Sejanus
Encyclopedia
Lucius Aelius Seianus commonly known as Sejanus, was an ambitious soldier, friend and confidant of the Roman Emperor
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...

 Tiberius
Tiberius
Tiberius , was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian...

. An equestrian
Equestrian (Roman)
The Roman equestrian order constituted the lower of the two aristocratic classes of ancient Rome, ranking below the patricians , a hereditary caste that monopolised political power during the regal era and during the early Republic . A member of the equestrian order was known as an eques...

 by birth, Sejanus rose to power as prefect
Praetorian prefect
Praetorian prefect was the title of a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders becoming the Emperor's chief aides...

 of the Roman imperial bodyguard
Bodyguard
A bodyguard is a type of security operative or government agent who protects a person—usually a famous, wealthy, or politically important figure—from assault, kidnapping, assassination, stalking, loss of confidential information, terrorist attack or other threats.Most important public figures such...

, known as the Praetorian Guard
Praetorian Guard
The Praetorian Guard was a force of bodyguards used by Roman Emperors. The title was already used during the Roman Republic for the guards of Roman generals, at least since the rise to prominence of the Scipio family around 275 BC...

, of which he was commander from AD 14 until his death in 31.

While the Praetorian Guard was formally established under Emperor Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...

, Sejanus introduced a number of reforms which saw the unit evolve beyond a mere bodyguard into a powerful and influential branch of the government involved in public security, civil administration, and ultimately political intercession; changes which would have a lasting impact on the course of the Principate
Principate
The Principate is the first period of the Roman Empire, extending from the beginning of the reign of Caesar Augustus to the Crisis of the Third Century, after which it was replaced with the Dominate. The Principate is characterized by a concerted effort on the part of the Emperors to preserve the...

.

During the 20s, Sejanus gradually accumulated power by consolidating his influence over Tiberius and eliminating potential political opponents, including the emperor's son, Drusus Julius Caesar. When Tiberius withdrew to Capri
Capri
Capri is an Italian island in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples, in the Campania region of Southern Italy...

 in 26, Sejanus was left in control of the entire state mechanism as de facto ruler of the empire. For a time the most influential and feared citizen of Rome, Sejanus suddenly fell from power in 31, the year his career culminated with the consulship
Roman consul
A consul served in the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic.Each year, two consuls were elected together, to serve for a one-year term. Each consul was given veto power over his colleague and the officials would alternate each month...

. Amidst suspicions of conspiracy against Tiberius, Sejanus was arrested and executed, along with his followers.

Family

Sejanus was born in 20 BC at Volsinii
Volsinii
Volsinii or Vulsinii , is the name of two ancient cities of Etruria, one situated on the shore of Lacus Volsiniensis , and the other on the Via Clodia, between Clusium and Forum Cassii...

, Etruria
Etruria
Etruria—usually referred to in Greek and Latin source texts as Tyrrhenia—was a region of Central Italy, an area that covered part of what now are Tuscany, Latium, Emilia-Romagna, and Umbria. A particularly noteworthy work dealing with Etruscan locations is D. H...

, to the family of Lucius Seius Strabo
Lucius Seius Strabo
Lucius Seius Strabo or Lucius Aelius Strabo was a prefect of the Roman imperial bodyguard, known as the Praetorian Guard, during the rule of the emperors Augustus and Tiberius. The length of Strabo's tenure as Praetorian prefect is unknown, but he held the position together with various colleagues...

. The Seii were Romans of the equestrian class
Equestrian (Roman)
The Roman equestrian order constituted the lower of the two aristocratic classes of ancient Rome, ranking below the patricians , a hereditary caste that monopolised political power during the regal era and during the early Republic . A member of the equestrian order was known as an eques...

 (or knights), one of the two upper social class
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...

es of the Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...

 and the early Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

. Officially the equestrians were only the second tier of the elite, behind the senatorial class. Sejanus' grandfather however maintained relations with senatorial families through his marriage with Terentia, a sister of the wife of Gaius Maecenas
Gaius Maecenas
Gaius Cilnius Maecenas was a confidant and political advisor to Octavian as well as an important patron for the new generation of Augustan poets...

, who was one of Emperor Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...

' most powerful political allies.

