Facts : 1 Empress of Rome On the day that Agrippina married her uncle Claudius as her third husband/his fourth wife, she became an Empress and the most powerful woman in the Roman Empire
Facts : 2 She also was a stepmother to Claudia Antonia, Claudius daughter and only child from his second marriage to Aelia Paetina, and to the young Claudia Octavia and Britannicus, Claudius children with Valeria Messalina
Facts : 3 Agrippina removed or eliminated anyone from the palace or the imperial court who she thought was loyal and dedicated to the memory of the late Messalina
Facts : 4 She also eliminated or removed anyone who she considered was a potential threat to her position and the future of her son, one of her victims being Lucius second paternal aunt and Messalina s mother Domitia Lepida the Younger
Facts : 5 In 49, Agrippina was seated on a dais at a parade of captives when their leader the Celtic King Caratacus bowed before her with the same homage and gratitude as he accorded the emperor
Facts : 6 In 50, Agrippina was granted the honorific title of Augusta, a title which, up until this point, no other imperial woman had ever received in the lifetime of her husband
Facts : 7 She was only the third Roman woman (Livia Drusilla and Antonia Minor received this title) and only the second living Roman woman (the first being Antonia) to receive this title
Facts : 8 Also that year, Claudius had founded a Roman colony and called the colony Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensis or Agrippinensium, today known as Cologne, after Agrippina who was born there
Facts : 9 A carpentum was a sort of ceremonial carriage usually reserved for priests, such as the Vestal Virgins, and sacred statues
Facts : 10 That same year she appointed Sextus Afranius Burrus as the head of the Praetorian Guard, replacing the previous head of the Praetorian Guard, Rufrius Crispinus
Facts : 11 Ancient sources claim that Agrippina successfully manipulated and influenced Claudius into adopting her son and having him become his successor
Facts : 12 Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus in 50 was adopted by his great maternal uncle and stepfather
Facts : 13 Lucius name was changed to Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus and he became Claudius s adopted son, heir and recognised successor
Facts : 14 Agrippina and Claudius betrothed Nero to Octavia, and Agrippina arranged to have Seneca the Younger return from exile to tutor the future emperor
Facts : 15 Agrippina deprived Britannicus of his heritage and further isolated
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