0:00:03 > 0:00:07I'm Catharine Edwards and much of my working life
0:00:07 > 0:00:09has been spent studying the compelling world
0:00:09 > 0:00:11of the ancient Roman empire.
0:00:14 > 0:00:18I've long been struck by one defining characteristic.
0:00:20 > 0:00:25When you look at the great triumphal monuments of ancient Rome, you see
0:00:25 > 0:00:30that the face of Roman power is portrayed as exclusively male.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35Rome's emperors were men
0:00:35 > 0:00:38with thousands of legionaries under their command.
0:00:39 > 0:00:41Autocrats whose word was law.
0:00:45 > 0:00:49But in this series, I'm going to give you a rather different insight.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54A Roman emperor governed in a highly informal way,
0:00:54 > 0:00:58which meant that those nearest to him could wield real power.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01So who were the people who were up close and personal
0:01:01 > 0:01:04with the most powerful man in the known world,
0:01:04 > 0:01:07behind me in the Imperial Palace?
0:01:07 > 0:01:09Inevitably, naturally, many of them were women.
0:01:12 > 0:01:13Wives.
0:01:13 > 0:01:14Sisters.
0:01:14 > 0:01:16Mothers.
0:01:16 > 0:01:18Lovers.
0:01:18 > 0:01:20All had leading roles to play
0:01:20 > 0:01:24as ruling a vast empire became a family drama.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29They were PR weapons and fashion role models.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31Patrons and matchmakers.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33Politicians and plotters.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36Everything from murderers to murder victims,
0:01:36 > 0:01:39from pagan goddesses to Christian saints.
0:01:43 > 0:01:48To reveal the secrets of these women's influence and power,
0:01:48 > 0:01:51I'll travel right across the empire,
0:01:51 > 0:01:53from its heart here in Rome...
0:01:55 > 0:01:59..to its rich eastern provinces...
0:01:59 > 0:02:03..and on to its distant northern outposts...
0:02:03 > 0:02:05finding intriguing evidence
0:02:05 > 0:02:09of the impact these women made throughout the Roman world.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12- Is it heavy? - It's not actually very heavy at all.
0:02:12 > 0:02:13Would you like to have a hold?
0:02:13 > 0:02:16Thank you very much. She's really lovely.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20I'll explore a fascinating story spanning four centuries -
0:02:20 > 0:02:24of how exceptional women, from all corners of the empire,
0:02:24 > 0:02:28came to stand at the epicentre of imperial power.
0:02:33 > 0:02:34These women took huge risks.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37They tasted glory and tragedy -
0:02:37 > 0:02:40and changed the history of the Roman world.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43And some of the most remarkable of them all were the trailblazers,
0:02:43 > 0:02:48who were in at the very beginning of Rome's extraordinary imperial story.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07In the heart of modern Rome
0:03:07 > 0:03:11stands this statue of Augustus Rome's first emperor.
0:03:13 > 0:03:15Beginning in 31 BC,
0:03:15 > 0:03:19Augustus dominated Roman politics for more than four decades.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25He created Rome's first imperial dynasty,
0:03:25 > 0:03:28while preserving the facade of its ancient republic.
0:03:32 > 0:03:37In this feat of political genius, Augustus had a crucial ally.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40A woman as compelling and formidable as himself.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46She was Livia Drusilla, wife of Rome's first emperor
0:03:46 > 0:03:50and mother of its second - a major and remarkable player
0:03:50 > 0:03:53in Roman public life for over sixty years.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00Livia's name has become a byword for wickedness.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04Second century historians
0:04:04 > 0:04:07and 20th century novels like Robert Graves' I, Claudius
0:04:07 > 0:04:11have painted her as a schemer, poisoner and murderer.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17The real Livia was much more complex,
0:04:17 > 0:04:19though equally extraordinary.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23She was a driver and a symbol of a revolutionary new order,
0:04:23 > 0:04:26an entirely new kind of Roman woman.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28A woman forged in tumultuous times,
0:04:28 > 0:04:30who would shape the world she left behind her.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36Livia was a child of the Roman aristocracy.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38It meant that from her earliest days
0:04:38 > 0:04:41she knew both privilege and extreme danger.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46In 44 BC, the dictator Julius Caesar
0:04:46 > 0:04:51was assassinated by aristocrats who resented his power.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57Rome was engulfed by civil war
0:04:57 > 0:04:59between Caesar's killers and his supporters.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05The teenage Livia faced a menacing world.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12She'd been born into one of Rome's great families, the Claudii.
0:05:12 > 0:05:13As a result, it was inevitable
0:05:13 > 0:05:16that she'd be touched by this extreme political turbulence.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20Already, her father had backed the wrong horse after Caesar's death,
0:05:20 > 0:05:22siding with his killers and committing suicide
0:05:22 > 0:05:25after they were defeated in battle by his avengers.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33Livia must have been tarnished by her father's disgrace.
0:05:33 > 0:05:34But, by her late teens,
0:05:34 > 0:05:39she'd recovered enough to marry her first husband Tiberius Nero,
0:05:39 > 0:05:41and bear him a son.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48But family life was soon thrown into chaos
0:05:48 > 0:05:51as a new power struggle inflamed Rome.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57On one side stood Caesar's old colleague, Mark Antony.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02On the other, Caesar's adopted son and heir, Octavian
0:06:02 > 0:06:05the man who would later become "Augustus".
0:06:08 > 0:06:12Livia and her family were forced into a fateful decision.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17Livia's very young, isn't she, but she and her husband nevertheless
0:06:17 > 0:06:21have to choose sides, don't they, between Octavian and Antony?
0:06:21 > 0:06:24They do because they're already involved.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26Her husband is not a political innocent.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29And at this point, yes, they have to pick sides.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33The real risk is that they will end up on the wrong side of a civil war
0:06:33 > 0:06:37and when the spoils are then divided, they will have nothing.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44Livia's husband opted for Mark Antony.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48It was a costly mistake.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53Antony's supporters were driven out of Italy.
0:06:55 > 0:07:00Livia, her husband and young son began a life of precarious exile,
0:07:00 > 0:07:03pursued first to Sicily and then to Greece.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08Even there, the supporters of their enemy Octavian
0:07:08 > 0:07:10were soon on the family's trail.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13To evade them, the young mother was forced to run for her life
0:07:13 > 0:07:16through a forest fire an escape so desperate
0:07:16 > 0:07:17the young mother ran for her life
0:07:17 > 0:07:21and her hair and her clothes were scorched by the flames.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30Livia spent three years in exile.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35Then Octavian and Antony came to a truce.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39It allowed her to return to Rome with her husband and son.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43Livia was expecting her second child.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48Her life was about to take a truly extraordinary turn.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55The transformation in Livia's fortunes was dramatic.
0:07:55 > 0:07:56She'd come back to Rome
0:07:56 > 0:07:59the pregnant wife of a relatively minor political figure
0:07:59 > 0:08:01who was lucky to be alive.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04Within months, she had secured a divorce from her husband
0:08:04 > 0:08:06to marry Octavian, the dominant figure in Rome.
0:08:09 > 0:08:14Precisely where and how Octavian fell in love with Livia is unknown,
0:08:14 > 0:08:18but it's clear he was instantly and forever - smitten.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26The Imperial biographer Suetonius later wrote:
0:08:26 > 0:08:30"He loved Livia dearly, favouring her all his life beyond all others."
0:08:35 > 0:08:37But there were initial obstacles.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41Livia was heavily pregnant.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43So was Octavian's wife Scribonia.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48Octavian's solution was ruthless.