Strabo himself married into equally illustrious families. He may have married a daughter of Quintus Aelius Tubero
Quintus Aelius Tubero
Quintus Aelius Tubero was a Roman consul in 11 BC. He was most likely the father of Sextus Aelius Catus, who was himself consul in 4 AD. His granddaughter was Aelia Paetina, who married future Emperor Claudius in 28. Her adopted brother was Lucius Aelius Sejanus, the Praetorian Prefect who was...

, allying himself with the more prestigious Aelian
Aelia (gens)
The gens Aelia, occasionally written Ailia, was a plebeian family at Rome, which flourished from the 5th century BC until at least the 3rd century AD, a period of nearly eight hundred years. The archaic spelling Ailia is found on coins, but must not be confused with Allia, which seems to be a...

 gens
Gens
In ancient Rome, a gens , plural gentes, referred to a family, consisting of all those individuals who shared the same nomen and claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a stirps . The gens was an important social structure at Rome and throughout Italy during the...

. Lucius Seius Tubero, who became suffect consul
Roman consul
A consul served in the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic.Each year, two consuls were elected together, to serve for a one-year term. Each consul was given veto power over his colleague and the officials would alternate each month...

 in 18, was probably his son. Strabo's last wife was Cosconia Gallita, sister of Servius Cornelius Lentulus Maluginensis (suffect consul in 10) and Publius Cornelius Lentulus Scipio (suffect consul in 2), and perhaps half-sister of Quintus Junius Blaesus (suffect consul in 10). Sejanus could have been a child of this marriage. He was later adopted into the Aelian gens by Aelius Gallus, and by Roman custom became known as Lucius Aelius Seianus, or simply Sejanus.

The adoptive family of Sejanus counted two consuls among their family: the aforementioned Quintus Aelius Tubero (consul in 11 BC), and Sextus Aelius Catus
Sextus Aelius Catus
Sextius Aelius Catus was father of Aelia Paetina, second wife of the emperor Claudius from 28 AD to about 31 AD . His only known grandchild was Aelia and Claudius's daughter Claudia Antonia, born in 30.Sextus Aelius Catus was possibly descended from Sextus Aelius Q.f...

 (consul in 4), who was the father of Aelia Paetina
Aelia Paetina
Aelia Paetina or Paetina was the second wife of the Roman Emperor Claudius. Her biological father was consul of 4, Sextus Aelius Catus while her mother is unknown. She was born into the family of the Aelii Tuberones, and thus apparently descended from the consul of 11 BC...

, the second wife of the Emperor Claudius
Claudius
Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...

. Sejanus' uncle Junius Blaesus distinguished himself as a military commander who became proconsul
Proconsul
A proconsul was a governor of a province in the Roman Republic appointed for one year by the senate. In modern usage, the title has been used for a person from one country ruling another country or bluntly interfering in another country's internal affairs.-Ancient Rome:In the Roman Republic, a...

 of Africa
Africa Province
The Roman province of Africa was established after the Romans defeated Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day northern Tunisia, and the small Mediterranean coast of modern-day western Libya along the Syrtis Minor...

 in 21, and earned triumphal honors
Roman triumph
The Roman triumph was a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly celebrate and sanctify the military achievement of an army commander who had won great military successes, or originally and traditionally, one who had successfully completed a foreign war. In Republican...

 by crushing the rebellion of Tacfarinas
Tacfarinas
Tacfarinas was a Numidian deserter from the Roman army who led his own Musulamii tribe and a loose and changing coalition of other Ancient Libyan tribes in a war against the Romans in North Africa during the rule of emperor Tiberius .Although Tacfarinas' personal motivation is unknown, it is...

.

According to the ancient historian Tacitus
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...

, Sejanus was also a former favourite of the wealthy Marcus Gavius Apicius
Marcus Gavius Apicius
Marcus Gavius Apicius is believed to have been a Roman gourmet and lover of luxury, who lived sometime in the 1st century AD, during the reign of Tiberius. The Roman cookbook Apicius is often, but incorrectly, attributed to him. He was the subject of On the Luxury of Apicius, a famous work, now...

, whose daughter may have been Sejanus' first wife Apicata. With Apicata, he had three children, two sons and one daughter: Strabo, Capito Aelianus and Junilla.

