Julio-Claudian Dynasty

Julio Claudian Dynasty

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Julio-Claudian Dynasty

The Julio-Claudian Dynasty refers to the four Roman Emperors: Tiberius

Tiberius

Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus, born Tiberius Claudius Nero , was the second Roman Emperor, from the death of Augustus in AD 14 until his own death in 37....
, 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....
(Gaius), Claudius

Claudius

Nero

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus, was the fifth and final Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty....
. (Augustus was a Julian by adoption, and was never a Claudian. Tiberius was born a Claudian and became a Julian by adoption. Tiberius was the first Julio-Claudian Emperor.) They ruled the Roman Empire

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
from 27 BC to AD 68, when the last of the line, Nero

Nero

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus, was the fifth and final Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty....
, committed suicide. These four rulers were linked through marriage and adoption into the familial gens Julio

Julius

Julius is the nomen of the gens Julia, an important patrician family of ancient Rome supposed to have descended from Julus, and thus from the goddess Venus ....
and gens Claudia

Claudius (gens)

The gens Claudia was one of the oldest families in ancient Rome, and for centuries its members were regularly leaders of the city and empire....
.

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The Julio-Claudian Dynasty refers to the four Roman Emperors: Tiberius

Tiberius

Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus, born Tiberius Claudius Nero , was the second Roman Emperor, from the death of Augustus in AD 14 until his own death in 37....
, Caligula

Caligula

Claudius

Nero

Roman Empire

Nero

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus, was the fifth and final Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty....
, committed suicide. These four rulers were linked through marriage and adoption into the familial gens Julio

Julius

Julius is the nomen of the gens Julia, an important patrician family of ancient Rome supposed to have descended from Julus, and thus from the goddess Venus ....
and gens Claudia

Claudius (gens)

The gens Claudia was one of the oldest families in ancient Rome, and for centuries its members were regularly leaders of the city and empire....
. Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar

'Gaius Julius Caesar' , July 13, 100 BC ? March 15, 44 BC,) was a Roman Republic military and political leader. He played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
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.

The reigns of the Julian-Claudian emperors bear some similar traits: All came to power through indirect or adopted relations. Each expanded the territory of the Roman Empire and initiated massive construction projects. They were generally loved by the common people, but were resented by the senatorial class - a sentiment reflected by ancient historians. Ancient historians describe the Julio-Claudians as self-aggrandizing, mad, sexually perverse and tyrannical. The Julio-Claudian emperors were frequently confronted with conspiracies to kill and replace them and responded by having supposed and actual challengers killed or banished. With the exception of Nero, upon each of their death, came rumors of murder, though only the murder of Caligula is certain.

Tacitus

Tacitus

Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a Roman Senate and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories —examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those that reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors....
wrote this of the Julio-Claudian Emperors and history:

But the successes and reverses of the old Roman people have been recorded by famous historians; and fine intellects were not wanting to describe the times of Augustus, till growing sycophancy scared them away. The histories of Tiberius, Caius, Claudius, and Nero, while they were in power, were falsified through terror, and after their death were written under the irritation of a recent hatred.

Dynastic relations

This dynasty is known as the Julio-Claudians because its members were drawn from two of the patrician

Patrician

The term "patrician" originally referred to a group of elitism citizens in ancient Rome, including both their natural and adopted members. In the late Roman empire, the class was broadened to include high council officials, and after the fall of the Western Empire became a term for Byzantine Imperial governors in the West....
gentes

Gens

In ancient Rome, a gens was a clan, caste, or group of families, that shared a common name and a belief in a common ancestor. In the Roman naming convention, the second name was the name of the gens to which the person belonged....
of Ancient Rome, the Julii and the Claudii

Claudius (gens)

The gens Claudia was one of the oldest families in ancient Rome, and for centuries its members were regularly leaders of the city and empire....
. Its founder, Augustus, was a Julian by blood through his maternal grandmother, Julia Caesaris

Julia Caesaris

Julia Caesaris is the name of all women in the Julii Caesares patrician family , since feminine names were their father's Roman naming convention and Roman naming convention declined in the female form....
. He would become a Julian in name (Gaius Julius Caesar "Octavianus") through his adoption by his great-uncle, Gaius Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar

'Gaius Julius Caesar' , July 13, 100 BC ? March 15, 44 BC,) was a Roman Republic military and political leader. He played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
.

