Host (0:00)

The Roman Empire was ruled by a single family for most of its first century. The family was actually a merger of two of the most distinguished clans in Roman history. This family included some of the best and worst emperors in Rome's history. It also included a host of potential emperors who showed great potential but were killed under mysterious circumstances. Ultimately, paranoia and poor leadership caused the family to collapse. Learn more about the Julio Claudian dynasty and how they came to rule Rome on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. This episode is sponsored by Quince. Finding the perfect gift can be pretty overwhelming. This year I found the perfect spot for timeless gifts made from premium materials. So you gotta check out Quince. Quince lets you treat your loved ones and yourself to true quality at an affordable price. I got a cotton fisherman throw blanket from Quince and I literally use it when I am writing many of the episodes for this podcast. I also have some Turkish cotton bath towels from Quince that I absolutely love. By partnering directly with top factories and cutting out the cost of the middleman, Quince passes the savings on to you. Quintz is also on the nice list. They only work with factories that use safe, ethical and responsible manufacturing practices and they use premium fabrics and finishes for that luxury feel in every piece. Gift Luxury this holiday season without the luxury price tag. Go to quince.com daily for 365 day returns plus free shipping on your order. That's Q U I n c e.com daily to get free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com daily. This episode is sponsored by Butcherbox. You've probably heard me talk about how ButcherBox only sells 100% grass fed grass finished beef, but what exactly is that and why does it matter? This type of beef comes from cattle that have grazed on grass for their entire lives as opposed to being finished on a diet of grains and other feed at a feedlot. Basically, cattle eat what cattle are designed to eat. Grass fed beef tends to have higher levels of omega 3 fatty acids and grass fed beef often contains more antioxidants such as vitamin E. Beyond personal health benefits, choosing grass fed grass finished beef can also improve soil health through natural fertilization and aeration and can also promote greater biodiversity on grazing lands. Consuming grass fed grass finish beef not only contributes to better health but also supports more sustainable farming practices. Sign up@butcherbox.com daily and get a special deal. New users who sign up for Butcherbox will receive 2 pounds of grass fed ground beef in every box for the lifetime of their subscription plus $20 off your first box when you use code daily at checkout. In previous episodes, I covered many of the topics that I'll be covering in this episode. In this episode, I want to zoom out and try to put many of these disparate topics together to try and explain the events of the 1st century of Imperial rule and how they all fit together. Historians use the term Julio Claudian dynasty to describe the first five emperors of Rome who were all related. The Julio Claudians were representative of two separate gens or clans in Rome. The first was the Julii. The Julii claimed divine descent and were one of the oldest patrician families in Rome. They traced their lineage to Ulius, the son of the Trojan hero Aeneas, who was said to be the son of the goddess Venus. This divine connection became a key element of the family's prestige and propaganda, especially under the rule of Augustus. Members of the Julii held high offices throughout the term of the Republic, including many consuls and military commanders. The Julii are even a part of this discussion because of Julius Caesar. I've told the story about his rise to power and his victory in the civil war against the Senate before he was declared dictator for life, which was an actual office in the Roman Republic, but traditionally only held for a maximum of six months. After Caesar was assassinated in his will, he posthumously adopted his 18 year old great nephew Octavius, who was also made his primary heir. To cut through a lot of history, young Octavius turned out to be an absolutely brilliant politician, defeated Caesar's lieutenant Mark Antony in another civil war and is granted the title of Augustus and becomes the first Roman emperor. As I explained in a previous episode, there really wasn't a position per se called Emperor. Rather, it was a collection of titles and powers that were passed from person to person. That was how the Julia came to power. The Claudii enter the picture through marriage, in particular the marriage of Augustus to Livia Drusilla. And I should warn you that the story from here on out is going to sound a whole lot like a soap opera, a very violent soap opera. Augustus had been twice married, once to Claudia, Mark