Praetorian prefect

It is likely that Sejanus' father Strabo came to the attention of Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...

 through his father's connection with Maecenas. Sometime after 2 BC, he was appointed prefect of the Praetorian Guard
Praetorian prefect
Praetorian prefect was the title of a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders becoming the Emperor's chief aides...

, one of the two most powerful positions a Roman knight could attain in the Empire. This office he carried on dutifully and without incident until the death of Augustus in 14. Little is known about the life Sejanus led prior to this date, but according to Tacitus, he accompanied Gaius Caesar
Gaius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar , most commonly known as Gaius Caesar or Caius Caesar, was the oldest son of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder...

, adopted grandson of Augustus, during his campaigns in Armenia in 1 BC. It was upon the accession of Tiberius
Tiberius
Tiberius , was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian...

 in 14, that Sejanus was appointed prefect of the Praetorian Guard as the colleague of his father Strabo, and began his rise to prominence.

The Praetorian Guard was an elite unit of the Roman army
Roman army
The Roman army is the generic term for the terrestrial armed forces deployed by the kingdom of Rome , the Roman Republic , the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine empire...

 formed by Augustus in 27 BC, with the specific function to serve as a bodyguard
Bodyguard
A bodyguard is a type of security operative or government agent who protects a person—usually a famous, wealthy, or politically important figure—from assault, kidnapping, assassination, stalking, loss of confidential information, terrorist attack or other threats.Most important public figures such...

 to the emperor and members of the imperial family. Much more than a guard however, the Praetorians also managed the day-to-day care of the city, such as general security and civil administration. Furthermore, their presence served as a constant reminder to the people and the Senate of the substantial armed force which served as the basis for the imperial power. Augustus was careful however to uphold the republican
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...

 veneer of this regime, and only allowed nine cohorts
Cohort (military unit)
A cohort was the basic tactical unit of a Roman legion following the reforms of Gaius Marius in 107 BC.-Legionary cohort:...

 to be formed (one less than in a normal Roman legion
Roman legion
A Roman legion normally indicates the basic ancient Roman army unit recruited specifically from Roman citizens. The organization of legions varied greatly over time but they were typically composed of perhaps 5,000 soldiers, divided into maniples and later into "cohorts"...

), which were inconspicuously scattered across various lodging houses in the city, and commanded by two prefects.

When Strabo was assigned to the governorship
Roman governor
A Roman governor was an official either elected or appointed to be the chief administrator of Roman law throughout one or more of the many provinces constituting the Roman Empire...

 of Egypt in 15, Sejanus became the sole commander of the Praetorians and instigated reforms that helped shape the guard into a powerful tool of the principate
Principate
The Principate is the first period of the Roman Empire, extending from the beginning of the reign of Caesar Augustus to the Crisis of the Third Century, after which it was replaced with the Dominate. The Principate is characterized by a concerted effort on the part of the Emperors to preserve the...

. In 20 the scattered encampments inside the city were centralized into a single garrison
Castra Praetoria
Castra Praetoria were the ancient barracks of the Praetorian Guard of Imperial Rome.-History:According to the Roman historian Suetonius, the barracks were built in 23 AD by Lucius Aelius Sejanus, the praetorian prefect serving under the emperor Tiberius, in an effort to consolidate the several...

 just outside Rome and the number of cohorts was increased from nine to twelve, one of which now held the daily guard at the palace. The practice of joint leadership between two prefects was abandoned, and Sejanus himself appointed the centurion
Centurion
A centurion was a professional officer of the Roman army .Centurion may also refer to:-Military:* Centurion tank, British battle tank* HMS Centurion, name of several ships and a shore base of the British Royal Navy...

s and tribunes. With these changes in effect, Sejanus now commanded the complete loyalty of a force of around 12,000 soldiers, all of which were at his immediate disposal. The facade of Augustus was no longer maintained, and Tiberius openly displayed the strength of the guard at parades.

Feud with Drusus

In his capacity of Praetorian prefect Sejanus quickly became a trusted advisor to Tiberius. By 23 he already exerted a considerable influence over the decisions of the emperor, who referred to Sejanus as "Socius Laborum" (my partner in my toils). By this time he had been raised to the rank of praetor
Praetor
Praetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, usually in the field, or the named commander before mustering the army; and an elected magistratus assigned varied duties...

