AGRIPPINA

Good Morning/ Afternoon. Julia Agrippina, better known as Agrippina the Younger was the great grand-daughter of Augustus, the first emperor of Rome. She was born on the 7th of November; AD 15 in Ara Ubiorum, Cologne. Her father, Germanicus Julius Caesar was a popular general who died in 19AD, supposedly murdered by his uncle, Tiberius. Caligula was supposedly very close with Drusilla and after her death, Caligula was said to have gone mad. This caused Agrippina to plot with two others to kill Caligula; however the plot was unsuccessful and resulted in Agrippina being exiled. Caligula was murdered in 41 AD, and their Uncle Claudius came into power and lifted her exile. Upon her return to Rome, Agrippina began plotting to make her son emperor. Eventually, Agrippina married her uncle Claudius, after killing Lollia Paulina, who she considered competition. Agrippina convinced Claudius to adopt Nero and manipulated him into making Nero his heir. Agrippina ended up poisoning Claudius, after he changed his mind and began preparing his son Brittanicus to be his heir.

Agrippina subsequently went to live with her greatgrandmother Livia until she was 13 years old, when she married her second cousin, Domit-ius who was 45; together they had a son named Nero. On the 16th of March, 37 AD Tiberius died, resulting in Agrippinas brother, Caligula coming into power. Caligula treated his sisters Agrippina, Liv-illa and Drusilla very well. Agrippina married the nobleman Crispus, who adopted her son; when Agrippina murdered Crispus, he left his estate to Nero, her son. Claudiuss wife Messalina was later executed after plotting to murder Claudius. Around this time, Agrippina became the mistress of one of Claudius advisers. So when Claudius began considering a new wife, Agrippina was one of the four women suggested. On the 23rd of March AD 56 Agrippina was murdered, though the exact circumstances arent known, it is widely believed that Nero was responsible. Agrippina was responsible for the death of 5 other people and the exile of 3 people. Agrippina was a very powerful and influential woman who was known to be ruthless, ambitious, domineering and violent. She had a lot of influence and power in Rome. Most of the Roman roads that still stand today were once major roads. The Roads played a huge part in the expansion of the Roman Empire allowing Rome to participate in trade and defend itself. People typically travelled along the roads using a horse and carriage. Roman roads were exceptionally made consisting of the first ever paved roads. How the roads were constructed depended on the firmness of the subsoil and the available materials. On the top of the road paving stones or crushed stones and gravel were usually used. Roman roads were one of the Romans greatest accomplishments, and greatly influences the way roads are constructed today.

ROMAN ROADS
The Roman Road system was possibly the best of its kind, spanning over 400 000 km with over 80 500km of it being paved. Roman roads were originally constructed by the army, for military uses. However, the states constructed their own major roads and smaller connecting roads were constructed by councils. They were also renowned for their straightness; however shortcuts and detours were often taken in order to avoid difficult terrain. The roads were constructed by digging down into a firm foundation which was reinforced by wood. Layers of stone sand and gravel were sometimes built up in order to assist drainage.