The Julio-Claudian Dynasty
TIBERIUS 14-37 CE
CALIGULA 37-41 CE
CLAUDIUS 41-54 CE
NERO 54-68 CE
Emperors – An Overview
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The Historians
Suetonius – Lives of the Caesars
The Dynasty of Augustus
Emperors
The Senate under the Julio-Claudians
The Provinces under the Julio-Claudians
Years of Trial – After Augustus
Tiberius
Caligula
The line continues…
Claudius
Nero
The Historians
 Rome in the first century was
carefully chronicled by Roman
historians, particularly Tacitus,
Suetonius and Dio Cassius – that is
why we know so much about it.
 Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius
Tacitus (c. 56 – c. 117) is one of
the important historians of Roman
Antiquity.
 Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus
(c. 75-135), also known as
Suetonius, was Chief Librarian of
Rome and worked with Pliny,
Trajan and Hadrian.
 Dio Cassius Cocceianus (c.
165–after 229), known in English
as Dio Cassius or Cassius Dio.
Suetonius – Lives of the Caesars
 Noted historian and poet.
 Born 71 – 135CE
 Main surviving work is the
Lives of the Caesars.
 Most of our knowledge of
the Caesars comes from
his comprehensive work.
Emperors
 The story of Rome’s Emperors in
the first century CE has got it all –
love, murder and revenge, fear and
greed, envy and pride.
 Why was the first century so
turbulent? The first answer is
simple: hereditary rule.
 Emperors could only survive if
their people believed they could
out perform everyone else.
 It was a job for life, so if an
emperor was mad, bad or
dangerous, the only solution was to
cut that life short. Everybody knew
it, so paranoia ruled.
The Senate under the Julio-Claudians
The senate gained some responsibilities:
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It lost responsibilities in other areas to freedmen and equestrians
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Elections of magistrates held in Senate
Senate became the Chief Court for Criminal Trial
Claudius gave certain provinces back to the senate's control, including
Britain.
Sejanus, an equestrian, became very powerful as Praetorian prefect under
Tiberius.
Claudius had freedmen secretaries, e.g. Narcissus.
Membership was extended to non-Italians, a topic on which
Claudius addressed the senate.
Nero used Seneca, the stoic philosopher, as a liaison between the
senate and princeps.
The Provinces under the Julio-Claudians
Five new provinces were added
 Mauretania in two sections
 Lycia
 Thrace
 Britain
Rebellions occurred under Nero
 Judea
 Britain
 Armenia
 Parthia
Years of Trial – After Augustus
 Although Augustus was
dead, his dynasty lived on.
 Augustus had outlived his
preferred heirs - his two
grandsons. So when he
died, it was his son-inlaw, Tiberius, who became
emperor.
 With no sons of his own,
Tiberius named his greatnephew, Caligula, as his
heir.
The Accession of Tiberius 14-37CE
 Tiberius was born to Livia, later the wife of Augustus, and to Tiberius Claudius Nero.
 After Livia divorced Claudius, she married Augustus, making Tiberius Augustus'
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stepson.
Augustus entrusted matters of great importance to Tiberius from early on.
Augustus forced Tiberius to divorce his wife and marry Augustus' daughter, Julia.
After the grandsons of Augustus died, Augustus adopted Tiberius as his son and heir.
Tiberius, at the death of Augustus, was the only family member with the experience
and maturity to rule.
Tiberius’ Policy
 He maintained Augustus' basic political arrangement.
 He avoided emphasis on his own authority.
 He also followed Augustus' foreign policy of maintaining borders along natural
boundaries.
 He seemed to have little ambition for self-promotion, leaving day-to-day
administration to subordinates.
 Tiberius abandoned Rome and ruled from Capri, an island in the bay of Naples, for
the last 10 years of his life.
Tiberius: an evil side
 Never the preferred heir, Tiberius (42BCE –
37CE / reigned 14 – 37CE) soon showed why
Augustus had wanted someone else.
 In 11 BCE, Augustus had forced him to divorce
his much-loved wife and marry Julia, the
emperor’s daughter
 He was soon to face his first test. Fed up with life
in cold, northern Europe, two armies were
mutinying and threatened to march on Rome.
 Tiberius sent his young, charismatic nephew, Germanicus, to sort the situation
out.
 Germanicus died in mysterious circumstances in 19CE. Many thought he had
been poisoned and blamed Tiberius.
 Sejanus, Tiberius’ aide, exiled Germanicus’ widow before killing her two elder
sons. Only the youngest, Caligula, was spared.
 He would become Tiberius’ heir.
Caligula 37-41CE
 Seen as a welcome breath of fresh air when he
took the throne, Caligula’s (12 – 41CE / Reigned
37 – 41CE) eccentricities soon became terrifying
and he was murdered after just five years in
power.
 Seven months after taking power, however,
Caligula fell ill. Although he recovered, he
began to act very strangely. Some believe that
he suffered from epilepsy, but historians are
divided.
 Following his illness he held extremely spectacular games, sometimes
appearing as a gladiator himself, and lavished attention on his favourite
racehorse, Incitatus (who he stated would make a senator).
 He also talked of invading Britain, but when his army reached the Channel, he
ordered the legionaries to collect seashells – this he claimed as a victory over
Neptune.
Suetonius – ‘Caligula could not control his natural brutality’
 Then his eccentricities became
more murderous. His paranoia
spared no one, not even his family.