, a position which was not normally granted to Romans of the equestrian class
Equestrian (Roman)
The Roman equestrian order constituted the lower of the two aristocratic classes of ancient Rome, ranking below the patricians , a hereditary caste that monopolised political power during the regal era and during the early Republic . A member of the equestrian order was known as an eques...

. A statue had been erected in his honor in the Theatre of Pompey
Theatre of Pompey
The Theatre of Pompey was a structure in Ancient Rome built during the later part of the Roman Republican era. It was completed in seven years, starting from 55 BC, and was dedicated early in 52 BC before the structure was fully completed...

, and in the Senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...

 his followers were advanced with public offices and governorships. However this privileged position caused resentment among the senatorial class and the imperial family, in particular earning him the enmity of Drusus Julius Caesar, Tiberius' son.

The history of Sejanus and Drusus dated back to at least 15 AD. That year a mutiny
Mutiny
Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...

 had broken out among legions
Roman legion
A Roman legion normally indicates the basic ancient Roman army unit recruited specifically from Roman citizens. The organization of legions varied greatly over time but they were typically composed of perhaps 5,000 soldiers, divided into maniples and later into "cohorts"...

 posted in Pannonia
Pannonia
Pannonia was an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia....

 and Germania
Germania
Germania was the Greek and Roman geographical term for the geographical regions inhabited by mainly by peoples considered to be Germani. It was most often used to refer especially to the east of the Rhine and north of the Danube...

. While his adopted son Germanicus
Germanicus
Germanicus Julius Caesar , commonly known as Germanicus, was a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and a prominent general of the early Roman Empire. He was born in Rome, Italia, and was named either Nero Claudius Drusus after his father or Tiberius Claudius Nero after his uncle...

 restored order in Germania, Tiberius' biological son Drusus was sent to quell the uprising in Pannonia, accompanied by Sejanus and two Praetorian cohorts
Cohort (military unit)
A cohort was the basic tactical unit of a Roman legion following the reforms of Gaius Marius in 107 BC.-Legionary cohort:...

. In part due to what the soldiers believed to be bad omen
Omen
An omen is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change...

s, Drusus quickly managed to restore the stability in the army and publicly put the chief instigators to death. The camp was purged of mutineers by the Praetorians and the legions returned to the winter barracks. Despite this success, the following years witnessed a growing animosity between Drusus and Sejanus.

Since the accession of Tiberius, Drusus had been systematically groomed as the successor of his father, successfully commanding legions in Illyricum
Illyricum (Roman province)
The Roman province of Illyricum or Illyris Romana or Illyris Barbara or Illyria Barbara replaced most of the region of Illyria. It stretched from the Drilon river in modern north Albania to Istria in the west and to the Sava river in the north. Salona functioned as its capital...

 in 18, and sharing the consulship with Tiberius in 21. In practice however it was still Sejanus who was the second man in the empire, and he was ambitious to further expand his power. As early as 20, Sejanus had sought to solidify his connection with the imperial family by betrothing his daughter Junilla to the son of Claudius
Claudius
Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...

, Claudius Drusus. At the time the girl was only 4 years old but the marriage was nonetheless prevented when the boy accidentally died a few days later of asphyxia
Asphyxia
Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of severely deficient supply of oxygen to the body that arises from being unable to breathe normally. An example of asphyxia is choking. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which primarily affects the tissues and organs...

tion.

When this failed it seems Sejanus turned his attention toward eliminating Drusus. By 23 the enmity between the two men had reached a critical point. During an argument Drusus had struck the prefect with his fist, and he openly lamented that "a stranger was invited to assist in the government while the emperor's son was alive". With Tiberius already in his sixties, there was a real possibility of Drusus succeeding his father in the near future. To secure his position Sejanus secretly plotted against him and succeeded in seducing his wife Livilla
Livilla
Livia Julia was the only daughter of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia Minor and sister of the Roman Emperor Claudius and Germanicus...

. With her as an accomplice Drusus was slowly poisoned and died of seemingly natural causes on September 13, 23.

