Germanicus, Rome's Unlucky Prince

Among the many epithets associated with a prince, ‘unlucky’ tends not to come to mind first. Germanicus, nephew of Tiberius, grand-nephew of Augustus, seemed to possess all that a Roman man might desire: beauty, strength, virtue, education, a devoted and chaste wife, numerous offspring, illustrious ancestors, a brilliant career and the prospect of inheriting the throne of the mightiest state of antiquity. Until the Blind Goddess decided to turn her gaze elsewhere. Germanicus died suddenly in AD 19, aged only 33, shocking the Roman world. While his body was still warm, rumours about a murder involving poison were already spreading like wildfire, whispers of an uncle and a grandmother who, for fear and jealousy, had made sure the popular young man was eliminated before he might jeopardize their position. Alessio Perry investigates, by a careful re-evaluation of the historical sources and the archaeological record, whether this prince was indeed killed or whether he was just too unlucky. He examines the most significant events of Germanicus’ brief life: the campaigns on the Rhine; his visit to Egypt; his friction with the governor Piso; his relationship with his uncle the emperor. He considers Germanicus’ funerals and follows the trial against those suspected of his murder, seeking to ascertain if Tiberius really ordered his nephew killed. The reader will glimpse into the schemes of his wife Agrippina and, finally, see how the memory of Germanicus was instrumentalized by his widow and sons for their own political games.

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