Augustus
End to an Era
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Augustus as Pontifex Maximus PD Courtesy of Marie-Lan Nguyen |
by Adrian Dorrington
During an extraordinary lifetime, Augustus married three times; his third wife was Livia Drusilla, who had two sons, Tiberius and Drusus Germanicus, by a previous marriage. Augustus also had a daughter, Julia, by a previous marriage. Over the years Augustus sought to have someone succeed him, beginning with his trusted friend and General, Marcus Agrippa. Augustus married Agrippa to Julia, who in turn gave him five grandchildren. When Agrippa died, Augustus adopted Gaius and Lucius Caesar to succeed him, but when they also died, (his other grandson, Agrippa Postumus, was sent away for his vulgar and brutal behaviour) left his stepson and son-in-law, Tiberius, to succeed. Though some believe that Livia sought to have her son succeed by eliminating all other successors. This story was made popular by Robert Graves' book "I, Claudius."
At the age of 71 Augustus succumbed to a nervous breakdown. At the same time, the government became fragile through some political misfortunes. But the government did manage to stay in control. In August A.D. 14, while on a night journey by ship, he caught a chill and died on the 19th, at age 75, at Nola. The Augustan Age was truly over. Tiberius started with the makings of a good emperor with many good governmental reforms, but the latter part of his reign was marred by conspiracies and executions, including that of Jesus Christ. Augustus had reigned for 41 years, he ruled so long that he outlived all other forms of opposition. This meant that his new form of Republican monarchy was firmly established.
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This resource page is © Adrian Dorrington.
