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67-421: Starting with the early Middle Ages, the original name was forgotten: after the ruin of Nero's Bridge , pilgrims were forced to use this bridge to reach St Peter's Basilica , hence it was known also with the name of "bridge of Saint Peter" ( pons Sancti Petri ). In the sixth century, under Pope Gregory I , both the castle and the bridge took on the name Sant'Angelo , explained by a legend that an angel appeared on

134-409: A bad omen. It was, however, only a sloughed-off snake-skin. By Agrippina's order, the serpent's skin was enclosed in a bracelet that the young Lucius wore on his right arm. In AD 47, Crispus died. At his funeral, a rumour spread that Agrippina had poisoned Crispus to gain his estate. After being widowed a second time, Agrippina was left very wealthy. Later that year, Messalina and Britannicus attended

201-685: A century of its completion the Emperor Hadrian built the Pons Aelius less than two hundred metres upstream. Nero's bridge was also called Pons Vaticanus (meaning "Vatican Bridge" in Latin ), because it connected the Ager Vaticanus to the left bank. The bridge may well have been in ruins in the fourth century. Certainly, by the Middle Ages the bridge was called Pons ruptus ("Broken Bridge"), because it

268-461: A hearing and her property was confiscated. She left Italy, but Agrippina was unsatisfied. Allegedly on Agrippina's orders, Paulina committed suicide. In the months leading up to her marriage to Claudius, Agrippina's maternal second cousin, the praetor Lucius Junius Silanus Torquatus , was betrothed to Claudius' daughter Claudia Octavia . This betrothal was broken off in AD 48, when Agrippina, scheming with

335-508: A slap in the face before a whole bevy of married women. Claudius had Lucius' inheritance reinstated. Lucius became more wealthy despite his youth shortly after Gaius Sallustius Crispus Passienus divorced Lucius' aunt, Domitia Lepida the Elder (Lucius' first paternal aunt) so that Crispus could marry Agrippina. They married, and Crispus became a step-father to Lucius. Crispus was an influential, wealthy and powerful man who served twice as consul. He

402-652: A slightly different angle; little of the ancient structure survives today. When the Tiber is at low water level it is possible to see the foundation of one of the four piers that once supported the Pons Neronianus. However, in the nineteenth century all the piers were still visible above water. These were removed to allow boats to pass safely up the Tiber. Agrippina the Younger Julia Agrippina (6 November AD 15 – 23 March AD 59), also referred to as Agrippina

469-409: A son. Agrippina and Domitius named their son Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, after Domitius' recently deceased father. This child would grow up to become the emperor Nero. Nero was Agrippina's only natural child. Suetonius states that Domitius was congratulated by friends on the birth of his son, whereupon he replied "I don't think anything produced by me and Agrippina could possibly be good for the state or

536-611: The Amazon Synod , off of the bridge into the Tiber . [REDACTED] Media related to Ponte Sant'Angelo (Rome) at Wikimedia Commons Pons Neronianus The Pons Neronianus or Bridge of Nero was an ancient bridge in Rome built during the reign of the emperors Caligula or Nero to connect the western part of the Campus Martius with the Ager Vaticanus ("Vatican Fields"), where

603-614: The Goths in 537. The evidence that the Pons Neronianus was out of use by the fourth century was first cited by Henri Jordan . It is based on a brief passage in Prudentius : Prudentius was still alive when Honorius and Arcadius built the triumphal arch referred to in the text quoted about a dual ceremony at St. Peter's Basilica and the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls which states that

670-572: The Imperial Family owned land along the Via Cornelia . There is no direct evidence that Nero actually built the bridge named after him. It may well have been named the 'Bridge of Nero' because the area on the right bank of the Tiber beyond the bridgehead was still named the "Plain(s) of Nero" well into the Medieval period, so that the inhabitants of Rome at that time, not knowing the origins of

