Julius Caesar's accomplishments are legion: he led the first Roman invasion of Britain, founding the city that would become London. He won a Roman civil war that made him the ruler of Rome and used this power to clean house in government, mostly centralizing it under his control in a more totalitarian form of power than Rome had seen in recent times. Assassination was the price paid for such a power grab, but Rome lived on under his grand-nephew Octavian as Rome's first Emperor. As a general, Caesar was unmatched in history by providing for Rome the first all-weather army, able to march, fight and resupply in any climate and any terrain.

Germanicus Caesar, distant or close relative of Julius by way of an entangled family tree, was an accomplished general in Rome's Army and appointed commander of Roman Forces, Germania, in 14 AD. After extinguishing a rebellion among his loyal troops who wanted him on the throne instead of Tiberius, Germanicus went on to defeat the Germanic tribes in 16 AD. After his victories in Germania, Germanicus turned his attentions to the east, defeating Cappadocia and Commagena and making them Roman provinces. He died in Antioch, Syria, speculated to have been poisoned at the hand of Syria's governor on Tiberius' orders. Whether true or false, this speculation seriously destabilized Tiberius' rule in Rome for the rest of his reign.