Agrippina (-14 - 33). Agrippina the Elder, commonly referred to as Agrippina the Elder, was a prominent member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. She was born in c. 14 BC the daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, a close supporter of Rome's first emperor Augustus, and Augustus' daughter Julia the Elder. At the time of her birth, her brothers Lucius and Gaius were the adoptive sons of Augustus and were his heirs until their deaths in AD 2 and 4, respectively. Following their deaths, her cousin Germanicus was made the adoptive son of Tiberius as part of Augustus' succession scheme in the adoptions of AD 4 in which Tiberius was adopted by Augustus. As a corollary to the adoption, Agrippina was wed to Germanicus in order to bring him closer to the Julian family. She is known to have traveled with him throughout his career, taking her children everywhere they went. In AD 14, Germanicus was deployed in Gaul as governor and general. While there, the late Augustus sent her son Gaius to her unspecified location. She liked to dress him in a little soldiers' outfit complete with boots for which Gaius earned the nickname Caligula. After three years in Gaul they returned to Rome and her husband was awarded a triumph on 26 May AD 17 to commemorate his victories. The following year, Germanicus was sent to govern over the eastern provinces. While Germanicus was active in his administration, the governor of Syria Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso began feuding with him. During the feud, her husband died of illness on 10 October AD 19. Germanicus was cremated in Antioch and she transported his ashes to Rome where they were interred at the Mausoleum of Augustus. Agrippina was vocal in claiming her husband was murdered to promote Tiberius' son Drusus Julius Caesar as heir. Following the model of her grandmother Livia, she spent the time following Germanicus' death supporting the cause of her sons Nero and Drusus Caesar. This put her and her sons at odds with the powerful Praetorian prefect Lucius Aelius Sejanus who would begin eliminating their supporters with accusations of treason and sexual misconduct in AD 26. Her family's rivalry with Sejanus would culminate with her and Nero's exile in AD 29. Nero was exiled to Pontia and she was exiled to the island of Pandateria, where she would remain until her death by starvation in AD 33. Following the Roman custom of parents and children sharing the same nomen and cognomen, women in the same family would often share the same name. Accordingly, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa had many relatives who shared the name Vipsania Agrippina. To distinguish Marcus Agrippa's daughter from his granddaughter, historians refer to his daughter as Latin Agrippina Maior, literally Agrippina the Elder. Likewise, Agrippina's daughter is referred to as Agrippina Minor, literally Agrippina the Younger. Like her father, Agrippina the Elder avoided her cognomen and was never called Vipsania. Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa was an early supporter of Augustus during the Final War of the Roman Republic that ensued as a result of the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC. He was a key general in Augustus' armies, commanding troops in pivotal battles against Mark Antony and Sextus Pompeius. From early in the emperor's reign, Agrippa was trusted to handle affairs in the eastern provinces and was even given the signet ring of Augustus, who appeared to be on his deathbed in 23BC, a sign that he would become princeps were Augustus to die. It is probable that he was to rule until the emperor's nephew, Marcus Claudius Marcellus, came of age. However, Marcellus died that year of an illness that became an epidemic in Rome. Now, with Marcellus dead, Augustus arranged for the marriage of Agrippa to his daughter Julia the Elder, who was previously the wife of Marcellus. Agrippa was given tribunicia potestas in 18 BC, a power that only the emperor and his immediate heir could hope to attain. The tribunician power allowed him to control the Senate, and it was first given to Julius Caesar. Agrippa acted as tribune in the Senate to pass important legislation and, though he lacked some of the emperor's power and authority, he was approaching the position of co-regent. After the birth of Agrippa's second son, Lucius, in 17 BC, Lucius and his brother Gaius were adopted together by Augustus. Around the time of their adoption in the summer, Augustus held the fifth ever Ludi Saeculares. Cassius Dio says the adoption of the boys coupled with the games served to introduce a new era of peace-the Pax Augusta.