Tiberius
Tiberius

Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus, born Tiberius Claudius Nero , was the second Roman Emperor, from the death of Augustus in AD 14 until his own death in 37....
, the son of Augustus' wife Livia by her first husband (thus Augustus' step-son), was born a Claudian but, like Augustus before him, became a Julian upon his adoption.

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....
, however, had both Julian and Claudian ancestry being a Julio-Claudian, and was also a direct blood great-grandson of Augustus.

Claudius
Claudius

Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus or Claudius I was the fourth Roman Emperor, a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from January 24, AD 41 to his death in AD 54....
was a Claudian, though like his great-uncle Augustus Caesar, he was also descended from the Julian family through his maternal grandmother Octavia Minor

Octavia Minor

Octavia Minor , also known as Octavia the Younger or simply Octavia, was the sister of the first Roman Emperor, Augustus , half sister of Octavia Major, and fourth wife of Mark Antony....
—sister of Augustus—whose own maternal grandmother was Julia, Caesar's sister.

Like Caligula before him, Nero
Nero

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus, was the fifth and final Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty....
also shared Julian and Claudian ancestry. Nero, again like Caligula, was a descendant of Augustus, a great-great-grandson.

Rise and fall of the Julio-Claudians

Augustus

Lacking any male child and heir Augustus married his only daughter Julia

Julia the Elder

Julia the Elder , known to her contemporaries as Julia Caesaris filia or Julia Augusti filia was the daughter and only natural child of Augustus....
to his nephew Marcus Claudius Marcellus

Marcus Claudius Marcellus (Julio-Claudian dynasty)

Marcus Claudius Marcellus was the eldest son of Octavia Minor, sister of Augustus, and Gaius Claudius Marcellus Minor, a former consul. He was descended through his father from Marcus Claudius Marcellus, a famous general in the Second Punic War....
. However, Marcellus died of food poisoning in 23 BC. Augustus then married his widowed daughter to his loyal friend, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa

Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa

Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa was a Roman statesman and general. He was a close friend, son-in-law, lieutenant and minister to Octavian, the future emperor Caesar Augustus....
. This marriage produced five children, three sons and two daughters: Gaius Caesar

Gaius Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar , most commonly known as Gaius Caesar or Caius Caesar, was the oldest son of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder.....
, Lucius Caesar

Lucius Caesar

Lucius Julius Caesar , most commonly known as Lucius Caesar, was the second son of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder. He was born with the name Lucius Vipsanius Agrippa, but when he was adopted by his maternal grandfather Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus, his name was changed to Lucius Julius Caesar....
, Vipsania Julia

Julia the Younger

Julia Minor or Julilla was a Roman Princess. She was the eldest daughter and second child born to Roman Statesman Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder....
, Agrippina

Agrippina the elder

Vipsania Agrippina or most commonly known as Agrippina Major was a distinguished and prominent Roman Princess that lived between the 1st century BC and 1st century....
, and Postumus Agrippa.

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 favor toward his wife Livia's two children from her first marriage: Drusus

Nero Claudius Drusus

Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus , born Decimus Claudius Drusus also called Drusus, Drusus I, Nero Drusus, or Drusus the Elder was a Roman Empire politician and military commander....
and Tiberius

Tiberius

Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus, born Tiberius Claudius Nero , was the second Roman Emperor, from the death of Augustus in AD 14 until his own death in 37....
. They were successful military leaders who had fought against the barbarian Germanic tribes.

Agrippa died in 12 BC, and Tiberius was ordered by Augustus to divorce his wife Vipsania Agrippina

Vipsania Agrippina

Vipsania Agrippina was the daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa from his first wife Caecilia Attica, granddaughter of Cicero's friend and knight Titus Pomponius Atticus....
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

Rhodes

Rhodes is a Greece List of islands of Greece approximately southwest of Turkey in eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007 of which 53,709 resided in the Rhodes capital city of the island....
. After the early deaths of both Lucius (2

Year 2 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar....
AD) and Gaius (4

Year 4 was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar....
AD), Augustus was forced to recognize Tiberius as the next Roman emperor. Augustus banished his grandson Postumus Agrippa to the small island of Planasia

Pianosa

The small island of Pianosa forms part of Italy's Tuscan Archipelago. Its name expresses the idea of the Italian word pianura : its highest point stands only about over sea-level....
(around 6

Year 6 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar....
or 7

Year 7 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar....
AD), and Tiberius was recalled to Rome and officially adopted by Augustus.

