Nero Claudius Drusus
Encyclopedia
Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus (14 January 38 BC – 14 September 9 BC), born Decimus Claudius Drusus also called Drusus, Drusus I, Nero Drusus, or Drusus the Elder was a Roman
politician and military commander. He was a fully patrician Claudian on his father's side but his maternal grandmother was from a plebeian family. He was the stepson of the Emperor Augustus
, brother of the Emperor Tiberius
, paternal grandfather of the Emperor Caligula
, father of the Emperor Claudius
, 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 he conquered the Mattiaci
, while defeating the Marcomanni
and the Cherusci
, defeating the latter near the Elbe. However, Drusus died later that year, depriving Rome of one its best generals.
Drusilla from her marriage to Tiberius Claudius Nero
. Drusus was born between 18 March 38 BC and 13 April 38 BC. He was born shortly after Livia divorced Tiberius Nero and married Augustus
(17 January, 38 BC), giving rise to rumours that Augustus was the real father, although this is widely discredited by modern historians as Augustus had not yet met Livia when Drusus would have been conceived (During his reign, Claudius revived this rumor to give the impression that Augustus was his paternal grandfather in addition to being his maternal great-uncle). Before Augustus married Livia, Tiberius Claudius Nero was declared Drusus' biological father. According to Suetonius
, he was born with the praenomen
Decimus, but it was later changed to Nero - an unusual example of using a second cognomen
as a praenomen rather than an agnomen
: "Nero" was a traditional cognomen
of the Claudius family, whereas "Drusus" originally belonged to the Livius dynasty. (It is possible that Drusus was originally given the cognomen traditionally belonging to his mother's family, because of the doubts - groundless as they have since proved to be - as to whether he was truly entitled to the cognomen of a man who may have been popularly believed to be not his father: at least the world knew who his mother was.) He was raised in Claudius Nero's house with his brother, the future emperor Tiberius
, until his father's death. Drusus and his brother Tiberius
developed a famously close relationship in this environment that would last the rest of their lives. Tiberius named his eldest son after his brother (a departure from Roman naming convention), and Drusus did likewise.
, the daughter of Mark Antony
and Augustus' sister, Octavia Minor
, and gained a reputation of being completely faithful to her. Their children were Germanicus
and Claudius
, a daughter 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, Claudius
(his son), Caligula
(Germanicus' son, Drusus' grandson), and Nero
(Germanicus' grandson, Drusus' great-grandson).
n bandits in the Alps
. Drusus repelled them, gaining honors, but was unable to smash their forces, and required reinforcement from Tiberius. The brothers easily defeated the local Alpine tribes.
In 13 BC, Drusus was sent to govern Gaul
to quell riots caused by the actions of a previous administrator. While there, a tribe of Germans entered Gaul and proceeded to attack Roman settlements. Drusus mobilized his legions and beat the invaders back across the Rhine. He penetrated deep into German territory, traveling as far as the North Sea
and placing a yearly tribute on the Frisii
. As a reward, Drusus was made praetor urbanus
for 11 BC.
Drusus did not have it in him to stay in Rome. In the spring of his term, he set out for the German border once more. He pushed once more into the territory of the various German tribes, only stopping at the onset of winter. He was attacked while making his way back to Roman territory, but managed to rout the German force. His troops proclaimed him Imperator and he was granted triumphal ornaments, as well as the office of proconsul for the following year. In 10 BC, the Chatti
joined with the Sicambri
and attacked Drusus' camp, but were easily defeated. Drusus then went to meet Augustus and Tiberius in Lugdunum
(at which point Claudius was born), and traveled with them to Rome. He was easily elected Consul
for 9 BC, but once more left the city before assuming office. He once again smashed the Chatti
, and then began a campaign against the Marcomanni
, but was turned back across the Rhine. Drusus died soon after in consequence of a fall from a horse, lingering on for a month after the accident, by which point Tiberius had joined him. Interestingly, soon before his death he wrote a letter to Tiberius complaining about the style in which Augustus ruled. 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 Moguntiacum (modern Mainz
) on his behalf. Remnants of this are still standing. His family was granted the hereditary honorific "Germanicus", which was given to his eldest son before passing to his youngest. Augustus later wrote a biography of him which did not survive.