Consolidation of power

The loss of his son was a major blow to Tiberius, both personally and politically. Over the years he had grown increasingly disillusioned with the position of princeps, and by sharing the tribunician powers with Drusus in 22 had prepared to relent some of his responsibilities in favour of his son. With these hopes now dashed, Tiberius left his administration more than ever in the care of Sejanus, and looked toward the sons of Germanicus
Germanicus
Germanicus Julius Caesar , commonly known as Germanicus, was a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and a prominent general of the early Roman Empire. He was born in Rome, Italia, and was named either Nero Claudius Drusus after his father or Tiberius Claudius Nero after his uncle...

 (Nero Caesar, Drusus Caesar, and Caligula
Caligula
Caligula , also known as Gaius, was Roman Emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD. Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligula's father Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, was a very successful general and one of Rome's most...

) as possible future heirs.

Germanicus
Germanicus
Germanicus Julius Caesar , commonly known as Germanicus, was a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and a prominent general of the early Roman Empire. He was born in Rome, Italia, and was named either Nero Claudius Drusus after his father or Tiberius Claudius Nero after his uncle...

 himself had died in 19 in somewhat suspicious circumstances in Syria. Following his death, his wife Agrippina the Elder
Agrippina the elder
Vipsania Agrippina or most commonly known as Agrippina Major or Agrippina the Elder was a distinguished and prominent granddaughter of the Emperor Augustus. Agrippina was the wife of the general, statesman Germanicus and a relative to the first Roman Emperors...

 returned to Rome with their six children and became increasingly involved with a group of senators who opposed the growing power of Sejanus. Her relations with Tiberius became increasingly fraught as she made it clear that she believed that he was responsible for the death of Germanicus. The climate was further poisoned by the hatred that Tiberius' mother Livia Drusilla felt for her, since Agrippina's ambition, to be the mother of emperors and thus Rome's first woman, was an open secret. To Sejanus personally, Agrippina's sons Nero Caesar, Drusus Caesar and Caligula
Caligula
Caligula , also known as Gaius, was Roman Emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD. Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligula's father Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, was a very successful general and one of Rome's most...

 were considered a direct threat to his power.

Meanwhile, Sejanus again attempted to marry into the Julio-Claudian
Julio-Claudian Dynasty
The Julio-Claudian dynasty normally refers to the first five Roman Emperors: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula , Claudius, and Nero, or the family to which they belonged; they ruled the Roman Empire from its formation, in the second half of the 1st century BC, until AD 68, when the last of the line,...

 family. Having divorced Apicata two years earlier he requested marriage with Livilla in 25, possibly with an eye towards placing himself, as an adopted Julian
Julius
The gens Julia was one of the most ancient patrician families at Ancient Rome. Members of the gens attained the highest dignities of the state in the earliest times of the Republic. The first of the family to obtain the consulship was Gaius Julius Iulus in 489 BC...

, in the position of a potential successor. The emperor denied this request, warning Sejanus that he was in danger of overstepping his rank. Alarmed by this sudden denigration, Sejanus changed his plans and began to isolate Tiberius from Rome. By fueling his paranoia
Paranoia
Paranoia [] is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself...

 towards Agrippina and the Senate he induced the emperor to withdraw to the countryside of Campania
Campania
Campania is a region in southern Italy. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...

, which he did in 26, and finally to the island of Capri
Capri
Capri is an Italian island in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples, in the Campania region of Southern Italy...

, where he would spend the remainder of his life until his death in 37. Guarded by the Praetorians, Sejanus easily controlled all information that passed between Tiberius and the capital.

Despite the withdrawal of Tiberius from Rome's political scene, the presence of Livia seems to have checked Sejanus' overt power for a time. According to Tacitus, her death in 29 changed all that. Sejanus began a series of purge trials of senators and wealthy equestrians in the city, removing those capable of opposing his power as well as extending the imperial (and his own) treasury. Networks of spies
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...

 and informers brought the victims to trial with false accusations of treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...

, and many chose suicide over the disgrace of being condemned and executed. Among those who perished were Gaius Asinius Gallus
Gaius Asinius Gallus
Gaius Asinius Gallus Saloninus was an ambitious Roman Senator with family connections to the Julio-Claudian house. Asinius Gallus was consul in 8 BC, and proconsul of Asia in 6 BC/5 BC. He was a friend of Emperor Augustus and opposed Emperor Tiberius. He introduced measures to the senate to...