Tiberius
Tiberius

Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus, born Tiberius Claudius Nero , was the second Roman Emperor, from the death of Augustus in AD 14 until his own death in 37....

On 19 August 14 AD, Augustus died. Tiberius had already been established as Princeps in all but name, and his position as heir was confirmed in Augustus' will.

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

Germanicus

Germanicus Julius Caesar Claudianus . Born in Lugdunum, Gaul , was a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty of the early Roman Empire. At birth he was named either Nero Claudius Drusus after his father or Tiberius Claudius Nero after his uncle and received the agnomen Germanicus, by which he is principally known, in 9 BC, when...
over his natural son, Drusus

Julius Caesar Drusus

Nero Claudius Drusus, later Drusus Julius Caesar , was the only child of Roman Emperor Tiberius and his first wife, Vipsania Agrippina. He was born with the name Nero Claudius Drusus, and is also known to historians as Drusus II and Drusus Minor....
, 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 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

Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso

Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso , Roman statesman, was consul in 7 BC; subsequently, he was governor of Hispania and proconsul of North Africa during the Classical Period....
, 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

Lucius Aelius Seianus , commonly known as Sejanus, was an ambitious soldier, friend and confidant of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. An Equestrian by birth, Sejanus rose to power as Praetorian Prefect of the Roman imperial bodyguard, known as the Praetorian Guard, of which he was commander from 14 AD until his death in 31....
.

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

Livilla

Livia Julia , most commonly known by her family nickname of Livilla was the only daughter of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia Minor. Her chief role in the history of the Julio-Claudian dynasty was as a bride ? and alleged murderer ? of the heir apparent to the Principate during the reigns of Augustus and her uncle Tiberius....
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

Naevius Sutorius Macro

Quintus Naevius Cordus Sutorius Macro , often abbreviated Naevius Sutorius Macro, or simply Macro, was a Praetorian prefect of the Roman Empire imperial bodyguard, known as the Praetorian Guard, from 31 until his death in 38....
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 and girls into orgies. On one account when one of the boys complained, Tiberius had his legs broken. However Suetonius' claims have to be taken with a degree of scepticism.

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....

Although Augustus's succession plans were all but ruined due to the deaths of more than several family members, including many of his own descendants, in 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, on the death of Tiberius, his adopted son, Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, ascended to the throne. Not only did the new Caesar belong to both the Julii and the Claudii, but he was also a direct descendant of Augustus Caesar as well. More commonly remembered in history by his childhood nickname Caligula

Caligula

Year 37 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar....
to 41

Year 41 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar....
AD.

When Tiberius died on March 16, 37 AD, Caligula was well positioned to assume power, despite the obstacle of Tiberius’s will, which named him and his cousin Tiberius Gemellus

Tiberius Gemellus

Tiberius Julius Caesar Nero Gemellus, known as Tiberius Gemellus, was the son of Drusus Julius Caesar and Livilla, the grandson of Tiberius, and the cousin of Gaius Caligula....
as joint heirs. Caligula ordered Gemellus killed within his first year. Backed by Naevius Sutorius Macro, Caligula asserted himself as sole princeps.

There were several unsuccessful attempts made on Caligula's life. The successful conspiracy that ended Caligula's life was hatched by the disgruntled Praetorian Guard

Praetorian Guard

The Praetorian Guard was a special force of guards used by Roman empire List of Roman Emperorss. Before being appropriated for the use of the Emperors' personal guards, the title was used for the guards of Roman generals, at least since the rise to prominence of the Scipio family around 275 BC....
with backing by the Senate. The historian 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....
claims that the conspirators wished to restore the Republic while the historian 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 their motivations were mostly personal. On January 24, 41

Year 41 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar....
, the praetorian tribune Cassius Chaerea

Cassius Chaerea

Cassia Chaerea was a centurion in the army of Germanicus and served in the Praetorian Guard under the emperor Caligula, whom he eventually assassinated....
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

Caesonia

Milonia Caesonia was a Roman Empress. She rose from modest origins to become the fourth and last wife of the Roman Emperor Caligula. She was a daughter of a Roman woman called Vistilia, who came from a family who held the praetorship and her father is unknown....
and their infant 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....
on the same day.

