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Agrippa Postumus

Agrippa Postumus (12 BC-14 AD) was the youngest son of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder. He was named as heir to the Roman Empire by his uncle Augustus on his deathbed, but, immediately following Augustus' death in 14 AD, Augustus' wife Livia had Postumus murdered by Sejanus so that her own son Tiberius would become the next emperor.

Biography[]

Agrippa Postumus Augustus

Postumus speaking with Augustus

Agrippa Postumus was born in 12 BC, the posthumous son of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder. Growing up, Postumus was the best friend of the future emperor Claudius. The deaths of his uncle Augustus' sons Lucius Caesar and Gaius Caesar in 2 and 4 AD, respectively, led to Augustus adopting Postumus and his cousin Tiberius as his sons, with Tiberius being the designated heir and Postumus receiving Augustus' bloodline. Postumus was known to be brutish, insolent, stubborn, and potentially violent, possessing great physical strength and obsessing over fishing.

Downfall and death[]

Agrippa Postumus arrest

Postumus' arrest

Postumus also had an affair with Claudius' sister Livilla, and, in 6 AD, Empress Livia convinced Livilla to help her frame Postumus for rape to ensure that the next emperor would be a strong one, and not brutish like Postumus. Livilla trysted with Postumus before biting his hand and calling to the guards that she was being raped, and Postumus was arrested. Upon hearing of the incident, Augustus banished Postumus to a villa near Pompeii. He lost the Julian name and returned to the gens Vipsania, and his vices increased daily. In 7 AD, he was banished to a rocky island between Italia and Corsica, and an armed guard was installed there and the Roman Senate was ordered to never allow his release.

Agrippa Postumus death

Postumus' death

On a trip to Corsica, Augustus visited Postumus, and, aware of Postumus' innocence after a conversation with Claudius (in whom Postumus confided about Livia's schemes), he promised to pardon him. In 14 AD, Augustus changed his will to favor Postumus for the succession, but Livia poisoned Augustus' figs, causing him to die. Immediately after Augustus' death, Postumus was killed by the Praetorian Guard on the orders of Sejanus, who had been sent by Livia to ensure that her son Tiberius inherited the throne. Sejanus himself stabbed Postumus in the chest as two guards restrained him, and Sejanus had Postumus weighted with stones and buried at sea.

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