
Gaius Caesar (20 BC-21 February 4 AD) was Consul of the Roman Empire in 1 AD. He and his brother Lucius Caesar were the sons of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder, and were also the grandsons of Augustus. He was favored by the Roman Senate due to his reputation as a good statesman, serving as governor of Roman Syria at the age of 19. However, Gaius and his brother died young, within 18 months of each other, so Augustus was forced to name his stepson Tiberius as heir in 4 AD.
Biography[]
Gaius Caesar was born in Rome, Latium, Roman Republic in 20 BC, the son of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder, Octavian's only daughter. He and his younger brother Lucius Caesar were symbolically adopted by Emperor Augustus, who initiated them into administrative life while they were still young, and sent them to the provinces as consuls-elect. In 8 BC, he accompanied Tiberius on a military campaign in Germania to learn about military affairs. In 5 BC, upon reaching maturity, he was made a member of the Roman Senate and commander of a cavalry division, and he married Livilla, the daughter of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia Minor. In 1 BC, he was sent to Antioch, Syria to organize an army for an invasion of Armenia, and, in 1 AD, he was made a consul in absentia. The Parthians decided to abandon Armenia rather than face war with the Roman Empire, and Gaius proceeded to lead an expedition to Arabia to support Nabatea. In 2 AD, he invaded Armenia and crushed pro-Parthian revolts, but he was wounded in an ambush during the siege of the fortress of Artagira. By 3 AD, he was immobilized by his wound, resigned his command, and returned to Syria, and he died in Lycia before he could return to Rome.