737-952: The Praetorian Guard pledge their loyalty to her. She was also said to have tried to participate in her son's meeting with Armenian ambassadors until Seneca and Burrus stopped her. In year one of Nero's reign, Agrippina began losing influence over Nero when he began to have an affair with the freed woman Claudia Acte , which Agrippina strongly disapproved of and violently scolded him for. Agrippina began to support Britannicus in her possible attempt to make him emperor, or to threaten Nero. The panicking emperor decided on whether to eliminate his mother or his step-brother. Soon, Nero had Britannicus secretly poisoned during his own banquet in February AD 55. The power struggle between Agrippina and her son had begun. Between AD 56 and 58, Agrippina became very watchful and critical of her son. In AD 56, Agrippina

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804-498: The Elder , had a double canine in her upper right jaw, which was regarded as a sign of good fortune in Ancient Rome . Agrippina was the first daughter and fourth living child of Agrippina the Elder and Germanicus . She had three elder brothers, Nero Caesar , Drusus Caesar , and the future emperor Caligula, and two younger sisters, Julia Drusilla and Julia Livilla . Agrippina's two eldest brothers and her mother were victims of

871-747: The Elder returned to Rome with his ashes. Agrippina the Younger was thereafter supervised by her mother, her paternal grandmother Antonia Minor, and her great-grandmother, Livia, all of them notable, influential, and powerful figures from whom she learnt how to survive. She lived on the Palatine Hill in Rome. Her great-uncle Tiberius had already become emperor and the head of the family after the death of Augustus in AD 14. After her thirteenth birthday in AD 28, Tiberius arranged for Agrippina to marry her paternal first cousin once removed Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and ordered

938-608: The Empire and her face appeared on coins. In the Senate, her followers were advanced with public offices and governorships. She would often to a place outside the imperial court and listened to the Senate from behind the scenes, and Claudius even allowed her to be a separate court and decide on empire matters. Agrippina even signed government documents and officially dealt with foreign ambassadors. However, this privileged position caused resentment among

1005-541: The Great and Lucius Cornelius Sulla . Germanicus, Agrippina's father, was a very popular general and politician. His mother was Antonia Minor and his father was the general Nero Claudius Drusus . He was Antonia Minor's first child. Germanicus had two younger siblings: Livilla and Claudius, making the pair Agrippina's aunt and uncle, respectively. Not only would Claudius later serve as Roman emperor , he would also go on to take Agrippina, his own niece, to wife. Antonia Minor

1072-710: The Passion : he personally only finished the two originals of the Angel with the Superscription "I.N.R.I." and the Angel with the Crown of Thorns , but these were kept by Clement IX for his own pleasure. They are now in the church of Sant'Andrea delle Fratte , also in Rome. At the end of the 19th century, due to the works for the construction of the Lungotevere , the two Roman ramps which linked

1139-669: The Ponza, in Pontine Islands , an archipelago of small volcanic islands about 70 miles away from Rome. Caligula sold their furniture, jewellery, slaves and freedmen. In January of AD 40, Domitius died of edema (dropsy) at Pyrgi. Lucius had gone to live with his second paternal aunt Domitia Lepida the Younger after Caligula had taken his inheritance away from him. Caligula, his wife Milonia Caesonia and their daughter Julia Drusilla were murdered on 24 January AD 41. Agrippina's paternal uncle, Claudius, brother of her father Germanicus , became

1206-564: The Triumphal Way, passed over it. The people of Rome most likely crossed the Pons Neronianus to get to the Circus of Nero. Starting with Titus , the victorious Emperors celebrating their Triumphs entered Rome marching across the Pons Neronianus along the Via Triumphalis. It is probable that the capacity of the Pons Neronianus could not cope with the day to day traffic in Rome because within

1273-523: The Younger , was Roman empress from AD 49 to 54, the fourth wife and niece of emperor Claudius , and the mother of Nero . Agrippina was one of the most prominent women in the Julio-Claudian dynasty . She was the great-granddaughter of Augustus (the first Roman emperor ) and the daughter of the Roman general Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder . Her father, Germanicus, was the nephew and heir apparent of

