Druz the Younger

Born in the family of Tiberius Claudius Nero, a native of the patrician clan Claudius and Vipsania Agrippina, daughter of Mark Vipsania Agrippa , a close friend of Octavian . By the time he was born, his grandmother, Livia Druzilla , was divorced from Tiberius Claudius Nero Sr. and was married to Octavian, who had no children of her own.

The name was given in honor of the younger brother of Tiberius, Druz Claudius Nero , with whom Tiberius was very close. Almost immediately after birth, he was adopted by Octavian under the name of Druz Julius Caesar and was brought up in the emperor's house with the active participation of Libya Druzilla.

At 12 BC e. Octavian insisted on the divorce of Tiberius from Vipsania and married him to his only daughter, Julia . In 6 BC. e. Tiberius himself leaves for a voluntary exile in Rhodes . Druz stays with Octavian.

I received men's toga at the age of 16, immediately after my father returned from exile. Octavian paid more attention to Druze's cousin - Germanicus . In the same year, Octavian adopted Tiberius, but ordered him, in turn, to adopt Germanicus. Druze had virtually no chance of gaining power, but the Roman horsemen made him the prince of youth ^[2] .

Augustus had no influence on Druze’s advancement in the political ladder. He took up the position of a quaestor at 26, in 11 , which corresponded to qualification. For comparison: Germanic, who was only a few months older than Druze, was already consul the next year and fought on the Rhine on his own.

After the death of Augustus, in the year 14, he announced the documents remaining after the emperor, and also delivered a tombstone speech at the Roman forum. The next year, Tiberius made his son a consul. In the year of his consulate, Druz received the first experience of commanding an army. Since Germanicus suppressed the rebellion of the Rhine legions, Druz was sent to suppress the uprising in Pannonia . Pretoria Prefect Lucius Elii Seeian was sent with him as an adviser.

Tiberius did not give preference to any of the young heirs. Relations between Druz and Germanicus are even. After the consul, Druz was sent by the proconsul to Illyric , and Germanicus fought against the Hutts . In 17, as a result of the actions of Germanicus, Arminius was killed, and the Marcoman king, Marobod, recognized his dependence on the Romans and surrendered to the mercy of Druz.

In the year 19 ^[3] they both received a triumph and their names were immortalized on the arches in the temple of Mars Avenger . At that time, Germanicus had already fought in the east, and Drusus still remained in Illyric. What exactly caused the triumph is currently difficult to establish, since during the German campaign Germanicus was awarded the honors of the triumph earlier on May 26, 17 ^[4] .

After the death of Germanicus, Druz urgently returned to Rome to meet the widow of Germanicus, Agrippina . On the way he was joined by Gnei Kalpurniy Pison , the procurator of Syria , whom Agrippina accused of her husband’s death. Pison wanted to enlist the support of Druze and sought protection from him, but was refused.

After the death of Germanicus, Tiberius recalls Drusus from Illyric. In 21, Druz became a consul for the second time, together with Tiberius himself. The next year he receives tribune power - unlimited empires , which until then belonged to the emperor alone. Doubts about the candidacy of the heir does not arise.

However, the following year, Druz unexpectedly died of an unknown illness.

In 4 years, Druz married the beautiful Liville , the sister of Germanicus and Claudius , the widow of Guy Caesar . The following year, the couple had a daughter, Julia Livia (sometimes Julia Druza), who was executed by Messalina in 43 . For a long time after this, the couple had no children, but in 19 Livilla gave birth to twins - Germanicus and Tiberius . Germanicus died in the year 23 shortly before his father, and Tiberius was executed by order of Caligula , in the year 37 , as his main rival in the struggle for imperial power.

Druz was domineering and proud Claudius. He did not stand out by his mind, was known for his licentiousness while in military camps, was passionate, sensual and cruel. However, despite this, the heir, especially in recent years, was popular in Rome, especially in comparison with the sullen and gloomy Tiberius ^[5] . Druz was fond of gladiatorial battles, was a good fighter on swords. In memory of him, the Romans called the very sharp short swords “ Druzians ”. Druz is mentioned in Apitsia because he did not eat zucchini and dishes from them, since it was the food of the common people, and also because he ate five to six raw fruits of bitter almonds to prevent a hangover before libations ^{[6] [7 ] ]} .

Usually he did not pay much attention to state affairs, but Seyan’s influence bothered him. It came to an open confrontation - several times Druz fought with Sejan, for which he received the playful nickname " Castor ", in honor of the patron saint of the Praetorians ^[8] . Seyan realized that Druz would become serious obstacles to his plans to seize power and tried to get rid of the heir as soon as possible. He seduced Livilla and persuaded her to poison her husband. On July 1, 23, Livilla poisoned her husband's food with some slow, potent poison, after which he died.

The honors shown to Druze at the funeral exceeded those that were given to Germanicus. The people raised money for the statue. The tombstone was delivered by Nero Julius Caesar Germanicus , son of Germanicus. At the same time, mourning events were reduced by order of Tiberius ^[9] .

The fact that Druz was poisoned became known only after the fall and execution of Sejan, in 31 years . After the execution of Sejan, his ex-wife Gavia Apikat , with whom he divorced, hoping to get permission from Tiberius to marry Liville, sent a letter to the emperor accusing Liville, her doctor Euddemius and the servant Druz Ligda of poisoning the heir. The last two were tortured and confessed to their deeds. Tiberius sent Livilla for punishment to her mother’s house, Antonia , and she locked her in the room where Livilla died of starvation ^[10] .

• Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft . Art. Iulii. Stuttgart, 1918, s. 431-434