Atia Balba Caesonia

Female 85 BC - 43 BC


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Generation: 1

  1. 1.  Atia Balba Caesonia was born in 85 BC in Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy; died in 43 BC in Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy.

    Other Events and Attributes:

    • House: gens Atia
    • FSID: LD53-2LS

    Notes:

    Neice of Julius Caesar

    In her presence no base word could be uttered without grave offence, and no wrong deed done. Religiously and with the utmost delicacy she regulated not only the serious tasks of her youthful charges, but also their recreations and their games.

    Suetonius' account of Augustus mentions the divine omens she experienced before and after his birth:

    "When Atia had come in the middle of the night to the solemn service of Apollo, she had her litter set down in the temple and fell asleep, while the rest of the matrons also slept. On a sudden a serpent glided up to her and shortly went away. When she awoke, she purified herself, as if after the embraces of her husband, and at once there appeared on her body a mark in colours like a serpent, and she could never get rid of it; so that presently she ceased ever to go to the public baths. In the tenth month after that Augustus was born and was therefore regarded as the son of Apollo. Atia too, before she gave him birth, dreamed that her vitals were borne up to the stars and spread over the whole extent of land and sea, while Octavius dreamed that the sun rose from Atia's womb." (Suetonius:94:4)

    "The day he was born the conspiracy of Catiline was before the House, and Octavius came late because of his wife's confinement; then Publius Nigidius, as everyone knows, learning the reason for his tardiness and being informed also of the hour of the birth, declared that the ruler of the world had been born." (Suetonius:94:5)

    Atia was so fearful for her son's safety that she and Philippus urged him to renounce his rights as Caesar's heir. She died during her son's first consulship, in August or September 43 BC. Octavian honored her memory with a public funeral. Another Philippus, consul suffectus in 38 BC and the son of her second husband from a previous marriage, later married one of her sisters.

    Family/Spouse: Gaius Octavius. Gaius was born in 100 BC in Velletri, Roma, Lazio, Italy; died in 59 BC in Nola, Napoli, Campania, Italy. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

    Children:
    1. 2. Octavia  Descendancy chart to this point was born in 61 BC in Nola, Napoli, Campania, Italy; died in 10 in Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy; was buried in 10 in Mausoleum of Augustus, Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy.
    2. 3. Gaius Octavius  Descendancy chart to this point was born in 23 Sep 63 BC in Ox Head, Palatine Hill, Rome, Roman Republic; died on 19 Aug 14 in Nola, Napoli, Campania, Italy; was buried after 19 Aug 14 in Mausoleum of Augustus, Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy.


Generation: 2

  1. 2.  Octavia Descendancy chart to this point (1.Atia1) was born in 61 BC in Nola, Napoli, Campania, Italy; died in 10 in Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy; was buried in 10 in Mausoleum of Augustus, Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy.

    Other Events and Attributes:

    • House: gens Octavia
    • Nickname: The Younger
    • FSID: LDS3-975

    Notes:

    Children with Marcellus
    Octavia and her first husband had one son and two daughters who survived to adulthood.

    Marcus Claudius Marcellus
    Claudia Marcella Major
    Claudia Marcella Minor

    Children with Mark Antony

    Octavia and Mark Antony had two surviving daughters by their marriage (her second, his fourth), and both were the ancestors of later Roman emperors.

    Antonia Major: grandmother to Emperor Nero.
    Antonia Minor: mother to Emperor Claudius, grandmother to Emperor Caligula, and great-grandmother to Emperor Nero.

    married Marcus Antonius in Bet. 31 BC-39 BC in Roman Republic ( 509 BC - 27 BC ). Marcus (son of Marcus Antonius Creticus Octavia II and Julia Antonia Caesaria) was born in 14 Jan 83 BC in Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy; died in 1 Aug 30 BC in Alexandria, Egypt. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

    Children:
    1. 4. Antonia Minor  Descendancy chart to this point was born in 31 Jan 36 BC in Athínai, Attiki, Attiki, Greece; died on 1 May 37 in Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy; was buried after 1 May 37 in Mausoleum of Augustus, Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy.

