The Throne of the Caesars: Britannicus

Contents -- Previous Article -- Next Article

Britannicus

Son of Claudius

Britannicus was the son of the emperor Claudius and Messalina. He was born in A. D. 42 and was named Brittanicus in honor of Claudius' conquests in Britain. After Claudius had Messalina put to death for openly "marrying" one of her boyfriends and planning to put him on the throne, he married Agrippina the Younger. Nero was the son of Agrippina, and he became emperor upon the death of Claudius, probably because Britannicus was only twelve years old at the time. In 55, Nero had the youth murdered, probably because he wanted to eliminate a possible rival to the throne.

Go to next article on Emperor Nero
Go back to previous article on Emperor Claudius

Return to Roman Emperors Table of Contents
Return to History and Technology Back Pages - The home page for this entire site.

Navigation and Help	Roman Emperors	Roman Women	Interesting Events	Writers & Historians	Engineers & Technology	The Army	Roman Art
The Roman Government	The Republic	The Late Empire	Other Empires	Christians and Lions	Social Classes	Roman Food	Rome's Enemies
Cities of the Empire	The Roman Economy	Trade and Transport	Roman Coins	Books	Glossary	Early Medieval Europe