Agrippina the Younger

Agrippina the Younger
Augusta
A bust at the National Museum, Warsaw
Roman empress
Tenure	1 January 49 – 13 October 54
Born	6 November AD 15 Oppidum Ubiorum (Cologne)
Died	23 March AD 59 (aged 43) Misenum, Italy
Spouses	Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus Gaius Sallustius Passienus Crispus Claudius
Issue	Nero
Dynasty	Julio-Claudian
Father	Germanicus
Mother	Agrippina the Elder

Julia Agrippina (6 November AD 15 – 23 March AD 59), also referred to as Agrippina the Younger, was Roman empress from AD 49 to 54, the fourth wife and niece of emperor Claudius, and the mother of Nero.

Agrippina was one of the most prominent women in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. She was the great granddaughter of Augustus (the first Roman emperor) and the daughter of the Roman general Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder. Her father, Germanicus, was the nephew and heir apparent of the second emperor, Tiberius. Agrippina's brother Caligula became emperor in AD 37. After Caligula was assassinated in AD 41, Germanicus' brother Claudius took the throne. Agrippina married Claudius in AD 49.

Agrippina has been described by modern and ancient sources as a ruthless, ambitious, and domineering woman who used her powerful political ties to influence the affairs of the Roman state, even managing to successfully maneuver her son Nero into the line of succession. Claudius eventually became aware of her plotting, but died in AD 54 under suspicious circumstances, potentially poisoned by Agrippina herself.^[1] She exerted significant political influence in the early years of her son’s reign, but eventually fell out of favor with him and was killed in AD 59. Physically, Agrippina was described as a beautiful and reputable woman; and, according to Pliny the Elder, had a double canine in her upper right jaw, which was regarded as a sign of good fortune in Ancient Rome.