, his daughter by Scribonia
. She gave birth to the five grandchildren (Gaius Caesar
, Lucius Caesar
, Agrippa Postumus
, Agrippina the Elder
, and Julia the Younger
); he adopted the boys. Even after the deaths of Gaius and Lucius, and the banishment Postumus Agrippa, Augustus did not adopt Drusus' sons, Germanicus and Claudius. He apparently considered adopting Germanicus, but chose to adopt the much older Tiberius, who was definitely not related by blood, and invested him with the powers of the principate. Augustus seems to have had Tiberius adopt Germanicus as heir because of the latter's marriage to his granddaughter Agrippina (the last of Augustus' living grandchildren not in disgrace) ensured that his own descendents (through a female line) would inherit one day - but not because of any secret blood relationship.
Augustus and Livia were married for 51 years and never had surviving children together, although they had children with other people (Augustus
had Julia
with Scribonia
and Livia
had Tiberius
and Drusus with their father.) It is very likely that Augustus did know Livia at the time that Drusus was conceived. Claudius Nero became a partisan of the Second Triumvirate
after he abandoned Sextus Pompey.
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
politician and military commander. He was a fully patrician Claudian on his father's side but his maternal grandmother was from a plebeian family. He was the stepson of the Emperor Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
, brother of the Emperor Tiberius
Tiberius
Tiberius , was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian...
, paternal grandfather of the Emperor Caligula
Caligula
Caligula , also known as Gaius, was Roman Emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD. Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligula's father Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, was a very successful general and one of Rome's most...
, father of the Emperor Claudius
Claudius
Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...
, and maternal great-grandfather of the Emperor Nero
Nero
Nero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....
. 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
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
rivers. In 12 BC, Drusus led a successful campaign into Germania, subjugating the Sicambri
Sicambri
The Sicambri were a Germanic people living on the right bank of the Rhine river, near where it passes out of Germany and enters what is now called the Netherlands at the turn of the first millennium....
. Later that year he led a naval expedition against Germanic tribes along the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
coast, conquering the Batavi
Batavi
Batavi - Latin for Batavians - is an open source webshop under the GNU General Public License. The development of Batavi started in 2007 inspired by a preliminary osCommerce 3.0 version, a version that seemed to be never finished by the osCommerce team...
and the Frisii
Frisii
The Frisii were an ancient Germanic tribe living in the low-lying region between the Zuiderzee and the River Ems. In the Germanic pre-Migration Period the Frisii and the related Chauci, Saxons, and Angles inhabited the Continental European coast from the Zuyder Zee to south Jutland...
, and defeating the Chauci
Chauci
The Chauci were an ancient Germanic tribe living in the low-lying region between the Rivers Ems and Elbe, on both sides of the Weser and ranging as far inland as the upper Weser. Along the coast they lived on artificial hills called terpen, built high enough to remain dry during the highest tide...
near the mouth of the Weser. In 11 BC, he conquered the Usipetes and the Marsi
Marsi (Germanic)
The Marsi were a small Germanic tribe settled between the Rhine, Rur and Lippe rivers in northwest Germany.Tacitus mentions them repeatedly, in particular in the context of the wars of Germanicus. They had been part of the tribal coalition of the Cheruscian war leader Arminius that in 9 AD...
, extending Roman control to the Upper Weser. In 10 BC, he launched a campaign against the Chatti
Chatti
The Chatti were an ancient Germanic tribe whose homeland was near the upper Weser. They settled in central and northern Hesse and southern Lower Saxony, along the upper reaches of the Weser River and in the valleys and mountains of the Eder, Fulda and Weser River regions, a district approximately...
and the resurgent Sicambri, subjugating both. The following year he conquered the Mattiaci
Mattiaci
The Mattiaci were an ancient Germanic tribe. They were possibly a branch of the Chatti, their Germanic neighbors to the east. The Mattiaci were settled on border of the Roman Empire on the right side of the Rhine in the area of present-day Wiesbaden , the southern Taunus, and the Wetterau.Tacitus...
, while defeating the Marcomanni
Marcomanni
The Marcomanni were a Germanic tribe, probably related to the Buri, Suebi or Suevi.-Origin:Scholars believe their name derives possibly from Proto-Germanic forms of "march" and "men"....
and the Cherusci
Cherusci
The Cherusci were a Germanic tribe that inhabited parts of the northern Rhine valley and the plains and forests of northwestern Germany, in the area between present-day Osnabrück and Hanover, during the 1st century BC and 1st century AD...
, defeating the latter near the Elbe. However, Drusus died later that year, depriving Rome of one its best generals.
