History of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty of the Roman Empire

Did you know that the Julio-Claudians were the first five emperors of the Roman Empire? Hello and welcome to World History Encyclopedia. My name is Kelly and today's video is all about the Julio-Claudian dynasty of Rome. Don't forget, the easiest way to support us is by giving this video a thumbs up, subscribing to our channel and hitting that bell icon for notifications so you don't miss out on any new uploads. If you haven't already heard, World History Encyclopedia has teamed up with Andante Travels to bring you the Treasures of Ancient Greece guided tour. Join our expert tour guide, Dr. Rita Roussos, as she takes you on a journey through classical Athens, to Delphi, across the Gulf of Corinth and into the Peloponnesian hills where hero Hercules began his twelve labors and King Agamemnon set out to rescue Helen and capture Troy. Make sure to hit the link in the description below to learn all about this trip and we hope to see you there. The Julio-Claudian dynasty was the first dynasty to rule the Roman Empire. Octavian, the adopted son of the dictator for life of the Roman Republic, Julius Caesar, became the first emperor of Rome after defeating Julius Caesar's enemies after his assassination and the Senate changed his name, upon ascension to the throne, to Augustus. The Julio-Claudian dynasty consisted of five emperors, Augustus, who ruled from 27 BCE to 14 CE, Tiberius, who ruled from 14 to 37 CE, Caligula, who ruled from 37 to 41 CE, Claudius, who ruled from 41 to 54 CE, and finally Nero, who ruled from 54 to 68 CE. The name of the dynasty comes from the names of the two families its members came from, the Julii Caesaris and the Claudii Neronis. The Claudians were considered one of the oldest families in Rome, and the family line of the Julians could be traced from Augustus and Julius Caesar, supposedly back to Romulus and Remus and their mythological ancestor, Aeneas, and his mother, the goddess Venus. Octavian, later given the title of Augustus, was the first emperor of Rome. After the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BCE, initially Octavian aligned himself with Mark Antony and Marcus Aemulius Lepidus, the three of them forming the Second Triumvirate. They went about killing all political rivals and supporters of Caesar's assassination, and then they turned their attention to the assassins themselves, and defeated Cassius and Brutus and their forces at the Battle of Philippi in October of 42 BCE. The Second Triumvirate deteriorated until completely breaking down, with Lepidus insulting Octavian and Antony joining forces with Cleopatra VII in Egypt. Antony's consulship was revoked by the Senate, and Octavian's forces went to war against Antony and Cleopatra, defeating them at the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE. Egypt became a province of Rome, with Octavian as the supreme ruler of it all. In 27 BCE, the Senate gave him the title of Augustus, but in public he called himself Princeps, or the First Citizen. Augustus was popular with the soldiers, and was Imperator, or Commander-in-Chief, of the Roman provinces. In 19 BCE, he was given Imperium Maius, or supreme power over the Roman Empire, and by 2 BCE, he was given the title Pater Patriae, the father of his country. Augustus' reign was a golden age for Rome. He restored and kept the peace in the empire, the Pax Romana, which allowed the economy, the arts, culture, and agriculture to flourish. He brought back popular festivals, and increased the number of public games, and he emphasised the importance of the old Roman religion, in hopes it would restore people's faith and confidence in their government, which was understood to be supported by the Roman gods. He undertook numerous building projects, and according to the Res Geste Divi Augusti, or the Deeds of the Divine Augustus, he built 82 temples in a single year. He was a patron of many artists, including Virgil, who composed his epic poem The Aeneid during the reign of Augustus. He made adultery illegal, and even had to banish his own daughter and granddaughter because of it, as well as offering tax incentives to families with more than three children and penalties for childless marriages. His death in 14 CE was considered a great loss, and his official last words were recorded as, I found Rome a city of clay, but left it a city of marble. Although according to Livio Drusilla, his wife, as well as the next Roman emperor and his adopted son Tiberius, his actual last words were, Have I played the part well? Then applaud as I exit. Tiberius, the second emperor of Rome, didn't really seem to want to be emperor after his adoptive father, but that was the path chosen for him by his mother and Augustus' third wife, Livio Drusilla. He had been forced by Augustus to divorce his beloved pregnant wife Vespania, and marry Augustus' newly widowed daughter from his second marriage, Julia. Tiberius was not a fan of his new wife, but she ended up being exiled for adultery and then died in 14 CE. Livio, his mother, was a controlling force in his life. But after Tiberius became emperor, Livio was removed from public life, and he didn't bother to visit her while she was ill, or arrange any more than the public funeral upon her death. Tiberius was a great general and excelled in areas beyond the political sphere, and prior to becoming emperor, he put himself into a self-imposed exile. Despite his unwillingness to be emperor, his first few years ruling the empire went well. He respected the senate, began some building projects, but never finished them, and he shied away from the ceremony that followed an emperor. During his time as emperor, Tiberius became increasingly paranoid and cruel, and he ordered many tried for treason based on his often unreasonable fears. By 26 CE, he left Rome altogether for the Isle of Capri, and left his advisor and prefect of the Praetorian Guard, Sejanus, in charge of the daily routine of ruling. Tiberius began to rely on Sejanus' advice more and more, and eventually Sejanus, thinking