1340-500: The Younger . Griffin describes how Agrippina "had achieved this dominant position for her son and herself by a web of political alliances," which included Claudius chief secretary and bookkeeper Pallas, his doctor Xenophon, and Afranius Burrus: the head of the Praetorian Guard (the imperial bodyguard), who owed his promotion to Agrippina. Neither ancient nor modern historians of Rome have doubted that Agrippina had her eye on securing

1407-414: The advice of his former tutor Anicetus – building a self-sinking boat. Though aware of the plot, Agrippina embarked on this boat and was nearly crushed by a collapsing lead ceiling only to be saved by the side of a couch breaking the ceiling's fall. Though the collapsing ceiling missed Agrippina, it crushed her attendant who was outside by the helm. The boat failed to sink as a result of the collapse of

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1474-406: The aftermath of Claudius's death, Agrippina, who initially kept the death secret, tried to consolidate power by immediately ordering that the palace and the capital be sealed. After all the gates were blockaded and exit of the capital forbidden, she introduced Nero first to the soldiers and then to the senators as emperor. Nero was raised to emperor and Agrippina was named a priestess of the cult of

1541-525: The bridge with the two banks were destroyed, and in their place two arches similar to the Roman ones were built. For the Great Jubilee in 2000, the Lungotevere on the right bank between the bridge and the castle became a pedestrian area. On 21 October 2019 Austrian activist Alexander Tschugguel threw five Pachamama statues, which he had stolen from a display at Santa Maria in Traspontina as part of

1608-417: The consul Lucius Vitellius the Elder , the father of the future emperor Aulus Vitellius , falsely accused Silanus of incest with his sister Junia Calvina . Agrippina did this hoping to secure a marriage between Octavia and her son. Consequently, Claudius broke off the engagement and forced Silanus to resign from public office. Silanus committed suicide on the day that Agrippina married her uncle, and Calvina

1675-474: The deified Claudius. She now attempted to use her son's youth to participate in the rule of the Roman Empire. She enjoyed imperial prerogatives: holding court with the emperor by her side, being allowed to visit senate meetings from behind a curtain, and appearing as a partner to her son in the royal coins and statues. The historian Tacitus depicts her as attempting a diarchy with her son when she demanded that

1742-457: The emperor. In AD 50, Agrippina was granted the honorific title of Augusta . She was third Roman woman (after Livia Drusilla and Antonia Minor ) and only the second living Roman woman (the first being Livia) to receive this title. In her capacity as Augusta, Agrippina quickly became a trusted advisor to Claudius, and by AD 54, she exerted a considerable influence over the decisions of the emperor. Statues of her were erected in many cities across

1809-527: The feud between the Julian and Claudian branches. This feud dated back to Agrippina's mother's actions against Tiberius after the death of Germanicus. Claudius made references to her in his speeches: "my daughter and foster child, born and bred, in my lap, so to speak". When Claudius decided to marry her, he persuaded a group of senators that the marriage should be arranged in the public interest. In Roman society, an uncle (Claudius) marrying his niece (Agrippina)

1876-503: The four evangelists and the patriarchs were added to other statues representing Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses. For centuries after the 16th century, the bridge was used to expose the bodies of those executed in the nearby Piazza di Ponte , at the left bridge head. In 1669 Pope Clement IX commissioned replacements for the aging stucco angels by Raffaello da Montelupo , commissioned by Paul III . Bernini 's program, one of his last large projects, called for ten angels holding instruments of

1943-427: The head of the Praetorian Guard , replacing the previous head of the Praetorian Guard, Rufrius Crispinus . She assisted Claudius in administering the empire and became very wealthy and powerful. Ancient sources claim that Agrippina successfully influenced Claudius into adopting her son and making him his successor. Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus was adopted by his great maternal uncle and stepfather in AD 50. Lucius' name