, a prominent senator and opponent of Tiberius who was linked to Agrippina's faction. Agrippina herself and two of her sons, Nero and Drusus were arrested and exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...

d in 30, and later starved
Starvation
Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy, nutrient and vitamin intake. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, death...

 to death in suspicious circumstances. Only Caligula, as the last remaining son of Germanicus, managed to survive the purges of Sejanus, and that he did by moving to Capri with Tiberius in 31.

Denunciation

In 31, despite his equestrian rank, Sejanus shared the consulship
Roman consul
A consul served in the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic.Each year, two consuls were elected together, to serve for a one-year term. Each consul was given veto power over his colleague and the officials would alternate each month...

 with Tiberius in absentia
In absentia
In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...

, and finally became betrothed to Livilla
Livilla
Livia Julia was the only daughter of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia Minor and sister of the Roman Emperor Claudius and Germanicus...

. Tiberius had not been seen in Rome since 26. Sejanus was de facto ruler of the Roman Empire, and senators and equestrians openly courted his favour as if he were such. His birthday was publicly observed and statues were being erected in his honour. With most of the political opposition crushed, Sejanus felt his position was unassailable. As the ancient historian Cassius Dio describes:

Sejanus was so great a person by reason both of his excessive haughtiness and of his vast power, that, to put it briefly, he himself seemed to be the emperor and Tiberius a kind of island potentate, inasmuch as the latter spent his time on the island of Capreae.


Through years of crafty intrigues and indispensable service to the emperor, Sejanus had worked himself up to become the most powerful man in the Empire. By the end of 31, he would be arrested, summarily executed
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...

 and his body unceremoniously cast down the Gemonian stairs
Gemonian stairs
The Gemonian Stairs were a flight of steps located in the ancient city of Rome. Nicknamed the Stairs of Mourning, the stairs are infamous in Roman history as a place of execution.- Location :...

. Exactly what caused his sudden downfall is unclear: ancient historians disagree about the nature of his conspiracy, whether it was Tiberius or Sejanus who struck first, and in which order subsequent events transpired. Modern historians consider it unlikely that Sejanus plotted to seize the imperial power for himself and, if he had planned so at all, rather might have aimed at overthrowing Tiberius to serve as a regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...

 to Tiberius Gemellus
Tiberius Gemellus
Tiberius Julius Caesar Nero Gemellus, known as Tiberius Gemellus was the son of Drusus and Livilla, the grandson of the Emperor Tiberius, and the cousin of the Emperor Caligula. Gemellus is a nickname meaning "the twin"...

, son of Drusus, or possibly even Gaius Caligula
Caligula
Caligula , also known as Gaius, was Roman Emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD. Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligula's father Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, was a very successful general and one of Rome's most...

. Unfortunately the relevant section pertaining to this period in the Annals of Tacitus has been lost. According to Josephus
Josephus
Titus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...

 however, it was Antonia
Antonia Minor
Antonia Minor , also known as Antonia the Younger or simply Antonia was the younger of two daughters of Roman politician Mark Antony and Octavia Minor. Tacitus Ann. 4.44.2 and 12.54.2 may have confused the two Antonia sisters...

, the mother of Livilla, who finally alerted Tiberius to the growing threat Sejanus posed (possibly with information provided by Satrius Secundus
Satrius Secundus
Satrius Secundus was a dependent of Sejanus in the 1st century Roman empire. He accused Aulus Cremutius Cordus in 25 AD. He afterwards betrayed his master, and gave information to Tiberius of the conspiracy which Sejanus had formed against him...

), in a letter she dispatched to Capri in the care of her freedman
Freedman
A freedman is a former slave who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves became freedmen either by manumission or emancipation ....

 Pallas
Pallas (freedman)
Marcus Antonius Pallas was a prominent Greek freedman and secretary during the reigns of the Roman Emperors Claudius and Nero. His younger brother was Marcus Antonius Felix, a procurator of Iudaea Province...

.

Further details concerning Sejanus' fall are provided by Cassius Dio, writing nearly 200 years after the facts in his Roman History. It appears that, when Tiberius heard to what extent Sejanus had already usurped
Usurper
Usurper is a derogatory term used to describe either an illegitimate or controversial claimant to the power; often, but not always in a monarchy, or a person who succeeds in establishing himself as a monarch without inheriting the throne, or any other person exercising authority unconstitutionally...

 his authority in Rome, he immediately took steps to remove him from power. However, he realised that an outright condemnation could provoke Sejanus to attempt a coup
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...