0:08:50 > 0:08:51He divorced Scribonia -
0:08:51 > 0:08:54on the very day she gave birth to their daughter
0:08:54 > 0:08:56in order to marry Livia.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01Livia and Octavian, as he is known as this point,
0:09:01 > 0:09:05get together under rather complex circumstances and, clearly,
0:09:05 > 0:09:07there's a very strong personal attraction between them,
0:09:07 > 0:09:08but is there also, perhaps,
0:09:08 > 0:09:11a political dimension to their alliance, do you think?
0:09:11 > 0:09:14There are some advantages for Octavian to be married
0:09:14 > 0:09:16into one of the great old families,
0:09:16 > 0:09:18the Republic, but there are lots of other great old families,
0:09:18 > 0:09:21and maybe some disadvantages in marrying a pregnant bride,
0:09:21 > 0:09:23which must have shocked many people.
0:09:23 > 0:09:25And she's only 19, and you can see what is in it for her,
0:09:25 > 0:09:28she's trading up from somebody who is a political has-been,
0:09:28 > 0:09:33not very successful for the last few years of his life, to a rising star.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36And the two of them, they become a glorious power couple.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43Octavian was Livia's second husband.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45She, his third wife.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50Frequent divorce and remarriage was standard in the Roman aristocracy
0:09:50 > 0:09:52as alliances were forged and broken.
0:09:54 > 0:09:58But Livia and Octavian would be together for over 50 years
0:09:58 > 0:10:01and establish Rome's first imperial dynasty.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06From the outset Augustus was determined his new order
0:10:06 > 0:10:11would not be wrecked by the infighting that had so damaged Rome.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16It was going to be important to him to have a consort
0:10:16 > 0:10:20who could stand, not for the endless political
0:10:20 > 0:10:23wheeling and dealing between the inner aristocracy,
0:10:23 > 0:10:27but something which could produce a different kind of message.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29Producing these new types of message
0:10:29 > 0:10:32was going to be what made Octavian Augustus
0:10:32 > 0:10:34so successful as a politician.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37And Livia was integral to that from the start.
0:10:41 > 0:10:46Octavian first deployed Livia in the front line of a propaganda war
0:10:46 > 0:10:49against the man who remained his rival Mark Antony.
0:10:53 > 0:10:54Octavian and Antony
0:10:54 > 0:10:57had effectively divided the Roman world between them.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00Octavian took the West.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02Antony, the East.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08In one of history's most enduring and tragic romances,
0:11:08 > 0:11:12Antony fell in love with Cleopatra, queen of Egypt.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17For Octavian, their affair was an opportunity.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20He painted Antony as dissolute and decadent,
0:11:20 > 0:11:23the creature of his exotic and depraved mistress.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28Octavian cast his own wife in a very different role.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34To suit her husband's political ends,
0:11:34 > 0:11:37Livia was presented as the exact antithesis
0:11:37 > 0:11:41of this strange foreigner with all her oriental vices.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44Octavian told the world that Livia was quiet, homely
0:11:44 > 0:11:47and all that a Roman wife should be.
0:11:51 > 0:11:56By 31 BC, the propaganda battles, with Livia at their forefront,
0:11:56 > 0:12:00finally escalated into all-out war.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06Octavian's fleet destroyed Antony's navy at the battle of Actium.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17This great obelisk was shipped here
0:12:17 > 0:12:21to Rome to celebrate the conquest of Egypt by Octavian.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28News of his success was celebrated
0:12:28 > 0:12:31as more than simply the victory of one rival over another.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34This was a triumph of Roman values.
0:12:34 > 0:12:39The poet Horace gloried in "the downfall of the wild queen,
0:12:39 > 0:12:42"scheming with her sickly eunuchs, her filthy pack of perverts."
0:12:47 > 0:12:49Cleopatra was dead.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52Livia lived on, an ever-more potent symbol
0:12:52 > 0:12:55of old-fashioned Roman virtues.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58Now master of the Roman world,
0:12:58 > 0:13:03Octavian was given the new title "Augustus" by a grateful Senate.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06It indicated a special reverence for him,
0:13:06 > 0:13:10but his lifestyle remained deliberately modest.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14In their simple home here on the Palatine Hill,
0:13:14 > 0:13:19Augustus encouraged Livia and the women of the imperial house
0:13:19 > 0:13:22to weave and spin. He wanted the Roman public
0:13:22 > 0:13:25to see Livia as a traditional Roman wife and mother.
0:13:27 > 0:13:32Appropriately enough, this spinning was all part of the new regime's PR.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36A revolution was well under way in Roman politics - and Livia's job was
0:13:36 > 0:13:37to help disguise that fact.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42The fate of Julius Caesar,
0:13:42 > 0:13:46who had adopted Augustus as his son, was a stark lesson.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51Caesar had called himself "dictator for ever"
0:13:51 > 0:13:54and been murdered by senators who saw him as a tyrant.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00Augustus wanted the reality of sole power,
0:14:00 > 0:14:02but was happy to sacrifice its trappings.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06He called himself merely "First Citizen".
0:14:09 > 0:14:12Augustus claimed he was actually turning the clock back,
0:14:12 > 0:14:15not only restoring Rome's ancient constitution
0:14:15 > 0:14:18but also reviving its traditions
0:14:18 > 0:14:21of modesty and probity in public AND private life.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26Livia was a central part
0:14:26 > 0:14:29of this campaign to promote old-fashioned values.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34But her role as the public face of tradition
0:14:34 > 0:14:36raises an intriguing contradiction.
0:14:38 > 0:14:43For centuries, women had essentially been invisible in Roman public life.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46The very fact that Livia had a political profile at all
0:14:46 > 0:14:49demonstrates just how radical a figure she really was.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56The proof can be found here, at Aphrodisias in southern Turkey.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02In Livia's day, this was a Greek-speaking city
0:15:02 > 0:15:05in the thriving Roman province of Asia.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07I've come to see hard evidence
0:15:07 > 0:15:10that Livia was much more than a mere propaganda figure.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15She directly influenced daily life across the empire.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24The key information is preserved here on this inscription,
0:15:24 > 0:15:27whose text probably dates from the early years
0:15:27 > 0:15:29of Livia's life with Augustus.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32It actually concerns another community in this province,
0:15:32 > 0:15:35the islanders of Samos, who wanted the same status
0:15:35 > 0:15:40and exemption from taxation enjoyed by the people here in Aphrodisias.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44These are some of the headlines from Augustus' response to the Samians,
0:15:44 > 0:15:46preserved here by the Aphrodisians,
0:15:46 > 0:15:49who might just have been feeling rather smug.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52"You yourselves can see that I have given the privilege of
0:15:52 > 0:15:55"freedom to no people except the Aphrodisians,
0:15:55 > 0:15:56"who took my side in the war.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00"I am well-disposed to you and should like to do a favour
0:16:00 > 0:16:02"to my wife, who is active in your behalf,
0:16:02 > 0:16:05"but not to the point of breaking my custom."
0:16:09 > 0:16:10The inscription proves
0:16:10 > 0:16:14that Livia vigorously pursued the Samians' case with Augustus,
0:16:14 > 0:16:17albeit with limited success at this moment.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22However, her family had long been patrons of the islanders
0:16:22 > 0:16:25and Livia didn't give up on them so easily.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28A short time after her husband's negative response,
0:16:28 > 0:16:32Livia got her way - and the Samians got their freedom from taxation.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37Livia's influence with Augustus
0:16:37 > 0:16:40gave real power to a woman in Rome's new autocracy.
