1-Acest articol este copiat !
2-Istoria ramane pasiunea mea nr-1!
I found her made from clay. I left her clad in marble.”
When Augustus fell ill in 23 BC, the problem of succession was brought to the fore. Having gathered command of the functions of the Roman state into himself, his likely death looked set to plunge the fledgling empire back into civil war. He needed to choose someone who had earnt the position though, and ensure the process was undramatic so as not to arise Senatorial fears of monarchy. Having not had a son of his own, Augustus seemed to have a preference for his sister’s son Marcellus, who was quickly married to his own daughter Julia. However, when his will was read aloud in the Senate that year, he identified his trusted adjutant Agrippa – victor of Actium, long friend and loyal servant – for the role. Despite fears for his health at such a critical time, Augustus went on to make a full recovery.
When Marcellus died that year, Augustus married Julia to Agrippa, further signalling his intent. The couple had three sons and two daughters, the last son born after his father’s death. Augustus adopted their eldest two children, the boys Gaius and Lucius, as his own sons, paving the way for them to inherit his great power base. He took the Consulship in 5 and 2 BC to prepare them for public life, nominating them for the Consulships of 1 and 4 AD. Hedging his bets, he also showed favour to his step sons, Livia’s sons Tiberius and Drusus, seeming to favour the latter. When Agrippa died in 12 BC, Tiberius was ordered to divorce his wife in order to marry Julia. While Drusus’ marriage to Augustus’ niece Antonia was deemed unbreakable, Tiberius’ wife Vipsania was deemed only the daughter of Agrippa’s first marriage.
As with much of history, it was a trying time to be a woman, often used as pawns for the political gains of men. Julia was now entering her third marriage, twice widowed, with no say in any of them – and likely little concern for her welfare from her father. While they lived lives of luxury with slaves to cater for their every whim in palaces, Patrician women of Rome were expected to serve the interests of their family at the expense of their own. While some Celtic tribes acted as matriarchies (in Britannia, Cartimandua became a powerful queen of the Brigantes, while Boudica would inspire the Iceni to revolt), Roman women were expected to be submissive and subservient. I do wonder how political marriage came further down the social ladder – while undoubtedly there were Plebs looking to boost their power, and Equestrians looking to climb the ladder, and thus people of all social positions would be looking to use their women to enhance their social standing, did those at the bottom of the pile actually have more of an opportunity to marry for love? Perhaps that was a small recompense for the suffering of the crushing poverty that those at the bottom of the social ladder were burdened with.
Tiberius’ younger brother Drusus died in 9 BC, falling from his horse having led the legions to conquer Germania betwixt the Rhine and the Elbe, further limiting Augustus’ options for succession. After sharing in Augustus’ tribune powers in 6 BC, Tiberius then decided he wanted no further part of public life, and retired to Rhodes, aged 36 – much to the chagrin of Augustus. His failing marriage to Julia and envy over Augustus’ preference for his grandchildren appeared to be chief among his reasons. Augustus’ options were further reduced by the deaths of Lucius in 2 AD, and Gaius in 4 AD, leading to him to recall Tiberius.
Tiberius was duly adopted, but on condition that he subsequently adopt Germanicus – the son of Drusus – to be his successor, establishing a tradition of choosing two generations of heirs. Tiberius was granted Proconsular powers, and shared imperium with Augustus in 13 AD. Julia’s third son, Postumus, was exiled in 7 AD and had this ratified by the Senate, before he was disavowed by Augustus. Contemporary sources describe him as “a vulgar young man, brutal and brutish, and of depraved character”.
In his later life, Augustus had amassed a vast fortune – believed to be worth around £3.5 trillion (around 25 times as much as world’s richest man, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has today). His popularity came from the fact he spent huge amounts investing in both the city and the empire. While the state spent vast swathes of its considerable income on its legions – in expeditionary forces, invasions, occupations, etc – rich individuals somewhat mitigated for that by spending their own money of infrastructure. Providing meals and gladiatorial games for the poor had long been commonplace to win the support of the fickle mob, and spending on infrastructure had become common in the late republic, with Pompey financing a huge new theatre, and Caesar gifting many of his properties to the populace in his will, and later Agrippa would build the Pantheon. Aqueducts, roads, temples, baths, granaries, fortifications and more were all among the considerable improvements Augustus made, both to Rome and cities elsewhere in the empire.
In 9 AD, the great Augustus died, aged 75. His last words for the public, referring to the city of Rome, were: “I found her made from clay. I left her clad in marble.” Privately, his last words to his mourning family were: “Have I not played the part well? Then you should applaud, as I exit the stage.” Spending his final days with his family in Nola, the former capital of the great Samnite nation, Augustus died in the same city as his father. His cause of death was a poisoned fig from Livia, though it is unclear over whether she was murdering him to ensure Tiberius came to power, or whether, having prepared the way for his succession, she merely assisted in his suicide.
A huge funeral procession took his body from Nola to Rome, and all private and public business closed for his burial. Tiberius and his son, Drusus, delivered the eulogy before Augustus’ coffined body was burnt, then sealed in a mausoleum. It was decreed that he had joined the Roman Pantheon, and become a god. Rather than criticise the step father who had seemingly shunned him, Tiberius instead praised him posthumously and lambasted those who now spoke out against him. Now a middle aged man of 55, Tiberius finally had his chance to rule alone outside of the shadow of Augustus – but the spectre of being such a reluctant choice as successor would continue to haunt him, and have a huge impact on his reign.
Niciun comentariu:
Trimiteți un comentariu