After Actium: Two Caesars Are Not Enough

Cool stuff. I haven't read the whole timeline from the beginning: how does the POD lead to the Greco-Bactrian revival? I don't recall them being still a player by the time of Caesar's exploits, and a quick online check indicates they were reduced to an eastern rump by 70 BC or so.

Bruce
 
Cool update. So there is public backlash from the Eastern Expedition, I was afraid of that. I was also afraid that Livia Valeria would start stuff, but I didn't expect it so soon.

Couple of Nitpicks/Questions. You put the number 7 twice and the one next to soror patruelis Augusti doesn't go with it. I think you meant to have the second 7 be 8 but there needs to be a link for soror patruelis Augusti. Also why is Livia Drusilla afriad of being divorced if Livia Valeria is behind the nicknames?

Thanks. Fixed the numbers, too many edits too late at night. And yes...the Senators went, had the time of their lives, and now they all feel a little bit ashamed of themselves :p

For starters Livia Drusilla is getting old, while Caesarion is at his prime. Their's is a completely political union and they have the most minimal personal relationship. They have no children together. Divorce was easy and just as frequent in ancient Rome as marital homicide was in Egypt. A while back I made a post on how Rome was an honor based society - scandals impacted the entire family and affected political careers very directly. Livia's provincial mother and Agrippa's obscure origins were still causes of potential embarrassment two, three generations down the line. A scandal like this just might be the push Caesarion needs to put the old hag away and marry a nice, fertile young bride who will supply him with a whole new set of supporters.

An interesting and well-written timeline. I can safely say I am both intrigued and entertained. Subscribed.

Fantastic, thank you. Thoughts and criticisms are welcome at all times.

Cool stuff. I haven't read the whole timeline from the beginning: how does the POD lead to the Greco-Bactrian revival? I don't recall them being still a player by the time of Caesar's exploits, and a quick online check indicates they were reduced to an eastern rump by 70 BC or so.

Bruce

Hi Bruce, welcome.

After Actium, the malaria which affected Mark Antony's troops spread to Octavian's side. Octavian fell ill and died, leaving Agrippa as the new Caesar. To secure his position he held on to Caesarion and turned Cleopatra over to Artavasdes of Atropatene, who (if I recall correctly) had been wronged by Mark Antony in the run up to Actium. Cleopatra convinced Artavasdes to ally with the Parthians, only to flee to Pathia. Phraates IV married her to his son and posted them in Bactria after a short eastern campaign. War breaks out back west; Phraates and his son perish; Parthia is consumed with civil war and Cleopatra is abandoned in Bactria. She offers her hand in marriage to Sapadbizes, one of the Hellenized nomad chiefs who were around the region at this time, in return for his protection. There were still some Indo-Greek and Indo-Scythian remnants around, in the Hindu Kush and the Punjab; Cleopatra and Sapadbizes steam-rolled those guys and carved out more or less the OTL Kushan empire (but with greater Greek and Bactrian influence thanks to Cleopatra's presence). What I'm calling Neo-Bactrian is a mish-mash of Scythian, Yueh-chi, Indian, Bactrian and Iranian territories loosely brought together under the umbrella of (Bactro-)Hellenization.
 
I await the explicit details of the punishment Caesarion is about to give to Livia Drusilla and her children. The situation is not looking pretty for them. Anyways you did a great job; keep it up and I wish you luck with the Turtledoves.
 
Quieter voices desired the complete separation of the cults of Isis and Roma; that the Flaminica Isialis and Navigium Isidis , the female high priesthood and festival named after Isis should be replaced with a (male) high priesthood and festival exclusively for Roma. Livia Drusilla's occasional disputes with the Vestals did not endear her to the populace as Flaminica Isialis; the Navigium was popular with sailors and the rabble but had not been celebrated in Rome for some years now. Though popular individually, Caesarion's intended conflation of Isis and Roma had not been allowed to take root with his constant forays abroad and Livia Drusilla's callous ways.
He should have appointed Octavia, I think - if he wants Rome to accept that sweeping a religious and social revolution, he needs it to be managed by someone who is of unquestioned probity and is universally admired. Livia is ruthless and politically savvy, but those aren't the skills Caesarion needs in that slot - he needs consensus, and to say the least, Livia isn't a consensus-builder. At any rate it's too late now for Octavia, but maybe if Caesarion puts Livia aside, he can find someone more suitable.

It's also good to see that the popular assemblies are still capable of standing up to the emperor and protecting someone unfairly accused of treason, even though the underlying dispute is silly. Which Tullius Cicero is this, anyway - a grandson of the famous one?
 
