Gaius Octavius Posted December 9, 2007 Report Share Posted December 9, 2007 I would like to know what the 'reasons' (not the legends) for the following emperors to have chosen their successors: Augustus > Tiberius. Tiberius > Caligula. Claudius > Nero Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ingsoc Posted December 9, 2007 Report Share Posted December 9, 2007 Augustus > Tiberius. Simply there seem to be no one else! all of Augustus previous heir: Marcellus, Agrippa, his gransons Gaius and Lucius have died before him. So Tiberius was the only worthy canidate for the job. Claudius > Nero After several plots on his life Claudius needed to streghen his regime, this was done by the marriage to Agrippina and the adopting of her son Nero - the main advantage of this arrangment that Agrippina and her son were descended of Augustus (unlike Claudius) and that Nero provide a mature heir to the throne (unlike Britannicus). However it's seem that in his last days Claudius contemplted overthrowing Nero and making Britannicus his heir. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adelais Valerius Posted March 23, 2008 Report Share Posted March 23, 2008 (edited) Tiberius>Caligula(quick explanation) Germanicus, Tiberius's adopted son was the heir, based on his military acheivements, but died a year after the announcment before anything came to pass. The heir following was Drusus, Tiberius's natural son and a split in the germanicus family, the side associated with Augustus caused a ripple effect during the rest of Tiberius's rein, and lead to Sejanus,a praetorian prefect, to gain political power. Sejanus was the son of Tiberius's first Praetrian prefect Strabo, and early on he gained prestige through the Praetorian guard. He also, early on, developed a rivalry between himself and Tiberius natural son Drusus. Though nothing is certain, more than likely Sejanus had Drusus killed after he had gained even more command of the Praetrian guard.With that, tiberius withdrew from Rome, and with tiberius out of the way, Sejanus took control of Rome.After Sejanus politically massacred Rome, Tiberius gathered wind from Rome, and began to act. in 31, Sejanus was arrested and executed for Treason. Caligula was then chosen as heir sometime before Tiberius's death in 37 Caligula succeeded his stepgrandfather after his death in 37, and was supposed to join rule with Tiberius's grandson, Gemellus, as per Tiberius. This joint reign of Gemellus and Caligula was nullified by Caligula based on the grounds that Gemellus insane, though not proven. Other than the nullification, Caligula carried out Tiberius's wishes. Edited March 23, 2008 by mikeal1917 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ingsoc Posted March 23, 2008 Report Share Posted March 23, 2008 Actually we don't know on what grounds Caligula disinheritated his cousin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adelais Valerius Posted March 23, 2008 Report Share Posted March 23, 2008 Caligula succeeded his stepgrandfather after his death in 37, and was supposed to join rule with Tiberius's grandson, Gemellus, as per Tiberius. This joint reign of Gemellus and Caligula was nullified by Caligula based on the grounds that Gemellus insane, though not proven. Other than the nullification, Caligula carried out Tiberius's wishes. thats why i put though not proven... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ingsoc Posted March 23, 2008 Report Share Posted March 23, 2008 What is your source that "This joint reign of Gemellus and Caligula was nullified by Caligula based on the grounds that Gemellus insane"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adelais Valerius Posted March 23, 2008 Report Share Posted March 23, 2008 (edited) What is your source that "This joint reign of Gemellus and Caligula was nullified by Caligula based on the grounds that Gemellus insane"? i was using a combination of the encyclopedia britannica and this website. I guess i can't prove the validity of this website, but alot of the information for the encylopedia and the website coincided...I didn't actually know, i was trying to research it and make a debate about it Edited March 23, 2008 by mikeal1917 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ingsoc Posted March 23, 2008 Report Share Posted March 23, 2008 From a legal point of view the procedure in which Caligula came to power is unclear, Tiberius could name him and Gemellus as the joint heirs to his personal property however the position of princeps wasn't among them. In the past heirs to the throne were marked by the grant of Tribunic power, this was granted to Agrippa and Tiberius in Augustus time and to Germanicus and Drusus Minor in Tiberius reign. It's clear that neither Caligula nor Gemellus receive the tribunica power and the sources are unclear on what legal grounds Caligula came to power and demoted his cousin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adelais Valerius Posted March 24, 2008 Report Share Posted March 24, 2008 that could stem from the theory that Caligula had something to do with Tiberius's death, even though he was 77. Gaius Octavius asked for no legends though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primus Pilus Posted March 24, 2008 Report Share Posted March 24, 2008 What is your source that "This joint reign of Gemellus and Caligula was nullified by Caligula based on the grounds that Gemellus insane"? i was using a combination of the encyclopedia britannica and this website. I guess i can't prove the validity of this website, but alot of the information for the encylopedia and the website coincided...I didn't actually know, i was trying to research it and make a debate about it While I accept and report ancient conjecture that Caligula was likely involved in the death of Gemellus, just to be clear, my own narrative makes no mention of the Gemellus insanity issue. In any case, the source material is Cassius Dio book 59.1 These are the stories, then, that have been handed down about Tiberius. His successor was Gaius, the son of Germanicus and Agrippina, who was also known, as I have stated, by the names of Germanicus and Caligula. Tiberius, to be sure, had left the empire to his grandson Tiberius as well; 2 but Gaius sent his will to the senate by Macro and caused it to be declared null and void by the consuls and the others with whom he had arranged matters beforehand, on the ground that the testator had not p263been of sound mind, as shown by the fact that he had permitted a mere boy to rule over them, who did not yet possess the right even to enter the senate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dianamt54 Posted April 8, 2008 Report Share Posted April 8, 2008 I would like to know what the 'reasons' (not the legends) for the following emperors to have chosen their successors: Augustus > Tiberius. Tiberius > Caligula. Claudius > Nero Tiberius was also the son of Luvia Drusilla and third wife of Augustus. After Augustus's grandchildren died, he adopted Tiberius and his name was Tiberius Caesar Augustus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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