Britannicus

Britannicus
Detail of Britannicus from a c. 45 AD statue with him and his mother
Born	12 February AD 41 Rome, Italia
Died	11 February AD 55 (aged 13) Rome, Italia
Burial	Mausoleum of Augustus
Names Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus; initially Tiberius Claudius Germanicus
House	Julio-Claudian Dynasty
Father	Claudius
Mother	Valeria Messalina

Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus (12 February AD 41 – 11 February AD 55), usually called Britannicus, was the son of Roman Emperor Claudius and his third wife, Valeria Messalina. For a time, he was considered his father's heir, but that changed after his mother's downfall in 48, when it was revealed she had engaged in a bigamous marriage without Claudius' knowledge. The next year, his father married Agrippina the Younger, Claudius' fourth and final marriage. Their marriage was followed by the adoption of Agrippina's son, Lucius Domitius, whose name became Nero as a result. His stepbrother would later be married to Britannicus' sister Octavia and soon eclipsed him as Claudius' heir. After his father's death in October 54, Nero became emperor. The sudden death of Britannicus shortly before his fourteenth birthday is reported by all extant sources as being the result of poisoning on Nero's orders; as Claudius' biological son, he represented a threat to Nero's claim to the throne.