Love the update. Brilliant! This doesn't bode well for Livia Drusilla...

I await the explicit details of the punishment Caesarion is about to give to Livia Drusilla and her children. The situation is not looking pretty for them. Anyways you did a great job; keep it up and I wish you luck with the Turtledoves.

Thanks guys! And yeah, a tense time for both Livias.

He should have appointed Octavia, I think - if he wants Rome to accept that sweeping a religious and social revolution, he needs it to be managed by someone who is of unquestioned probity and is universally admired. Livia is ruthless and politically savvy, but those aren't the skills Caesarion needs in that slot - he needs consensus, and to say the least, Livia isn't a consensus-builder. At any rate it's too late now for Octavia, but maybe if Caesarion puts Livia aside, he can find someone more suitable.

It's also good to see that the popular assemblies are still capable of standing up to the emperor and protecting someone unfairly accused of treason, even though the underlying dispute is silly. Which Tullius Cicero is this, anyway - a grandson of the famous one?

In hindsight Octavia would definitely have made for a better choice, though going that far back he was more interested in promoting the alliance with Livia. Putting Livia aside is an option, though the resulting destruction would be quite something (assuming Tiberius and Drusus were to take her side).

I would imagine that if Caesarion really stomped his feet, his auctoritas would be enough to get his choice elected. However, he was treading carefully and went with the 'flow', which in this case was to break down all the constitutional barriers and elevate Cicero's son. Not forgetting that by this point Caesarion is sacrosanct and speaking against him (and his family? need to check on that one) is a crime.

This Tullius is a son of Cicero Minor, son of the first and more distinguished Cicero. 'Candidus' here would be a reference both to his bleached white toga and his (/his father's/their family's) perceived innocence.
 
Well, some interesting developments! The East is as crazy and difficult to understand as usual, I see. Thankfully we're back in Rome - I did miss her.

I'm sorry to see Octavia go - she's my favourite Roman matron. But she got a much longer lease on life than OTL, so that's good. Shame Marcellus turned out bad, though. No fainting as the Aeneid is read TTL, I suppose.

Lots of marriages taking place, that's always good. All the worthwhile Romans are going to be united to Caesarion in some way pretty soon, if they aren't already. I think if I were him I'd be trying to find a way to dispose of Livia Drusilla without alienating her sons; she's beginning to become a liability. There has to be a more likeable and more fertile Roman lady out there somewhere. Perhaps he can follow the example of Cato and loan her to a friend.
 
Well, some interesting developments! The East is as crazy and difficult to understand as usual, I see. Thankfully we're back in Rome - I did miss her.

I'm sorry to see Octavia go - she's my favourite Roman matron. But she got a much longer lease on life than OTL, so that's good. Shame Marcellus turned out bad, though. No fainting as the Aeneid is read TTL, I suppose.

Lots of marriages taking place, that's always good. All the worthwhile Romans are going to be united to Caesarion in some way pretty soon, if they aren't already. I think if I were him I'd be trying to find a way to dispose of Livia Drusilla without alienating her sons; she's beginning to become a liability. There has to be a more likeable and more fertile Roman lady out there somewhere. Perhaps he can follow the example of Cato and loan her to a friend.

I like going back and forth between the different stages this TL offers but ultimately Rome has a charm all its own. I share your like of Octavia, in hindsight I could perhaps have made better use of her in this TL, though I guess it's justifiable given Caesarion's greater number of prominent female relatives compared to OTL Augustus. Marcellus' final years were a rather tragic slide towards oblivion, so a shitty end to his career was probably less of a shock than it was OTL where he was a bright shining youth on track to rule the world. Still, I guess a mother's love is a mother's love, so perhaps a little fainting :p

Yep - similar to Augustus' OTL dynastic policy, marrying his and Livia's descendants among each other and to related families. If it wasn't for Augustus' successors systematically hunting down all of their cousins he and Livia could have been a Roman Genghis and Borte, the founders of a long-lasting bloodline providing the state with rulers for a good few centuries ;)

Caesarion certainly isn't lacking for heirs, so producing more isn't a must, though always welcome I guess (although I believe contraception was all the rage among the Roman elite). And at this point I'm not sure there's anyone else willing to have her (not even on loan :D), Roman men would generally prefer a 14 year old to a 54 year old :eek:.
 