that he was the true Roman emperor, went too far, and Tiberius had him executed. Tiberius only became more and more reclusive, until his death in 37 CE, and the throne fell to his nephew, Caligula. According to Suetonius, upon Tiberius' death, the people exclaimed, To the Tiber with Tiberius! At the beginning of Caligula's reign, he finished off many of the building projects started by Tiberius, as well as increasing the number of public games and festivals. The Roman people welcomed the new young emperor, since Tiberius was never very popular. But after just six months as emperor, and a close call with death, Caligula became an entirely different person. He became paranoid, and raised the taxes he had previously lowered to pay for his excesses. He instigated purges against his suspected enemies, and brought back Tiberius' treason trials. According to Suetonius, he became sadistic, and Cassius Dio states that it was not the large number of those who perished that was so serious, though that was serious enough, but his excessive delight in their death, and this insatiable desire for the sight of blood. According to the ancient Roman historians, many of whom were hostile to him, Caligula threatened to grant his beloved horse Insatius the title of consul, led meaningless campaigns in Germany, had his soldiers in Britain collect seashells, and waged constant war against Rome's Jewish population. After only four years on the throne, Caligula was murdered in 41 CE by his own guard, along with his wife and daughter. And Claudius, the man often ridiculed by Caligula, became the next Roman emperor. The reign of Caligula is being reassessed in recent years, since much of the bias of ancient authors, whose works were commissioned by later emperors who viewed Caligula in a negative light, has made its way into modern scholarship on the young emperor. Modern scholars now focus more on the cause for his dramatic personality shift, and the positive aspects and accomplishments of his brief reign. The fourth emperor of the Roman Empire was Claudius, who was found cowering behind some curtains, fearing for his life after the murder of Caligula. Although considered dimwitted by many, including his family, with his sister Livilla having prayed aloud that the Roman people might be spared so cruel and undeserved a misfortune of Claudius being emperor, he was quite an efficient ruler, and was the best of Augustus' successors. He had Caligula's assassins executed, and brought relative peace to Rome. He abolished the treason trials, built a new harbour at Ostia, and when food riots broke out in the streets due to drought, he had grain imported to feed his people. He also both expanded the borders of the Roman Empire and conquered Britain, personally leading his army through Gaul and across the Channel into Britain. Like his predecessors, however, he was a paranoid man, and was often quick to anger, nor did he hesitate in putting to death any supposed enemies. He held the same paranoia against Rome's Jewish population as Caligula, and even went further by having them all expelled from the city. Claudius was quite unlucky in love, and married four times in his life, and it was his fourth wife, Agrippina the Elder, who bore the next Roman emperor, Nero. Although he had a son, Britannicus, with an earlier wife, Messalina, Agrippina was pretty intent on having her son as the next emperor, and Claudius' unnatural death, after eating what may have been poisoned mushrooms given to him by his wife, assured this. In 54 CE, Nero took the throne of the Roman Empire, and went about cancelling many of Claudius' decrees and edicts. The start of his rule was quite successful, with numerous games, concerts, chariot races and gladiatorial tournaments, while he also reduced taxes and restored the power the Roman Senate had lost in the previous years. He seemed to be a kind, accessible and generous ruler. His mother Agrippina, though, believed herself to be the power behind the throne, and made the mistake of boasting of her influence to others. In response to his mother's words, Nero moved her out of the palace, denied her protection from the Praetorian Guard, and banned her from the gladiatorial games. Eventually Nero had her stabbed to death, after the mysterious death of his step-brother Britannicus. Nero was married first to Octavia, all whilst having an affair with Poppaea. He had Octavia exiled for adultery, and married Poppaea, only to have their newborn child die shortly after birth, and then later Nero supposedly kicked Poppaea in the stomach, causing both her death and the death of their unborn child. He was the target of an unsuccessful assassination known as the Piso Conspiracy, which led to His reign is often cited for the great fire that burned in Rome for six days, and which he is supposed to have ignored, playing the fiddle as the city went up in flames, a later story unsupported by historical accounts. The fire destroyed 10 of the 14 districts of Rome, many people died, thousands were left homeless, and the city was ravaged by looters. It's still not known whether Nero set the fire himself, as some have claimed, if he was safe in his palace watching his city burn, or if he was even in the city at all. But after the fire, Nero raised taxes in order to rebuild Rome, and it ended up better than it was prior to the fire, with residential districts, wider streets, and brick buildings. He also, however, decided to build a golden palace for himself, with gold-plated ceilings, a lake, and exotic animals, which led to later historians criticising him harshly. Nero committed suicide, with a bit of help, and the Julio-Claudian dynasty came to an end. He was declared an enemy of the people, posthumously, by the Senate, and the politician Galba was named the new emperor, initiating the chaos of the year of the four emperors, which ended with Vespasian, and the establishment of the Flavian dynasty. Do you believe emperors like Caligula and Nero were as bad as they say? Let us know what you think in the comments below. 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