Childhood
Drusus was the youngest son of Roman Empress LiviaLivia
Livia Drusilla, , after her formal adoption into the Julian family in AD 14 also known as Julia Augusta, was a Roman empress as the third wife of the Emperor Augustus and his adviser...
Drusilla from her marriage to Tiberius Claudius Nero
Tiberius Nero
Not to be confused with his son Tiberius or his grandson Germanicus, who both had the name 'Tiberius Claudius Nero' at one time or another. Tiberius Claudius Nero was a member of the Claudian Family of ancient Rome. He was a descendant of the original Tiberius Claudius Nero a consul, son of...
. Drusus was born between 18 March 38 BC and 13 April 38 BC. He was born shortly after Livia divorced Tiberius Nero and married Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
(17 January, 38 BC), giving rise to rumours that Augustus was the real father, although this is widely discredited by modern historians as Augustus had not yet met Livia when Drusus would have been conceived (During his reign, Claudius revived this rumor to give the impression that Augustus was his paternal grandfather in addition to being his maternal great-uncle). Before Augustus married Livia, Tiberius Claudius Nero was declared Drusus' biological father. According to Suetonius
Lives of the Twelve Caesars
De vita Caesarum commonly known as The Twelve Caesars, is a set of twelve biographies of Julius Caesar and the first 11 emperors of the Roman Empire written by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus.The work, written in AD 121 during the reign of the emperor Hadrian, was the most popular work of Suetonius,...
, he was born with the praenomen
Praenomen
The praenomen was a personal name chosen by the parents of a Roman child. It was first bestowed on the dies lustricus , the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the birth of a boy...
Decimus, but it was later changed to Nero - an unusual example of using a second cognomen
Cognomen
The cognomen nōmen "name") was the third name of a citizen of Ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. The cognomen started as a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditary. Hereditary cognomina were used to augment the second name in order to identify a particular branch within...
as a praenomen rather than an agnomen
Agnomen
An agnomen , in the Roman naming convention, was a nickname, just as the cognomen was initially. However, the cognomina eventually became family names, so agnomina were needed to distinguish between similarly named persons...
: "Nero" was a traditional cognomen
Cognomen
The cognomen nōmen "name") was the third name of a citizen of Ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. The cognomen started as a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditary. Hereditary cognomina were used to augment the second name in order to identify a particular branch within...
of the Claudius family, whereas "Drusus" originally belonged to the Livius dynasty. (It is possible that Drusus was originally given the cognomen traditionally belonging to his mother's family, because of the doubts - groundless as they have since proved to be - as to whether he was truly entitled to the cognomen of a man who may have been popularly believed to be not his father: at least the world knew who his mother was.) He was raised in Claudius Nero's house with his brother, the future emperor Tiberius
Tiberius
Tiberius , was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian...
, until his father's death. Drusus and his brother Tiberius
Tiberius
Tiberius , was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian...
developed a famously close relationship in this environment that would last the rest of their lives. Tiberius named his eldest son after his brother (a departure from Roman naming convention), and Drusus did likewise.
Marriage
Drusus married Antonia MinorAntonia Minor
Antonia Minor , also known as Antonia the Younger or simply Antonia was the younger of two daughters of Roman politician Mark Antony and Octavia Minor. Tacitus Ann. 4.44.2 and 12.54.2 may have confused the two Antonia sisters...
, the daughter of Mark Antony
Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius , known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar...
and Augustus' sister, Octavia Minor
Octavia Minor
Octavia the Younger , also known as Octavia Minor or simply Octavia, was the sister of the first Roman Emperor, Augustus , half-sister of Octavia the Elder, and fourth wife of Mark Antony...
, and gained a reputation of being completely faithful to her. Their children were Germanicus
Germanicus
Germanicus Julius Caesar , commonly known as Germanicus, was a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and a prominent general of the early Roman Empire. He was born in Rome, Italia, and was named either Nero Claudius Drusus after his father or Tiberius Claudius Nero after his uncle...
and Claudius
Claudius
Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...
, a daughter 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, Claudius
Claudius
Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...
(his son), Caligula
Caligula
Caligula , also known as Gaius, was Roman Emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD. Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligula's father Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, was a very successful general and one of Rome's most...
(Germanicus' son, Drusus' grandson), and Nero
Nero
Nero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....
(Germanicus' grandson, Drusus' great-grandson).