Chapter LXXXVI: Kings of the East, Part II
4-3BCE


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Following the pact ratified at Estakhr (7BCE), the Bactrian and Indian lackeys which held Arabian ports in Sapadbizes' name began to depart, in anticipation of a new, Persian administration. The Persian officers did eventually come forth, but the sudden death of King Arsakes prevented any meaningful reorganization of 'Arabia Bactriana' into a Persian dependency. The natives of Kane and Moscha Limen rose up and expelled the foreigners, while the men of the Aramaean colony of Gerrha attempted to incite their Sabaean partners to expel the Romans, by this point much decimated by the violent heat and associated ills inherent to the country.

The Arabian campaign had temporarily destroyed the vitality of the native kingdoms' extensive trade lines, the Nabataeans favored by the Romans shamelessly appropriating for themselves control of all things. Alexandrian merchants likewise exploited the new opportunities offered them, cooperating with the Nabataeans and making the Red Sea their very own 'lake', to the exclusion of the traditional market leaders (namely the Gerrhans and their partners). The Nabataeans were thus the first to know when the Arabs began to rise up and expel the foreigners. Understaffed and exasperated the Roman governor of the putative province of Arabia Felix, Lucius Saenius, looted what he could and stole away with Nabataean aid. While Nabataean agents made their way to Rome to request aid and permission, a combined fleet of Gerrhan and allied vessels resorted to piracy and the destruction or capture of all sighted Nabataean merchant ships. The Roman outpost on Tylos (al-Bahrayn) was captured and enslaved. Roman control was thus limited to an enclave roughly consistent with the Sabaean nation, administered by a Nabataean-heavy consilium in name of the child Aphroditos al-Qaysr. The once complacent Sabaeans, traditionally allies of the Nabataeans, openly attempted to thwart Nabataean attempts to offer effective resistance to Gerrhan encroachment.

News of King Arsakes’ death reached Sapadbizes deep in Indian territory, where allied and dependent Scythian clansmen had for long been nibbling away at the realm of Susarman of Magadha, the Kanva emperor, leading to the collapse of that monarchy and widespread unrest. Capitalizing on the rebellion of Susarman’s former subjects the Andhra of the south, Sapadbizes rallied his clients and moved, en masse, into Kanva territory. A half-hearted attempt to set up one of Susarman’s sons as king crumbled as Sapadbizes advanced from the north and Sipraka of the Andhra advanced from the south. Sipraka's treachery against his lord Susarman and his unwillingness to treat with Sapadbizes lead to his assassination and the succession of his brother Krishna (Kanha). In a show of Vedic orthodoxy Sapadbizes participated in a rajasuya ceremony, a declaration of his universal sovereignty highlighted by the ashvamedha horse-sacrifice. Krishna deigned to attend, nominally recognizing Sapadbizes as his superior. In return Sapadbizes recognized Krishna as Lord of the South and gave him leave to seize the eastern provinces, stopping short of the old capital of Pataliputra (the Palibothra of the Greeks).

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Desirous to secure everything as far south as the Narmada River for himself, Sapadbizes sent Krishna away laden with gifts, women and promises of friendship. Painfully aware of the insecurity of his position in Magadha, he trusted neither Krishna nor any of the other local princes. He did not dare quit India to embroil himself in Parthia once more without having first made good his conquests. To the north the constant raids of the Xiognu continued to torment his Transoxanian subjects and disrupt trade along the Silk Road. Certainly the minority of the Emperor Ping[1] had temporarily weakened China’s ability to check the pesky Xiognu; Sapadbizes would have no choice but to turn north next. So as to not renege on his word completely, he commanded his strategoi kinsmen Arseiles and Polycrates to advance from Bactria and Hyrcania into Parthia. Unfortunately for their plans Polycrates was waylaid and assassinated on Alexander Helios’ orders. Arseiles and those Persians loyal to the Queen and boy-king attempted to face Alexander Helios before he could rally all the troops available to him. Handed the throne by the Megistanes, Alexander Helios assumed control of the main body of Arsakes’ forces, including his elephants, and faced Arseiles and the Queen’s supporters head on. The young Queen had counted on the support of Machene[2] and the prince Antonios, to whom she had offered her hand, but the two were lured by Alexander Helios' lies and betrayed her. Arseiles and many others fell, forcing the Queen to beat a hasty retreat with the tattered remains of the Bactrian relief force.

