Plautia Urgulanilla
Encyclopedia
Plautia Urgulanilla was the first wife of the Roman Emperor
Claudius
. They married sometime around the year 9 CE
, when Claudius was 18 years old. According to Suetonius
, Claudius divorced her in 24 on grounds of adultery
by Plautia and his suspicions of her involvement in the murder of her sister-in-law Apronia. As portrayed in the 1976 BBC
television miniseries I, Claudius
, she was very tall, considerably rising above her husband
Her father was Marcus Plautius Silvanus
, a general who was consul
for the year 2 BC. He had been honored with a triumph.
Urgulanilla was named for her grandmother, Urgulania
, a close friend of the Empress Livia Drusilla.
She gave birth to a son, Claudius Drusus, whose betrothal to a daughter of Sejanus
instilled unfulfilled expectations in the prefect Claudius. Claudius Drusus died young.
Urgulanilla had a daughter, Claudia, who was born five months after her divorce from Claudius. As Claudia was widely known to be the illegitimate daughter of the freedman, Boter, Claudius repudiated the child and he had her laid at Urgulanilla's doorstep. Her adopted nephew was Tiberius Plautius Silvanus Aelianus
.
Urgulanilla was Etruscan
. A brother of Urgulanilla was made a patrician by Claudius. The adopted son of another of her brothers became consul
in 45.
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with 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...
. They married sometime around the year 9 CE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
, when Claudius was 18 years old. 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,...
, Claudius divorced her in 24 on grounds of adultery
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
by Plautia and his suspicions of her involvement in the murder of her sister-in-law Apronia. As portrayed in the 1976 BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television miniseries I, Claudius
I, Claudius (TV series)
I, Claudius is a 1976 BBC Television adaptation of Robert Graves' I, Claudius and Claudius the God. Written by Jack Pulman, it proved one of the corporation's most successful drama serials of all time...
, she was very tall, considerably rising above her husband
Her father was Marcus Plautius Silvanus
Marcus Plautius Silvanus
Marcus Plautius Silvanus was a Roman politician and general who was consul in 2 BC.-Biography:Silvanus was the son of Urgulania, a close friend of the empress Livia, and it was Livia's intercession that allowed Silvanus to climb the cursus honorum, leading to the consulate in 2 BC alongside Augustus...
, a general who was 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 the year 2 BC. He had been honored with a triumph.
Urgulanilla was named for her grandmother, Urgulania
Urgulania
Urgulania , was a prominent noblewoman during the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius, and a friend of the empress Livia. She was the mother of Marcus Plautius Silvanus , who had distinguished himself with Tiberius in the Balkans...
, a close friend of the Empress Livia Drusilla.
She gave birth to a son, Claudius Drusus, whose betrothal to a daughter of Sejanus
Sejanus
Lucius Aelius Seianus , commonly known as Sejanus, was an ambitious soldier, friend and confidant of the Roman Emperor Tiberius...
instilled unfulfilled expectations in the prefect Claudius. Claudius Drusus died young.
Urgulanilla had a daughter, Claudia, who was born five months after her divorce from Claudius. As Claudia was widely known to be the illegitimate daughter of the freedman, Boter, Claudius repudiated the child and he had her laid at Urgulanilla's doorstep. Her adopted nephew was Tiberius Plautius Silvanus Aelianus
Tiberius Plautius Silvanus Aelianus
Tiberius Plautius Silvanus Aelianus was a patrician who twice served as consul, in 45 and 74 AD. He was the adopted nephew of Plautia Urgulanilla, first wife of the emperor Claudius. It is known he offered up the prayer as pontifex when the first stone of the new Capitol was laid in 70 AD...
.
Urgulanilla was Etruscan
Etruscan civilization
Etruscan civilization is the modern English name given to a civilization of ancient Italy in the area corresponding roughly to Tuscany. The ancient Romans called its creators the Tusci or Etrusci...
. A brother of Urgulanilla was made a patrician by Claudius. The adopted son of another of her brothers became 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...
in 45.