  2. 3.  Gaius OctaviusGaius Octavius Descendancy chart to this point (1.Atia1) was born in 23 Sep 63 BC in Ox Head, Palatine Hill, Rome, Roman Republic; died on 19 Aug 14 in Nola, Napoli, Campania, Italy; was buried after 19 Aug 14 in Mausoleum of Augustus, Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy.

    Other Events and Attributes:

    • House: Julio-Claudian
    • Nickname: Ceasar Augustus
    • FSID: LJ2W-38D
    • Appointments / Titles: 5 Feb 1, Roma, Lazio, Italy; Father of the Country
    • Appointments / Titles: Between 19 Aug 14 and 16 Jan 26; Emperor of the Roman Empire - (40 years)

    Notes:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus

    Augustus was the son of Gaius Octavius and the adoptive son of Julius Caesar.
    Spouse :
    Claudia (42–40 BC; divorce)
    Scribonia (40–38 BC; divorce)
    Livia (37 BC–AD 14; his death)
    Issue :
    Julia the Elder
    Gaius Caesar (adopted)
    Lucius Caesar (adopted)
    Agrippa Postumus (adopted)
    Tiberius (adopted)

    Augustus, British Museum, London
    'Augustus'
    Gaius Julius Octavius
    (63 BC - AD 14)

    The future emperor Augustus was born into an equestrian family as Gaius Octavius at Rome on 23 September 63 BC. His father, Gaius Octavius, was the first in the family to become a senator, but died when Octavian was only four. It was his mother who had the more distinguished connection. She was the daughter of Julia, sister to Julius Caesar.

    He was of short stature, handsome and well proportioned and he possessed that commodity so rare in rulers - grace. Though he suffered from bad teeth and was generally of feeble health. His body was covered in spots and he had many birthmarks scattered over his chest and belly.

    As for his character it is said that he was cruel when young, but became mild later on. This, however, might just be because, as his position became more secure, the need for brutality lessened. For he was still prepared to be ruthless when necessary. He was tolerant of criticism, possessed a good sense of humour, and had a particular fondness for playing dice, but often provided his guests with money to place bets.
    Although unfaithful to his wife Livia Drusilla, he remained deeply devoted to her. His public moral attitudes were strict (he had been appointed pontifex (priest) at the age of fifteen or sixteen) and he exiled his daughter and his grand-daughter, both named Julia, for offending against these principles.
    http://www.roman-empire.net/emperors/augustus.html

    Family/Spouse: Appius Claudius Nero. Appius was born in 57 BC in Roman Republic ( 509 BC - 27 BC ); died in DECEASED in Roman Republic ( 509 BC - 27 BC ). [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

    Children:
    1. 5. Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar Augustus  Descendancy chart to this point was born in 85 BC in Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy; died in 33 BC in Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy; was buried in Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy.


Generation: 3

  1. 4.  Antonia Minor Descendancy chart to this point (2.2, 1.Atia1) was born in 31 Jan 36 BC in Athínai, Attiki, Attiki, Greece; died on 1 May 37 in Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy; was buried after 1 May 37 in Mausoleum of Augustus, Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy.

    Other Events and Attributes:

    • FSID: L2RF-5FG

    Notes:

    Wikipedia-

    Antonia Minor[a] (31 January 36 BC - 1 May AD 37) was the younger of two surviving daughters of Mark Antony and Octavia Minor. She was a niece of the Emperor Augustus, sister-in-law of the Emperor Tiberius, paternal grandmother of the Emperor Caligula and Empress Agrippina the Younger, mother of the Emperor Claudius, and maternal great-grandmother of the Emperor Nero. She outlived her husband Drusus, her oldest son, her daughter and several of her grandchildren.

