Who were the julio claudian emperors related to?

Answer 1

The emperors of the Julio- Claudian family belonged to the gens Claudia (Julius family, or Julii) and the gens Claudia (Claudius family or Claudii). These two aristocratic families were tightly intertwined through marriages between the sons of Livia Drusilla, the wife of Augustus, and Augustus' sister, daughter and granddaughter.

The first emperor, Augustus, belonged to the Julii because he was adopted by Julius Caesar. His wife was Livia Drusilla, was a Claudii. She was the daughter of Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus, a Claudii. Her first marriage was with her cousin Nero Claudius Drusus, also a Claudii.

The second emperor, Tiberius, was a Claudii. He was the son of Livia Drusilla and Tiberius Claudius Nero. He married Julia the Elder, Augustus' only natural child (from a previous marriage) and was later adopted by Augustus and became a member of the Julii as well.

The third emperor, Caligula, was both a Julii and a Claudii. His mother was Vipsania Agrippina (or Agrippina the Elder) the second granddaughter of Augustus and his father was Germanicus, the second son of Livia Drusilla and son Nero Claudius Drusus.

The fourth emperor, Claudius was a Claudii. He was the youngest son of Livia Drusilla and Nero Claudius Drusus. He also had a connection with the Julii. His maternal grandmother was Octavia the Younger, daughter of the niece of Julius Caesar and biological sister of Augustus and his mother was Antonia the Younger, the niece of Augustus.

The fifth emperor, Nero, was the son of Agrippina the Younger, the daughter of Agrippina the Elder, the daughter of Julia the Elder, the only natural child of Augustus (from his marriage with Scribonia) and sister of Caligula. His father, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, was the only son of Antonia the Elder, the other niece of Augustus

A look at the female side of the families illustrates the tight interrelation between the two families:

Julius the Elder:the only biological child of Augustus, stepsister of Tiberius when his mother Livia married Augustus, wife of Tiberius when he was forced to marry her, mother of Julia the Younger and Agrippina the Elder, grandmother of Agrippina the Younger, and Caligula, great grandmother of Nero.

Octavia Minor.: a niece of Augustus, sister-in-law of Tiberius, paternal grandmother of Caligula and Agrippina the Younger, mother of Claudius, and both maternal great-grandmother and paternal great-aunt of the Nero.

Agrippina the Elder: second granddaughter of Augustus, step niece of Tiberius when Livia married Augustus and step daughter of Tiberius when he was forced to marry his mother Julia the Elder, mother of Caligula, maternal second cousin Claudius and sister-in-law of Claudius, mother of Caligula and the maternal grandmother of Nero.

Agrippina the Younger:a great-granddaughter of Augustus, great-niece and adoptive granddaughter of Tiberius, sister of Caligula, niece and fourth wife of Claudius, and mother of Nero.