Seneca带你游罗马之Agrippina出生地——科隆
今年夏秋之交寡人前往帝国西北边疆视察，再次来到学生之母Agrippina the Younger的出生地科隆，特此于她老人家1999年诞辰（也可能是2000年或者1998年）之际撰文纪念。
According to Tacitus, at the height of her power in 50 CE, the Roman empress Agrippina the Younger, “to display her influence to the allied nations too, ［earlier that year Agrippina had seen her son Lucius, born in a previous marriage to Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus, adopted by Claudius and given precedence over the emperor’s own son Britannicus after a few maneuvers］ successfully requested that at the town of the Ubii, in which she had been born, a colony of veterans should be settled, to which the name assigned was derived from her own designation” (Tac. Ann. 12.27.1, trans. A.J. Woodman; the town was officially known as Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium, and its modern name Köln/Cologne is derived from the Latin word for colony, colonia). Elevation to the status of a colonia would grant the entire community Latin rights, and perhaps even full Roman citizenship. The founding of colonies since the 4th century BCE, first in Italy and then overseas, served as a means to provide land for veterans, secure frontiers, and encourage emigration. Under Claudius, who was born in Lugdunum (modern Lyon) himself, many colonies were established throughout the empire (such as the ones at Camulodunum in Britain, Ptolemais in Syria, Archelais in Cappadocia, etc.), a practice in line with his policy of extending Roman citizenship to peoples outside of Italy, “for he had made up his mind to see all Greeks, Gauls, Spaniards, and Britons wearing the toga,” as I used to say (Apoc. 3.3).
Arch from the Roman north gate, constructed when the colony was founded in 50, bearing the inscription "CCAA" (barely visible) The connection between Agrippina’s family and the Ubii as well as Germania at large can be traced back to the tumultuous years at the end of the Republic. In 38 BCE, when Agrippina’s maternal grandfather and Octavian’s right-hand man M. Vipsanius Agrippa was governor of Gaul, he transferred this Germanic tribe, which had been on friendly terms with Rome since the time of Julius Caesar, across the Rhine and settled them on the west bank per their request, in order to ward off the aggressive Suebii (Strabo 4.3.4). Around 9 BCE, an altar to Roma and Augustus was set up at the Ubian town, hence the name Ara Ubiorum, “altar of the Ubii”. Sometime later two legions, the I and the XX, built their camps at the place. Agrippina’s paternal grandfather Drusus, younger brother of the emperor Tiberius and stepson of Augustus, was even more heavily involved with Germania. A talented general who was tremendously popular with the soldiers, Drusus succeeded in subduing multiple German tribes in less than 5 years. But his life was cut short in his 30th year, after a fall from his horse while campaigning on the Elbe in 9 BCE. The title of Germanicus was posthumously conferred on him, as well as his descendants, who would also share his legendary popularity and goodwill of the soldiers. Germanicus, Drusus’ eldest son by Augustus’ niece Antonia the Younger (daughter of Octavia and Mark Antony), inherited his father’s charisma, and was likewise rumored to entertain “republican” sympathies, the key to historians and biographers’ adulation, rather than remarkable achievements. His affability won him much affection, especially compared with Tiberius’ grim and reserved personality, while his lack of firmness was remedied by the singular determination of his wife, Agrippina the Elder, Augustus’ granddaughter. Their union produced nine offspring, six of which survived childhood. One of the most (melo)dramatic episodes of Roman military history took place in Ara Ubiorum, with these two in prominent roles: in the autumn of 14, when news of Augustus’ death spread to the northern frontiers, some of the legions mutinied, having long endured harsh conditions of service, especially savage treatment at the hands of the centurions. Altogether there were 15 legions stationed along the Rhine and Danube rivers, making up more than half of the total number in the entire empire. In order to deal with the crisis, Tiberius dispatched his son Drusus to Pannonia (the province south and west of the Danube, occupying parts of modern Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Slovakia, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina), while his nephew and adoptive son Germanicus, who was conducting a census in the Gallic provinces at the time, went to pacify the Rhine legions. Being over-emotional in nature and unsteady in judgment, Germanicus threatened to commit suicide when appeals to the loyalty of the troops had failed. He was told by some to proceed and a certain Calusidius even offered him his own drawn sword. Snatched away by his friends before any harm could have been