Career
Augustus bestowed many honors on his stepsons. In 19 BC, Drusus was granted the ability to hold all public offices five years before the minimum age. When Tiberius left Italy during his term as praetor in 16 BC, Drusus legislated in his place. He became quaestor the following year, fighting against RaetiaRaetia
Raetia was a province of the Roman Empire, named after the Rhaetian people. It was bounded on the west by the country of the Helvetii, on the east by Noricum, on the north by Vindelicia, on the west by Cisalpine Gaul and on south by Venetia et Histria...
n bandits in the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
. Drusus repelled them, gaining honors, but was unable to smash their forces, and required reinforcement from Tiberius. The brothers easily defeated the local Alpine tribes.
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
to quell riots caused by the actions of a previous administrator. While there, a tribe of Germans entered Gaul and proceeded to attack Roman settlements. Drusus mobilized his legions and beat the invaders back across the Rhine. He penetrated deep into German territory, traveling as far as the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
and placing a yearly tribute on the Frisii
Frisii
The Frisii were an ancient Germanic tribe living in the low-lying region between the Zuiderzee and the River Ems. In the Germanic pre-Migration Period the Frisii and the related Chauci, Saxons, and Angles inhabited the Continental European coast from the Zuyder Zee to south Jutland...
. As a reward, Drusus was made praetor urbanus
Praetor
Praetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, usually in the field, or the named commander before mustering the army; and an elected magistratus assigned varied duties...
for 11 BC.
Drusus did not have it in him to stay in Rome. In the spring of his term, he set out for the German border once more. He pushed once more into the territory of the various German tribes, only stopping at the onset of winter. He was attacked while making his way back to Roman territory, but managed to rout the German force. His troops proclaimed him Imperator and he was granted triumphal ornaments, as well as the office of proconsul for the following year. In 10 BC, the Chatti
Chatti
The Chatti were an ancient Germanic tribe whose homeland was near the upper Weser. They settled in central and northern Hesse and southern Lower Saxony, along the upper reaches of the Weser River and in the valleys and mountains of the Eder, Fulda and Weser River regions, a district approximately...
joined with the Sicambri
Sicambri
The Sicambri were a Germanic people living on the right bank of the Rhine river, near where it passes out of Germany and enters what is now called the Netherlands at the turn of the first millennium....
and attacked Drusus' camp, but were easily defeated. Drusus then went to meet Augustus and Tiberius in Lugdunum
Lugdunum
Colonia Copia Claudia Augusta Lugdunum was an important Roman city in Gaul. The city was founded in 43 BC by Lucius Munatius Plancus. It served as the capital of the Roman province Gallia Lugdunensis. To 300 years after its foundation Lugdunum was the most important city to the west part of Roman...
(at which point Claudius was born), and traveled with them to Rome. He was easily elected Consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
for 9 BC, but once more left the city before assuming office. He once again smashed the Chatti
Chatti
The Chatti were an ancient Germanic tribe whose homeland was near the upper Weser. They settled in central and northern Hesse and southern Lower Saxony, along the upper reaches of the Weser River and in the valleys and mountains of the Eder, Fulda and Weser River regions, a district approximately...
, and then began a campaign against the Marcomanni
Marcomanni
The Marcomanni were a Germanic tribe, probably related to the Buri, Suebi or Suevi.-Origin:Scholars believe their name derives possibly from Proto-Germanic forms of "march" and "men"....
, but was turned back across the Rhine. Drusus died soon after in consequence of a fall from a horse, lingering on for a month after the accident, by which point Tiberius had joined him. Interestingly, soon before his death he wrote a letter to Tiberius complaining about the style in which Augustus ruled. Suetonius
Lives of the Twelve Caesars
De vita Caesarum commonly known as The Twelve Caesars, is a set of twelve biographies of Julius Caesar and the first 11 emperors of the Roman Empire written by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus.The work, written in AD 121 during the reign of the emperor Hadrian, was the most popular work of 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
Mausoleum of Augustus
The Mausoleum of Augustus is a large tomb built by the Roman Emperor Augustus in 28 BC on the Campus Martius in Rome, Italy. The Mausoleum, now located on the Piazza Augusto Imperatore, is no longer open to tourists, and the ravages of time and carelessness have stripped the ruins bare...
. He remained extremely popular with the legionaries
Legionary
The Roman legionary was a professional soldier of the Roman army after the Marian reforms of 107 BC. Legionaries had to be Roman citizens under the age of 45. They enlisted in a legion for twenty-five years of service, a change from the early practice of enlisting only for a campaign...
