Julio-Claudian Dynasty

Augustus
The first and one of the most celebrated Roman Emperors, Augustus did not have a son to succeed him. However, he had arranged several marriages for his family members by which he created the so-called Julio-Claudian dynasty. The dynasty ruled the Roman Empire until 68 when Nero, the last Augustus' descendant committed suicide. Nero's successor, Galba came from a noble and influential family but he was not related to the Julio-Claudians.

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Quick Facts

The Julio-Claudian dynasty was the first ruling dynasty of the Roman Empire.

Five Roman Emperors descended from the Julio-Claudian dynasty and ruled the Roman Empire from 27 BC to 68 AD.

The Julio-Claudian dynasty was created by the first Roman Emperor, Augustus who came from the gens Julia.

None of the Julio-Claudian Emperors was succeeded by a direct male heir.

Augustus was succeeded by his son-in-law and adopted son Tiberius from the gens Claudia.

Tiberius was succeeded by his adopted son Caligula, Augustus' great-grandson.

Claudius was de facto the first Roman Emperor from the Julio-Claudian dynasty because he was the first to descend from both families.

Claudius had a male heir - Britannicus but he adopted Nero, son of his wife Agrippina the Younger from her first marriage.

After being adopted by Emperor Claudius, Nero became the first in line of succession because he was older than his stepbrother.

With Nero's suicide in 68, the Julio-Claudian dynasty came to an end.

Nero was succeeded by Galba, governor of one of the Roman provinces in Hispania who was not related to the Julio-Claudian Emperors.

Roman Emperors from the Julio-Claudian Dynasty

The Julio-Claudian dynasty refers to a family that produced the first five Roman Emperors – Augustus (r. 27 BC-14 AD), Tiberius (r. 14-37), Caligula (r. 37-41), Claudius (r. 41-54) and Nero (r. 54-68) who ruled the Roman Empire from 27 BC to 68 AD. Interestingly, none of the Roman Emperors from the Julio-Claudian dynasty was succeed by a son, while all except Augustus seem to have died of unnatural death.

Augustus - The First Roman Emperor

The first Roman Emperor, Augustus (born Gaius Octavius Thurins) from the gens Julia was a great-nephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar. He established himself as undisputed ruler of Rome after he defeated the allied fleet of his rival Mark Antony and Egyptian Queen Cleopatra in the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. In 27 BC, the Roman Senate made him Augustus (the Revered) which is traditionally regarded as the foundation of the Roman Empire. Augustus never formally established imperial rule nor court and designated himself as the “first citizen“. However, he was an emperor in every sense of the word.

Augustus’ Family and Designated Heir

Augustus had only one daughter, Julia the Elder who had five children with her second husband Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa – three sons and two daughters. He adopted two of his grandsons - Gaius and Lucius, however, both his adopted sons and designated heirs died in 4 AD. The Emperor then adopted his third grandson - Agrippa Posthumus but he later decided to strip his biological grandson of the inheritance. He adopted the son of his wife Livia from her first marriage, Tiberius (gens Claudia) whom he forced to divorce his wife Vipsania Agrippina and marry his widowed daughter Julia.

Tiberius

Tiberius succeeded Augustus without any problems when the Emperor died in 14 AD. He pursued Augustus’ policy and did not try to change Augustus’ plans of succession. Before his death, Augustus forced his son-in-law to adopt Germanicus who was both the Emperor’s grand-son-in-law and great-nephew by which Tiberius’ biological son from his first marriage, Drusus the Younger was removed from succession. Germanicus died in 19 which left Tiberius’ son as his successor. However, Drusus the Younger was allegedly murdered by his wife Livilla (granddaughter of Augustus’ wife Livia) and Sejanus, the Emperor’s Praetorian Prefect in 23. Tiberius, unaware of Senajus’ role in Drusus’ death retired to Capri in 26 and de facto left the rule of the Roman Empire to his Praetorian Prefect. By 31, the Emperor grew suspicious of Sejanus’ ambitions and ordered his execution. The last years of his rule were marked by number of treason trials, torture and executions which made him increasingly unpopular. He is believed to have been murdered by the prefect of the Praetorian Guard, Naevius Sutorius Macro in 37.

Caligula

After his death, Tiberius was succeeded by his adopted son Caligula, the son of Augustus’ nephew Germanicus and biological granddaughter Agrippina the Elder. His early rule started well but he changed dramatically within a year. He is believed to have gone insane after an illness and became hated for his cruelness and irrational behavior. He murdered his adopted son and cousin Tiberius Gemellus (son of Drusus the Younger and Livilla), revived treason trials and executions, exhausted the treasury, claimed divinity and almost provoked an uprising in Judea by trying to erect a statue of himself in the Temple in Jerusalem. There are a number of scandalous stories about Caligula but it remains unknown how much is actually true. Nevertheless, he was apparently very unpopular and several conspiracies were organized against him until he was finally assassinated in 41 by his Praetorian Guards who proclaimed Caligula’s uncle Claudius the new Roman Emperor. Caligula’s fourth wife Caesonia and his only daughter Julia Drusilla were assassinated as well.

Claudius

Claudius, the son of Antonia Minor (daughter of Mark Antony and Augustus’ sister Octavia Minor) and Nero Claudius Drusus (brother of Emperor Tiberius) was the first Roman Emperor to be chosen by the army. He was spared by his nephew Caligula and chosen Emperor by the Praetorians because he was considered “harmless“. He achieved several important military successes and significantly expanded the Roman Empire, while his greatest achievement was the conquest of Britain in 43. He had, however, less success in personal life. His third wife, Messalina was allegedly unfaithful and conspired against him. He had her executed and married his niece Julia Agrippina (also known as Agrippina the Younger), the sister of Emperor Caligula. She apparently had a lot of influence on the Emperor and persuaded him to adopt her son Nero to the disadvantage of his biological son Britannicus. In 54, Claudius was according to the Roman sources poisoned by Agrippina and was succeeded by his adopted son Nero.

Nero

Through his mother, Nero was a descendant of Emperor Augustus. One of the most notorious Roman Emperors is attributed the murder of his stepbrother Britannicus, his mother Agrippina and his first wife Octavia. After being faced with allegations that he was responsible for the Great Fire of Rome in 64, he tried to shift the blame on the Christians starting the first recorded imperial persecution of the Christians in the Roman Empire. He went into history as an Antichrist and a tyrant but many modern historians are skeptical about the reliability of the ancient accounts about Nero including his role in the Great Fire of Rome.

Nero’s Death and Downfall of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty

Nero achieved some success in the east and despite his reputation as a tyrant, he was actually less brutal than his predecessor (excluding the murders of his stepbrother, mother and first wife). He abolished capital punishment, permitted slaves to file civil complaints against their masters and did not persecute epigraphers writing against him. There were only a few treason trials, while only 18 participants (of total 41) of the failed Pisonian conspiracy died – some by suicide. However, his artistic ambitions and extravagancy made him hated both among the Senators and the wider population. The discontent with Nero grew and in 68, the Roman legions proclaimed Servius Sulpicius Galba the Roman Emperor. After he had been abandoned by his Praetorian Guard and sentenced to death by the Senate, Nero committed suicide. With his death in 68, the Julio-Claudian dynasty came to an end.