Junia Claudilla | |
|---|---|
 Junia Claudilla from " Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum " | |
| Born | ca. 18 AD |
| Died | 37 AD |
| Cause of death | complications from childbirth |
| Other names | Junia Claudia |
| Known for | first wife of emperor Caligula |
| Spouse | Caligula |
| Children | 1 [a] |
| Parent | Marcus Junius Silanus |
| Family | Junii Silani |
Junia Claudilla (d. AD 34, 36 or 37), [1] also known as Junia Claudia, [1] [2] was the first wife of the Roman Emperor Caligula before he came to power.
Her father was a distinguished senator named Marcus Junius Silanus, [1] one of emperor Tiberius closest friends. [3] She was the sister of Junia Silana who was a friend of Caligula's sister Julia Agrippina. [4] Maxwell Craven has speculated that her mother may have been a Claudia and a relative of Tiberius. [5] Ronald Syme agrees that Claudilla was likely related to Tiberius, but thinks the descent came from her father. [6] She was likely also closely related to Appius Junius Silanus through the Claudii Pulchri. [7]
Claudilla was given in marriage to the young prince by his grand-uncle the Emperor Tiberius. [4] Tiberius reasons for arranging the match is unknown. In terms of succession it made no obvious sense as each of Caligula's brothers had been married off to a cousin within the Julio-Claudian family, adding extra prestige to the men, while Claudilla is not known to have had any such ancestry. [b] It seems that Tiberius did not consider the possibility of Caligula remarrying one of his brothers widows. [3] Tiberius may have picked her simply because there were no women of appropriate background for Caligula. [3] It is also possible that Tiberius arranged the match because it would bring Caligula more under his control due to his new father-in-law being a firm supporter of Tiberius. [9] Anthony Barrett on the other hand has argued that the marriage implied favour from Tiberius towards Caligula, since it was impressive compared to those of his sisters. [10] They were married at Antium either in 31 before Sejanus fell from favour [11] or in 33 [1] when the last of Sejanus supporters were ousted (if it was in 33 then it would likely have been between the second half of July and first half of August). [12] Tiberius himself attended the ceremony which would have been a rare appearance for him on the mainland (Tiberius preferred to stay on his island during this period). [13] Claudilla likely accompanied her husband to Capri where the political intrigues were in full force during his youth. [14]
Claudilla died when giving birth to Caligula's first child who did not survive either. [15] The exact date of her death is uncertain but is believed to have been 34, [16] 36, [17] or early 37. [18] The ancient historian Cassius Dio incorrectly states that Caligula divorced her before she died. [19] [20]
It is hard to guess what the marriage would have meant to Caligula [3] but he seems to have begun an affair with the woman Ennia Thrasylla, the wife of Naevius Sutorius Macro, only after Claudilla's death. [21] [22] Anthony Barrett has speculated that since Dio and Tacitus claim that Macro introduced his wife to Caligula upon Claudilla's death, that it is possible that Macro was taking advantage of the prince's vulnerable state and intended to gain influence by having his wife console the young man. [14]
Ancient sources claim that Caligula ordered her father to commit suicide to deliver her a message, but the veracity of this claim is doubtful. [23]
There were no known coins issued of Claudilla, possibly because she died before Caligula became emperor. [24] There have however been falsified coins purported to be of Claudilla found. [25]
Roman imperial historian Suetonius for unknown reasons almost entirely omits Claudilla from his account of the emperor's life. [26] This may have been done because there was little opportunity to paint Caligula poorly during the period. Suetonius's portrayal of his later three marriages includes mentions of adultery, homosexuality and debauchery. [27] Suetonius even twists Caligula's wife Milonia's fertility as a flaw. [26]
A flat Sardonyx cameo (numbered 578) from the Marlborough gem collection is described as depicting Junia Claudia. [28] [29]
In the opera Arminio by Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, parts of Claudilla are incorporated with those of the fellow historical woman Thusnelda to create the character "Claudia" who serves as a love interest for "Caligola". Claudilla is mentioned in I, Claudius and parts of her story are incorporated in the TV series into the character of Drusilla, Caligula's sister, who dies while pregnant with Caligula's child. Claudilla appears in Simon Turney's novel Caligula (2018). In the book Caligula is described to genuinely love her and is heartbroken upon her death. It is stated that the midwife refused to choose between her and the child and ended up losing both of them. [30] She is mentioned by her husband in Caligula: The Tyranny of Rome as he laments that had she not died along with their son he may have turned out to be a different man. He describes her as beautiful and kind while explaining to the main character Rufus why he wants to save Rufus sons life. [31]
(Vipsania) Agrippina the Elder was a prominent member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. She was the daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Augustus' daughter, Julia the Elder. Her brothers Lucius and Gaius Caesar were the adoptive sons of Augustus, and were his heirs until their deaths in AD 2 and 4, respectively. Following their deaths, her second cousin Germanicus was made the adoptive son of Tiberius, Augustus' stepson, as part of the succession scheme in the adoptions of AD 4. As a result of the adoption, Agrippina was wed to Germanicus in order to bring him closer to the Julian family.