2010-444: The head of the bridge as well as a Roman triumphal arch were pulled down in order to widen the route for pilgrims. In 1535, Pope Clement VII allocated the toll income of the bridge to erecting the statues of the apostles Saint Peter (holding a book, with the pedestal inscription Rione XIV ) by Lorenzetto , and Saint Paul (holding a broken sword and a book, with the pedestal inscription Borgo ) by Paolo Romano to which subsequently

2077-540: The intrigues of the Praetorian Prefect Lucius Aelius Sejanus . She was the namesake of her mother. Agrippina the Elder was remembered as a modest and heroic matron, who was the second daughter and fourth child of Julia the Elder and the statesman Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa . The father of Julia the Elder was the emperor Augustus, and Julia was his only natural child from his second marriage to Scribonia , who had close blood relations with Pompey

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2144-488: The lead ceiling, so the crew then sank the boat, but Agrippina swam to shore. Her friend Acerronia Polla was attacked by oarsmen while still in the water, and was either bludgeoned to death or drowned, since she was exclaiming that she was Agrippina, in the hope of being saved. She did not know, however, that this was an assassination attempt, not a mere accident. Agrippina was met at the shore by crowds of admirers. News of Agrippina's survival reached Nero so he sent Anicetus,

2211-414: The line of succession. Claudius eventually became aware of her plotting, but died in AD 54 under suspicious circumstances, potentially poisoned by Agrippina herself. She exerted significant political influence in the early years of her son's reign, but eventually fell out of favor with him and was killed in AD 59. Physically, Agrippina was described as a beautiful and reputable woman; and, according to Pliny

2278-504: The marriage to be celebrated in Rome. Domitius came from a distinguished family of consular rank . Through his mother Antonia Major , Domitius was a great nephew of Augustus, first cousin to Claudius, and first cousin once removed to Agrippina and Caligula. He had two sisters; Domitia Lepida the Elder and Domitia Lepida the Younger . Domitia Lepida the Younger was the mother of the Empress Valeria Messalina . Antonia Major

2345-467: The mistress to one of Claudius' advisers, the Greek freedman Marcus Antonius Pallas . After ending his marriage, Claudius considered remarrying for the fourth time and his advisers began discussing which noblewoman he should marry. Claudius had a reputation that he was easily persuaded; but more recently, it has been suggested that the Senate may have pushed for the marriage between Agrippina and Claudius to end

2412-419: The new Roman emperor. Claudius lifted the exiles of Agrippina and Livilla. Livilla returned to her husband, while Agrippina was reunited with her estranged son. After the death of her first husband, Agrippina tried to make shameless advances on the future emperor Galba . He showed no interest, being devoted to his wife Aemilia Lepida . On one occasion, Galba's mother-in-law gave Agrippina a public reprimand and

2479-482: The new emperor. Being the emperor's sister gave Agrippina some influence. Agrippina and her younger sisters Julia Drusilla and Julia Livilla received various honours from their brother, which included but were not limited to Around the time that Tiberius died, Agrippina had become pregnant. Domitius had acknowledged the paternity of the child. On 15 December AD 37, in the early morning, in Antium, Agrippina gave birth to

2546-440: The noble woman Poppaea Sabina. She taunted him for being a "mummy's boy". She also convinced him of the autonomy of any other emperor. With the reasoning that a divorce from Octavia and a marriage to Poppaea was not politically feasible with Agrippina alive, Nero decided to kill Agrippina. Yet, Nero did not marry Poppaea until AD 62, calling into question this motive. Additionally, Suetonius reveals that Poppaea's husband, Otho ,

2613-400: The people". Caligula and his sisters were accused of having incestuous relationships. On 10 June AD 38, Drusilla died, possibly of a fever, rampant in Rome at the time. Caligula was particularly fond of Drusilla, claiming to treat her as he would his own wife , even though Drusilla had a husband . Following her death, Caligula showed no special love or respect toward the surviving sisters and

