Marcus Claudius Marcellus (42 BC-23 BC) was the son of consul Gaius Claudius Marcellus Minor and Octavia the Younger, the nephew of Augustus, and the husband of Julia the Elder.
Biography[]
Marcus Claudius Marcellus was the eldest son of consul Gaius Claudius Marcellus Minor and Octavia the Younger, the sister of Octavian (later Emperor Augustus). He was originally betrothed to the daughter of Sextus Pompey before war broke out between Octavian and Pompey in 36 BC, and he was educated alongside his cousin Tiberius. He followed his uncle Octavian (now known as Augustus) on his campaigns in Hispania against the Cantabri and other Iberian tribes, and he and Tiberius were made military tribunes with special aedile powers in 25 BC. He was then married to his cousin Julia the Elder, Augustus' only daughter, and, after Augustus fell dangerously ill in 23 BC, Marcellus was his likely heir due to his close relationship with his uncle, but his uncle's general Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa was also a serious candidate. Agrippa left Rome after being insulted by Marcellus at a banquet honoring the victory at the Battle of Actium, but Augustus' wife Livia wanted her son Tiberius to become Augustus' heir, so she secretly poisoned Marcellus, who died soon after at 19.
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