The Question of Succession: Augustus' Need for an Heir

Reasons behind Augustus' preoccupation:

• Augustus appears to have been preoccupied with the question of succession
• This was natural for a number of reasons:
• Political prestige
• The fact that he had no natural son
• Health issues
• The running of the Principate

Political prestige:

• The Roman nobility were concerned with the inheritance of political prestige
• In order to maintain the good name of a family, sons were expected to follow in their father's footsteps and equal or surpass their achievements

No natural son:

• Augustus had no natural son, only a daughter called Julia
• He therefore needed to secure one through adoption if the prestige he had won was to be maintained by his family

Health issues:

• Augustus' recurring ill-health spurred him on in his arrangements to secure an heir, in 23 BC he was apparently close to death
• His extremely long life, despite his illness, meant that several of his chosen successors died before him

The Principate:

• The Principate could not be inherited but there were those during Augustus' lifetime who believed that some provision should be made for its transference when he died
• There is evidence to suggest that Augustus found this difficult to reconcile with his:
• Insistence that the Roman state had not changed; and 
• His belief that each leader should win power in open competition and according to merit
• However, he remembered the disastrous rivalry that had occurred on the death of Julius Caesar - he may have hoped that his authority would ensure the public succession of his private heir

Methods undertaken by Augustus:

Endorsing his 'sons':

• Augustus used the device of associating members of his family with him in the tribunician power
• He also took them as colleagues through grant of imperium in order to endorse them

Activity: The Line of Succession

How was each successor related to Augustus?

• Marcellus - nephew and son in law (his mum was Augustus' sister and he married Augustus' daughter Julia)
• Agrippa - no blood relation but after Marcellus died he married Julia and so became Augustus' son in law
• Gaius and Lucius Caesar, as well as Agrippa Postumus were the children of Agrippa and Julia and so were Caesar's grandchildren
• Tiberius was Augustus' stepson (of his second wife Livia.) After Agrippa died he married Julia and so became Augustus' son in law

Which successors were from the Julian blood line and which were from the Claudian blood line?

• All of Augustus' successors were from the Julian blood line, apart from Tiberius, who was from the Claudian blood line

Why would Augustus have wished for a Julian blooded successor?

• He would have wanted to continue his family name and keep the empire in his own family

Sourcework:

Tacitus 1.3-6. H26

Velleius 93.1-96.3, 99.1-103.2

Res Gestae 14.1-2

Suetonius Augustus, 64-5

Name	Relationship to Augustus	Political Promotion	Outcome
Marcellus	Nephew/son-in-law	Raised to the pontificate and aedilship	Died young after his appointment as aedile
Agrippa	Son-in-law/bestie	Double consulship	Died of old age
Tiberius	Son-in-law/adopted son	Quaestor The imperium Coadjutor with his brother Drusus Shared Tribunician power with Augustus	Became the final heir
Gaius and Lucius Caesar	Grandsons	Principes iuventutis Designated consuls Taught by Augustus to be good politicians	Gaius died in Lycia Lucius died 18 months later in Massilia
Agrippa Postumus	Youngest grandson	"waste of space" (according to Zachary)	Exiled for being a "waste of space" (also Zachary)

Attempts to find a Julian successor

• Augustus always attempted to ensure the ultimate succession of someone with Julian blood
• Unfortunately he was eventually forced to rely on Tiberius, a Claudian, as the only one with sufficient experience
• Germanicus, whom Tiberius was obliged to put ahead of his own son, although technically a Claudian had Julian blood as was married to Agrippina, the daughter of Julia and Agrippa

Augustus' opinion of Tiberius: according to Suetonius

It is generally thought that Augustus was not fond of Tiberius, although some of his correspondence seems to contradict this opinion.

"[…]that Augustus weighed Tiberius' good qualities against the bad, and decided that the good tipped the scale; he had publicly sworn that his adoption of Tiberius was in the natural interest, and had often referred to him as an outstanding general and the only one capable of defending Rome against her enemies" - Suetonius Tiberius 21

Augustus' opinion of Tiberius: according to Tacitus

On the other hand, Tacitus, in his usual fashion of damning the Principate and Tiberius says:

"His appointment of Tiberius as his successor was due neither to personal affection nor to regard for the national interests. Thoroughly aware of Tiberius' cruelty and arrogance, he intended to heighten his own glory by the contrast with one so inferior" - Tacitus Annals