At Estahkr Alexander Helios was finally acclaimed as the undisputed King of Kings (3BCE). Machene and Antonios' fantasy of a benevolent father and husband were quashed when he put them both to death. His favored queen Amoghabuta and her eldest son, Kallistus, were also disposed of. These eliminations were, in Alexander Helios' mind, necessary sacrifices. The new Shahbanu was chosen from among his minor consorts: Parmys, who had the good fortune of being the late Phraates IV’s daughter. As for the new Masistes[3] or crown prince, none other than Alexander Seleukos, a grandson of Phraates IV and the only adult son of Helios' left standing. Already out of sight, the boy-king Phraatakes was put out of mind as Alexander Helios carefully moved to co-opt himself into the Arsacid house and legacy.

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Alexander Helios 'Asavazes', the Bringer of Light, King of Kings
____________________________________
Notes:
[1] The son of the Emperor Cheng and Consort Cao, born c.12BC. OTL the Emperor’s favourites, the Empress Zhao Feiyan and her sister Zhao Hede, had his two sons murdered in infancy. ITTL a palace coup displaced the Zhao sisters, leading to Emperor Cheng’s death.
[2] A sister of Sapadbizes, married to Alexander Helios, from whom she was separated when he was removed from rule in Persis.
[3] Greek for “mathišta”, literally ‘the greatest’ - the heir-designate, second only to the King and generally ruler of Bactria.
[4] Stylized Greek of "ašavazah" - literally 'furthering asha', asha being a concept similar to Egyptian Ma'at (order, truth, light, good). "Phosphorus" was first used by Alexander Helios as a cult name during his brief stay in Sophene.
 
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God nothing happens by halves does it:D?! So Roman Arabia is descending into chaos, Sapadbizes is expanding into India and Alexander Helios is finally the undisputed King of Kings. Short but dramatic chapter. So is Alexander Helios attempting to follow Alexander the Great's lead by co-opting himself into the Arsacid Dynasty, like how he co-opted himself into the Achaemenid Dynasty with with marriages? Also any chance we'll see a marriage between Caesarion and Alexander Helios' children?
 
Alexander Helios fails to capture my heart. It's when one looks at the East that Caligula begins to look like not such a bad guy.
 
Congratulations Velasco on your Turtledove and I hope that you will update your timeline soon. I'm starving for some new updates!
 
God nothing happens by halves does it:D?! So Roman Arabia is descending into chaos, Sapadbizes is expanding into India and Alexander Helios is finally the undisputed King of Kings. Short but dramatic chapter. So is Alexander Helios attempting to follow Alexander the Great's lead by co-opting himself into the Arsacid Dynasty, like how he co-opted himself into the Achaemenid Dynasty with with marriages? Also any chance we'll see a marriage between Caesarion and Alexander Helios' children?

It really doesn't :p

Pretty much - it helps that the Seleucids and Arsacids were related, directly and through the Achaemenids. And yes, Caesarion's son Philip of Babylon is promised to Agathokleia, a daughter of Alexander Helios.

Good question. I loved the update!

Alexander Helios fails to capture my heart. It's when one looks at the East that Caligula begins to look like not such a bad guy.

Congratulations on the Turtledove, very well deserved!

Just read the whole thing; subscribed!

Congratulations Velasco on your Turtledove and I hope that you will update your timeline soon. I'm starving for some new updates!

Thank you guys, and anyone else who voted for me to win the Turtledove :D Greatly appreciated. New update in a bit ;)
 
Chapter LXXXVII: The Trials of Livia Valeria

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The Emperor Caesarion and his intimate circle had worked hard to consolidate and legitimate his position at the head of the Republic. From his nomination to the consulate at an unconstitutionally young age under the third triumvirate to his ascension to supreme power following Vipsanian's capture at Nisibis, it had been a long and arduous journey. The now dominant political party, the Caesarians - comprising the extended network of allies, clients and supporters of the Emperor and his immediate associates - had a vested interest in upholding this state of affairs and paving the way for a peaceful transference of power to the Emperor's intended heirs. The present scandal threatened to drive a wedge right through the middle of the Imperial clan: the Emperor and his son Isidorus on one side, the Emperor's wife and her children on the other. Hardly an ideal situation when the Caesarians expected government to devolve on the Caesars Isidorus and Tiberius (respectively his son and step-son) as equal, allied partners. Fortunately, the Emperor was eager not to cause undue offence or embarrassment to his wife and step-sons; the latter were likewise eager to reaffirm their loyalty to Caesarion.

Caesarion was nevertheless disconcerted by the murmuring in various quarters against his rule; challenges to his romanitas and mocking of his Oriental practices. That such challenges included also his son Isidorus only made them worse, jeopardizing as they did the boy's intended role in government at the side of Tiberius, himself injured by the involvement of his sister Livia Valeria in the brewing scandal.

