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Case file s1517 · Greece and Rome · 29
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Livia: (Toulouse) Livie Musée Saint-Raymond Ra 340
Livia. Didier Descouens. Public domain, Wikimedia Commons.
Died
AD 29
Place
Rome, Italy
Field
wife of Augustus, mother of Tiberius
Legal tradition
Roman law of wills and legacies · Roman law
Historical event
Reign of Tiberius
Greece and RomeCrowns and successionAncient worldEuropeItalyJulio-Claudian dynasty

Livia left Galba 50 million sesterces in figures, and her son Tiberius read it as 500,000 and paid nothing

Livia, widow of Augustus and mother of the emperor Tiberius, left legacies to many people. Suetonius says Tiberius did not visit her when she was ill, blocked her deification, and "disregarded the provisions of her will." Suetonius says the largest legacy in her will, larger than any other legatee's, was 50 million sesterces to Servius Sulpicius Galba, who had been adopted by his stepmother Livia Ocellina and took the name Lucius Livius Ocella. The sum was written in numerals, not words. Tiberius was her heir and the man who had to pay. He read the figure as 500,000 sesterces, one hundredth of the sum. Suetonius says Galba never received even that. After Tiberius died in AD 37, his successor Gaius paid Livia's legacies in full, along with those of Tiberius's voided will, and won a name for generosity. Cassius Dio says Gaius spent the money quickly on actors, horses and gladiators. Suetonius's life of Galba does not mention any payment from Gaius. Galba became emperor in AD 68, 39 years after the legacy he was denied.

What the law took from it

A sum written only in figures can be read by the person paying it as whatever figure suits him; write amounts in words.

Record vs. record

Suetonius's Galba says Galba never received even the reduced sum: | Suetonius's Caligula and Cassius Dio say Gaius paid Livia's legacies:

University of Chicago, LacusCurtiusUniversity of Chicago, LacusCurtius
Sources
  1. University of Chicago, LacusCurtiusScholarship
  2. University of Chicago, LacusCurtiusScholarship
  3. University of Chicago, LacusCurtiusScholarship
  4. University of Chicago, LacusCurtiusScholarship

Cite as: celebrity.estate, “Livia left Galba 50 million sesterces in figures, and her son Tiberius read it as 500,000 and paid nothing,” story s1517, https://www.celebrity.estate/livia-29, updated 30 October 2026.

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Where this case sits

Greece and RomeCrowns and successionAncient worldEuropeRoman lawItalyJulio-Claudian dynasty