Drusus Julius Caesar (7 October – 14 September AD 23), also called Drusus the Younger, was the son of Emperor Tiberius, and heir to the Roman Empire following the death of his adopted brother Germanicus in AD 19.
Drusus was born at Rome to a prominent branch of the gens Claudia, the son of Tiberius and his first wife, Vipsania Agrippina. His name at birth was Nero Claudius Drusus after his paternal uncle Nero Claudius Drusus (Drusus the Elder). In AD 4, he assumed the name Julius Caesar following his father's adoption into the Julii by Augustus, and became Drusus Julius Caesar.
Drusus first entered politics with the office of quaestor in AD 10. His political career mirrored that of Germanicus, and he assumed all his offices at the same age as him. Following the model of Augustus, it was intended that the two would rule together. They were both popular, and many dedications have been found in their honor across Roman Italy. Cassius Dio calls him "Castor" in his Roman History, likening Drusus and Germanicus to the twins Castor and Pollux of Roman mythology.Cassius Dio, Roman History, LVII.14
Drusus died suddenly on 14 September 23 AD, at about 35 years old. Ancient historians including Tacitus and Suetonius claim that he was murdered amid a feud with the powerful Sejanus, the praetorian prefect of Rome. In their account, Sejanus had seduced Drusus's wife Livilla, and (with the help of a doctor) she poisoned Drusus. Despite the rumors, Tiberius did not suspect Sejanus, and the two remained friends until Sejanus's fall from grace in AD 31.
Early life and family
He was born around 14 BC in Rome with the name Nero Claudius Drusus. He is often referred to by historians as "Drusus II", "Drusus the Younger" or "Drusus Minor" to distinguish him from his paternal uncle, Nero Claudius Drusus, the younger brother of Tiberius after whom Drusus was named. Drusus was the maternal grandson of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, a close friend of Augustus, and his first wife Caecilia Attica.
As a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was a close relative of all five Julio-Claudian emperors. His father was emperor, and his adoptive grandfather was the founder of the Roman Empire, Augustus. On his mother's side, he was the cousin of Caligula, a paternal cousin of Claudius, and a first cousin once removed of Nero – all future emperors of Rome.
Before Tiberius, the heirs of Augustus were the sons of Julia the Elder and Marcus Agrippa, Gaius and Lucius Caesar, whom he adopted and made heir. They advanced through their careers at the same pace and were going to rule together; however, they died young, forcing Augustus to draw another line of succession. In AD 4, Augustus adopted Tiberius on condition that Tiberius adopt Germanicus.Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Tiberius 15 This made Tiberius the heir of Augustus, and Germanicus the heir of Tiberius. Like the sons of Agrippa, it was the intention of Augustus that Germanicus and Drusus would rule together.While this did place Germanicus ahead of Drusus in the line of succession, the adoption served to make Germanicus equal in rank to Drusus, and the two were meant to progress through their careers on a similar path until it was time for them to rule .Cassius Dio, Roman History, LV.13
Later that year, Drusus was married to his paternal cousin, Livilla, to bring him closer to the Julians. Tacitus says she was unattractive as a child, but grew up to be beautiful.Tacitus, Annals, IV.3 Their daughter Julia Livia was born not long after the marriage, and they had twin sons: Tiberius Gemellus and Germanicus Gemellus in 19, the latter of whom died while still an infant in 23. The birth of his sons was commemorated on coins.
Just as Agrippa's sons were, Drusus was about the same age as Germanicus, and both of them also followed parallel careers. Drusus and Germanicus held all their offices at the same age, and progressed through the cursus honorum at the same pace. Both held the office of quaestor at the same age, both were exempted from holding the praetorship, they held their first and second consulships at the same age, and both were given proconsular imperium maius when they were sent to govern Germania and Illyricum respectively.
Career
Drusus' first office was that of quaestor in AD 10. Being politically inclined, he was made a permanent member of the committee Augustus had founded in AD 13 to draw up the Senate's daily business.
In August of AD 14 his adoptive grandfather Augustus died. In his honor, Drusus read a eulogy before the rostra at his funeral. The next month, on 17 September, the senate met to confirm his father as princeps. Among his first acts as emperor, Tiberius instituted the Sodales Augustales, a priesthood of the cult of Augustus which members of the imperial family, such as Drusus, joined.Tacitus, Annals, I.54 This was not his first religious post though, as he had been a pontifex since AD 7/8 - an important step to the prestigious pontifex maximus. Since 14 May AD 14, he was a member of the Fratres Arvales as well.
Drusus had little time to mourn the death of Augustus or celebrate the ascendance of his father Tiberius: the legions in the Rhine and Illyricum were in mutiny. They had not received the bonuses promised to them by Augustus, and when it became clear a response from Tiberius was not forthcoming, they revolted.Tacitus, Annals, I.16 - 17 On 17 or 18 September, Drusus was sent to deal with the troops in Illyricum, and a delegation was sent to confer proconsular imperium maius upon Germanicus, who dealt with the situation on the Rhine.Cassius Dio, Roman History, LVII.6 Drusus did not require proconsular powers because he was consul designate.
