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Carney & Wehofer Family
Genealogy Pages
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 0015 - 59 (43 years)
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| Name |
Julia Agrippina MINOR |
| Suffix |
II |
| Born |
6 Nov 0015 |
Oppidum Ubiorum, Germania, Roman Empire  [1] |
| Gender |
Female |
| FamilySearch ID |
LK62-7Q8 |
| TitleOfNobility |
Between 49 and 54 |
Roma, Roman Empire [1] |
| Empress of the Roman Empire |
| Name |
Agrippina MINOR "THE YOUNGER" [1] |
| _UID |
C352E284E38548CF8D7015EC6ED06CDD7FEF |
| Buried |
59 |
Miseno, Bacoli, Naples, Italy [1] |
| Died |
23 Mar 59 |
Naples, Italy, Roman Empire [1] |
| Person ID |
I9014 |
Carney Wehofer 2024 Genealogy |
| Last Modified |
20 Dec 2022 |
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| Notes |
- Agrippina and Claudius married on New Year's Day, 49. This marriage caused widespread disapproval. This was a part of Agrippina's scheming plan to make her son Lucius the new emperor. Her marriage to Claudius was not based on love, but on power. She quickly eliminated her rival Lollia Paulina. Shortly after marrying Claudius, Agrippina persuaded the emperor to charge Paulina with black magic. Claudius stipulated that Paulina did not receive a hearing and her property was confiscated. She left Italy, but Agrippina was unsatisfied. Allegedly on Agrippina's orders, Paulina committed suicide.
In the months leading up to her marriage to Claudius, Agrippina's maternal second cousin, the praetor Lucius Junius Silanus Torquatus, was betrothed to Claudius' daughter Claudia Octavia. This betrothal was broken off in 48, when Agrippina, scheming with the consul Lucius Vitellius the Elder, the father of the future emperor Aulus Vitellius, falsely accused Silanus of incest with his sister Junia Calvina. Agrippina did this hoping to secure a marriage between Octavia and her son. Consequently, Claudius broke off the engagement and forced Silanus to resign from public office.
Silanus committed suicide on the day that Agrippina married her uncle, and Calvina was exiled from Italy in early 49. Calvina was called back from exile after the death of Agrippina. Towards the end of 54, Agrippina would order the murder of Silanus' eldest brother Marcus Junius Silanus Torquatus without Nero's knowledge, so that he would not seek revenge against her over his brother's death.
On the day that Agrippina married her uncle Claudius as her third husband/his fourth wife, she became empress. She also was a stepmother to Claudia Antonia, Claudius' daughter and only child from his second marriage to Aelia Paetina, and to the young Claudia Octavia and Britannicus, Claudius' children with Valeria Messalina. Agrippina removed or eliminated anyone from the palace or the imperial court who she thought was loyal and dedicated to the memory of the late Messalina. She also eliminated or removed anyone who she considered was a potential threat to her position and the future of her son, one of her victims being Lucius' second paternal aunt and Messalina's mother Domitia Lepida the Younger.
Griffin describes how Agrippina "had achieved this dominant position for her son and herself by a web of political alliances," which included Claudius's chief secretary and bookkeeper Pallas, his doctor Xenophon, and Afranius Burrus, the head of the Praetorian Guard (the imperial bodyguard), who owed his promotion to Agrippina. Neither ancient nor modern historians of Rome have doubted that Agrippina had her eye on securing the throne for Nero from the very day of the marriage? if not earlier. Dio Cassius's observation seems to bear that out: "As soon as Agrippina had come to live in the palace she gained complete control over Claudius."
In 49, Agrippina was seated on a dais at a parade of captives when their leader the Celtic King Caratacus bowed before her with the same homage and gratitude as he accorded the emperor. In 50, Agrippina was granted the honorific title of Augusta. She was only the third Roman woman (Livia Drusilla and Antonia Minor received this title) and only the second living Roman woman (the first being Antonia) to receive this title.
In her capacity as Augusta, Agrippina quickly became a trusted advisor to Claudius. And by AD 54, She exerted a considerable influence over the decisions of the emperor. A statues had been erected in her honor in the in all empire, and in the Senate, her followers were advanced with public offices and governorships. However this privileged position caused resentment among the senatorial class and the imperial family.
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| Sources |
- [S1160] FamilySearch Family Tree (http://www.familysearch.org), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ((http://www.familysearch.org)), accessed 20 Dec 2022), entry for Julia Agrippina MINOR, person ID LK62-7Q8. (Reliability: 3).
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