The lady Livia Valeria stood accused of the murder of her step-sons, of violating the Emperor's sacrosanctness by uttering verbal insults against him and of maiestas for publishing pamphlets denigrating and attacking the Emperor. She was further accused of adultery with Aurelius Cotta Maximus, Quinctilius Varus and a number of freedmen, all of whom were charged as accomplices in her crimes. Her adulteries were dated to her marriage with Antyllus; her accusers did not dare brand the Emperor's sons cuckolds, though it was certainly implied that her promiscuity had continued into her engagements with the Caesars Ptolemy and Isidorus. To make such an accusation would also prove counter-productive by giving grounds for her to be tried and sentenced in a private family court, which was not what her enemies intended.

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The case of Livia Valeria was a complicated one, not only for the illustrious connections whose names she would sully if found guilty. The death of her husband posed one problem, being that it fell to the husband to deal with an adulterous wife in a family court. Caesarion considered exempting Livia Valeria and posthumously charging Antyllus with lenocinium (pimping), the traditional accusation brought against men who did not punish an adulterous woman, but this would entail branding Livia Valeria guilty of prostitution. The multiplicity of charges was another problem - while maiestas ought to be judged by a special tribunal, adultery and poisoning were primarily private family ones. Above all Caesarion was mindful of both public and private opinion - he could not abandon his step-daughter to the wolves, nor could he act in a heavy-handed monarchical way.

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Once he had decided upon his course of action, the Emperor moved quickly. He began with the recall of the delator Memmius and the formal acquittal of Cicero Minor. The judicial inquiry for Cicero's trial had established that Livia Valeria was behind the nicknames, which had then been popularized by various friends, reappearing shortly afterward in derogatory pamphlets publicized throughout Rome.

The Emperor proceeded to publicly convoke a consilium propinquorum et amicorum, an advisory council of friends and relatives which traditionally informed the head of a family in internal family matters. Cicero Minor, Crassus Scythicus, Caesar Tiberius, Drusus, Gaius Cato, Fabius Maximus and Pomponius Atticus were the most notable among them. The Emperor expressed his desire to forgive all injury done him, save that which affected the honor or safety of the Republic. His friends likewise advised that only the publication and dissemination of the derogatory pamphlets be prosecuted; mere name-calling or jesting ought not to be considered a violation of sacrosanctitas, save where they might encourage or incite injury to the Emperor's person.

Accordingly these friends hurriedly obtained from the Senate a resolution to that effect and further empowering the same quaestio which had investigated Cicero to see the inquiry to the end. Caesarion's desire to innocent Livia Valeria of the most serious charges no doubt informed the Senate's resolution - as 'mere' women could not aspire to supreme power, they could not commit treason, and as the offensive pamphlets desired and called for revolution, posing not only a breach of sacrosanctitas but a case of maiestas, Livia Valeria was promptly acquitted.

Conversely, charges of treason deprived the accused of immunity from the accusations of women, allowing Livia Valeria a valuable opportunity to avail herself publicly of her alleged adulteries. She laid blame at the door of Aurelius Cotta Maximus, her most notorious would-be lover; her accusation was most easily believed given the traitorous careers of both his father Messalla Corvinus and brother Messallinus. Quinctillius Varus and Lollius Paullinus[1] followed her suit and defended themselves by shifting blame onto Cotta. Cotta retaliated by accusing two freedmen of Antyllus, Pallas and Chariton, lovers of Livia Valeria and enemies of the Emperor for his destruction of their master. It seemed as if Cotta's ruin was certain, until he obtained the support of his kinsmen Tiberius and Drusus[2]. The praetor Barbatius Philippicus[3] made a name for himself by his swift conclusion of the trial when his colleague desired to defer judgement to the Emperor. Pallas and Chariton were proscribed and thrown off the Tarpeian Rock while Cotta Maximus, Varus and Paullinus were fined the half of their property and ordered to offer expiation at the Temple of the Divine Julius. The delator Memmius was rewarded with the fourth-part of the confiscated sums; henceforth he would be rich enough to pursue the Senatorial career which had eluded him so far.