2680-556: The performance of the Troy Pageant at the Secular Games , where Agrippina was also present with Lucius. Agrippina and Lucius received greater applause from the audience than Messalina and Britannicus did. Many people began to show pity and sympathy to Agrippina, due to the unfortunate circumstances of her life. Messalina was executed in AD 48 for conspiring with Gaius Silius to overthrow her husband. Around this time, Agrippina became

2747-413: The roof of the castle to announce the end of the plague. Dante writes in his Divine Comedy that during the jubilee of 1300 , due to the large number of pilgrims going and coming from Saint Peter, two separate lanes were arranged on the bridge. During the 1450 jubilee, balustrades of the bridge collapsed, due to the great crowds of the pilgrims, and many drowned in the river. In response, some houses at

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2814-401: The route to St. Peter’s Basilica from the east bank crossed at "Hadrian’s bridge", the Pons Aelius upstream. As passing over the Pons Neronianus would have been a shorter way to St. Peter’s Basilica from the left bank, it becomes clear that the Pons Neronianus was out of use by that time. The Pons Neronianus crossed the river immediately below the modern Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II , but at

2881-459: The ruined bridge, named it after the region rather than after Nero himself. Whatever its origins, the bridge gave Nero easier access to the Gardens of Agrippina, his mother Agrippina the Younger 's riverside gardens and portico which were located on the right bank just downstream from the bridge. The Emperor Caligula built a circus on the right bank of the Tiber . The historian Tacitus says it

2948-460: The second emperor, Tiberius . Agrippina's brother Caligula became emperor in AD 37. After Caligula was assassinated in AD 41, Germanicus' brother Claudius took the throne. Agrippina married Claudius in AD 49. Agrippina has been described by modern and ancient sources as a ruthless, ambitious, and domineering woman who used her powerful political ties to influence the affairs of the Roman state, even managing to successfully maneuver her son Nero into

3015-552: The senatorial class and the imperial family. Also that year, Claudius founded a Roman colony and called the colony Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensis or Agrippinensium , today known as Cologne , after Agrippina who was born there. This was the only Roman colony to be named after a Roman woman. In AD 51, she was given a carpentum: a ceremonial carriage usually reserved for priests such as the Vestal Virgins and sacred statues. That same year she appointed Sextus Afranius Burrus as

3082-466: The third and youngest sister was born en route on the island of Lesbos, namely Julia Livilla , probably on 18 March. In October of AD 19, Germanicus died suddenly in Antioch (present-day Antakya , Turkey). Germanicus' death caused much public grief in Rome, and gave rise to rumours that he had been murdered by Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso and Munatia Plancina on the orders of Tiberius, as his widow Agrippina

3149-641: The throne and would go to live on the Greek Island of Rhodes , a place where Tiberius had lived after divorcing Julia the Elder . Pallas also was dismissed from the court. The fall of Pallas and the opposition of Burrus and Seneca to Agrippina contributed to her scaling down of authority. In mid AD 56, she was forced out of everyday and active participation in the governance of Rome. While Agrippina lived in her residence or when she went on short visits to Rome, Nero sent people to annoy her. Although living in Misenum, she

3216-462: The throne for Nero from the very day of the marriage— if not earlier. Dio Cassius observation seems to bear that out: "As soon as Agrippina had come to live in the palace she gained complete control over Claudius." In AD 49, Agrippina was seated on a dais at a parade of captives when their leader the Celtic King Caratacus bowed before her with the same homage and gratitude as he accorded

3283-416: The throne in every way possible. For instance, in AD 51, Agrippina ordered the execution of Britannicus' tutor Sosibius. Sosibus had confronted her, outraged by Claudius' adoption of Nero and his choice of Nero as successor over his own son Britannicus. Nero and Octavia were married on 9 June AD 53. Claudius later regretted marrying Agrippina and adopting Nero and began to favor Britannicus, preparing him for