Antony's stepdaughter, and then to Scribonia, with whom he had his only child, Julia. Augustus divorced Scribonia and married Livia Drusilla, a member of the Claudii. Livia, too had been previously married to her cousin, who was also a member of the Claudii, Tiberius Claudius Nero. And all three of those names should ring a bell. She had two sons with Tiberius Claudius Nero, Tiberius and Drusus Augustus adopted Tiberius and Drusus, but they were not of his blood. When he was making plans for who was going to succeed him after his death, his first choice was his nephew Marcellus, the son of his sister. Marcellus was married to Augustus daughter Julia and was adopted by Augustus, which was totally a normal thing in Rome. However, Marcellus unexpectedly died at the age of 19, probably due to an illness such as typhoid. But there was always lingering suspicion about his death. In 9 BC, Drusus, who was an accomplished military commander, fell off his horse and died. Julia was then married to Augustus right hand man Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. Julia and Agrippa had five children, three boys and two girls. The two eldest boys and grandsons of Augustus were Gaius and Lucius. Gaius and Lucius became the next heirs. Apparently Lucius died in the year two at the age of 18 and he simply fell ill and died 18 months later. His brother Gaius fell ill and died at the age of 24. Both boys showed great potential and were extremely popular in Rome and their deaths were considered to be highly suspicious. As Augustus was getting older, the need for a successor became more pressing. At this point he really only had two choices, his grandson and the third son of Julia and Agrippa, Agrippa Postumus and his stepson, the son of Livia Tiberius Agrippa Postumus was initially a potential heir of Augustus. However, he was exiled in the year six, most likely due to erratic and embarrassing behavior. Eight years later, when Augustus died in the year 14, Tiberius was left as the only one standing and became the second emperor of Rome. Agrippa Postumus was summarily executed while he was in exile. And just to stress how soap opera like this family was, Augustus exiled his own daughter Julia in the year 1bc and she never again returned to Rome. And before that she was forced to marry Tiberius, his stepson. After the death of Agrippa, with Tiberius now emperor, the issue of succession came up again. Tiberius basically had two choices. The first of them was his natural son, Drusus the Younger, who was not to be confused with Tiberius brother Drusus the Elder, the one who died after falling off a horse. His second option was his nephew Germanicus, the son of his brother Drusus the Elder. Drusus the Elder also had another son named Claudius who wasn't seriously considered because the family thought him to be dimwitted. More on him in a bit. Germanicus was an extremely popular military commander who died in the year 19 at the age of 34. Germanicus was so Popular with the public, he was arguably more popular than Tiberius. He believed that he had been poisoned by Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, the Governor of Syria. Possibly acting on Tiberius orders. Piso eventually committed suicide rather than face trial and Tiberius was never implicated. That left Tiberius son, Drusus the Younger. Fortunately for Drusus, Tiberius had a very ambitious right hand man named Sejanus, who I covered in a previous episode. Sejanus basically ran the government while Tiberius was holed up in his pleasure palace on the island of Capri. Sejanus began an affair with the wife of Drusus and eventually poisoned Drusus so he would become next in line for the imperial throne. After Tiberius died, Tiberius caught wind of Sejanus role in the death of his son and had him condemned to death on the floor of the Senate. In a very dramatic turn of events, Tiberius options were now extremely limited. If he were to keep the imperial throne in the family, his only real options were the son of his nephew Germanicus Caligula and his grandson Gemellus, the son of Drusus the Younger. The reason why these were his options was because the Tiberius previously exiled both Germanicus wife and other son. Drusus died in exile. And by the way, that Drusus is the third Drusus of this story. Tiberius died in the year 37 under suspicious circumstances. Many people believe that Caligula may have had a hand in his death. At the time of Tiberius death, Caligula was 24 years old and Gemellus was just 17. Caligula was proclaimed emperor in part because Gemellus was too young and also because Tiberius hated Gemellus, because he thought he was the product of an affair. By this time the Julii had connected again with the Claudiis, as Germanicus wife. And Caligula's mother was the daughter of Julia, the daughter of Augustus. History has painted Caligula as being crazy, and he probably was. But he was also known as