 At other times, his cruelty was more
random, as his delight in killing
became evident.
 All this time, Caligula was spending
vast quantities of money (he built a
temple for himself).
 In 41CE, four months after he
returned from Gaul, he was
murdered by his closest advisors,
including members of his
Praetorian Guard.
The Line Continues…
 After the terror and
paranoia of Tiberius and
Caligula, a relative calm
and competent Emperor
emerges in the form of
Claudius, but alas it was
not to last with Nero…
Claudius, the man
 Disfigured, awkward and
clumsy, Claudius (10BCE –
54CE / Reigned 41 – 54CE)
was the black sheep of his
family and an unlikely
emperor.
 He was the Augustus’ uncle,
Germanicus’ brother.
 Left disfigured by a serious
illness when he was very
young, he was the butt of his
family’s jokes.
Claudius the reluctant Emperor 41-54CE
 After Caligula’s murder in 41CE, he was
found hiding in the palace, fearful for his
own life.
 Supported mainly by soldiers and
courtiers, he had a rocky relationship
with the Senate.
 It was rumoured that he paid the
Praetorians 15000 sesterce (brass coin,
HS) each to ensure their support.
 It was this support that would ensure his
survival.
Claudius the good Emperor
 Claudius worked hard at his
job, starting work just after
midnight every day.
 He made major improvements
to Rome’s judicial system,
passed laws protecting sick
slaves, extended citizenship
and increased women's
privileges.
 He was active in public works
projects and the harbor at
Ostia.
 He treated people with unusual
respect.
Claudius in Britain
 Britain had resisted Roman
rule for over a century, but was
conquered by Claudius in
43CE.
 This was the most important
addition to the empire since the
time of Augustus.
 He gave the administration of
Britain to a senator proconsul –
he respected the senate.
 Rome would remain there for
over 200 years.
Claudius and his Women
 He was constantly under
threat, the Senate and Equites
were always dissatisfied.
 Yet his worst enemies were his
wives.
 Although he adored his wife,
Messalina, she was extravagant
and promiscuous, so in 48CE
he had her murdered.
Claudius & His Death
 The next year, Claudius
decided to marry again,
surprising Rome by
choosing his own niece,
Agrippina.
 This was a bad mistake as
she would do anything to
make her son Nero
Emperor.
 It was said she poisoned
him with mushrooms.
Nero 54-68 CE
 Sensitive and handsome, Nero
(37 – 68CE / reigned 54 – 68CE)
started out well as emperor.
 Nero didn’t want to be controlled
by his mother, Agrippina the
Younger, relations became frosty
and in 56CE she was forced into
retirement.
 Nero started well. He ended
secret trials and gave the Senate
more independence.
Nero & His Darker Side
 However, like Caligula before him, Nero
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had a dark side.
Relations between mother and son grew
worse and Nero decided to kill her.
Conflict between Nero and his
ambitious mother Agrippina the
Younger, Tacitus relates how Nero tried
to kill his mother in a boating
"accident."
When this fails, an armed guard is sent
to murder her.
Rome was appalled, matricide was a
heinous crime.
Nero & the Great Fire July 64 CE
 The fire raged for over a week, destroying 70% of the city
 Contributing factors to the destruction:
Roman buildings contained much wood.
 The water supply was not sufficient for the crisis.
 The buildings were close together, with no open space or fire walls.
 Tacitus reported that gangs exacerbated the fire.
 In the wake of the fire, Nero blames the Christians
 He perhaps was trying to disguise his own guilt.
 Or, trying to find a scapegoat for public distress.
 Tacitus, despite his very negative view of Christians, blamed Nero.
 Nero took advantage of the fire to build his grand palace, the Domus
Aurea (Golden House).
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Nero, Return of Terror
 In late 64 CE Nero faced numerous
revolts.
 Reckless spending replaced leadership.
 To divert his unpopularity, Nero ordered
the first recorded persecution of
Christians. Most Romans had no
fondness for this new sect but they grew
disgusted when they saw Christians
being coated with pitch and ignited as
human torches in the circus to please
the emperor.
Nero, a Fitting End
 In 65 CE, one plotter, a freed slave
named Epicharis, found a
dissatisfied officer who had access
to the emperor. She secretly asked
him to kill Nero.
 Nero’s discovery of the senatorial
Piso conspiracy against him in 65
CE led to savage reprisals.
 In 67 CE Nero returned to Rome (after participating in the Olympics in
Greece). He faced numerous revolts and opposition.
 But Rome had had enough, the Senate declared Nero a public enemy.
 Terrified, Nero fled to the country with his few remaining slaves and
committed suicide on 8 June 68 CE crying: “What an artist dies in
me!”
 Nero left behind a half bankrupt empire in the grip of civil war.
Galba, Otho and Vitellius
 Following Nero’s death, Rome
was plunged into chaos.
Warring generals jostled for
power. In the space of just over
a year, three men would lead
Rome before each was brutally
murdered. They were:
1. Galba, 8 Jun 68 – 15 Jan 69
2. Otho, 15 Jan – 16 Apr 69
3. Vitellius, 16 Apr – 22 Dec 69
The Inglorious End to the Julio-Claudian Dynasty
 It was a tumultuous rule.
 Examples of unbridled cruelty
and madness were matched
unequalled prowess of rule.
 It is a legacy that forever
changed the face of Rome.
 Made each man; Augustus,
Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius
and Nero immortal.