages.rpi.edu/~holmes/