    Biography
    Birth and early life
    She was born in Athens, Greece, and after 36 BC was taken to Rome by her mother with her siblings. She was the youngest of five: her mother had three children, named Claudia Marcella Major, Claudia Marcella Minor, and Marcus Claudius Marcellus, from her first marriage and another daughter, named Antonia Major by the same father. Antonia never knew her father, Mark Antony, who divorced her mother in 32 BC and committed suicide in 30 BC. She was raised by her mother, her uncle, and her aunt, Livia Drusilla. Having inherited properties in Italy, Greece, and Egypt, she was a wealthy and influential woman, who often received visitors to Rome. She had many male friends, including Alexander the Alabarch, a wealthy Jew, and Lucius Vitellius, a consul and the father of Aulus Vitellius, a future emperor.

    Marriage and family
    In 16 BC, she married the Roman general and future consul (9 BC) Nero Claudius Drusus. Drusus was the stepson of her uncle Augustus, second son of Livia Drusilla and brother of future Emperor Tiberius. They had many children, but only three survived: the famous general Germanicus, Livilla and the Roman Emperor Claudius.[1] A poem by Crinagoras of Mytilene mentions Antonia's first pregnancy, which may be of a child before Germanicus whom must have died in infancy or early childhood.[1][2][3] Drusus died in June 9 BC in Germany, due to complications from injuries he sustained after falling from a horse. After his death, although pressured by her uncle to remarry, she never did.

    Antonia raised her children in Rome. Tiberius adopted Germanicus in AD 4.[4] Germanicus died in 19 AD, allegedly poisoned through the handiwork of Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso and Munatia Plancina. Tacitus suggests but does not outright say in Annals 3.3 that, on the orders of Tiberius and Livia Drusilla, Antonia was forbidden to go to his funeral. When Livia Drusilla died in June 29 AD, Antonia took care of her younger grandchildren Caligula, Agrippina the Younger, Julia Drusilla, Julia Livilla and later Claudia Antonia.

    Conflict with Livilla
    In 31 AD, a plot by her daughter Livilla and Tiberius’ notorious Praetorian prefect, Sejanus, was exposed by Apicata, the estranged ex-wife of Sejanus, to murder the Emperor Tiberius and Caligula and to seize the throne for themselves. Livilla allegedly poisoned her husband, Tiberius' son, Drusus Julius Caesar (nicknamed "Castor"), in 23 AD to remove him as a rival. Sejanus was executed before Livilla was implicated in the crime. After Apicata's accusation, which came in the form of a letter to the emperor, several co-conspirators were executed while Livilla was handed over to her formidable mother for punishment. Cassius Dio states that Antonia imprisoned Livilla in her room until she starved to death.[5]

    Succession of Caligula and death
    When Tiberius died, Caligula became emperor in March 37 AD. Caligula awarded her a senatorial decree, granting her all the honors that Livia Drusilla had received in her lifetime. She was also offered the title of Augusta, previously only given to Augustus's wife Livia, but rejected it.

    Six months into his reign, Caligula became seriously ill. Antonia would often offer Caligula advice, but he once told her, "I can treat anyone exactly as I please!" Caligula was rumored to have had his young cousin Gemellus beheaded, to remove him as a rival to the throne. This act was said to have outraged Antonia, who was grandmother to Gemellus as well as to Caligula.

    Having had enough of Caligula's anger at her criticisms and of his behavior, she committed suicide. Suetonius Caligula 23, relates how he might have poisoned her.

    When his grandmother Antonia asked for a private interview, he refused it except in the presence of the prefect Macro, and by such indignities and annoyances he caused her death; although some think that he also gave her poison. After she was dead, he paid her no honour, but viewed her burning pyre from his dining-room.

    Antonia died on 1 May 37.[6]

    When Claudius became emperor after his nephew's assassination in 41 AD, he gave his mother the title of Augusta. Her birthday became a public holiday, which had yearly games and public sacrifices held. An image of her was paraded in a carriage.

    Antonia married Nero Claudius Drusus in 16 BC in Roman Empire ( 27 BC - 389 AD). Nero (son of Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar Augustus and Livia Julia Drusilla) was born in 14 Jan 38 BC in Roman Republic ( 509 BC - 27 BC ); died in 9 BC in Germania, Roman Empire; was buried in Mausoleum of Augustus, Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

    Children:
    1. 6. Claudia Livia Julia  Descendancy chart to this point was born in 13 BC in Lyon, Rhône, Rhône-Alpes, France; died in 31 in Gaul, Roman Empire.

