The Scandalous Life of Augustus Caesar’s Rebellious Daughter
Julia was exiled by her own father.
In an earlier article about how far Ancient Rome spread, I discussed how it went from a kingdom to a republic and then finally an empire in 31 BC. This was when Julius Caesar’s great nephew and adopted son, Augustus Caesar, declared himself the first emperor of the Roman Empire.
Augustus had unwavering popularity and a prosperous reign. However, one of the big problems he faced in his life was deciding on an heir to his throne since he would have no sons, and his only child was his daughter Julia. As fate would have it, Julia would turn out to be a rebellious and problematic child who caused great trouble for her father.
Augustus Caesar was married thrice in his lifetime. His second wife was Scribonia. Scribonia was integral to Augustus’ plot to seal an alliance with the Roman military leader Sextus Pompeius. Since Scribonia was related to Sextus, Augustus forced her to divorce her husband. He then proceeded to divorce his first wife in order to marry Scribonia in 40 BC.
The marriage was, by all accounts, not a happy one. Eventually, Augustus would end up divorcing her too, citing her “shrewish disposition” as the reason he could not put up with her anymore in a divorce letter. She received this letter the…