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Traditional Roman punishment: being thrown off the Tarpeian Rock

The greater charges now dispensed with, the brothers Scribonius Curio and Claudius Pulcher pressed again their charges of adultery and murder against Livia Valeria. The Emperor obtained another resolution of the Senate to entrust the investigation and adjudication of the matter to Tiberius, the lady's uterine brother and legal tutor[4]. This resolution was challenged by the family of her late husband; as the present head of the clan, it ought to fall to Iullus to take his brother's place. Traditional trials were presided over by a judge agreeable to both parties; Curio and Pulcher refused to accept any other judge save Iullus. After some wrangling it was agreed that Livia Valeria would be tried before both Iullus and Tiberius, with the Emperor acting as a neutral third party empowered to give ruling in case of any impasse.

For the trial Iullus returned from Sardinia, where he had gone in honorable exile following his brother's rebellion and demise. He was received well by Caesarion, his one-time step-brother and childhood companion. In the semi-public trial that followed, Livia Valeria was defended by Marcus Furius Camillus, a friend of Tiberius. Long speeches extolling the ancient pedigrees and exalted birth of the involved parties were issued from both sides, each seeking to establish their party's gravitas and nobilitas. On the lady's behalf Camillus stated that the boys Gaius and Lucius had been put to death by the freedmen Pallas and Chariton on the orders of their father, producing confessions obtained under torture to that effect. Curio argued that the proscription of Antyllus and the condemnation of his memory had absolved his wife and freedmen of any obligation to his orders; the Senatorial resolution which had given Livia Valeria special leave to remarry[5] and passed his heirs into other gentes[6] had specifically dealt with the existing patronal ties with Antonian clients. Further investigation revealed that Pallas and Chariton were among freedmen whose patronage had been inherited jointly by Livia Valeria and Iullus. It was unthinkable that freedmen would undertake such risky and unprofitable action without instigation; as Iullus was then on the run, Pallas and Chariton almost certainly acted at Livia Valeria's command.

Desperate attempts by Camillus to procure witnesses or letters blaming Antyllus' eldest son, who had briefly outlived him, failed. Behind-the-scenes negotiations cleared Livia Valeria of the shameful implication of sexual congress with freedmen; Curio also let slip charges of adultery with Cotta and Lollius Paullinus (for their kinship with Tiberius), leaving only Quinctillius Varus to stand charge as her lover and accomplice.

After some deliberation and the consultation of an advisory body of Senators, Iullus and Tiberius pronounced their judgement, in a coordinated show of collaboration and pietas. For her adultery with Quinctillius Varus she was ordered to offer expiation at the cults of Pudicitia Plebeia and Pudicitia Patriciana and suffer exile to Trimerus, an island off the Italian coast. For both her adultery and her involvement in the assassination of her step-sons, her dowry and the rest of her property were forfeited in favor of her step-daughter Fulvia Antonia, her infant son Thrax Postumus and Iullus, henceforth the boy's tutor. Iullus also assumed full patronage of all remaining freedmen. The Emperor served her a bill of divorce on behalf of his son Caesar Isidorus and once more made her liable to the traditional impositions on the widows of proscribed men. Varus' refusal to take his own life exposed him to harsher punishment: the forfeiture of his property, flagellation, public display in a procession through the forum and exile to Gaul.

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Livia Valeria is escorted away to exile

Notes:
[1] Husband of Volusia Saturnina, first cousin of Tiberius and Drusus and sister of the consul 4BCE.
[2] Aurelius Cotta Maximus was the grandson of a Claudia nicknamed 'Pala', the biological aunt of Livia Drusilla. He would also have been a maternal relative of Caesarion, whose grandmother was an Aurelia Cotta.
[3] Son of M. Barbatius Philippus/Philippicus, a runaway slave who became the friend in turn of Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. He was Antony's quaestor in 40BC and obtained the praetorship during the second triumvirate; when finally recognized by his old master he bought his freedom at great expense.
[4] Roman jurists extended the right of the husband to punish a woman's adultery to her father. In the absence of both a husband and father, a half-brother might suffice.
[5] The widows of proscribed men were prohibited from remarrying.
[6] Following the Julian Adoption Law of 7BC, the members of the gens Antonia adopted the name and rites of the extinct noble houses of Fulvia (for the children of Antyllus) and Sempronia (for Iullus and his children). A Senatorial resolution retroactively elevating the Fulvii and Sempronii to the patriciate would have been necessary for them to be thus benefited.
 
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Great update just great! So Isidorus is single again and Livia Valeria is banished. She almost reminds me of OTL Julia except worse since Julia was never accused of murder. So did Isidorus have any kids with Livia or no? Also, is Thrax Postumus Antyllus' only surviving son or no? Finally does Iullus' return mean that he, and my extention the Antoniun Clan, have been rehebilitated or is it a temporary fix? Glad to see this TL back!
 
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