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Milonia Caesonia (PIR2 M 590) (6-41) was a Roman Empress. She rose from modest origins to become the fourth and last wife of the Roman Emperor
Roman Emperor

The Roman Emperor was the ruler of the Roman Empire during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office: Latin language titles such as imperator , Augustus , Caesar and princeps were all associated with it....
 Caligula
Caligula

Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , more commonly known by his nickname Caligula , was the third Roman Emperor, reigning from 16 March 37 until his assassination on 24 January 41....
. She was a daughter of a Roman woman called Vistilia
Vistilia

Vistilia was a Roman woman who lived in the 1st century and came from a family that held the praetorship. Her brother was probably Sextus Vistilius, a former praetor, who was a former close friend to late Roman General Nero Claudius Drusus....
, who came from a family who held the praetor
Praetor

Praetor was a Title#Titles_for_heads_of_state granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, either before it was mustered or more typically in the field, or an elected Magistratus assigned duties that varied depending on the historical period....
ship and her father is unknown. Her younger half-brother was Roman Consul and General Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo
Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo

Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo was a Ancient Rome general....
. Her niece Domitia Longina
Domitia Longina

Domitia Longina was an Empress and wife to the Roman Emperor Domitian. She was the youngest daughter of the general and Roman consul Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo....
, would become a future Roman Empress and would marry the future Roman Emperor Domitian
Domitian

Titus Flavius Domitianus , commonly known as Domitian, was a Roman Emperor who reigned from 14 September 81 until his death. Domitian was the last emperor of the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Roman Empire between 69 and 96, encompassing the reigns of Domitian's father Vespasian , his elder brother Titus , and that of Domitian himself...
.

Little is written on Caesonia.






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Milonia Caesonia (PIR2 M 590) (6-41) was a Roman Empress. She rose from modest origins to become the fourth and last wife of the Roman Emperor
Roman Emperor

The Roman Emperor was the ruler of the Roman Empire during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office: Latin language titles such as imperator , Augustus , Caesar and princeps were all associated with it....
 Caligula
Caligula

Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , more commonly known by his nickname Caligula , was the third Roman Emperor, reigning from 16 March 37 until his assassination on 24 January 41....
. She was a daughter of a Roman woman called Vistilia
Vistilia

Vistilia was a Roman woman who lived in the 1st century and came from a family that held the praetorship. Her brother was probably Sextus Vistilius, a former praetor, who was a former close friend to late Roman General Nero Claudius Drusus....
, who came from a family who held the praetor
Praetor

Praetor was a Title#Titles_for_heads_of_state granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, either before it was mustered or more typically in the field, or an elected Magistratus assigned duties that varied depending on the historical period....
ship and her father is unknown. Her younger half-brother was Roman Consul and General Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo
Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo

Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo was a Ancient Rome general....
. Her niece Domitia Longina
Domitia Longina

Domitia Longina was an Empress and wife to the Roman Emperor Domitian. She was the youngest daughter of the general and Roman consul Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo....
, would become a future Roman Empress and would marry the future Roman Emperor Domitian
Domitian

Titus Flavius Domitianus , commonly known as Domitian, was a Roman Emperor who reigned from 14 September 81 until his death. Domitian was the last emperor of the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Roman Empire between 69 and 96, encompassing the reigns of Domitian's father Vespasian , his elder brother Titus , and that of Domitian himself...
.

Little is written on Caesonia. Suetonius
Suetonius

Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius , was an equestrian and a historian during the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is a set of biographies on the battles of twelve successive Roman rulers, from Julius Caesar until Domitian, entitled On the Life of the Caesars....
 claims that when Caligula
Caligula

Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , more commonly known by his nickname Caligula , was the third Roman Emperor, reigning from 16 March 37 until his assassination on 24 January 41....
 married her she was neither beautiful nor young. She was also already the mother of three daughters by another man. Suetonius also claims she was a woman of reckless extravagance and wantonness. Nonetheless, Suetonius reports that Caligula loved her passionately and faithfully.

Cassius Dio claims that Caligula began an affair with Caesonia prior to their marriage in either late 39 or early 40. He claims that Caesonia was pregnant when they married and that she gave birth to a Julia Drusilla
Julia Drusilla

For the identically named daughter of Germanicus, see Drusilla .Julia Drusilla was the only child and daughter of Roman Emperor Gaius and his fourth and last wife Caesonia....
 only one month after their nuptials. Suetonius claims she gave birth on their wedding day. Cassius Dio claims the Roman public was not pleased with Caligula's marriage to Caesonia.

Suetonius
Suetonius

Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius , was an equestrian and a historian during the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is a set of biographies on the battles of twelve successive Roman rulers, from Julius Caesar until Domitian, entitled On the Life of the Caesars....
 states that Caligula would parade Caesonia in front of his troops and even claims Caligula paraded her naked in front of select friends. He also claims that Caligula would jokingly threaten to torture or kill her, on occasion, as an odd form of affection.

Juvenal
Juvenal

The Satires are a collection of satire poems by the Latin author Juvenal written in the late 1st and early 2nd centuries A.D.Juvenal is credited with sixteen known poems divided among five scroll; all are in the Roman genre of Satire, which, at its most basic in the time of the author, comprised a wide-ranging discussion of society and soc...
 says that Caligula went mad as a result of a love potion Caesonia administered to him.

In 41, Caligula was struck down by assassins while attending a private theatrical performance. The assassins were intent on wiping out the whole imperial family. Caesonia and her daughter Julia Drusilla
Julia Drusilla

For the identically named daughter of Germanicus, see Drusilla .Julia Drusilla was the only child and daughter of Roman Emperor Gaius and his fourth and last wife Caesonia....
 were murdered just hours after Caligula's demise. According to Josephus
Josephus

Josephus , also known as Yosef Ben Matityahu and, after he became a Roman citizenship, as Titus Flavius Josephus, was a first-century Jewish historian and apologist of priestly and royal ancestry who survived and recorded the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70....
, she died bravely. Struck with grief at her husband's death, she willingly offered her neck to the assassin and told him to kill her without hesitation.

The role of Caesonia in the 1979 film, Caligula
Caligula (film)

Caligula is a 1979 in film film directed by Tinto Brass, with additional scenes filmed by Giancarlo Lui and Penthouse magazine founder Bob Guccione....
 was performed by Helen Mirren
Helen Mirren

Dame Helen Mirren, Order of the British Empire is a multi-award winnning English actor. She has won an Academy Award, four SAG Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes and four Emmy Awards during her career....
.

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