3350-424: The throne. These actions gave Agrippina a motive to allegedly eliminate Claudius. Ancient sources say she poisoned Claudius on 13 October AD 54 with a plate of deadly mushrooms at a banquet, thus enabling Nero to quickly take the throne as emperor. Accounts vary wildly with regard to this private incident, and according to more modern sources, it is possible that Claudius died of natural causes, being 63 years old. In

3417-493: The trial of Lepidus, Caligula felt no compunction about denouncing them as adulteresses, producing handwritten letters discussing how they were going to kill him. The three were found guilty as accessories to the crime. Lepidus was executed. According to the fragmentary inscriptions of the Arval Brethren , Agrippina was forced to carry the urn of Lepidus' ashes back to Rome. Agrippina and Livilla were exiled by their brother to

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3484-459: The young Claudia Octavia and Britannicus, Claudius' children with Valeria Messalina. Agrippina removed or eliminated anyone from the palace or the imperial court whom she thought was loyal and dedicated to the memory of the late Messalina. She also eliminated or removed anyone whom she considered was a potential threat to her position and the future of her son, one of her victims being Lucius' second paternal aunt and Messalina's mother Domitia Lepida

3551-594: Was a daughter to Octavia the Younger by her second marriage to triumvir Mark Antony , and Octavia was the second eldest sister and full-blooded sister of Augustus. Germanicus' father, Drusus the Elder , was the second son of the Empress Livia Drusilla by her first marriage to praetor Tiberius Nero , and was the emperor Tiberius 's younger brother and Augustus's stepson. In the year AD 9, Augustus ordered and forced Tiberius to adopt Germanicus, who happened to be Tiberius's nephew, as his son and heir. Germanicus

3618-515: Was a favourite of his great-uncle Augustus, who hoped that Germanicus would succeed his uncle Tiberius, who was Augustus's own adopted son and heir. This in turn meant that Tiberius was also Agrippina's adoptive grandfather in addition to her paternal great-uncle. Agrippina was born on 6 November in AD 15, or possibly AD 14, at Oppidum Ubiorum, a Roman outpost on the Rhine River located in present-day Cologne , Germany. A second sister Julia Drusilla

3685-632: Was always hailed as "Augusta", and Agrippina and Nero would see each other on short visits. In late AD 58, Agrippina and a group of soldiers and senators were accused of attempting to overthrow Nero, and it was said they planned to move with Gaius Rubellius Plautus . In addition, she revealed Nero's relationship with Poppaea Sabina . The circumstances that surround Agrippina's death are uncertain due to historical contradictions and anti-Nero bias. All surviving stories of Agrippina's death contradict themselves and each other, and are generally fantastical. According to Tacitus, in AD 58, Nero became involved with

3752-900: Was born on 16 September AD 16, also in Germany. Agrippina's place of birth is disputed, with Cologne being seen as a likely place considering how Agrippina would favor the city and the Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium being established at her prompting there. Suetonius however claims that both of Germanicus's eldest daughters were born in Trier in Gaul . As a small child, Agrippina travelled with her parents throughout Germany until she and her siblings (apart from Caligula) returned to Rome to live with and be raised by their paternal grandmother Antonia. Her parents departed for Syria in AD 18 to conduct official duties, and, according to Tacitus,

3819-463: Was broken. In the fifteenth century Pope Julius II planned to restore it. The Pons Neronianus is not mentioned in the classical literary sources or regionary catalogues; it is mentioned only in the medieval Mirabilia Urbis Romae and Graphia Aureae Urbis Romae as one of the ruins of Rome that could still be seen at that time. Neither is it mentioned in Procopius ’ account of the siege of Rome by