0:16:42 > 0:16:48It was unofficial, undefined power but it was power nonetheless.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54Livia's influence came to be felt all across the Roman empire.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00In the late '20s BC, she accompanied her husband on a tour
0:17:00 > 0:17:02through Rome's eastern provinces.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13During this trip, Livia became friends with Salome,
0:17:13 > 0:17:17sister of Herod the Great Rome's client king of Judaea,
0:17:17 > 0:17:20whose capital was here in Jerusalem.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27When Salome asked for her advice
0:17:27 > 0:17:31on a personal matter with serious political implications,
0:17:31 > 0:17:33Livia wasn't afraid to offer it and get involved
0:17:33 > 0:17:36in the sensitive internal affairs of a client kingdom.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42Salome had fallen in love
0:17:42 > 0:17:45with an Arab unwilling to convert to Judaism.
0:17:47 > 0:17:49Herod warned his sister
0:17:49 > 0:17:52he would consider her a bitter enemy if she married this man.
0:17:54 > 0:17:58According to the Jewish historian Josephus,
0:17:58 > 0:18:00Salome tried to change Herod's mind
0:18:00 > 0:18:02by getting Livia to intercede for her.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08Livia's initial intervention didn't work
0:18:08 > 0:18:09Herod continued to insist
0:18:09 > 0:18:12that Salome married a husband of his choosing.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16Josephus records that Livia then told Salome to give in.
0:18:16 > 0:18:21And accordingly, Salome "submitted to her as being Caesar's wife."
0:18:21 > 0:18:24So here we have Livia, acting as the power broker in an area
0:18:24 > 0:18:28which wasn't even, strictly speaking, Roman territory,
0:18:28 > 0:18:30willing to take action to help a friend.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33showing the judgement to recommend retreat,
0:18:33 > 0:18:35and still preserving a friendship with Salome
0:18:35 > 0:18:37which would last for decades.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42Livia's involvement in Judaea
0:18:42 > 0:18:46gives the lie to her carefully cultivated public image.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52She was not just the quiet, submissive wife who spent her time
0:18:52 > 0:18:55weaving her husband's clothes here on the Palatine Hill.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01Livia was involved, hands on and up to her elbows
0:19:01 > 0:19:03in the complex politics of the empire.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10Livia's intervention over Salome's choice of spouse in Judaea
0:19:10 > 0:19:12is a very interesting moment
0:19:12 > 0:19:15when we see her taking a real role in imperial affairs.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18Taking that one step further, is it right, do you think,
0:19:18 > 0:19:21to see her as a colleague of Augustus?
0:19:21 > 0:19:24Yes, I think one could use the term colleague.
0:19:24 > 0:19:30Quite suddenly as Augustus' power becomes completely unchallenged
0:19:30 > 0:19:34in the Roman state, Augustus and his family find themselves
0:19:34 > 0:19:37taking on a royal role.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41His spouse turns into a kind of queen
0:19:41 > 0:19:43and the power that she wields
0:19:43 > 0:19:46is the intimate power that a woman would wield
0:19:46 > 0:19:49on behalf particularly of other women.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53So I think we can see this alternative to the male world
0:19:53 > 0:19:56happening in a really very vivid sense.
0:19:59 > 0:20:05In public, Livia was showing herself to be the serene imperial consort.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08In private, a supremely canny politician.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14According to the imperial biographer Suetonius,
0:20:14 > 0:20:17one telling insight into Livia's true character
0:20:17 > 0:20:21came from her great-grandson, the notorious emperor Caligula...
0:20:23 > 0:20:28Caligula frequently referred to his grandmother as "Ulysses in a stola".
0:20:31 > 0:20:35So here she is, in a "stola"
0:20:35 > 0:20:37the female equivalent of the toga,
0:20:37 > 0:20:39a garment associated in the Roman mind
0:20:39 > 0:20:41with utter female respectability.
0:20:43 > 0:20:44What Caligula was saying
0:20:44 > 0:20:47was that though Livia looked like a maiden aunt,
0:20:47 > 0:20:49she had all the cunning of Ulysses,
0:20:49 > 0:20:53the cleverest, shrewdest character in all of classical mythology.
0:20:55 > 0:21:00Livia in her stola is part of the Ara Pacis the Altar of Peace.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07This spectacular monument was commissioned by the Senate
0:21:07 > 0:21:09to honour Augustus and Livia.
0:21:12 > 0:21:17The Ara Pacis was consecrated in 9 BC on Livia's 50th birthday.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22That timing must have been deliberate.
0:21:22 > 0:21:27Livia had risen to a height unknown to any previous Roman woman.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32Accompanied by other members of the Roman imperial family,
0:21:32 > 0:21:35it's possible to see Livia and Augustus here
0:21:35 > 0:21:39as mother and father of the Roman state, too.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42Guardians of its fortunes and of the moral standards
0:21:42 > 0:21:45which Augustus had been trying to enforce through legislation.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50However, the image of the couple
0:21:50 > 0:21:55as watchful parents presiding over the Roman world had one flaw -
0:21:55 > 0:21:59Augustus and Livia had no children together.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04Ancient sources tell us it was "the dearest wish"
0:22:04 > 0:22:07of Augustus to have children with Livia,
0:22:07 > 0:22:09but their only baby was premature and died.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15This failure to produce an heir was a serious problem.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18It put the future of the dynasty at risk...
0:22:21 > 0:22:26..and threatened the long-term stability of the entire empire.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32If the power which had been concentrated
0:22:32 > 0:22:34in Augustus' and Livia's family
0:22:34 > 0:22:36was going to remain there after his death,
0:22:36 > 0:22:38an heir would have to be found.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41The obvious source was the First Citizen's only child,
0:22:41 > 0:22:45the product of his previous marriage, his daughter, Julia.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51Julia was the second trailblazing woman
0:22:51 > 0:22:55to leave an indelible mark on Rome's new empire.
0:22:56 > 0:23:01But she would be both extremely popular and extremely wayward
0:23:01 > 0:23:03a deadly combination
0:23:03 > 0:23:07that would undermine everything her father Augustus stood for.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12After she was born on the exact same day
0:23:12 > 0:23:14that Augustus divorced her mother,
0:23:14 > 0:23:17Julia had grown up with her father, as was Roman custom,
0:23:17 > 0:23:21until the time came for her to leave home and marry.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25Two early betrothals designed to meet her father's political ends
0:23:25 > 0:23:30had been abandoned as his priorities changed, and at the age of 13 or 14,
0:23:30 > 0:23:32she was married to her father's nephew.
0:23:34 > 0:23:38But Julia's first husband died just two years after their marriage.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44Her father Augustus quickly remarried Julia
0:23:44 > 0:23:46to his great general Marcus Agrippa,
0:23:46 > 0:23:48who was 25 years older than her.
0:23:51 > 0:23:56Julia did her dynastic duty, producing five children
0:23:56 > 0:23:58but there was rather more to her story
0:23:58 > 0:24:00than that of the simple, devoted mother.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04Throughout her marriage,
0:24:04 > 0:24:07rumours circulated about Julia's promiscuity.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09In an anecdote recorded in the fifth century,
0:24:09 > 0:24:13Julia is asked how it is that all her children looked like Agrippa,
0:24:13 > 0:24:15despite her extra-marital liaisons.
0:24:15 > 0:24:19She replied: "I only take on a passenger when carrying freight".