Revolt in Pannonia The three legions in Pannonia (VIII Augusta, XIX Hispana, and XV Apollinaris) were under the command of Junius Blaesus, who allowed his men a rest from military duties to mourn the death of Augustus.Tacitus, Annals, I.16 There was a breakdown in discipline, and the soldiers stopped obeying orders as a result. They soon became restless and lashed out against their officers, including Blaesus and a prefect named Aufidienus Rufus.Tacitus, Annals, I.20 Having been dispatched with two Praetorian cohorts, Drusus and Praetorian prefect Sejanus reached the Pannonian legions at Emona on 26 September.
The soldiers met with him upon his arrival and let Drusus into their entrenchments. The soldiers were rowdy, but as Tacitus says:
Their demands were: a discharge from military service after only sixteen years (down from twenty), a reward for service, an increase of pay to one denarius a day, and that the veterans not be detained under a standard. However, negotiations broke down and the soldiers began stoning members of Drusus' party.Tacitus, Annals, I.26 Next morning, a lunar eclipse before dawn convinced the soldiery that their mutiny was doomed, and order was restored by daybreak as a result. Drusus was allowed into the camp by Blaesus before an assembly of the troops in which Drusus commended the controlled behavior of the soldiery and promised to write a letter to his father addressing their demands. If Drusus' letter was dispatched on 28 September, it should have reached Rome by 3 or 4 October.
Having gained control of the soldiers, his next move, according to Tacitus, was executing the leaders of the mutiny. He sent out a search party into the surrounding forest to kill those leaders not present for the assembly. Having settled these matters, Drusus returned to Rome.Tacitus, Annals, I.28 - 30
First consulship and command of Illyricum
In AD 15 he held the consulship alongside Gaius Norbanus Flaccus. It was this year that he hosted the gladiatorial games in his and Germanicus' name, which he enjoyed in such excess that it disturbed the other spectators. He reportedly carried out his duties as consul well, although he was prone to violence and earned the nickname "Castor" from fighting an equestrian. There was also an incident at a theater between the Praetorians and claqueurs ("actors") in which Drusus reportedly sided with the actors, preventing the Praetorian Guard from punishing unruly actors. In Annals 1.77, Tacitus says the unruly behavior of actors and the crowds were later addressed by the Senate which passed measures allowing the praetors to punish riotous spectators. Such were his excesses that Tiberius decided to make him governor of Illyricum the following year, both to give him experience in war and bolster his popularity with the troops - perhaps also to keep him away from the indulgences of city life.Tacitus, Annals, I.76
For those reasons, Drusus was sent to Illyricum with proconsular imperium maius, and would be governor there from AD 17 to 20. Since Germanicus had left the Rhine in AD 16, the German tribes that formerly fought alongside each other against the Romans had turned on each other. The two major forces in the region, the Marcomanni under king Maroboduus and the Cherusci under Arminius clashed and, after an indecisive battle, Maroboduus withdrew to the heart of his kingdom in the forests of Bohemia. Before that, two tribes (the Semnones and Langobardi) had defected to Arminius.
Realizing his situation, Maroboduus requested Roman aid. It had been two years since the Marcommani refused to help the Romans against the forces of Arminius, and so Tiberius refused to send aid. Instead, Tiberius sent Drusus to further Roman interests at Maroboduus' expense as he knew the Marcomanni were vulnerable. During the summer of 18, Drusus received intelligence from a former captive of Maroboduus, Catualda, that Maroboduus was weak and that it was a good time to attack. Hence, Drusus led a powerful force into the heart of the Marcomanni, and stormed their royal stronghold. Maroboduus fled, but was forced to seek asylum in Rome, which Tiberius granted. Later, Catualda lost a battle against the Hermunduri, and he too was granted asylum. The Senate decreed that Drusus be given an ovation for his success, which he received on his return to Rome on 28 May 20.
Heir to the Principate
While Drusus was in Illyricum, his adopted brother Germanicus had died in Syria of illness or poison on 10 October AD 19. The death of Germanicus made Drusus the new heir, for which Germanicus' wife Agrippina suspected murder. She believed Tiberius had her husband murdered to allow Drusus to become his heir. Historian Barbara Levick says this is unlikely given the advancement of her son Nero's career the following year.In AD 20, Nero was brought into the Forum by Tiberius and Drusus to receive the toga virilis. He was also promised the quaestorship five years in advance, and was wed to Drusus' daughter Julia later that year .
On the same day as Germanicus' death, Drusus' wife Livilla had given birth to twin sons, Tiberius Gemellus and Germanicus, whom he named after his adopted brother.Tacitus, Annals, II.84 Their birth was celebrated by his father who claimed that never before in the history of Rome had twins been born to a man as high in rank as Drusus, and the event was commemorated on the reverse of coins. Tiberius had hoped that Drusus would keep the imperial family together and entrusted him with the guardianship of Germanicus' sons, Nero and Drusus.
Drusus returned to Rome in December, and was present in 20 March when Agrippina arrived with Germanicus' ashes. He was also present for the trial of Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, who was posthumously found guilty for the crime of maiestas (treason). On 16 December, his father gave a eulogy for Germanicus during a Senate meeting, and he gave a eulogy the next meeting. It was decided that their eulogies would both be inscribed in bronze: that of Tiberius for future generations, but the libellus (eulogy) of Drusus to demonstrate his devotion for his adopted brother in a show of pietas (piety).