Yulia Agrippina Daughter of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder, sister of Caligula, last wife of Claudius, mother of Nero. Date of Birth: 06.11.2015 Country: Italy

1. Biography of Julia Agrippina
2. Early Life
3. Life with Claudius
4. After Claudius' Death
5. Relationship with Nero
6. Conflict with Nero
7. Downfall and Death

Biography of Julia Agrippina

Julia Agrippina, the daughter of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder, sister of Caligula, and the last wife of Claudius, was born into the Germanicus family. Her father, Germanicus, was the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, and her mother was Agrippina the Elder. Agrippina the Elder was the daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia, the daughter of Emperor Augustus. Agrippina was born in Oppidum Ubiorum (modern Cologne, Germany), on the Rhine.

Early Life

Until the age of 18, Agrippina stayed in Germany with her parents, older brothers, and sisters. In 18 AD, the entire family, except for Caligula, returned to Rome, and the children were left in the care of their maternal great-grandmother, Livia Drusilla, the widow of Augustus. A year later, her father unexpectedly died in Antioch. In 28 AD, when Agrippina turned 13, Tiberius married her off to Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus. Gnaeus Domitius was over thirty years older than Agrippina and came from an ancient plebeian family. They had a son together named Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus.

Life with Claudius

In 32 AD, Gnaeus Domitius became consul. Until the death of Tiberius, the couple lived on a villa between Anzio and Rome. Agrippina's fate was closely tied to this villa. It was here that her son was born, and it was here that soldiers, under his order, killed her. It was said that Agrippina once asked the fortune-tellers about her son's future, and they replied that he would reign but kill his mother, to which she replied, "Let him kill me, as long as he reigns."

After Claudius' Death

In March 37 AD, Tiberius died and the power passed to Agrippina's brother, Caligula. In the same year, on December 15th, Agrippina gave birth to her son. The boy was named Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus in honor of his father. After Caligula's assassination in 41 AD, Agrippina returned from exile. Her marriage to Gaius Sallustius Passienus Crispus was arranged by Claudius. Gaius Sallustius was the husband of Domitia Lepida the Elder, another of Nero's aunts.

Relationship with Nero

Agrippina became Nero's lover and convinced Claudius to adopt Nero as his own son. Claudius officially recognized him as his heir and betrothed him to his daughter, Claudia Octavia. Agrippina's influence over Claudius was complete. She deprived Britannicus of all power and influence and distanced him from the court. In 55 AD, Britannicus was poisoned on Nero's orders.

Conflict with Nero

However, Nero eventually grew tired of his mother's influence and began to distance himself from her. He became involved with his former slave, Acte, which Agrippina disapproved of. Agrippina plotted to replace Nero with her other son, Britannicus, as the rightful emperor. But her plan failed, and in February 55 AD, Nero had Britannicus poisoned.

Downfall and Death

After her failed attempts to remove Nero from power, Nero decided to eliminate his mother. He tried to poison her, sent assassins to strangle her, and even attempted to collapse the ceiling and walls of her room while she slept. However, she miraculously survived each attempt. In March 59 AD, Nero offered her a boat trip in Bay of Naples, with the intention of sinking the ship. Agrippina managed to swim to shore and survive. In anger, Nero openly ordered her execution.

Despite her ambitious and ruthless nature, Agrippina was a respected and influential woman. She played a significant role in the early reign of Nero and had a lasting impact on the Roman Empire. However, her relationship with Nero eventually turned sour, leading to her downfall and death.