Julia Agrippina, also referred to as Agrippina the Younger, was Roman empress from AD 49 to 54, the fourth wife and niece of emperor Claudius, and the mother of Nero.
Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Drusus and Antonia Minor at Lugdunum in Roman Gaul, where his father was stationed as a military legate. He was the first Roman emperor to be born outside Italy.
Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, better known by his nickname Caligula, was Roman emperor from AD 37 until his assassination in AD 41. He was the son of the Roman general Germanicus and Augustus' granddaughter Agrippina the Elder, members of the first ruling family of the Roman Empire. He was born two years before Tiberius was made emperor. Gaius accompanied his father, mother and siblings on campaign in Germania, at little more than four or five years old. He had been named after Gaius Julius Caesar, but his father's soldiers affectionately nicknamed him "Caligula".
The Julio-Claudian dynasty comprised the first five Roman emperors: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero.
Around the start of the Common Era, the family trees of the gens Julia and the gens Claudia became intertwined into the Julio-Claudian family tree as a result of marriages and adoptions.
Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Claudius Nero and his wife, Livia Drusilla. In 38 BC, Tiberius's mother divorced his father and married Augustus. Following the untimely deaths of Augustus's two grandsons and adopted heirs, Gaius and Lucius Caesar, Tiberius was designated Augustus's successor. Prior to this, Tiberius had proved himself an able diplomat and one of the most successful Roman generals: his conquests of Pannonia, Dalmatia, Raetia, and (temporarily) parts of Germania laid the foundations for the empire's northern frontier.
Livia Drusilla was Roman empress from 27 BC to AD 14 as the wife of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. She was known as Julia Augusta after her formal adoption into the Julia gens in AD 14.
Antonia Minor was the younger of two surviving daughters of Mark Antony and Octavia Minor. She was a niece of the Emperor Augustus, sister-in-law of the Emperor Tiberius, paternal grandmother of the Emperor Caligula and Empress Agrippina the Younger, mother of the Emperor Claudius, and maternal great-grandmother of the Emperor Nero. She outlived her husband Drusus, her oldest son, her daughter, and several of her grandchildren.
Tiberius Julius Caesar Nero, known as Tiberius Gemellus, was the son of Drusus and Livilla, the grandson of the Emperor Tiberius, and the cousin of the Emperor Caligula. Gemellus is a nickname meaning "the twin". His twin brother, Germanicus Gemellus, died as a young child in AD 23. His father and older cousins died, and are suspected by contemporary sources as having been systematically eliminated by the powerful praetorian prefect Sejanus. Their removal allowed Gemellus and Caligula to be named joint-heirs by Tiberius in 35, a decision that ultimately resulted in Caligula assuming power and having Gemellus killed in late 37 or early 38.
Claudia Livia was the only daughter of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia Minor and sister to Roman Emperor Claudius and general Germanicus, and thus paternal aunt of emperor Caligula and maternal great-aunt of emperor Nero, as well as the niece and daughter-in-law of Tiberius. She was named after her grandmother, Augustus' wife Livia Drusilla, and commonly known by her family nickname Livilla. She was born after Germanicus and before Claudius.
Drusus Julius Caesar, also called Drusus the Younger, was the son of Emperor Tiberius, and heir to the Roman Empire following the death of his adoptive brother Germanicus in AD 19.
Drusus Caesar was the grandson by adoption and heir of the Roman emperor Tiberius, alongside his brother Nero. Born into the prominent Julio-Claudian dynasty, Drusus was the son of Tiberius' general and heir, Germanicus.
Nero Julius Caesar was the adopted grandson and heir of the Roman emperor Tiberius, alongside his brother Drusus. Born into the prominent Julio-Claudian dynasty, Nero was the son of Tiberius' general and heir, Germanicus. After the deaths of his father and of Tiberius' son, Drusus the Younger, Nero and his brother Drusus were adopted together by Tiberius in September AD 23. As a result of being heirs of the emperor, he and his brother enjoyed accelerated political careers.
Julia Livilla was the youngest child of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder and the youngest sister of the Emperor Caligula.
Aemilia Lepida was a noble Roman woman and matron. She was the first great-grandchild of the Emperor Augustus.
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (6–39) was a Roman Patrician and the husband of the emperor Caligula's younger sister Julia Drusilla.
Marcus Junius C. f. M. n. Silanus was an Ancient Roman senator who became suffect consul in AD 15. His daughter Junia Claudilla was the first wife of Emperor Caligula.
Ennia Thrasylla was a Roman noblewoman who lived in the 1st century AD in the Roman Empire.
Junia Silana was a Roman patrician. She was the sister of Junia Claudilla, the first wife of Caligula, before he became emperor. Silana was a prominent figure in the power struggles that transpired in the reign of three different emperors. She was also noted for her close relationship with Julia Agrippina.
