In this newest installment of A.D. History, Paul K. DiCostanzo and Patrick Foote probe one of the most debated murder cold cases in history of the Roman living legend Germanicus. Paul and Patrick also examine the only known surviving such work of its time, Strabo’s much celebrated The Geography. The Geography in its detailed accounting provides a comprehensive work that not only outlines what the Greco-Roman sphere knew about the greater world, but also provides singular insight into how the Romans viewed their own place in that ancient world through Strabo’s eyes. 

The Death of Germanicus: Murder Most Foul?

Germanicus, the Roman soldier-statesman, stands as one of the most beloved and revered figures by ancient Romans. Born in 15 BC, Germanicus’ given name was likely Nero Claudius Drusus. Germanicus’ father was also called Nero Claudius Drusus; who himself was the adopted stepson of Emperor Augustus, as well as the elder brother to the Emperor Tiberius. Drusus and his death at a rather young age lead to Germanicus being adopted by Tiberius, in addition to being a most favored step-grandson to Augustus. 



Germanicus due to his immense talent, battlefield achievements, and most unusual personal character for a Roman of his time or societal class, was thought by his fellow Romans as their Alexander the Great. Germanicus was indeed a legend in his own time; known not only for his stoicism, but his bravery, palpable loyalty, self effacement, lacking all pretensions, and his bold demeanor that unwaveringly lead from the front. His untimely demise in 19AD at age 34 in Syria is alleged to have been murder. Germanicus’ suspected murder, it’s most likely culprits, circumstances, purported means and lack of hard evidence has lead this to become an effective cold case now lasting over 2,000 years.

The official Roman narrative implicating and convicting Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, then governor of Roman Syria at the time of Germanicus’ alleged murder – namely by poison – is at best problematic. The cold case is wrought with innuendo, paranoia, wild accusations, and circumstantial evidence – which is no evidence at all. Indeed, conspiracy is remarkably difficult to prove in many modern western legal systems, and Piso’s conviction today could never come to pass based on the paltry evidence available. 

Paul and Patrick breakdown this immense history, taking a much closer look at the suspects believed most likely by the Roman people of the time, using the famous Agatha Christie trope, “who dunnit?”

Strabo’s The Geography: What did the Romans know about the greater world?

The Geography, or the Geographica, by Greco-Roman historian Strabo is a 17 volume work that outlines the greater ancient world from a Greco-Roman perspective. Strabo’s work not only outlines the greater geographical knowledge of the known world in great detail, but categorically describes the various disparate people’s that inhabit it. The Geography is most unique because no other like work is known to have survived into modernity, unlike his other work Historical Sketches or Historica Hypomnemata.

Strabo, the chronicler of this work, died in 24 AD at age 87. Strabo, son of a wealthy family, originally hailed from ancient Anatolia, in Amaseia Pontus under King Mithridates VI. Strabo’s family notably threw in their lot with the Romans, prior to Amaseia’s incorporation into the Roman Empire under Pompey in 70BC.



The Geography and it’s vast importance to scholars of antiquity provides the most important insight of all, a first hand look into exactly how the Romans viewed themselves and their place in their world. For all intents and purposes, there is no greater historical windfall which surpasses gaining that contemporaneous understanding.