Britannicus
Sign in to saveTiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus (12 February AD 41 – 11 February AD 55), usually called Britannicus, was the son of Roman Emperor Claudius and his third wife, Valeria Messalina. For a time, he was considered his father's heir, but that changed after his mother's downfall in 48, when it was revealed she had engaged in a bigamous marriage without Claudius' knowledge. The next year, his father married Agrippina the Younger, Claudius' fourth and final marriage. Their marriage was followed by the adoption of Agrippina's son, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, whose name became Nero as a result. His
Person · Open Library
- Born
- 0041-02-12
- Died
- 0055-00-00
- Works
- 19
Top works
- The nature of the Charitable Corporation
- The present state of the tobacco-trade
- Reduction of taxation
- A peep into Hanover; or, a faint description of the atrocities committed by the French in that city
- A review of a late treatise entituled An account of the conduct of the Dowager D---- of M----, &c
via Open Library + Wikidata
Key facts
- Royalty.name
- Britannicus
- Royalty.image
- Messalina from Rome Louvre Ma1224 n2.jpg
- Royalty.caption
- Detail of Britannicus from a statue with him and his mother
- Royalty.birth_date
- 12 February AD 41
- Royalty.birth_place
- Rome, Italia
- Royalty.death_date
- 11 February AD 55 (aged 13)
- Royalty.death_place
- Rome, Italia
- Royalty.burial_place
- Mausoleum of Augustus
- Royalty.father
- Claudius
- Royalty.mother
- Valeria Messalina
- Royalty.house
- Julio-Claudian Dynasty
- Royalty.full name
- Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus;initially Tiberius Claudius Germanicus
via Wikipedia infobox
Key dates
- Born
- 12 February 41
- Died
- 55
via Wikidata · CC0
Article
17 sectionsContents
- Name
- Background and family
- Father's marriage to Messalina
- Education
- Fall of Messalina
- Father's marriage to Agrippina
- Rise of Nero
- Death of Claudius
- Downfall and death
- Post mortem
- Cultural depictions
- Notes
- References
- Bibliography
- Primary sources
- Secondary sources
- External links
Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus (12 February AD 41 – 11 February AD 55), usually called Britannicus, was the son of Roman Emperor Claudius and his third wife, Valeria Messalina. For a time, he was considered his father's heir, but that changed after his mother's downfall in 48, when it was revealed she had engaged in a bigamous marriage without Claudius' knowledge. The next year, his father married Agrippina the Younger, Claudius' fourth and final marriage. Their marriage was followed by the adoption of Agrippina's son, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, whose name became Nero as a result. His stepbrother would later be married to Britannicus' sister Octavia and soon eclipsed him as Claudius' heir. After his father's death in October 54, Nero became emperor. The sudden death of Britannicus shortly before his fourteenth birthday is reported by all extant sources as being the result of poisoning on Nero's orders; as Claudius' biological son, he represented a threat to Nero's claim to the throne. In Suetonius' The Twelve Caesars, he claims that Nero poisoned Britannicus out of envy of his voice, due to Nero's own obsession with performance and being the best entertainer of all time (as suggested by him wanting the games he hosted to be described as "the greatest ever undertaken").
==Name== Britannicus' name at birth was Tiberius Claudius Germanicus. The agnomen, his first surname Germanicus, was first awarded to his paternal grandfather, Drusus the Elder, after his death in 9 BC to commemorate his victories over the Germanic tribes. Accordingly, Drusus' sons (Claudius and Germanicus) inherited the name and passed it to their sons as well. Britannicus was given to his father in AD 43 after his conquest of Britain. Claudius never used it himself and gave the name to his son instead, and his full name became Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus. He came to be known by his new name, which seems to have replaced Germanicus altogether.