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In OTL, Augustus' preferred heirs were his grandsons by Julia's marriage to Agrippa: Gaius and Lucius, both of whom who were adopted by him in 17 BC. Gaius and Lucius both had promising legal and military careers in their short lives, and Gaius in particular is noted as having been not only Augustus' personal favourite, but also a particularly bright and gifted youth. As we know, Lucius died in Gaul in 2 AD at the age of 19, and Gaius died two years later, being mortally wounded while on campaign in Armenia, aged 23.

But, WI Gaius had not died? His death is, after all, pretty much one of the easiest to prevent. Let's say the POD is that he is simply not harmed in Armenia, for whatever reason (in this scenario, Lucius still dies as in OTL).

What Gaius succeeding Augustus look like and what would its effects be in the short and long-term, so far as we can tell? I know that he's pretty much a blank slate, but in particular, I'm curious as to the fates of the rest of the Julio-Claudian family and how they would fare under his reign? For instance, what of Tiberius and Germanicus and their own military and legal careers?

As an aside, I've done a bit of research, and it turns out Livilla was married to Gaius at the time of his death. So he'll probably also have adult children by the time of his own death, assuming he survives Augustus by at least another twenty or thirty years.

What does everyone think? I haven't really found much discussion on Gaius surviving and succeeding on this board, surprisingly...
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