Julio-Claudians

The Julian-Claudian Dynasty

• Tiberius 14-37 CE
• Gaius (Caligula) 37-41 CE
• Claudius 41-54 CE
• Nero 54-68 CE

The Accession of Tiberius

A bust of Tiberius. Photo by Barbara McManus. Image courtesy of the VROMA project at http://www.vroma.org

Tiberius was born to Livia, later the wife of Augustus, and to Tiberius Claudius Nero. After Livia divorced Claudius, she married Augustus, making Tiberius Augustus' stepson. Augustus entrusted matters of great importance to Tiberius from early on. Augustus forced Tiberius to divorce his wife and marry Augustus' daughter, Julia. After the grandsons of Augustus died, Augustus adopted Tiberius as his son and heir. Tiberius, at the death of Augustus, was the only family member with the experience and maturity to rule.

Tiberius' Policy

1. He maintained Augustus' basic political arrangement.
2. He avoided emphasis on his own authority.
3. He also followed Augustus' foreign policy of maintaining borders along natural boundaries.
4. He seemed to have little ambition for self-promotion, leaving day-to-day administration to subordinates.
5. Tiberius abandoned Rome and ruled from Capri, an island in the bay of Naples, for the last 10 years of his life. 

Tacitus: the Annals of Imperial Rome

1. One of the most important sources for Roman history of the 1st century CE.
2. The Annals as Roman historiography: a cross-roads between traditional annals and biography.
3. He takes a senatorial perspective, looking critically at the power of the princeps.
4. The fame of the Julio-Claudians is largely due to Tacitus.
5. Tacitus (c. 55-117 CE) also had a political career.
6. He was consul and then provincial governor in the early second century.

Problems of Accession

• Competition among male heirs for the principate led to murder and assassination. 

The Senate under the Julio-Claudians

1. The senate gained some responsibilities:
1.  Elections of magistrates held in Senate
2.  Senate became the Chief Court for Criminal Trial
3. Claudius gave certain provinces back to the senate's control, including Britain.
2. It lost responsibilities in other areas to freedmen and equestrians
1. Sejanus, an equestrian, became very powerful as Praetorian prefect under Tiberius.
2. Claudius had freedmen secretaries, e.g. Narcissus.
3. Membership was extended to non-Italians, a topic on which Claudius addressed the senate.
4. Nero used Seneca, the stoic philosopher, as a liaison between the senate and princeps.

The Provinces under the Julio-Claudians

Five new provinces were added: Mauretania in two sections, Lycia Thrace Britain. Rebellions occurred under Nero: In Judea, Britain, Armenia, Parthia.

This map was prepared to accompany the bookThe Romans from Village to Empireby Mary T. Boatwright, Daniel Gargola and Richard J.A. Talbert, Oxford University Press, 2004 Copyright 2004, Ancient World Mapping Center: This item may be reproduced and redistributed freely for non-profit, personal or educational use only. For all other uses, you must obtain prior, written permission from the copyright holder(s). The authorship, copyright and redistribution notices may not be removed from the map or altered.

Claudius - The only Julio-Claudian to be deified

1. He had enlarged the empire by adding Britain.
2. He was active in public works projects and the harbor at Ostia.
3. He respected the senate:
1. He attended meetings, gave speeches to the senate.
2. He held the consulship only four times in 13 years.
3. He also gave the administration of Britain to a senator proconsul.

Nero, 54-68 CE The End of a Dynasty

The Great Fire of Rome, July 64 CE

1. The fire raged for over a week, destroying 70% of the city
2. Contributing factors to the destruction:
   1. Roman buildings contained much wood.
   2. The water supply was not sufficient for the crisis.
   3. The buildings were close together, with no open space or fire walls.
   4. Tacitus reported that gangs exacerbated the fire.
3. In the wake of the fire, Nero blames the Christians
   1. He perhaps was trying to disguise his own guilt.
   2. Or, trying to find a scapegoat for public distress.
   3. Tacitus, despite his very negative view of Christians, blamed Nero.
4. Nero took advantage of the fire to build his grand palace, the Domus Aurea.

The Legacy of the Julio-Claudians: Tacitus' perspective

Tacitus portrays the Principate as a tyranny.

1. What does Tacitus criticize more? The nature of the principate, or the individuals in power?
2. Does Tacitus offer a remedy?

Further Questions:

1. Did Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero strengthen or weaken the power of the principate?
2. How would Augustus have evaluated their reigns?