Cat's Historical Doodles

Gaius Octavius Thurinus was born on 23 September 63 BC, in Rome. He was the son of Gaius Octavius and Atia Balba Caesonia. In 59 BC, when he was 4, his father died. Atia married again, but his new stepfather never showed much interest in him and Octavius was raised by his grandmother, Julia Minor (the sister of Julius Caesar ). When she died, Atia took a more active role in raising her son. In 46 BC, Octavius intended to join Julius Caesar in Hispania, but fell ill and was unable to travel. When recovered, he sailed to meet his great-uncle, but was shipwrecked. After coming ashore, Octavius crossed hostile territory to reach Caesar, which greatly impressed him. When back in Rome, he deposited a new will with the Vestal Virgins, naming Octavius as his heir. Octavius was studying in Illyricum when Julius Caesar was murdered in the Ides of March 44 BC. After returning to Italy, Octavius learned of the content of Caesar's will and decided to become his political heir. Upon hi...

Gaius Julius Caesar was born on 12 or 13 July 100 BC into a patrician family, the gens Julia. Despite their ancient pedigree, the Julii Caesares were not politically influent, although they had enjoyed a revival of their fortunes in the early 1st century BC. Caesar's father, also called Gaius Julius Caesar, governed Asia; his aunt Julia married Gaius Marius, a prominent figure of the Republic; and his mother, Aurelia Cotta, came from an influential family. In 85 BC, Caesar's father died and he became the head of the family. This coincided with Sulla's first civil war, which opposed his uncle Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla. It was around this time when Caesar was nominated Flamen Dialis (high priest of Jupiter) and married Lucius Cornelius Cinna's daughter, Cornelia. Sulla won the war and Caesar's connections to the old regime made him a target. He was stripped of his inheritance, his wife's dowry and his priesthood (ironically, it was the los...

Livia, also known as Livia Drusilla was born on 30 January 58 BC, as the daughter of Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus and his wife, Aufidia. The diminutive Drusilla often found in her name suggests she was a second daughter. Livia was probably married in 43 BC. Her father married her to Tiberius Claudius Nero, his cousin of patrician status, with whom he was fighting on the side of Julius Caesar 's assassins against Octavian . Livia's father committed suicide in the Battle of Philippi (42 BC), along Gaius Cassius Longinus and Marcus Junius Brutus. Her husband, however, kept fighting against Octavian, now on behalf of Mark Antony. Livia gave birth to her first child, Tiberius Claudius Nero (future Emperor) on 16 November 42 BC. Two years later, in 40 BC, the family was forced to flee Italy in order to avoid the Triumvirate of Octavian, Mark Antony and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. They joined Sextus Pompeius (a son of Pompey Magnus) in Sicily; later, they moved to Greece. ...