  2. 5.  Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar Augustus Descendancy chart to this point (3.Gaius2, 1.Atia1) was born in 85 BC in Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy; died in 33 BC in Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy; was buried in Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy.

    Other Events and Attributes:

    • House: gens Claudia
    • Life Event: 42 BC, Roman Republic ( 509 BC - 27 BC ); Elected Praetor
    • Life Event: 47 BC, Roman Republic ( 509 BC - 27 BC ); Elected Quaestor (Magistrate for Civil and Military Finances)
    • Life Event: 48 BC, Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy; Quaestor
    • FSID: LJGS-TPM

    Notes:

    Wikipedia-

    Tiberius Claudius Nero (85–33 BC) was a politician who lived in the last century of the Roman Republic. He was the first husband of Livia, but was forced to divorce her in 38 BC so that she could marry the future emperor Augustus. Nero was the father of the second Roman emperor Tiberius, who became the stepson of the emperor Augustus and was adopted by Augustus as his heir, and Roman general Nero Claudius Drusus. He was also the paternal grandfather of Emperor Claudius, General Germanicus, and Consul Drusus Julius Caesar, paternal great-grandfather of Emperor Caligula and Empresses Agrippina the Younger and Claudia Octavia and maternal great-great-grandfather of Emperor Nero.

    Ancestry
    Nero was a member of the republican Claudia gens of Rome.[1] He was a descendant of the first named Tiberius Claudius Nero, a son of Appius Claudius Caecus (censor in 312 BC).[2] Nero was the son of Tiberius Claudius Nero[3] and his mother was a descendant of the Claudian gens.[4] Nero had a sister called Claudia, who married the prefect Quintus Volusius.[5]

    Life
    Nero had served as a quaestor to Julius Caesar in 48 BC, commanding his fleet in the Alexandrian War. Having achieved victory over the Egyptian navy, he was rewarded with a priesthood.[6] Julius Caesar had sent Nero to create Roman colonies in Gaul and in other provinces.[6]

    Despite his service with Julius Caesar, Nero was an Optimate at heart. After the murder of Julius Caesar in 44 BC, when it seemed that the assassins were triumphant, he suggested that they be rewarded for their services to the state. However, due to his previous alliance with the Roman dictator, Nero was allowed to be elected praetor in 42 BC.[6]

    Around this time Nero married his relative Livia Drusilla,[a] whose father Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus was from the same gens. His son of the same name was born November 16, 42 BC, at Fondi Italy. Shortly afterwards, the Second Triumvirate began to break down, causing a dangerous situation in Rome as the triumvirs went to battle with each other. Nero was forced to choose sides and in his distrust of Octavian, he cast his lot with Mark Antony.

    In 41 BC, he fled Rome with Livia and Tiberius in tow, joining Antony's brother Lucius in Perusia. Perusia was besieged by Octavian's men by the time Nero arrived, and when the town fell in 40 BC, he was forced to flee first to Praeneste, and then Naples.[9] In 40 BC, Octavian and Mark Antony finally reconciled.

    In Naples, Nero tried in vain to raise a slave battalion against Octavian and then took refuge with Sextus Pompey, who was then acting as a pirate leader in Sicily.[9] Nero with his family joined Mark Antony soon after in Achaea.[9]

    After three years of fleeing from Octavian, Nero returned to Rome with Livia and the younger Tiberius, aged 3. Octavian immediately after catching sight of Livia, fell in love with her, despite the fact that she was still married. Octavian was married to Scribonia, with whom he had a daughter called Julia, now known as Julia the Elder. Octavian and Scribonia divorced. Around this time Livia was also pregnant and despite this, Nero was persuaded or forced by Octavian to divorce Livia. Nero and Livia’s second son was born in early 38 BC and he was named Decimus Claudius Drusus, which was later changed to Nero Claudius Drusus.[10] Octavian and Livia married on January 17, waiving the traditional waiting period. Nero was present at their wedding, giving Livia away "just as a father would".[11] As agreed, Nero took his sons to his home, where they were raised and educated.

