| Agrippina the Younger | |
|---|---|
| Augusta | |
 A bust at the National Museum, Warsaw | |
| Roman empress | |
| Tenure | 1 January AD 49 – 13 October AD 54 |
| Born | 6 November AD 15 Oppidum Ubiorum (present-day Cologne, Germany) |
| Died | 23 March AD 59 (aged 43) Misenum, Italy |
| Spouses | Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus Gaius Sallustius Passienus Crispus Claudius |
| Issue | Nero |
| Dynasty | Julio-Claudian |
| Father | Germanicus |
| Mother | Agrippina the Elder |
| Roman imperial dynasties | ||
|---|---|---|
| Julio-Claudian dynasty | ||
| Chronology | ||
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27 BC – AD 14 |
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AD 14–37 |
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AD 37–41 |
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AD 41–54 |
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AD 54–68 |
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Julia Agrippina (6 November AD 15 – 23 March AD 59), also referred to as Agrippina 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 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 the line of succession. Claudius eventually became aware of her plotting, but died in AD 54 under suspicious circumstances, potentially poisoned by Agrippina herself.[1] 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 the Elder, had a double canine in her upper right jaw, which was regarded as a sign of good fortune in Ancient Rome.
- ^ Tacitus, Annals XII.66; Cassius Dio, Roman History LXI.34; Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Claudius 44; Josephus is less sure, Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews XX.8.1.