done, Germanicus then resolved to fabricate a letter in the name of Tiberius purporting to meet some of the soldiers’ demands, and bribe them with money taken from the official coffers. But the plan backfired when legates from the senate arrived in Ara Ubiorum, where the First and Twentieth legions had returned with Germanicus. Fearing their agreements with Germanicus would be annulled, the soldiers dragged him out of bed at night, and heaped threats and insults on him and the senators. Fortunately, the commander’s pregnant wife was in town. In a desperate attempt to rein in the legions, the dream couple of Rome delivered a scintillating performance in accordance with their impeccable sense of theater. Tacitus’ account of this act is so entertaining as if taken straight from an opera seria, and deserves to be quoted extensively: “After much hesitation, during which his contemptuous wife attested that she was sprung from Divine Augustus and was by no means inferior in the face of dangers, finally, embracing her womb and their mutual son with much weeping, he drove her to leave. There went on its way a pitiable column of women: the leader’s wife a refugee, carrying her tiny little son in her lap and surrounded by friends’ lamenting spouses, who were being dragged off with her. And no less grim were the men who stayed behind. The scene was not that of a Caesar who was flourishing and in his own camp, but like that in a conquered city. And the groans and breast-beating turned even the soldiers’ ears and faces in their direction. They emerged from their billets: what was that weeping sound? what was it that was so sad? Illustrious ladies, with neither a single centurion nor soldier for protection, no sign of her being the commander’s wife or of her normal escort! And they were proceeding to the Treveri, to people of alien loyalty! Hence arose shame and pity and the memory of her father Agrippa and of Augustus her grandfather; her father-in-law Drusus, and the woman herself, with her distinguished fertility and conspicuous modesty: already there was an infant begotten in the camp and brought up in the legions’ billet, whom in soldierly designations they called ‘Caligula’, because he was often dressed with that covering on his feet to win the affection of the crowd [the boots worn by Roman soldiers were called caligae; Caligula is the diminutive singular form]. Yet nothing influenced them so much as their resentment of the Treveri. They begged, blocked the way: she must come back, she must stay - some of them converging on Agrippina, the majority going back to Germanicus.” (Tac. Ann. 1.40.3-41.3)
Bust of Agrippina the Elder, Römisch-Germanisches Museum, Köln Thus the virtuous and indignant wife saved the day for the pathetic hero. Germanicus promptly reprimanded the legions and let the soldiers themselves punish the ringleaders. Agrippina went over to Augusta Treverorum (modern Trier) anyway to deliver the child (which she apparently lost). It did not take long for this woman of “distinguished fertility” to be pregnant again, and on November 6 of the following year, she gave birth to a daughter who was to be named after herself at Ara Ubiorum. The traditional dating of Agrippina the Younger’s birth to the year 15 is not beyond all doubts (we can be certain of the date and month thanks to records kept by the Arval Brethren, a priestly college in Rome), with both 14 and 16 being possible though unlikely candidates. For an in-depth discussion on the matter, one should consult Appendix I in Anthony A. Barrett’s excellent biography. It was during Agrippina’s infancy that the prestige of her parents reached its peak. Having quelled the mutiny, Germanicus conducted a series of campaigns against the Germans, hoping to emulate his father Drusus, and achieved some success, including victories over Arminius, Rome’s nemesis. Agrippina the Elder proved an invaluable asset to her husband again, whose heroics at Vetera (modern Xanten) saved the Roman army. But let this be the topic of another day. Suffice to say, the family’s fortune took a downturn afterwards, as both Germanicus and Agrippina as well as their two eldest sons, Nero and Drusus, perished during the reign of Tiberius. Tragedies did not lessen the love and respect for them in the north, however, as seen in the goodwill Caligula and Nero received when they first became emperors. The Ubii certainly did not forget Agrippina and her ancestors either, when they chose to adopt her as their patron.
Remains of Roman city wall built after 50 CE
The sewage, something we were experts at building
Model and remains of the praetorium, the commander and later the governor's residence, when the military zones of Upper and Lower Germanies were organized into two provinces by Domitian.
Modern relief (early 20th century I think?) commemorating Augustus, Agrippina, and Claudius
