The son of Lucius domitius ahenobarbus (2) and father of the future Emperor nero, Domitius was detested by his contemporaries and vilified in histories. He began his career on the staff of Gaius caesar in the East but was dismissed for murdering a freedman for refusing a drink.
When he returned to Italy he rode down a boy on the Appian Way for amusement and gouged out the eyes of an Equestrian for criticizing him. He also swindled bankers and deprived winning charioteers of their just prizes. Nonetheless, in the Rome of Emperor Tiberius, Ahenobarbus gained not only the consulship but the praetorship as well. By 37 C. E., however, the aged emperor had charged him with adultery, incest, and treason. He was spared by Tiberius’s death, and Caligula pardoned him. He died three years later of dropsy in his home at Pyrgi. A marriage had been arranged for him in 28 C. E. with AGRIPPINA THE YOUNGER, who bore him Nero. According to Dio, Ahenobarbus very accurately predicted his son’s nature (while giving insight into his own), when he said: “It would not be possible for a good man to be born from me and my wife.”
Domitius Ahenobarbus (1), Lucius (d. 48 b. c.e.) Grandson of the great Republican general, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus
Domitius married the sister of cato uticensis, Porcia, and thus found an ally in Cato against the rising power of the FIRST TRIUMVIRATE, especially Julius Caesar and Pom-pey. As PRAETOR in 58 b. c.e., Ahenobarbus proved himself an opponent of Caesar, summoning him to the senate. Later, in 56 b. c.e., he openly threatened to terminate Caesar’s control over Gallia Transalpina, which had been pacified by his grandfather. As a candidate for the consulship of 55, he proposed a measure aimed directly at the triumvirate by promising to have Caesar stripped of his territories, allowing Pompey a chance to crush his rival. Instead of the bloodbath expected, the triumvirs coolly summoned the CONFERENCE OF LUCA in 56. They reconfirmed the tenets of their shared power and thus forced Ahenobarbus to postpone his consulship until 54 b. c.e. The inevitable war between the forces of Caesar and Pompey erupted in 49, and Ahenobarbus became master of Gaul. He headed north, contrary to Pompey’s orders and fought Caesar at Corfinium (in central Italy), where he was defeated and captured. Pardoned by Caesar, he immediately rejoined the Pompeian cause. He played a role in the siege of massilia and then took command in 48 B. C.E. of Pompey’s left wing at the battle of pharsalus, where he was killed. suetonius noted that Ahenobarbus believed that all Romans must choose sides in the Civil War, that anyone professing neutrality was an enemy and deserving of death.
Domitius Ahenobarbus (2), Lucius (d. 25 c. e.) Consul in 16 B. C.E. and grandfather of Nero Noted for his arrogance and cruelty, as an AEDILE in 22 B. C.E., Domitius ordered the censor, Lucius Plancus, out of his way; and his animal shows and gladiatorial contests were so bloody that Augustus himself rebuked him. Nonetheless, Lucius gained the consulship, aedileship, and praetorship and success in the provinces. From 15
B. C. E. to 2 B. C.E. he held various posts, including that of proconsul of AFRICA and legate in ILLYRICUM and GERMANIA.
As legate along the Danube, he marched to the Elbe and penetrated farther into barbarian lands than any general before him, setting up an altar to Augustus on the Upper Elbe. In Germania he surpassed this achievement by crossing the Rhine and building the so-called Pontes longi, or Long Bridges, over the marches near the Ems River. These constructions were used for years by the legions and their commanders, including germanicus in 15 C. E. He returned to Rome, where he lived until his death. He was married to the elder ANTONIA (2).
World History
