Julia Agrippina, more commonly known as Agrippina the Younger, was born into a very influential and robust bloodline. Agrippina the Younger’s background is labelled by ancient and modern sources as “exceptionally illustrious” (Tacitus) and was widely considered impeccable with her dynastic connections to both the Julian and Claudian lines, which converged at Augustus. Agrippina’s birth to Agrippina the Elder, and Germanicus; both notably well-connected parents, and other distinguished individuals led to the development of great status within Rome for Agrippina by reputation of her lineage. By birth, Agrippina was a namely Julian descent. In spite of this, the marriage of her great-grandmother Livia to Augustus established the beginning of the Julio-Claudian line; Rome’s two greatest families.
He attempted to resolidify the allegiance by appointing Pompey and Crassus as consuls of Spain and Syria respectively. By doing so, Caesar established himself as a strong military leader in the Gallic Wars. He also had the reputation of being an "idol" general who was not above suffering alongside his troops in the plain of battle. After all, however, the death of Caesar's daughter Julia during childbirth in 54 B.C. (she had been married to Pompey for five years) and the death of Crassus in 53 B.C.
ACHIEVEMENTS OF AGRIPPINA THE YOUNGER Agrippina’s powerful family lineage allowed her to excel beyond the role of women in Roman society and become successful in the terms of wealth and power. Agrippina’s achievements include the marrying Claudius, successfully removing others, ascension of Nero, and having honors and powers given beyond other women of Rome. It is difficult to assess the extent of Agrippina’s achievements because of the gender bias that derives from the Ancient sources Dio Cassius, Suetonius and Tacitus and the re-assessment from modern sources such as Susan Wood and Anthony Barrett. The first successful achievement for Agrippina was her marriage to the Emperor Claudius. In AD 39, Agrippina was exiled because she was accused of aligning with others in order to overthrow her brother, Gaius Caesar.
Assess the achievements and impact of Tiberius as princeps Suetonius states that ‘it is my belief that Augustus scale’ weighed Tiberius good qualities against the bad and decided that the good tipped the scale’. This reveals the nature of Tiberius’ succession as one of necessity. Tiberius had huge feats to live up to from Augustus’ rule; however he endeavored to continually improve the Roman Empire. His most significant achievements were based around his military reforms, foreign and civil policies, increasing involvement of the senate and his successful civil administration that had a lasting impact on Rome. Therefore, it can be stated that Tiberius, despite given power with reluctance, continued to build Rome to new a level of greatness.
Part of the reason behind Agrippina’s power was her close proximity to some of the most powerful men in the ancient world, she was the great-granddaughter of the great Augustus: who also had achieved a deified status, daughter of Germanicus: said to be the reincarnation of Apollo himself, sister of an emperor (Caligula), wife of an emperor (Claudius), and mother of an emperor (Nero). She used this impeccable family bloodline to secure power in both the Senate and in Roman society, but was she the evil temptress and nymphomaniac the ancient sources made her out to be? Agrippina held immeasurable and unprecedented power for a woman of the time period, even outstripping the great Livia, wife of Augustus. Her power, according to the written evidence provided by men such as Tacitus, Suetonius and Cassius Dio, was a mix of several different components: • Proximity to powerful male members of Roman politics/society • Her lineage/bloodline, and • Her charm, beauty and sexual allure These factors supposedly enabled Agrippina to climb both the social and political ladders in Roman society with relative ease, influence high ranking men throughout the Roman Empire, and acquire information and support for her son Nero in his political career. Her relentless ambition to secure her son's emperorship and to gain as much power as emperor gives her a legendary status.
Throughout many centuries of dominance, the auspicious Roman Empire accomplished great achievements. These achievements both on, and off the battlefield required the dedication and faith of the whole Roman society to the Emperors. Acquiring such commitment was completed through the notion of numen. Numen is defined as a spirit believed to inhabit an object or preside over a place. The idea of numen enabled the Emperors to maintain their power over the public.
Culture traveled along the road, and religions like Buddhism and Christianity came about. Octavian knew what the people of Rome wanted, and became a successful ruler as a result of giving them what they wanted. He communicated well with them, and became one of the most popular Roman rulers ever. All of these rulers and empires attempted to deal with the problems that came about from trying to manage a civilization. Some were extremely successful, and others not so much.
Marcus Antonius Gnipho, an orator and grammarian of Gaulish origin, was employed as Caesar's tutor. Caesar had two sisters, both called Julia. In 85 BC Caesar's father died suddenly while putting on his shoes one morning, without any apparent cause. At sixteen, Caesar was the head of the family. The following year he was nominated to be the new Flamen Dialis, high priest of Jupiter, as Merula, the previous incumbent, had died in Marius's purges.
At the temple of Meryre both Akhenaten and Nefertiti are shown enthrones. Along with this Nefertiti was beloved by the people and held great sway over them. All of this would have made her a great candidate for a co-regency. If this is true, it means that Akhenaten’s relationship with Nefertiti grew to a level where it became political. The quote “… at hearing whose voice the King rejoices, the Chief Wife of the King, his beloved, the Lady of the Two Lands, Neferneferuaten – Nefertiti, May she live for Ever and Always.” From an Amarna inscription indicates that Akhenaten relationship with Nefertiti was not only through their children, equal on both sides and political but also romantic.
The Deep Impact of Octavian For forty years Octavian, post 27 B.C. known as Augustus Caesar, held power in Rome and he was able to establish a firm foundation for emperors to come by changing laws and enabling others to act. He believed that the Roman laws had proven to be weak under the Roman Republic and they needed a strong leader. The senate approved and appointed him consul, tribune and commander in chief for life. Augustus is remarkable because unlike the other politicians that came before him once he gained power he was able to keep it.