Julia Drusilla (daughter of Caligula)
| Julia Drusilla | |
|---|---|
| Born | summer of AD 39 Rome, Roman Empire |
| Died | 24 January AD 41 (aged 1) Palatine Hill, Rome, Roman Empire |
| Burial | Mausoleum of Augustus |
| Dynasty | Julio-Claudian |
| Father | Caligula |
| Mother | Milonia Cæsonia |
Julia Drusilla (Classical Latin: IVLIA•DRVSILLA; summer of AD 39 – 24 January 41), known as Drusilla the Younger (Classical Latin: DRVSILLA•MINOR; transcribed as Drusilla Minor) during her lifetime, was the only child and daughter of Roman Emperor Gaius (Caligula) and his fourth and last wife Milonia Caesonia. One-year-old Julia Drusilla was assassinated along with her parents on 24 January 41.
Named after her late aunt and her father's favorite sister, Julia Drusilla, Julia was born not long after Caligula married Caesonia (some sources have her being born on the same day as the marriage). The date of her parents' marriage has not been determined for certain, but it is known that it was sometime in the summer of AD 39. When Drusilla, as the child was called, was born, Caligula took her to a temple that housed statues of goddesses and placed her on the lap of Minerva, instructing the goddess to nurse and train his new daughter. The reason for Caligula's hasty marriage with the neither young nor beautiful Milonia Caesonia was the purported illegitimacy of his daughter: should Caligula marry his daughter's mother, the child would become his heir.
The order of events suggests that he did not want to marry until a child of his had already been born, a child who would be the purpose of the union. Soon after her birth, Caligula set up donation boxes around Rome marked "Julia's Drink" or "Julia's Food". According to the ancient historian Suetonius, Caligula believed that Minerva would supervise his daughter's growth and education.Suetonius further claims that "[Caligula] considered [Drusilla] as his own child for no better reason than her savage temper, which was such even in her infancy, that she would attack with her nails the face and eyes of the children that play with her."
On 24 January 41, Julia Drusilla and her parents were at the imperial palace complex on Palatine Hill in Rome. A conspiracy to assassinate Caligula and replace him with his uncle Claudius had been in discussion for some time and that day had been decided for the event. While Caligula was addressing an acting troupe of young men during a series of games and dramatics held for the Divine Augustus, the Praetorian Guard, led by Cassius Chaerea, stormed the imperial complex.
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