Agrippina the Younger my lap, so to speak". When Claudius decided to marry her, he persuaded a group of senators that the marriage should be arranged in the public interest. In Roman society, an uncle (Claudius) marrying his niece (Agrippina) was considered incestuous, and obviously immoral. Agrippina and Claudius married on New Year's Day, 49. This marriage caused widespread disapproval. This was a part of Agrippina's scheming plan to make Lucius the new emperor. Her marriage to Claudius was not based on love, but on power. She quickly eliminated her rival Lollia Paulina. Shortly after marrying Claudius, Agrippina charged Paulina with black magic.
Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor years old and had reigned as an independent ruler for just under six years, having nominally reigned for nearly 19 years. The Byzantine princess Zoe, second daughter of the Emperor Constantine VIII, had just disembarked in Apulia on her way to marry him. Otto III's death has been attributed to various causes. Medieval sources speak of malaria, which he had caught in the unhealthy marshes that surrounded Ravenna. Following his death, the Roman people suggested that Stefania, the widow of Crescentius II, had made Otto III fall in love with her and then poisoned him. The Emperor's body was carried