being intelligent and a good orator. However, as Lord Acton has noted, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. And Caligula proved this true. Months after taking power, Caligula had Gemellus killed. And then he had his father in law, Marcus Junius Silanus, killed. And then he had Macro, the Praetorian Prefect, who would help him come to power, killed. Caligula accused numerous senators and wealthy citizens of treason, executing them or forcing their suicides. There were a host of things that he did that angered the Senate and eventually he was assassinated. In the year 41 at the age of 28, the Praetorian Guards, who needed an emperor to guard to keep their jobs, eventually selected the brother of Germanicus Claudius, the one that everyone thought was a dimwit. Claudius was not a dimwit. It turns out he was probably the smartest of the bunch. By all accounts, he was a wise and just ruler. I've previously done an episode devoted to Claudius, which I'll refer you to for a more detailed overview of his life. But with regards to succession, he had two sons, Tiberius Claudius Drusus, who died as a teenager, and a younger son, Britannicus. He also had a stepson from his fourth wife, Agrippina the Younger, who also happened to be his niece. His stepson was named Nero. Agrippina the Younger was very ambitious and wanted her son to become emperor. Claudius died in the year 54 at the age of 63. His death was under suspicious circumstances. Most historians believe that Claudius was poisoned by his wife, who had given him poisoned mushrooms. That left Nero to be proclaimed emperor at the age of just 16. And it should not surprise you to hear that Britannicus was killed soon after Nero came to power. Nero's mother sought to rule the empire herself by controlling her son, and Nero was very aware of this. In the year 59, Nero arranged for his mother to die in a boating accident, but she survived. She swam to shore where she was killed by one of Nero's associates, who then claimed that she had killed herself. Nero divorced his first wife and stepsister, Octavia, and exiled her on false charges of adultery, later ordering her execution in the year 62 to ensure that she posed no threat to his reign. Nero's second wife, Poppaea Sabina, allegedly died after being kicked by Nero during a fit of rage in the year 65. However, some accounts suggest her death may have been due to complications during pregnancy. Nero had several more wives, but only had one child, a daughter who died as an infant. He reigned for 14 years, and while he too was probably crazy, he wasn't nearly as bad as Caligula. By all accounts, he was very popular with the common people. However, he eventually earned the wrath of the Senate and was declared an enemy of Rome and then committed suicide in the year 68 at the age of 30. With Nero dead, Rome had a problem. For the last century, Rome had been ruled by the five emperors of the Julio Claudian dynasty. No one alive knew any other system of government, and no one was around who could remember the republic after multiple emperors had eliminated all of their potential rivals. And because Nero had no children, there was no one from the family who was around to take up the mantle of emperor. In the uprising against Nero, the senate proclaimed a 70 year old childless governor of Hispania Emperor Galba. The problem was, if somebody outside of the imperial family could now be emperor, then why couldn't someone else be emperor? The power vacuum left by the collapse of the Julio Claudian dynasty became known as the Year of the Four Emperors because of the four men who were all proclaimed emperor, all of which whom attempted to seize the throne by violence. The 95 year reign of the Julio Claudian dynasty was matched only by the 96 year reign of the Nerva Antonine dynasty. While this particular family eventually died out, there were other more distant branches of both the Julii and Claudii clans who continued to exist. In fact, centuries later, there were other distant members of the Julii who became emperor. For centuries, the Romans feared one thing more than anything else, the establishment of a king. And yet in the end, that's basically what they ended up with, complete with a royal family filled with intrigue and murder. The executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel. The associate producers are Benji Long and Cameron Kiefer. I want to give a big shout out to everyone who supports the show over on Patreon, including the show's producers. Your support helps me put out a show every single day and also Patreon is currently the only place where Everything Everywhere Daily merchandise is available to the top tier of supporters. If you'd like to talk to other listeners of the show and members of the Completionist Club, you can join the Everything Everywhere Daily Facebook group or Discord server. Links to Everything are in the show Notes.