Caligula, Tiberius, and Tiberius Gemellus in 33 AD
The Julio-Claudian dynasty was the first dynasty to rule the Roman Empire, consisting of Roman emperors Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero, who ruled from 27 BC to 68 AD. Primogeniture succession was absent from the dynasty, with succession taking place through adoption; Tiberius' son Drusus Julius Caesar died before him, and Claudius' son Britannicus was passed over in favor of Nero. Nero's suicide in 68 brought an end to the cursed dynasty, whose history was written by irritated historians that were hostile to the frivolous tyrants. Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius were murdered, while Nero was pressured to kill himself; Augustus was the only ruler to die peacefully of the five Julio-Claudian rulers.