    Death
    Nero died in 33 BC. After his death, his sons went to live with their mother and stepfather. The younger Tiberius, aged 9, delivered his funeral eulogy on the Rostra in Rome.[12] When the future Roman emperor Tiberius celebrated his coming of age, he staged two gladiatorial contests; one was held at the Forum in memory of his father and the other at the amphitheatre in memory of his grandfather Drusus.[3]

    Tiberius married Livia Julia Drusilla between 37 and 41 in Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy. Livia (daughter of Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus and Alfidia Lurco) was born in 30 Jan 59 BC in Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy; died on 28 Sep 29 in Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy; was buried after 28 Sep 29 in Mausoleum of Augustus, Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

    Children:
    1. 7. Nero Claudius Drusus  Descendancy chart to this point was born in 14 Jan 38 BC in Roman Republic ( 509 BC - 27 BC ); died in 9 BC in Germania, Roman Empire; was buried in Mausoleum of Augustus, Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy.


Generation: 4

  1. 6.  Claudia Livia JuliaClaudia Livia Julia Descendancy chart to this point (4.Antonia3, 2.2, 1.Atia1) was born in 13 BC in Lyon, Rhône, Rhône-Alpes, France; died in 31 in Gaul, Roman Empire.

    Other Events and Attributes:

    • FSID: L6CP-WV8

    Notes:

    Wikipedia--Antonia Minor

    Conflict with Livilla
    In 31 AD, a plot by her daughter Livilla and Tiberius’ notorious Praetorian prefect, Sejanus, was exposed by Apicata, the estranged ex-wife of Sejanus, to murder the Emperor Tiberius and Caligula and to seize the throne for themselves. Livilla allegedly poisoned her husband, Tiberius' son, Drusus Julius Caesar (nicknamed "Castor"), in 23 AD to remove him as a rival. Sejanus was executed before Livilla was implicated in the crime. After Apicata's accusation, which came in the form of a letter to the emperor, several co-conspirators were executed while Livilla was handed over to her formidable mother for punishment. Cassius Dio states that Antonia imprisoned Livilla in her room until she starved to death.[5]
    *************************
    Wikipedia - Claudia Livia Julia "Livilla"

    Claudia Livia Julia (Classical Latin: LIVIA•IVLIA;[1] c. 13 BC – AD 31) was the only daughter of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia Minor and sister of the Roman Emperor Claudius and general Germanicus, and thus the paternal aunt of the emperor Caligula and maternal great-aunt of emperor Nero, as well as the niece and daughter-in-law of Tiberius. She was named after her grandmother, Augustus' wife Livia Drusilla, and commonly known by her family nickname Livilla ("little Livia").[2] She was born after Germanicus and before Claudius.

    She was twice married to the potential successor in the Julio-Claudian dynasty, first to Augustus' grandson Gaius Caesar (died 4 AD) and later to Tiberius' son Drusus the Younger (died AD 23). Allegedly, she helped her lover Sejanus in poisoning her second husband and died shortly after Sejanus fell from power in AD 31.

    Marriages
    Livilla was married twice, first in 1 BC to Gaius Caesar, Augustus' grandson and potential successor. Thus, Augustus had chosen Livilla as the wife of the future Emperor. This splendid royal marriage probably gave Livilla grand aspirations for her future, perhaps at the expense of the ambition of Augustus' granddaughters, Agrippina the Elder and Julia the Younger. However, Gaius died in AD 4, cutting short Augustus' and Livilla's plans.