Claudius
Claudius

Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus or Claudius I was the fourth Roman Emperor, a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from January 24, AD 41 to his death in AD 54....

After Caligula’s death, the senate attempted and failed to restore the Republic. Claudius

Claudius

Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus or Claudius I was the fourth Roman Emperor, a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from January 24, AD 41 to his death in AD 54....
, Caligula's uncle, became emperor by the instigation of the Praetorian Guards.

Despite his lack of political experience, Claudius proved to be an able administrator and a great builder of public works. His reign saw an expansion of the empire, including the invasion of Britain in 43 AD. 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.

Claudius' reign also included several attempts on his life. In order to gain political support, he married Agrippina the Younger and adopted her son Nero.

With his adoption on February 25, 50

Year 50 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar....
Nero became heir to the throne. Claudius died on October 13, 54

Year 54 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar....
and Nero became emperor. A number of ancient historians accuse Agrippina of poisoning Claudius, but details on these private events vary widely.

Nero
Nero

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus, was the fifth and final Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty....

Nero became emperor in 54

Year 54 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar....
at seventeen, the youngest Emperor yet. Like his uncle Caligula before him, Nero was also a direct descendant of Augustus Caesar, a fact which made his ascension to the throne much easier and more smooth than it had been for Tiberius or Claudius. Ancient historians describe Nero's early reign as being strongly influenced by his mother Agrippina, his tutor Seneca, and the Praetorian Prefect Burrus, especially in the first year. In 55

Year 55 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar....
, Nero began taking on a more active role as an administrator. He was consul four times between 55

Year 55 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar....
and 60

Year 60 was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar....
. Nero consolidated power over time through the execution and banishment of his rivals and slowly usurped authority from the Senate.

In 64

Year 64 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar....
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 65

Year 65 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar....
, senators complained that they had no power left and this led to the Pisonian conspiracy. The conspiracy failed and its members were executed. Vacancies after the conspiracy allowed Nymphidius Sabinus

Nymphidius Sabinus

Gaius Nymphidius Sabinus, or Nymphidius Sabinus, was a Praetorian prefect of the Ancient Rome imperial bodyguard, known as the Praetorian Guard, during the rule of Roman Emperor Nero from 65 until his death in 68....
to rise in the praetorian guard

Praetorian Guard

Year 67 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar....
or early 68

Year 68 was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar....
, Vindex

Vindex

Gaius Iulius Vindex, of a noble Gaulish family of Aquitania given senatorial status under Claudius, was a Roman Empire governor in the province of Gallia Lugdunensis....
, the governor of Gallia Lugdunensis

Gallia Lugdunensis

Gallia Lugdunensis was a Roman province of the Roman Empire in what is now the modern country of France, part of the Celtic territory of Gaul....
in Gaul

Gaul

Gaul is the name used for the region of Western Europe comprising part of present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the River Rhine....
, rebelled against the tax policies of Nero. Lucius Virginius Rufus

Lucius Virginius Rufus

Lucius Verginius Rufus , was a Ancient Rome patriot and soldier, three times consul , born near Comum, the birthplace of the two Plinys.When governor of upper Germany under Nero , after he had put down the revolt of Julius Vindex in Gaul, Verginius was more than once urged by his troops to assume the supreme power; but he firmly refused, an...
, the governor of superior Germany was sent to put down the rebellion. To gain support, Vindex called on Galba

Galba

Servius Sulpicius Galba , also called Servius Sulpicius Galba Caesar Augustus, was Roman Emperor from June 8, 68 until his death. He was the first emperor of the Year of the Four Emperors....
, the governor of Hispania Citerior

Hispania Citerior

During the Roman Republic, Hispania Citerior was a region of Hispania roughly located in the northeastern coast and in the Ebro valley of modern Spain....
in Hispania

Hispania

Hispania was the name given by the Ancient Rome to the whole of the Iberian Peninsula . When Rome was a Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into Roman provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior....
(the Iberian Peninsula

Iberian Peninsula

The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes modern-day Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar and a very small area of France....
, comprising modern Spain

Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
and Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east....
), to become emperor. Virginius Rufus defeated Vindex's forces and Vindex committed suicide. Galba was declared 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. By June of 68

Year 68 was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar....
the senate voted Galba the emperor and declared Nero a public enemy. The praetorian guard was bribed to betray Nero by Nymphidius Sabinus, who desired to become emperor himself.

Nero reportedly committed suicide with the help of his scribe Epaphroditos

Epaphroditos

Epaphroditos or Epaphroditus was a freedman and secretary of the Roman Emperor Nero. He was later executed by Domitian for failing to prevent Nero's suicide....
. With his death, the Julio-Claudian dynasty came to an end. Chaos ensued in the Year of the Four Emperors

Year of the Four Emperors

The Year of the Four Emperors was a year in the history of the Roman Empire, AD 69, in which four emperors ruled in a remarkable succession. These four emperors were Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian....
.

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's great-nephew, was also his stepson (his mother Agrippina being Claudius's niece, and also Claudius's fourth wife).

The uncle/nephew relationship also is prominent: Tiberius was Claudius's uncle, and Claudius was Caligula's uncle.

No Julio-Claudian emperor was a blood descendant of his immediate predecessor. Both Tiberius and Claudius had male direct descendants (Tiberius's grandson Tiberius Gemellus

Tiberius Gemellus

Britannicus

Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus was the son of the Roman Empire Claudius and his third wife Valeria Messalina. He became the heir-designate of the empire at his birth, less than a month into his father's reign....
) 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's I, Claudius
I, Claudius

For other uses see I, Claudius .I, Claudius is a novel by England writer Robert Graves, first published in 1934 in literature, that deals sympathetically with the life of the Roman Emperor Claudius and cynically with the history of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty and Roman Empire, from Julius Caesar's assassination in 44 BC to Caligula...
, 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.

Emperors of the dynasty

Augustus (27 BC–AD 14
14

Year 14 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar....
)
Tiberius
Tiberius

Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus, born Tiberius Claudius Nero , was the second Roman Emperor, from the death of Augustus in AD 14 until his own death in 37....
(14
14

Year 14 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar....
–37
37

Year 37 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar....
)
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....
(37
37

Year 37 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar....
–41
41

Year 41 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar....
)
Claudius
Claudius

Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus or Claudius I was the fourth Roman Emperor, a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from January 24, AD 41 to his death in AD 54....
(41
41

Year 41 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar....
–54
54

Year 54 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar....
)
Nero
Nero

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus, was the fifth and final Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty....
(54
54

Year 54 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar....
–68
68

Year 68 was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar....
)

Julio-Claudian Dynasty

Dynastic relations

Rise and fall of the Julio-Claudians

Augustus

Tiberius
Tiberius

Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus, born Tiberius Claudius Nero , was the second Roman Emperor, from the death of Augustus in AD 14 until his own death in 37....

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....

Claudius
Claudius

Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus or Claudius I was the fourth Roman Emperor, a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from January 24, AD 41 to his death in AD 54....

Nero
Nero

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus, was the fifth and final Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty....

Great-nephews

Emperors of the dynasty

Further reading

See also

Julio-Claudian Dynasty

Dynastic relations

Rise and fall of the Julio-Claudians

Augustus

TiberiusTiberiusTiberius Julius Caesar Augustus, born Tiberius Claudius Nero , was the second Roman Emperor, from the death of Augustus in AD 14 until his own death in 37....

CaligulaCaligulaGaius 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....

ClaudiusClaudiusTiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus or Claudius I was the fourth Roman Emperor, a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from January 24, AD 41 to his death in AD 54....

NeroNeroNero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus, was the fifth and final Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty....

Great-nephews

Emperors of the dynasty

Further reading

See also

Tiberius
Tiberius

Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus, born Tiberius Claudius Nero , was the second Roman Emperor, from the death of Augustus in AD 14 until his own death in 37....

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....

Claudius
Claudius

Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus or Claudius I was the fourth Roman Emperor, a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from January 24, AD 41 to his death in AD 54....

Nero
Nero

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus, was the fifth and final Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty....