-2 BC- Augustus finally learn about how Julia (the Elder) was (not-so-secretly) banging everyone, and at this point now not just elites but pretty much anyone, even slaves!
-Against everyone's advice, Augustus decided to exile Julia to the tiny island of Pandateria (modern-day Ventotene, roughly 70 km west of Naples) and then he exiled or executed her various alleged lovers (as long as there was reasonable evidence or proof and that they could be properly identified).
-Even though Julia had been so promiscuous, everyone still loved her, and the commoners had begged Augustus to not exile her. After she was exiled, they begged for Augustus to let her come back.
-Meanwhile, Gaius and Lucius (Julia's sons and Augustus' grandsons) were growing up fast under the supervision of Augustus. However, they began to also grow spoiled, clever, and arrogant.
-Augustus' plan was to make Gaius a consul when he turned 20, and then Lucius would be made consul after that when he turned 20.
-1 BC- Gaius was sent to the Greek island of Samos to set up a base of operations there as a commander of Rome's eastern provinces.
-Meanwhile, Tiberius was still chilling in Rhodes but had grown up unhappy with his self-imposed exile.
-Contrary to what he expected, he had proven himself to be dispensable, especially since his marriage to Julia had been nullified once Augustus found out about her sluttery. So, Tiberius announced that he was going to return to Rome, but Augustus actually told him that he couldn't!
-Maybe he just didn't want any more drama or power struggles, but regardless Tiberius was forced to remain in Rhodes, this time though not by choice.
-2 AD- Lucius died from a mysterious illness while traveling through Gaul to Spain on some assignment ...
-Augustus was devastated and realized that it was all up to Gaius now to carry the Augustus' legacy!
-4 AD- Gaius dies! He was wounded while returning from Armenia back to Rome and died of infection.
-Augustus, once again, was devastated. It looked like now his only hope was...Tiberius (sad trombone).
-So, the question needs to be asked: was Livia behind the deaths of Lucius and Gaius??
-Later events (e.g. mysterious deaths, exiles, etc.) seem to draw further suspicion of a vast conspiracy.
-However, there's simply no proof :/
-Tiberius returned to Rome and was officially adopted by Augustus, making him Augustus' official heir.
-Tiberius also had his old powers restored by the Senate.
-In exchange for this, Tiberius agreed to adopt Germanicus (who was now 20) as his own son, as Germanicus was seen as a promising, developing natural leader. His original name was most likely Nero Claudius Drusus, but he received the agnomen "Germanicus" when his father (Drusus (the Elder)) received the same agnomen for his campaigns in Germania. Of course, Drusus' other kids received this agnomen as well, but for whatever reason it stuck as a nickname for Germanicus and not his other siblings. Germanicus was also married to Augustus' granddaughter, Agrippina (the Elder).
-What about Augustus' other grandchildren?
-Gaius- dead.
-Lucius- dead.
-Agrippa Postumus- the only potential male heir left of this group, last surviving son of Agrippa and Julia. However, he was violent and cruel, or at least just a cunt, and so he was exiled to a super tiny island of Pianosa off the west coast of Italy (about 14km southwest of Elba).
-Livilla- would eventually either be executed or forced to commit suicide after being found guilty of involvement in the murder of Drusus the Younger (son of Tiberius).
-Claudius- thought to be a stammering idiot, but would actually end up being a future emperor!
-7 AD- the Roman campaign in Germania seems to be going rather well, as the Romans were moving forward and securing alliances with various Germanic tribes.
-However, overall the Germanic hordes still hated Rome with a burning passion.
-The Roman governor assigned to the task of conquering Germania was Publius Quintillius Varus.
-The key German horde leader was a dude named Arminius (possibly a Latinized version of the old German name Hermann).
-The Romans thought Arminius was their friend and ally, but really he hated Rome and was planning on betraying them when the time was right.
-9 AD- Arminius' plan had come to fruition.
-In September, Arminius told the Romans that some local Germanic villages nearby their encampment had decided to rebel, so the Romans decided to bring three legions (the 17th, 18th, and 19th) to go fuck them up.
-Of course, it was an ambush. To make matters worse, Varus was probably a shitty commander and didn't take the proper precautions.
-The troops marched sloppily, Varus allowed for camp followers to come along with their slow-moving supply wagons, etc.
-The path was a narrow strip of land between a marsh and a hill (near modern-day Osnabrück, Lower Saxony).
-As Varus and the legions passed through this area, Arminius attacked!
-The Romans were completely surprised, cut in half, and completely fucking slaughtered! Those who survived were able to make a fortified camp nearby, but they still had to fiht their way out of the forest.
-Realizing that the situation was hopeless, Varus and the others committed suicide in the camp.
-All in all, about 22,000 Roman troops died in the battle.
-The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest was devestating news for Rome, and its memory haunted Augustus. It's possible that it's also the reason why the Romans decided to cool off on Germania for awhile.
-In the 19th century, German nationalists would recognize Arminius as a national folk hero!
-However, in the aftermath of the battle Augustus hadn't quite given up yet, as he did send Tiberius to Germania to make another attempt at conquering the Germanic hordes.
-This time, the Romans tried everything- marauding, raids, enslavement, establishing permanent outposts, etc.
-Eventually, the Romans realized that the best way to fight the Germanic barbarians was to simply not give them a reason to unify. Also, as long as the Romans stayed west of the Rhine River, the Germanic tribes kept themselves busy fighting each other.
-To prevent the Germans from attacking Roman territory, the Romans stationed eight legions along the Rhine (this would last for hundreds of years!).
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