0:24:19 > 0:24:21In other words, she would only conduct an affair
0:24:21 > 0:24:22when already pregnant.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28Julia was having fun,
0:24:29 > 0:24:33but it seemed she had also solved the problem of the succession.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37Her two oldest sons, Gaius and Lucius Caesar,
0:24:37 > 0:24:42were adopted by Augustus as his heirs.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46Coins a key means of propaganda in the ancient world
0:24:46 > 0:24:49carried the image of Julia and these two boys.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54Julia, and not her step-mother Livia,
0:24:54 > 0:24:56was the only woman to appear
0:24:56 > 0:25:00on a coin issued in Rome during the long reign of Augustus.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06Julia was not just honoured by her father, but loved.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10He used her to suit his political purposes with successive marriages,
0:25:10 > 0:25:11but that was a standard,
0:25:11 > 0:25:14long-established feature of Roman society
0:25:14 > 0:25:15and there's no evidence
0:25:15 > 0:25:18that Julia ever tried to oppose his plans for her.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23However, it's also clear that,
0:25:23 > 0:25:26in everything from the way she dressed to the company she kept,
0:25:26 > 0:25:29his daughter exasperated him.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31According to that same fifth century source,
0:25:31 > 0:25:32Augustus used to tell his friends
0:25:32 > 0:25:36that he had two wayward daughters to put up with
0:25:36 > 0:25:37the Roman state and Julia.
0:25:40 > 0:25:45In 12 BC, Julia's husband Marcus Agrippa died.
0:25:46 > 0:25:48Julia was pregnant.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53Despite that and being in mourning
0:25:53 > 0:25:57her father Augustus immediately lined her up with her next husband.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01Augustus had little choice.
0:26:01 > 0:26:06He had set himself up as a moral champion, using marriage
0:26:06 > 0:26:09to reinforce social stability.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12This campaign was backed by the force of law.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15Wide-ranging measures introduced in 18 BC
0:26:15 > 0:26:19included penalties for young widows who did not remarry,
0:26:19 > 0:26:23while adultery was made a criminal offence, punishable by exile.
0:26:26 > 0:26:30With these laws in place, the daughter of Rome's First Citizen -
0:26:30 > 0:26:34of all people - could not stay without a husband for long.
0:26:34 > 0:26:39The solution was a wedding between Julia the daughter of Augustus
0:26:39 > 0:26:43and Tiberius, Livia's elder son from her first marriage.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50This may have promised to be an inspired dynastic alliance.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52It didn't work out that way.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57The marriage was not a happy one.
0:26:57 > 0:27:01The biographer Suetonius tells us that Tiberius hated Julia.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04Pining for the wife he'd been forced to divorce
0:27:04 > 0:27:07in order to marry her, in 6 BC he left Rome.
0:27:10 > 0:27:11Now a very wealthy,
0:27:11 > 0:27:15effectively single woman in the capital of a great empire,
0:27:15 > 0:27:20Julia set about enjoying herself essentially by taking more lovers.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26The first century author Seneca alleges that it was here
0:27:26 > 0:27:30on the Rostra, the platform from which Augustus had announced
0:27:30 > 0:27:32his programme for moral legislation,
0:27:32 > 0:27:35that Julia conducted her "debaucheries".
0:27:36 > 0:27:39Other authors talk of her "engaging in every sort of vice"
0:27:39 > 0:27:42and being "a byword for licentiousness."
0:27:44 > 0:27:46Ancient writers suggest
0:27:46 > 0:27:50that Julia's excesses were an open secret in Rome.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53Despite that or perhaps because of it
0:27:53 > 0:27:56she was highly popular with the Roman masses.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01Then in 2 BC, Julia's luck ran out.
0:28:03 > 0:28:08News of her behaviour finally reached her unsuspecting father.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11Augustus knew his daughter had a wild streak,
0:28:11 > 0:28:14but was stunned by the scale of her affairs.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17His daughter had not only humiliated him.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20She had sabotaged his great moral crusade.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25The First Citizen could barely contain his rage.
0:28:29 > 0:28:33According to Suetonius, Augustus thought about executing his daughter
0:28:33 > 0:28:35before he decided to banish her from Rome.
0:28:40 > 0:28:42Augustus barred Julia
0:28:42 > 0:28:45from drinking wine or enjoying any other luxury in her exile.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48Eventually, after five years, he transferred her
0:28:48 > 0:28:51to the mainland, where her treatment was rather milder.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54But nothing could persuade him to recall her altogether.
0:28:57 > 0:28:59Suetonius adds that despite the scandal,
0:28:59 > 0:29:02Julia's popularity with the Roman people endured,
0:29:02 > 0:29:04and led to calls for her return.
0:29:06 > 0:29:09Augustus was furious and called down divine curses
0:29:09 > 0:29:11on anyone who mentioned the matter again.
0:29:15 > 0:29:17In his will, Augustus even declared
0:29:17 > 0:29:20that Julia's remains should not be interred here,
0:29:20 > 0:29:24in the vast mausoleum he built for himself and his descendants.
0:29:26 > 0:29:30Julia had been exiled not just from Rome, but from her own family.
0:29:32 > 0:29:37Thinking about Julia's disgrace, is this a prime example,
0:29:37 > 0:29:40do you think, of conflict between the politics of the family
0:29:40 > 0:29:41and the politics of the state?
0:29:41 > 0:29:44I think I'd say it was an example of where the two
0:29:44 > 0:29:46are really one and the same thing under Augustus.
0:29:46 > 0:29:47He's a man who made his own family
0:29:47 > 0:29:51the totem of Rome's prosperity and security and future,
0:29:51 > 0:29:54and for that he wanted his womenfolk to be model wives and mothers.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57When that went wrong, it went spectacularly wrong.
0:29:57 > 0:29:59And Julia was a pawn in this game,
0:29:59 > 0:30:02and the scandal which engulfed her later in her life
0:30:02 > 0:30:03perhaps had its origins
0:30:03 > 0:30:05in the way that Augustus tried to set his family up
0:30:05 > 0:30:08as a dynastic system within a republican constitution,
0:30:08 > 0:30:09which is a hard trick to pull off.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14Julia's fall from grace was spectacular.
0:30:16 > 0:30:19In flaunting her promiscuous lifestyle,
0:30:19 > 0:30:23she showed a crucial lack of political nous -
0:30:23 > 0:30:27a failing which her step-mother Livia definitely did not share.
0:30:29 > 0:30:33Such was the level of political cunning attributed to Livia
0:30:33 > 0:30:34by some ancient authors,
0:30:34 > 0:30:36she was accused of manipulating
0:30:36 > 0:30:39the next key development in imperial history -
0:30:39 > 0:30:41the succession to Augustus.
0:30:41 > 0:30:46It was even suggested that she brought about his death.
0:30:46 > 0:30:49These dark rumours have played a dominant role
0:30:49 > 0:30:52in later characterisations of Livia.
0:30:53 > 0:30:56The conspiracy theory goes like this -
0:30:58 > 0:31:02Livia's aim was to ensure her own son, Tiberius,
0:31:02 > 0:31:04succeeded Augustus as emperor.
0:31:07 > 0:31:09But Augustus's grandsons,
0:31:09 > 0:31:10Lucius and Gaius,
0:31:10 > 0:31:12remained his designated heirs.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17Then, in AD2, Lucius died.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21In AD4, so did Gaius.
0:31:23 > 0:31:25The great Roman historian Tacitus
0:31:25 > 0:31:28set the anti-Livia bandwagon rolling
0:31:28 > 0:31:31by pointing the finger of suspicion at her.
0:31:31 > 0:31:35First Lucius Caesar and then Gaius Caesar
0:31:35 > 0:31:37met with premature natural deaths -
0:31:37 > 0:31:41unless their stepmother Livia was somehow involved.
0:31:44 > 0:31:50Tacitus alleges that Livia's "secret scheming" now began in earnest.
0:31:50 > 0:31:55Any further potential rival to Tiberius was to be eliminated.
0:31:56 > 0:31:59Tacitus goes on to claim that by AD9,
0:31:59 > 0:32:02Livia had "the aged Augustus firmly under control"
0:32:02 > 0:32:04and so was able to arrange the banishment
0:32:04 > 0:32:06of his remaining grandson,
0:32:06 > 0:32:07Agrippa Postumus.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12We don't know what charges were cited against Postumus,
0:32:12 > 0:32:15but a man who was potentially a rival to Tiberius had been
0:32:15 > 0:32:18removed from the scene, supposedly thanks to Livia.
0:32:20 > 0:32:26Tacitus cast Livia as the guilty party.
0:32:26 > 0:32:28But he had a political agenda.
0:32:29 > 0:32:35Tacitus, who was writing a century later, was a senator.
0:32:35 > 0:32:40He and his kind had been excluded from power by Augustus.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43Stories of female plotting in politics
0:32:43 > 0:32:47were a means by which he could mock the entire imperial system.
0:32:53 > 0:32:58The anti-Livia conspiracy theory had a further key element.
0:33:01 > 0:33:06In AD14, Augustus fell gravely ill.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09Soon he was dying.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13One ancient source says simply -
0:33:13 > 0:33:16"He slipped away as he was kissing Livia with these words,
0:33:16 > 0:33:20"Live mindful of our marriage, Livia, and farewell."
0:33:22 > 0:33:25A less rosy version comes from Tacitus.
0:33:25 > 0:33:29He tells us that when Augustus' health deteriorated,
0:33:29 > 0:33:33"some suspected his wife of foul play."
0:33:33 > 0:33:36The third century historian Cassius Dio is more specific,
0:33:36 > 0:33:40mentioning claims that Livia smeared figs with poison
0:33:40 > 0:33:42before giving them to her husband.
0:33:47 > 0:33:49Anti-Livia historians claimed that
0:33:49 > 0:33:53she had a motive for murdering her husband of over 50 years.
0:33:55 > 0:33:59They allege that Augustus had visited his grandson
0:33:59 > 0:34:01Agrippa Postumus in exile,
0:34:01 > 0:34:05and even planned to bring him back to Rome to usurp Tiberius.
0:34:07 > 0:34:10But these stories are fanciful.
0:34:12 > 0:34:17Tiberius was a distinguished general and experienced administrator.
0:34:17 > 0:34:21For years he'd been the obvious man to succeed his step-father.
0:34:21 > 0:34:24When Augustus died in AD14,
0:34:24 > 0:34:27the Senate immediately acclaimed Tiberius as emperor.
0:34:30 > 0:34:35In short, Livia had no reason to poison her Augustus.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38What's interesting is that the story took hold anyway.
0:34:38 > 0:34:40It doesn't tell us a lot about Livia.
0:34:40 > 0:34:44What it really reveals is how much ancient historians
0:34:44 > 0:34:48hated the idea of women being close to power.
0:34:51 > 0:34:53A few days after his death,
0:34:53 > 0:34:57the body of Augustus was burned on the Field of Mars.
0:34:57 > 0:35:01Livia stayed on the spot for five days of mourning.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04But she would not be consumed by grief.
0:35:04 > 0:35:08Livia's public life would take more dramatic turns,
0:35:08 > 0:35:11enhanced by her ever-mounting status.
0:35:15 > 0:35:20Livia's position in Roman society was already exalted.
0:35:20 > 0:35:24It reached even greater heights when her husband's will was read,
0:35:24 > 0:35:26here in the Senate House.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31Augustus left Livia a vast fortune -
0:35:31 > 0:35:34and conferred unprecedented honours on her.
0:35:35 > 0:35:39His will decreed that she should be adopted into his own family,
0:35:39 > 0:35:43the Julii - making Livia his daughter as well as his widow -
0:35:43 > 0:35:44and that she should be given
0:35:44 > 0:35:47the politically significant title of Augusta.
0:35:49 > 0:35:50It was unheard of in Rome
0:35:50 > 0:35:54that a woman should share in her husband's title in this way.
0:35:56 > 0:36:00Even in her seventies, Livia remained a trailblazer.
0:36:03 > 0:36:04Later that year,
0:36:04 > 0:36:07the Senate made her late husband a god,
0:36:07 > 0:36:09and in a move which broke more new ground,
0:36:09 > 0:36:12Livia was appointed priestess of his cult.
0:36:12 > 0:36:16Until now, the only women permitted an official role in Roman religion
0:36:16 > 0:36:18had been the Vestal Virgins.
0:36:19 > 0:36:24As a priestess, Livia would honour Augustus in death
0:36:24 > 0:36:26just as she had supported him in life.
0:36:29 > 0:36:34Their marriage had been a political and personal triumph.
0:36:34 > 0:36:38Livia and Augustus are married for a very, very long time.
0:36:38 > 0:36:40It was a very long partnership.
0:36:40 > 0:36:43What is it, do you think, that makes that partnership so successful?
0:36:43 > 0:36:45It's a bit hard to say, isn't it?
0:36:45 > 0:36:47We're told that Livia was so matey -
0:36:47 > 0:36:50her "comitas" - that she was really easy to get on with,
0:36:50 > 0:36:53and I suppose that's something that you'd have to believe.
0:36:53 > 0:36:59In all the areas in which Livia could represent -
0:36:59 > 0:37:01the parts of the Roman system
0:37:01 > 0:37:05in which a woman would have a particular role to play -
0:37:05 > 0:37:08she was the person to whom people would turn.
0:37:08 > 0:37:13I suppose what you could call a kind of good cop/bad cop routine,
0:37:13 > 0:37:18in which Augustus is the vindicator of traditional moral values,
0:37:18 > 0:37:21and the stern defender of Roman tradition...
0:37:21 > 0:37:23- Hmm. And then Livia sort of softens that a bit.- Absolutely.
0:37:23 > 0:37:25But in a quite political way,
0:37:25 > 0:37:28because obviously it's to Augustus' advantage not to antagonise
0:37:28 > 0:37:30those who feel oppressed.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33Yes, quite so. Livia, the advocate of clemency.
0:37:33 > 0:37:37The flip side of that is the tradition which insists that Livia
0:37:37 > 0:37:41is behind the destruction of so many members of the imperial family.
0:37:46 > 0:37:50This is the House of Livia on Rome's Palatine Hill.
0:37:52 > 0:37:54The decorative walls offered a calming escape
0:37:54 > 0:37:58from a bustling city of a million people.
0:37:59 > 0:38:03Here Livia could have now enjoyed, not only her wealth,
0:38:03 > 0:38:07but her unprecedented social and religious status.
0:38:07 > 0:38:09She could have watched her money rolling in
0:38:09 > 0:38:12from her estates in Gaul and Asia Minor,
0:38:12 > 0:38:15her brickworks in Italy,
0:38:15 > 0:38:20her papyrus marshes in Egypt, and all her other interests.
0:38:20 > 0:38:23She could have looked on with satisfaction as her son
0:38:23 > 0:38:26succeeded her husband as ruler of the Roman world.
0:38:28 > 0:38:32But Livia had no desire for the quiet life.
0:38:35 > 0:38:38Instead, she raised her political game,
0:38:38 > 0:38:41becoming a stronger force than ever in the running of the empire.
0:38:45 > 0:38:48According to the hostile historian Tacitus,
0:38:48 > 0:38:51immediately Augustus died,
0:38:51 > 0:38:53Livia and Tiberius arranged
0:38:53 > 0:38:56the murder of Agrippa Postumus -
0:38:56 > 0:39:00grandson of Augustus, and the one remaining rival to Tiberius.
0:39:02 > 0:39:04That story is just speculation.
0:39:04 > 0:39:08What we can be much surer of is that once Tiberius was emperor,
0:39:08 > 0:39:12he soon became heartily fed-up with his mother.
0:39:12 > 0:39:14Augustus had used Livia as a face of his regime
0:39:14 > 0:39:16and had listened to her advice in private.
0:39:16 > 0:39:20But now that Tiberius had succeeded her late husband,
0:39:20 > 0:39:22she intervened openly in matters of state -
0:39:22 > 0:39:24much to her son's irritation.
0:39:26 > 0:39:28Tiberius was angered by his mother Livia,
0:39:28 > 0:39:31because she claimed an equal share in his power.
0:39:31 > 0:39:33He avoided meeting her too frequently
0:39:33 > 0:39:35or having private conversations with her of any length,
0:39:35 > 0:39:39in order not to give the impression that he was following her advice -
0:39:39 > 0:39:43though, actually, he sometimes needed and made use of it.
0:39:46 > 0:39:48Tacitus confirms that impression.
0:39:48 > 0:39:52Livia, he says, "was a compliant wife but an overbearing mother."
0:39:52 > 0:39:55Though her son could stand up for himself on occasion.
0:39:55 > 0:39:59When senators suggested Livia be given the title of Mater Patriae -
0:39:59 > 0:40:03Mother of the Nation - just as Augustus had been its father -
0:40:03 > 0:40:05Tiberius blocked the idea.
0:40:09 > 0:40:11In his view, it was inappropriate
0:40:11 > 0:40:13that such honours be bestowed on a woman.
0:40:15 > 0:40:17Livia ignored these slights -
0:40:17 > 0:40:20and carried on annoying Tiberius.
0:40:23 > 0:40:26So Tiberius is emperor, he's got all this power,
0:40:26 > 0:40:29yet Livia doesn't make life easy for him, does she?
0:40:29 > 0:40:30No, she's a very prominent person.
0:40:30 > 0:40:33She's phenomenally wealthy,
0:40:33 > 0:40:37and she has connections with everybody who really matters.
0:40:37 > 0:40:39And she is the priestess of a new religion - the Imperial cult.
0:40:39 > 0:40:43And there are signs that he's really quite resentful sometimes
0:40:43 > 0:40:45about the extent of the influence that Livia has.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48I think she's jealous of the position of emperor
0:40:48 > 0:40:50and he's envious of her popularity.
0:40:50 > 0:40:53She's clearly extremely popular, charismatic,
0:40:53 > 0:40:55and he is not yet hated,
0:40:55 > 0:40:59but certainly regarded as a bit weird, a bit strange.
0:40:59 > 0:41:01Not anything like a chip off the old block.
0:41:01 > 0:41:04And there she is the priestess of the old block.
0:41:07 > 0:41:12Livia's impact on Roman life only increased with the passing years.
0:41:12 > 0:41:17Yet now the imperial family which she'd done so much to build
0:41:17 > 0:41:20was riven by a dramatic confrontation.
0:41:20 > 0:41:25At its heart was one of the great tragic heroines of the Roman Empire.
0:41:27 > 0:41:29Here is her funerary inscription.
0:41:29 > 0:41:34"The bones of Agrippina", it reads. "Daughter of Marcus Agrippa.
0:41:34 > 0:41:39"Grand-daughter of the Divine Augustus. Wife of Germanicus Caesar.
0:41:39 > 0:41:41"Mother of Gaius Caesar". Caligula.
0:41:44 > 0:41:47Agrippina would make an explosive appearance
0:41:47 > 0:41:49on the Roman imperial stage.
0:41:50 > 0:41:52She was the first Roman woman ever
0:41:52 > 0:41:55with the courage to take on a male emperor
0:41:55 > 0:41:58in a lethal contest for ultimate power.
0:42:00 > 0:42:04Agrippina was the daughter of the now-disgraced Julia
0:42:04 > 0:42:06by her marriage to Marcus Agrippa.
0:42:07 > 0:42:11That made her the grand-daughter of Augustus himself.
0:42:11 > 0:42:16Agrippina was deeply conscious of the status this gave her.
0:42:18 > 0:42:20Her husband was Germanicus.
0:42:20 > 0:42:24Nephew of Tiberius and grandson of Livia.
0:42:26 > 0:42:32Their marriage therefore united the bloodlines of Augustus and Livia.
0:42:32 > 0:42:36Germanicus was a hugely popular military commander -
0:42:36 > 0:42:40celebrated as the avenger of Rome's disastrous defeat
0:42:40 > 0:42:42by the German tribes in AD9.
0:42:44 > 0:42:48Agrippina and Germanicus were the golden couple of their age.
0:42:51 > 0:42:55Agrippina might already have succeeded or replaced Livia
0:42:55 > 0:42:56as first lady of Rome.
0:42:56 > 0:43:00When Augustus died, the troops Germanicus commanded on the Rhine
0:43:00 > 0:43:02acclaimed him as emperor.
0:43:02 > 0:43:08But he was having none of it - and proclaimed his loyalty to Tiberius.
0:43:08 > 0:43:13Agrippina was also making a name for herself as a leader of men.
0:43:15 > 0:43:20Tacitus records how, with Germanicus away fighting across the Rhine,
0:43:20 > 0:43:23a rumour spread that a German invasion was coming.
0:43:25 > 0:43:28Panic ensued.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31Some, out of fear, conceived the disgraceful idea
0:43:31 > 0:43:33of demolishing the bridge over the Rhine.
0:43:33 > 0:43:35But Agrippina stopped them.
0:43:35 > 0:43:38In those days, this great-hearted woman
0:43:38 > 0:43:40took on the duties of a leader.
0:43:40 > 0:43:43She herself gave out clothes to needy soldiers
0:43:43 > 0:43:45and dressings for the wounded.
0:43:45 > 0:43:49She, a woman, had suppressed a mutiny
0:43:49 > 0:43:51which the emperor's name could not prevent.
0:43:53 > 0:43:57Tiberius already feared and resented the popularity of Germanicus.
0:43:57 > 0:43:59These events only made him
0:43:59 > 0:44:01increasingly suspicious of Agrippina, too.
0:44:03 > 0:44:08In AD17, Agrippina left Rome with Germanicus to oversee
0:44:08 > 0:44:11the empire's eastern territories.
0:44:13 > 0:44:17But Germanicus clashed with one of Tiberius's henchmen -
0:44:17 > 0:44:22Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, governor of Syria.
0:44:22 > 0:44:26Making an enemy of such an imperial favourite spelt danger.
0:44:28 > 0:44:33Then in AD19, Germanicus fell fatally ill in Antioch.
0:44:35 > 0:44:39Germanicus believed that Piso and his wife, Plancina,
0:44:39 > 0:44:43had poisoned him, and that they'd been acting on Tiberius's orders.
0:44:45 > 0:44:48But as he lay dying, Germanicus urged Agrippina
0:44:48 > 0:44:52not to seek revenge against Tiberius and those around him.
0:44:54 > 0:44:57Germanicus begged Agrippina -
0:44:57 > 0:45:00by her memories of himself and by the children they shared -
0:45:00 > 0:45:04to put aside her pride, bow her spirit to cruel fortune,
0:45:04 > 0:45:06and, once back in Rome,
0:45:06 > 0:45:09to avoid provoking those stronger than herself
0:45:09 > 0:45:10by competing for power.
0:45:13 > 0:45:15Agrippina did not listen.
0:45:18 > 0:45:20When Agrippina arrived back in Rome,
0:45:20 > 0:45:23there was a public outpouring of sympathy
0:45:23 > 0:45:25for the widow mourning her murdered husband.
0:45:28 > 0:45:33The Roman masses' acclamation of Agrippina alarmed Tiberius.
0:45:33 > 0:45:35What got to Tiberius most
0:45:35 > 0:45:40was the people's intense support for Agrippina.
0:45:40 > 0:45:42"The glory of her country," they called her.
0:45:42 > 0:45:45"The only true descendant of Augustus.
0:45:45 > 0:45:48"The sole representative of the past."
0:45:48 > 0:45:49Turning to heaven and the gods,
0:45:49 > 0:45:54they prayed that her offspring might live to survive their enemies.
0:45:57 > 0:46:01Tiberius felt forced to put Piso and Plancina on trial
0:46:01 > 0:46:03for the murder of Germanicus -
0:46:03 > 0:46:06even though they'd been acting as his agents.
0:46:08 > 0:46:12The trial took place here in front of the Senate on the Palatine Hill.
0:46:14 > 0:46:17On the first day, Piso was almost torn to pieces
0:46:17 > 0:46:18by an angry Roman mob.
0:46:20 > 0:46:24Not long after, he committed suicide.
0:46:24 > 0:46:26Plancina was luckier.
0:46:26 > 0:46:29Tiberius spoke out in her defence.
0:46:31 > 0:46:33But there was a further twist.
0:46:34 > 0:46:37Tiberius claimed he was only doing so under pressure
0:46:37 > 0:46:40from that ever present manipulator,
0:46:40 > 0:46:42his mother Livia.
0:46:43 > 0:46:45When the Senate issued its verdict,
0:46:45 > 0:46:50it noted that the charges against Plancina were "many and serious".
0:46:50 > 0:46:51It did not acquit her -
0:46:51 > 0:46:55but it waived the charges out of respect for Livia and what it called
0:46:55 > 0:46:58"her excellent service to the state."
0:47:00 > 0:47:03We can only speculate as to Livia's motives
0:47:03 > 0:47:05for intervening on Plancina's behalf.
0:47:05 > 0:47:08What's clear is that the woman now known as The Augusta
0:47:08 > 0:47:10had the prestige and the influence
0:47:10 > 0:47:12to bend the Senate of Rome to her will.
0:47:16 > 0:47:20Livia's power over the Senate was headline news.
0:47:21 > 0:47:26The Senate's decision was recorded in inscriptions across the empire.
0:47:29 > 0:47:32In the Piso trial, the verdict in relation to Plancina -
0:47:32 > 0:47:35what do you think that tells us
0:47:35 > 0:47:38about Livia's leverage in Roman society?
0:47:38 > 0:47:41Well, the verdict, of course, was to let Plancina off.
0:47:41 > 0:47:44And the Senate adds - and this is the remarkable thing -
0:47:44 > 0:47:48that Livia could have asked them for anything,
0:47:48 > 0:47:53because all the benefits she has showered on people of every order,
0:47:53 > 0:47:56but she uses her power very sparingly.
0:47:56 > 0:47:58It's a very strange thing,
0:47:58 > 0:48:01because it was quite unnecessary for them to say all that.
0:48:01 > 0:48:04But that is an extraordinary tribute.
0:48:06 > 0:48:10Livia's intervention had shown disfavour to Agrippina,
0:48:10 > 0:48:14denying her the vengeance she sought for the death of her husband.
0:48:14 > 0:48:17And the whole episode meant Agrippina
0:48:17 > 0:48:21was now the outright enemy of her step-father Tiberius.
0:48:24 > 0:48:25He had reason to fear her.
0:48:27 > 0:48:31Tacitus tells us that Agrippina harboured ambitions
0:48:31 > 0:48:34for her children to succeed to the imperial throne.
0:48:34 > 0:48:39To thwart her, Tiberius launched a series of prosecutions
0:48:39 > 0:48:41against her relatives.
0:48:42 > 0:48:44Agrippina refused to retreat.
0:48:47 > 0:48:52Tacitus goes on to record Agrippina angrily confronting the emperor
0:48:52 > 0:48:56as he made a sacrifice to the divine Augustus.
0:48:56 > 0:48:58Agrippina's words were dynamite.
0:49:00 > 0:49:05She said, "The man who offers sacrifices to the deified Augustus
0:49:05 > 0:49:09"ought not to persecute his descendants.
0:49:09 > 0:49:13"It is not in mute statues that his spirit is to be found -
0:49:13 > 0:49:16"I, born of his sacred blood,
0:49:16 > 0:49:18"am his true representation."
0:49:20 > 0:49:22Agrippina, in telling Tiberius
0:49:22 > 0:49:24that she, not he,
0:49:24 > 0:49:27was the rightful descendant of Augustus,
0:49:27 > 0:49:31was, effectively, staking her claim to supremacy.
0:49:32 > 0:49:36In addition, Agrippina had genuine charismatic appeal
0:49:36 > 0:49:38to the Roman masses.
0:49:40 > 0:49:41But she over-reached.
0:49:41 > 0:49:46This direct confrontation with the emperor was a dangerous step.
0:49:46 > 0:49:49Particularly when she knew Tiberius and those around him
0:49:49 > 0:49:51were moving against her.
0:49:51 > 0:49:52Tacitus claims Agrippina
0:49:52 > 0:49:56was so concerned about being poisoned by Tiberius
0:49:56 > 0:49:59that when she dined with him, she passed food to her slaves uneaten.
0:49:59 > 0:50:02This only offended the emperor further.
0:50:04 > 0:50:08No woman had ever dared to confront a Roman emperor like this.
0:50:09 > 0:50:14Agrippina was playing a desperately dangerous game.
0:50:14 > 0:50:17And she now upped the stakes
0:50:17 > 0:50:20by seeking the reinforcement of a new husband.
0:50:20 > 0:50:23Agrippina is in some ways very vulnerable as a widow
0:50:23 > 0:50:25and at one point she wants to remarry, doesn't she?
0:50:25 > 0:50:27But Tiberius is very opposed to that
0:50:27 > 0:50:30which I think is very revealing, isn't it?
0:50:30 > 0:50:33That's right, yes. In AD26, she asked permission to remarry.
0:50:33 > 0:50:36At that point, her sons were in line as possible heirs.
0:50:36 > 0:50:38They would have gained through that marriage
0:50:38 > 0:50:39a new protector and champion.
0:50:39 > 0:50:42The husband would have become a political force in Rome,
0:50:42 > 0:50:45someone for disgruntled factions to rally round or promote.
0:50:45 > 0:50:48Dangerous for Tiberius. And he refused to allow it.
0:50:50 > 0:50:53Tiberius was warned by his advisors
0:50:53 > 0:50:57that Agrippina's supporters were organising in Rome.
0:50:59 > 0:51:04A showdown between Tiberius and Agrippina seemed inevitable.
0:51:06 > 0:51:08For now, though, Agrippina survived.
0:51:08 > 0:51:10Partly due to Livia.
0:51:10 > 0:51:12Even Tacitus admits that the emperor's mother
0:51:12 > 0:51:15had a moderating influence on Tiberius,
0:51:15 > 0:51:18who retained what he calls "a long-standing deference for her."
0:51:20 > 0:51:25Once again, Livia's motives - this time for saving Agrippina
0:51:25 > 0:51:28from Tiberius's brutality - are unclear.
0:51:29 > 0:51:33For the moment, Tiberius put Agrippina to one side.
0:51:34 > 0:51:37The pressing issue was now his mother.
0:51:37 > 0:51:41Despite the "long-standing deference" he claimed to show her,
0:51:41 > 0:51:44their disagreements rumbled on.
0:51:44 > 0:51:49In AD26, Livia and Tiberius finally fell out altogether.
0:51:51 > 0:51:53The cause was comic on one level -
0:51:53 > 0:51:58but also revealing about Livia's role as a political fixer,
0:51:58 > 0:52:00even when well into her eighties.
0:52:02 > 0:52:05The story goes that Livia insistently demanded
0:52:05 > 0:52:07that he appoint to the jurors' list
0:52:07 > 0:52:09a man who had been granted citizenship.
0:52:09 > 0:52:12Tiberius declared he would only do so on condition that the entry
0:52:12 > 0:52:16be marked "forced on the emperor by his mother".
0:52:16 > 0:52:19Incensed by this, Livia produced and read out some old letters
0:52:19 > 0:52:21Augustus had sent her,
0:52:21 > 0:52:25describing Tiberius' character as "morose and inflexible".
0:52:28 > 0:52:31This incident so annoyed Tiberius
0:52:31 > 0:52:36that he petulantly abandoned Rome for the island of Capri.
0:52:36 > 0:52:41In AD29, at the age of 86, Livia finally died.
0:52:43 > 0:52:46Tiberius did not return for his mother's funeral.
0:52:49 > 0:52:51Soon after her death,
0:52:51 > 0:52:54the Senate attempted to have Livia declared a goddess.
0:52:54 > 0:52:55Tiberius would not allow it,
0:52:55 > 0:52:58insisting that his mother had not wanted any such honour.
0:52:58 > 0:53:01We've no way of knowing whether that was true,
0:53:01 > 0:53:04or whether he was just a resentful son getting his own back.
0:53:05 > 0:53:08But Livia would not be denied
0:53:08 > 0:53:11a place among Rome's immortals.
0:53:11 > 0:53:12Thirteen years after her death,
0:53:12 > 0:53:16in the reign of her grandson Claudius, she was finally deified.
0:53:22 > 0:53:26Coins saluted the Divine Augustus and the Divine Augusta.
0:53:26 > 0:53:30A heavenly couple watching over the Roman world.
0:53:36 > 0:53:38But Augustus himself,
0:53:38 > 0:53:42though he had honoured Livia and provided handsomely for her,
0:53:42 > 0:53:45had been less willing to acknowledge her role in government.
0:53:48 > 0:53:52When Augustus died, he left behind a list of all his achievements,
0:53:52 > 0:53:54to be reproduced all over the empire.
0:53:59 > 0:54:03Here's a copy of the Res Gestae Divi Augusti -
0:54:03 > 0:54:07Things Done by the Divine Augustus.
0:54:07 > 0:54:09It doesn't mention Livia once.
0:54:10 > 0:54:14Augustus preferred the image of Livia as a submissive wife.
0:54:16 > 0:54:20This confirms a fundamental truth about Roman imperial politics.
0:54:22 > 0:54:24Any acknowledgement of a woman's involvement
0:54:24 > 0:54:29in that political life was a sign of weakness, and to be avoided,
0:54:29 > 0:54:30even by Augustus,
0:54:30 > 0:54:33even as he was approaching death.
0:54:35 > 0:54:37But according to one source,
0:54:37 > 0:54:42Livia was well aware of the truth about her long marriage to Augustus.
0:54:42 > 0:54:46She knew that she had enjoyed great power - and why.
0:54:48 > 0:54:51When someone asked her how and by what course of action
0:54:51 > 0:54:54she'd obtained such a commanding influence over Augustus,
0:54:54 > 0:54:57she answered that it was "by being scrupulously chaste herself,
0:54:57 > 0:54:59"doing gladly whatever pleased him,
0:54:59 > 0:55:01"not meddling with any of his affairs,
0:55:01 > 0:55:05"and, in particular, by pretending neither to hear, nor to notice,
0:55:05 > 0:55:08"the favourites of his passion."
0:55:13 > 0:55:16Though Augustus could not admit it publicly,
0:55:16 > 0:55:20Livia was essential to his political success -
0:55:20 > 0:55:25and his fellow architect in building a new imperial order.
0:55:26 > 0:55:29Finally, she joined the pantheon of Roman gods.
0:55:29 > 0:55:32In this respect, as in so many other others,
0:55:32 > 0:55:34blazing a trail for Roman imperial women -
0:55:34 > 0:55:38though not all would have her political shrewdness.
0:55:41 > 0:55:43Livia was the supreme operator
0:55:43 > 0:55:47in the treacherous world of first century Roman politics.
0:55:47 > 0:55:49But women whose judgement was flawed
0:55:49 > 0:55:52would end up not as leaders, but as victims.
0:55:54 > 0:55:57Particularly when an enemy was as vindictive,
0:55:57 > 0:56:00powerful and patient as Tiberius.
0:56:05 > 0:56:07When Tiberius became emperor,
0:56:07 > 0:56:13it was 20 years since he'd separated from Julia, the wife he hated.
0:56:13 > 0:56:15Time had not mellowed his loathing.
0:56:17 > 0:56:21We're told he soon arranged for Julia to die of starvation,
0:56:21 > 0:56:24"exiled and disgraced".
0:56:28 > 0:56:31Next came Agrippina.
0:56:31 > 0:56:34With Livia's moderating influence dead and buried,
0:56:34 > 0:56:40Tiberius exacted gruesome revenge on his troublesome step-daughter.
0:56:40 > 0:56:43Tiberius sent a letter to Rome, denouncing Agrippina
0:56:43 > 0:56:46for her "insubordinate language and recalcitrant spirit".
0:56:46 > 0:56:48A pliant Senate banished her
0:56:48 > 0:56:52to the same island where her mother had been imprisoned under Augustus.
0:56:54 > 0:56:58According to the imperial biographer Suetonius,
0:56:58 > 0:57:03exiling Agrippina was not enough to satisfy the emperor.
0:57:03 > 0:57:06When Agrippina complained about Tiberius,
0:57:06 > 0:57:10he had a centurion beat her until she lost an eye.
0:57:10 > 0:57:13And when she was determined to starve herself to death,
0:57:13 > 0:57:16Tiberius gave orders that her mouth be forced open
0:57:16 > 0:57:17and food stuffed into it.
0:57:17 > 0:57:19But Agrippina persevered...
0:57:19 > 0:57:22and met her end.
0:57:27 > 0:57:30Agrippina's miserable death from starvation
0:57:30 > 0:57:33- following in the grim footsteps of her mother Julia -
0:57:33 > 0:57:38highlights the limitations of female power in first century Rome.
0:57:38 > 0:57:41It was her powerful sense of entitlement
0:57:41 > 0:57:44through her descent from Augustus
0:57:44 > 0:57:46that led Agrippina to take on Tiberius.
0:57:48 > 0:57:51She miscalculated - with fatal results.
0:57:54 > 0:57:57But she was right on one crucial point -
0:57:57 > 0:58:00the importance of her family connections, of her blood.
0:58:00 > 0:58:02That was a key way in which women received
0:58:02 > 0:58:06and transmitted power, as Rome's imperial system took shape.
0:58:06 > 0:58:10And the blood which flowed through her was shared by her children.
0:58:10 > 0:58:12Her daughter, another Agrippina,
0:58:12 > 0:58:16would play a dominant role in the coming, dramatic decades
0:58:16 > 0:58:18of Roman history.
0:58:19 > 0:58:23In the next programme, the fatally ambitious women
0:58:23 > 0:58:27who used sex and murder in the pursuit of imperial power.
0:58:52 > 0:58:55Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd