Death of Germanicus (October AD 19)

Germanicus died in Antioch in October AD 19, not yet thirty-four years old. Tacitus writes that before his death he broke with Piso and asked his wife not to provoke those stronger than herself in Rome (Annals 2.70, 2.72). Lead tablets with his name and human remains were supposedly found in his house (2.69).

Tacitus himself does not vouch for the poison. He writes that it was uncertain whether the body bore signs of poisoning (2.73). The Senate’s decree on Piso’s trial is silent about poison. Agrippina brought the ashes to Italy, and the people met them with mourning (Tacitus 3.1–4).