Gaius Sallustius Crispus Passienus be the end of Agrippina's villainy, for Claudius' wife, Messalina, correctly perceiving the threat from Agrippina, attempted to have Lucius assassinated, in order to ensure the succession of Britannicus, her own son by the emperor. The attempt failed, and, after procuring Passienus' death, Agrippina worked to bring about the downfall of Messalina. She then seduced her uncle, the emperor, becoming his wife, and persuaded Claudius to adopt Lucius, naming him his heir in preference to his own son. Agrippina then procured the emperor's death, placing her son, now the emperor Nero, on the throne; he soon disposed of Britannicus. Agrippina
Roman emperor Emperor Theodosius I's sons Arcadius and Honorius succeeded as co-emperors. Eighty-five years later, following Germanic migrations which had reduced the empire's effective control across Brittania, Gaul and Hispania and a series of military coup d'état which drove Emperor Nepos out of Italy, the idea of dividing the position of emperor was formally abolished by Emperor Zeno (480). The Roman Empire survived in the east until 1453, but the marginalization of the former heartland of Italy to the empire had a profound cultural impact on the empire and the position of emperor. In 620, the official language was changed from Latin