Agrippina “the Elder”

Agrippina I (mother of Caligula) Æ Sestertius. Rome, 37-41 CE. AGRIPPINA M F MAT C CAESARIS AVGVSTI, draped bust right / S P Q R MEMORIAE AGRIPPINAE, carpentum to left, drawn by two mules. $6,400.

Born in 14 BCE, Agrippina “the Elder” was the daughter of Marcus Agrippa. Her mother was Julia, daughter of Augustus. Agrippina married Germanicus, the adopted son of Augustus’ successor Tiberius, and in 12 CE bore the future emperor Gaius, nicknamed 'Caligula'. After Germanicus' death in 12 AD she relentlessly pursued the cause of her sons Nero and Drusus Caesar. She was caught in Nero's exile in AD 29. Nero was exiled to Pontia where he died by a servant's hand while she was exiled to the island of Pandateria. She would remain there until her death by starvation in AD 33. Some blame Agrippina “the Elder” for the fall of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.