3886-482: Was changed to Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus and he became Claudius's adopted son, heir and recognized successor. Agrippina and Claudius betrothed Nero to his step sister Claudia Octavia, and Agrippina arranged to have Seneca the Younger return from exile to tutor the future emperor. Claudius chose to adopt Nero because of his Julian and Claudian lineage. Agrippina deprived Britannicus of his heritage and further isolated him from his father and succession for

3953-408: Was charged with adultery with Seneca the Younger . Although Agrippina was very influential at this time, she kept a low profile and stayed away from the imperial palace and the court of the emperor. Messalina considered Agrippina's son a threat to her son's position and sent assassins to strangle Lucius during his siesta. The assassins left after they saw a snake beneath Lucius' pillow, considering it

4020-502: Was considered incestuous and immoral. Agrippina and Claudius married on New Year's Day in AD 49 and the marriage was met with widespread disapproval. Agrippina's marriage to Claudius was not based on love, but power—possibly being a part of her plan to make her son Lucius the new emperor. Shortly after marrying Claudius, Agrippina eliminated her rival Lollia Paulina by persuading Claudius to charge Paulina with allegations of black magic use. Claudius stipulated that Paulina did not receive

4087-525: Was exiled from Italy in early AD 49. Calvina was called back from exile after the death of Agrippina. Towards the end of AD 54, Agrippina would order the murder of Silanus' eldest brother Marcus Junius Silanus Torquatus without Nero's knowledge, so that he would not seek revenge against her over his brother's death. Agrippina became empress in AD 49 upon marrying her uncle Claudius. She also became stepmother to Claudia Antonia , Claudius' daughter and only child from his second marriage to Aelia Paetina ; and to

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4154-436: Was forced out of the palace by her son to live in the imperial residence. However, Agrippina retained some degree of influence over her son for several more years, and they are considered the best years of Nero's reign. But, as their relationship grew more hostile, Nero gradually began to deprive his mother of honours and power, and even removed her Roman and German bodyguards. Nero even threatened his mother that he would abdicate

4221-674: Was in this circus, renamed the Circus of Nero , that the Emperor Nero executed the Christians who were accused of causing the Great Fire of Rome of 64 AD, in order to entertain the people of Rome after that fire. It is believed that Nero replaced the timber bridge of the Via Triumphalis with the stone bridge named after him, the Pons Neronianus or 'Triumphalis' because the Via Triumphalis,

4288-518: Was not sent away by Nero until after Agrippina's death in AD 59, making it highly unlikely that already married Poppaea would be pressing Nero. Some modern historians theorise that Nero's decision to kill Agrippina was prompted by her plot to replace him with either Gaius Rubellius Plautus (Nero's maternal second cousin) or Britannicus (Claudius' biological son). Tacitus claims that Nero considered poisoning or stabbing her, but felt these methods were too difficult and suspicious, so he settled on – after

4355-513: Was said to have gone insane. In AD 39, Agrippina and Livilla, with their maternal cousin, Drusilla's widower Marcus Aemilius Lepidus , were involved in a failed plot to murder Caligula, a plot known as the Plot of the Three Daggers , which was to make Lepidus the new emperor. Lepidus, Agrippina and Livilla were accused of being lovers. Not much is known concerning this plot and the reasons behind it. At

4422-419: Was the adopted grandson and biological great-great-nephew of the historian Sallust . Little is known about their relationship, but Crispus soon died and left his estate to Nero. During the first years his reign, Claudius was married to the infamous Empress Valeria Messalina. Messalina was Agrippina's paternal second cousin. Among the victims of Messalina's intrigues were Agrippina's surviving sister Livilla, who

4489-410: Was the elder sister to Antonia Minor, and the first daughter of Octavia Minor and Mark Antony. Domitius, who was, according to Suetonius, "in every aspect of his life detestable," served as consul in AD 32. Agrippina and Domitius lived between Antium and Rome. Not much is known about the relationship between them. Tiberius died on 16 March AD 37, and Agrippina's only surviving brother, Caligula, became

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