, who erected a monument (the Drususstein
Drususstein
The Drususstein is a nearly 20 meters high, masonry block of Roman origin on the grounds of the citadel of Mainz. It was originally cast in marble...
) in Moguntiacum (modern Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
) on his behalf. Remnants of this are still standing. His family was granted the hereditary honorific "Germanicus", which was given to his eldest son before passing to his youngest. Augustus later wrote a biography of him which did not survive.
Question of paternity
There has been some speculation about the paternity of Drusus, some suggesting that he was Augustus' biological son. However this idea is widely discredited by modern historians as Augustus never acknowledged Drusus as his son, nor did he make any attempt to adopt him. Augustus' only biological child was Julia the ElderJulia the Elder
Julia the Elder , known to her contemporaries as Julia Caesaris filia or Julia Augusti filia was the daughter and only biological child of Augustus, the first emperor of the Roman Empire. Augustus subsequently adopted several male members of his close family as sons...
, his daughter by Scribonia
Scribonia
Scribonia was the second wife of the Roman Emperor Augustus and the mother of his only natural child, Julia the Elder. She was the mother-in-law of the Emperor Tiberius, great-grandmother of the Emperor Caligula and Empress Agrippina the Younger, grandmother-in-law of the Emperor Claudius, and...
. She gave birth to the five grandchildren (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 between 14 of June and 15 July 17 BC with the name Lucius Vipsanius Agrippa, but when he was adopted by his maternal grandfather Roman Emperor Caesar...
, Agrippa Postumus
Agrippa Postumus
Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa Postumus , also known as Agrippa Postumus or Postumus Agrippa, was a son of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder. His maternal grandparents were Roman Emperor Augustus and his second wife Scribonia.Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa Postumus was born on June 26, 12 BC, the...
, Agrippina the Elder
Agrippina the elder
Vipsania Agrippina or most commonly known as Agrippina Major or Agrippina the Elder was a distinguished and prominent granddaughter of the Emperor Augustus. Agrippina was the wife of the general, statesman Germanicus and a relative to the first Roman Emperors...
, and Julia the Younger
Julia the Younger
Julia the Younger or Julilla , Vipsania Julia Agrippina, Iulilla, Julia, Augustus' granddaughter, or Julia Caesaris Minor, was a Roman noblewoman of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. She was the first daughter and second child of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder...
); he adopted the boys. Even after the deaths of Gaius and Lucius, and the banishment Postumus Agrippa, Augustus did not adopt Drusus' sons, Germanicus and Claudius. He apparently considered adopting Germanicus, but chose to adopt the much older Tiberius, who was definitely not related by blood, and invested him with the powers of the principate. Augustus seems to have had Tiberius adopt Germanicus as heir because of the latter's marriage to his granddaughter Agrippina (the last of Augustus' living grandchildren not in disgrace) ensured that his own descendents (through a female line) would inherit one day - but not because of any secret blood relationship.
Augustus and Livia were married for 51 years and never had surviving children together, although they had children with other people (Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
had Julia
Julia the Elder
Julia the Elder , known to her contemporaries as Julia Caesaris filia or Julia Augusti filia was the daughter and only biological child of Augustus, the first emperor of the Roman Empire. Augustus subsequently adopted several male members of his close family as sons...
with Scribonia
Scribonia
Scribonia was the second wife of the Roman Emperor Augustus and the mother of his only natural child, Julia the Elder. She was the mother-in-law of the Emperor Tiberius, great-grandmother of the Emperor Caligula and Empress Agrippina the Younger, grandmother-in-law of the Emperor Claudius, and...
and Livia
Livia
Livia Drusilla, , after her formal adoption into the Julian family in AD 14 also known as Julia Augusta, was a Roman empress as the third wife of the Emperor Augustus and his adviser...
had Tiberius
Tiberius
Tiberius , was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian...
and Drusus with their father.) It is very likely that Augustus did know Livia at the time that Drusus was conceived. Claudius Nero became a partisan of the Second Triumvirate
Second Triumvirate
The Second Triumvirate is the name historians give to the official political alliance of Octavius , Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and Mark Antony, formed on 26 November 43 BC with the enactment of the Lex Titia, the adoption of which marked the end of the Roman Republic...
after he abandoned Sextus Pompey.