Tiberius Claudius Nero

Tiberius Claudius Nero ( 82 – 33 BC) was a Roman politician, senator, praetor and legate of Pompey and then of the populares who lived in the 1st century BC.

He was notable for being the first husband of Livia Drusilla, before she divorced him to marry the future emperor Augustus, and for being the biological father of the second Roman emperor Tiberius.

Ancestry

Nero was a member of the republican Claudia gens of Rome. He was a descendant of the censor Appius Claudius Caecus. Nero was the son of Tiberius Claudius Nero. Nero had a sister named Claudia, who married the prefect Quintus Volusius.

Life Nero had served under Pompey the Great at the start of the civil war against Caesar, but soon surrender and later served Julius Caesar as a quaestor in 48 BC, commanding a part of his fleet in the Alexandrian War. As a reward for his contribution, Nero was made pontiff. Julius Caesar also sent Nero to Gaul to create and monitor Roman colonies (Suetonius notes Narbo and Arelate).

Despite his service with Julius Caesar, Nero was an Optimate at heart who had initially served Pompey. After the murder of Julius Caesar on March 15, 44 BCE, Nero suggested that Caesar's assassins be rewarded for their services to the state, which went against the part of the Senate that wanted to persecute Caesar's assassins. Despite this suggestion, Nero was elected praetor in 43 BCE for 42 BCE. This assumption generally includes believing that Suetonius was mistaken when referring to Livia's father as a Claudius Pulcher. whose father Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus was from the same gens. His son of the same name was born November 16, 42 BCE, in Fondi, Italy. Elaine Fantham believes it is likely that Nero had been married before he wed Livia, as he was looking for a wife in 50 BC when he approached Cicero to marry his daughter Tullia.

Second Triumvirate Towards the end of Nero's praetorship, the Second Triumvirate began to break down, causing a dangerous situation in Rome as the triumvirs went to battle with each other. Because of this turmoil, Nero's praetorship was extended, and he was forced to choose sides. Due to his distrust of Octavian, he cast his lot with Mark Antony. Perusia was besieged by Octavian's men by the time Nero arrived, and when the town fell in 40 BC, he was forced to flee first to Praeneste, and then Naples. In 40 BCE, Octavian and Mark Antony reconciled. Using a cognomen such as Nero as a first name was unusual, as was the prominence given to his maternal lineage in adopting Drusus as his cognomen.

Death Nero died in 33 BC, leaving Augustus as his son's guardian. Tiberius, aged 9, delivered his father's funeral eulogy on the Rostra in Rome. When the future Roman emperor Tiberius celebrated his coming of age, he staged two gladiatorial contests; one was held at the Forum in memory of his father and the other at the amphitheatre in memory of his grandfather Drusus.