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Drusus Biography

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The most illustrious of the Drusi was Nero Claudius Drusus, commonly called Drusus Senior. He was son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla and so was the stepson of the Emperor Augustus and younger brother of the Emperor Tiberius. He was born in 38 B.C. As he grew up he developed splendid personal qualities as well as the highest capacity for civil and military affairs. He began his public career in 19 B.C. and signalized himself when only 23 years old by his defeat of the Rhætians and other Alpine tribes which were disturbing the north of Italy. In 13 B.C. he was sent into Gaul, then in revolt, and, after crushing the rebels there, pushed across the Rhine in pursuit of their German allies. In this campaign he subdued the Sigambri and the Frisii and forced his way to the German Ocean, being the first Roman general to do so. From this time he strove to establish the Roman supremacy in Germany, partly by conquest and partly by the execution of great military works. Among these latter may be mentioned the canal joining the Rhine with the German Ocean, two bridges over the Rhine itself, and the embankments of the Vahalis (Waal). In 11 B.C. he conquered the Usipetes, the Cherusci, and the Suevi; in the following year he subdued the Chatti and the Nervii; he was prosecuting the work of subjugation in 9 B.C. when a fall from his horse cut short his brilliant career in his thirtieth year. For his exploits in Germany Drusus was rewarded with the title of Germanicus, a surname which passed over to his celebrated son. (See GERMANICUS.) Another of his sons was afterward the Emperor Claudius.

The New International Encyclopaedia, Vol. VII (New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1920) 278.