    In the same year, Livilla married her cousin Drusus Julius Caesar (Drusus the Younger), the son of Tiberius. When Tiberius succeeded Augustus as Emperor in AD 14, Livilla again was the wife of a potential successor. Drusus and Livilla had three children, a daughter named Julia Livia in around AD 7 and twin brothers in AD 19: Germanicus Gemellus who died in 23, and Tiberius Gemellus who survived infancy Livilla's standing in her family

    Tacitus reports that Livilla was a remarkably beautiful woman, despite the fact she was rather ungainly as a child.[3] The Senatus Consultum de Cn. Pisone patre[4] indicates that she was held in the highest esteem by her uncle and father-in-law, Tiberius, and by her grandmother Livia Drusilla.[5]

    According to Tacitus, she felt resentment and jealousy against her sister-in-law Agrippina the Elder, the wife of her brother Germanicus, to whom she was unfavourably compared.[6] Indeed, Agrippina fared much better in producing imperial heirs to the household (being the mother of the Emperor Caligula and Agrippina the Younger) and was much more popular. Suetonius reports that she despised her younger brother Claudius; having heard he would one day become Emperor, she deplored publicly such a fate for the Roman people.[7]

    As with most of the female members of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, she may also have been very ambitious, in particular for her male offspring.[8]
    Affair with Sejanus[edit]

    Possibly even before the birth of the twins, Livilla had an affair with Lucius Aelius Sejanus, the praetorian prefect of Tiberius – later on, some (including Tiberius) suspected Sejanus to have fathered the twins. Drusus, heir apparent since the death of Germanicus in AD 19, died in AD 23, shortly after striking Sejanus in an argument. According to Tacitus, Suetonius, and Cassius Dio, Sejanus had poisoned Drusus, not only because he feared the wrath of the future Emperor but also because he had designs on the supreme power, and aimed at removing a potential competitor, with Livilla as his accomplice.[9] If Drusus was indeed poisoned, his death aroused no suspicions at the time.

    Sejanus now wanted to marry the widowed Livilla. In AD 25 Tiberius rejected such a request but in AD 31 he eventually gave way. In the same year, the Emperor received evidence from Antonia Minor, Livilla's mother and his sister-in-law, that Sejanus planned to overthrow him. Tiberius had Sejanus denounced in the Senate, then had him arrested and dragged off to prison to be put to death. A bloody purge then erupted in Rome with most of Sejanus' family (including his children) and followers sharing his fate.

    Accusations and death[edit]

    Hearing of the death of her children, Sejanus' former wife Apicata committed suicide. Before her death, she addressed a letter to Tiberius, accusing Sejanus and Livilla of having poisoned Drusus. Drusus' cupbearer Lygdus and Livilla's physician Eudemus were questioned and under torture confirmed Apicata's accusation.

    Livilla died shortly afterwards, either being killed or by suicide. According to Cassius Dio, Tiberius handed Livilla over to her mother, Antonia Minor, who locked her up in a room and starved her to death.[10]
    Early in AD 32, the Senate proposed "terrible decrees...against her very statues and memory".[11]

    Posthumously, there were further allegations of adultery with her physician Eudemus[12] and with the senator and poet Mamercus Aemilius Scaurus.[13]Wikipedia - Livia

    Birth:
    Llugdunum, Gaul, Roman Empire

    Claudia married Drusus Julius Caesar II in 4 in Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy. Drusus was born in 7 Oct 12 BC in Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy; died on 14 Sep 23 in Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy; was buried after 14 Sep 23 in Mausoleum of Augustus, Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

    Children:
    1. 8. Julia Livia Drusus Filia  Descendancy chart to this point was born in 5 in Roman Empire ( 27 BC - 389 AD); died in 43 in Roman Empire ( 27 BC - 389 AD).

  2. 7.  Nero Claudius DrususNero Claudius Drusus Descendancy chart to this point (5.Tiberius3, 3.Gaius2, 1.Atia1) was born in 14 Jan 38 BC in Roman Republic ( 509 BC - 27 BC ); died in 9 BC in Germania, Roman Empire; was buried in Mausoleum of Augustus, Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy.

    Other Events and Attributes:

    • Life Event: 11 BC; Conquered the Usipetes and the Marsai
    • Life Event: 12 BC, Kingdom of the Sicambrian Franks, Gaul, Roman Empire; Subjugated the Sicambrian Franck
    • FSID: LNDP-8DX
    • Occupation: Governor of Gaul

    Notes:

    Wikiwand

    Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus (January 14, 38 BC – summer of 9 BC), born Decimus Claudius Drusus,[also called Drusus Claudius Nero, Drusus, Drusus I, Nero Drusus, or Drusus the Elder was a Roman politician and military commander. He was a patrician Claudian on his birth father's side but his maternal grandmother was from a plebeian family. He was the son of Livia Drusilla and the legal stepson of her second husband, the Emperor Augustus. He was also brother of the Emperor Tiberius, father to both the Emperor Claudius and general Germanicus, paternal grandfather of the Emperor Caligula, and maternal great-grandfather of the Emperor Nero.

    He launched the first major Roman campaigns across the Rhine and began the conquest of Germania, becoming the first Roman general to reach the Weser and Elbe rivers. In 12 BC, Drusus led a successful campaign into Germania, subjugating the Sicambri. Later that year he led a naval expedition against Germanic tribes along the North Sea coast, conquering the Batavi and the Frisii, and defeating the Chauci near the mouth of the Weser. In 11 BC, he conquered the Usipetes and the Marsi, extending Roman control to the Upper Weser. In 10 BC, he launched a campaign against the Chatti and the resurgent Sicambri, subjugating both. The following year, while serving as consul, he conquered the Mattiaci and defeated the Marcomanni and the Cherusci, the latter near the Elbe. However, Drusus died later that year, depriving Rome of one of its best generals.

    Childhood
    Drusus was the youngest son of Livia Drusilla from her marriage to Tiberius Claudius Nero, who was legally declared his father before the couple divorced. Drusus was born between mid-March and mid-April 38 BC, three months after Livia married Augustus on 17 January. Gerhard Radke has proposed the date of March 28 as his most likely birthday, while Lindsay Powell interprets Ovid's Fasti as indicating a date of 13 January. Rumors arose that Augustus was the child's real father, although this has never been authoritatively proven. Claudius, however, encouraged the rumor during his reign as emperor to create an impression of more direct lineage from Augustus.

    According to Suetonius, Drusus was originally given "Decimus" as his praenomen, the first of a Roman male's conventional three names in Roman naming practice at the time. Nero was a traditional cognomen (third name) of the Claudii, whereas Drusus was given to a branch of the "gens Livia." Using a cognomen such as Nero as a first name was unusual, as was the prominence given to his maternal lineage in adopting Drusus as his cognomen.

    Drusus was raised in Claudius Nero's house with his brother, the future emperor Tiberius, until his legal father's death. The two brothers developed a famously close relationship that would last the rest of their lives. Tiberius named his eldest son after his brother, and Drusus did likewise, although eldest sons were usually named after their father or grandfather.

    Marriage
    Drusus married Antonia Minor, the daughter of Mark Antony and Augustus' sister, Octavia Minor, and gained a reputation of being completely faithful to her. Their children were Germanicus, Claudius, a daughter named Livilla ('little Livia'), and at least two others who did not survive infancy. After Drusus' death, Antonia never remarried, though she outlived him by nearly five decades. Three emperors were direct descendants of Drusus: his son Claudius, his grandson Caligula, and his great-grandson Nero.

    Drusus was returning from his advance to the Elbe when he fell from his horse,[39] lingering on for a month after the accident, by which point Tiberius had joined him. Shortly before his death he wrote a letter to Tiberius complaining about the style in which Augustus ruled.[citation needed] Suetonius reports that he had refused to return to Rome just before his death. Drusus' body was brought back to the city, and his ashes were deposited in the Mausoleum of Augustus. He remained extremely popular with the legionaries, who erected a monument (the Drususstein) in Mogontiacum (modern Mainz) on his behalf. Remnants of this are still standing.

    Nero married Antonia Minor in 16 BC in Roman Empire ( 27 BC - 389 AD). Antonia (daughter of Marcus Antonius and Octavia) was born in 31 Jan 36 BC in Athínai, Attiki, Attiki, Greece; died on 1 May 37 in Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy; was buried after 1 May 37 in Mausoleum of Augustus, Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

    Children:
    1. 9. Claudia Livia Julia  Descendancy chart to this point was born in 13 BC in Lyon, Rhône, Rhône-Alpes, France; died in 31 in Gaul, Roman Empire.