. Instead, Tiberius addressed a number of contradictory letters to the Senate, some of which praised Sejanus and his friends, and some of which denounced them. Tiberius variously announced that he would arrive in Rome the next day or that he was at the point of death. He stepped down as consul, forcing Sejanus to do the same, and conferred an honorary priesthood upon Caligula, rekindling popular support for the house of Germanicus. The ensuing confusion was successful in alienating Sejanus from many of his followers. With the intentions of the emperor no longer clear, it was now deemed a safer course of action at Rome to withdraw from overt support to Sejanus until the matter was clearly settled.

When it became clear to Tiberius that support for Sejanus was not as strong as the emperor had feared, his next step was to choose Naevius Sutorius Macro
Naevius Sutorius Macro
Quintus Naevius Cordus Sutorius Macro was a prefect of the Praetorian Guard, from 31 until 38, serving under the Roman Emperors Tiberius and Caligula...

, previously prefect of the vigiles
Vigiles
The Vigiles or more properly the Vigiles Urbani or Cohortes Vigilum were the firefighters and police of Ancient Rome.-History:...

 (Roman police and fire department), to replace Sejanus and effect his downfall. On October 18, 31, Sejanus was summoned to a Senate meeting by a letter from Tiberius, ostensibly to bestow the tribunician powers upon him. At dawn he entered the Senate, but while the letter was being read Macro assumed control of the Praetorian Guard, and members of the vigiles led by Graecinius Laco surrounded the building. The senators at first congratulated Sejanus, but when the letter, which first digressed into completely unrelated matters, suddenly denounced him and ordered his arrest, he was immediately surrounded and escorted to prison
Mamertine Prison
The Mamertine Prison — or Tullianum — was a prison located in the Forum Romanum in Ancient Rome. It was located on the northeastern slope of the Capitoline Hill, facing the Curia and the imperial fora of Nerva, Vespasian, and Augustus...

.

Execution and aftermath

That same evening, the Senate convened at the Temple of Concord
Temple of Concord
The Temple of Concord in the ancient city of Rome was a temple dedicated to the Roman goddess Concordia at the western end of the Roman Forum. The temple was built in the 4th century BC as a promise towards peace after a long period of civil strife within the city...

 and summarily condemned Sejanus to death. He was led from prison and strangled. His body was cast onto the Gemonian stairs
Gemonian stairs
The Gemonian Stairs were a flight of steps located in the ancient city of Rome. Nicknamed the Stairs of Mourning, the stairs are infamous in Roman history as a place of execution.- Location :...

, where the crowd tore it to pieces. Riots ensued in which mobs hunted down and killed anyone they could link to the regime of Sejanus. The Praetorians also resorted to looting
Looting
Looting —also referred to as sacking, plundering, despoiling, despoliation, and pillaging—is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe, such as during war, natural disaster, or rioting...

 when they were accused of having conspired with the former prefect. Following the issue of damnatio memoriae
Damnatio memoriae
Damnatio memoriae is the Latin phrase literally meaning "condemnation of memory" in the sense of a judgment that a person must not be remembered. It was a form of dishonor that could be passed by the Roman Senate upon traitors or others who brought discredit to the Roman State...

by the Senate, his statues were torn down and his name obliterated from all public records
Public records
Public records are documents or pieces of information that are not considered confidential. For example, in California, when a couple fills out a marriage license application, they have the option of checking the box as to whether the marriage is "confidential" or "Public"...

. On October 24, Sejanus' eldest son Strabo was arrested and executed. Upon learning of his death, Apicata committed suicide (October 26) after addressing a letter to Tiberius claiming that Drusus had been poisoned with the complicity of Livilla. The accusations were further corroborated by confessions from Livilla's slaves, who admitted to having administered the poison to Drusus.

Enraged upon learning the truth, Tiberius soon ordered more executions. Livilla herself committed suicide or, as legend would have it, was forcibly starved to death by her own mother Antonia Minor
Antonia Minor
Antonia Minor , also known as Antonia the Younger or simply Antonia was the younger of two daughters of Roman politician Mark Antony and Octavia Minor. Tacitus Ann. 4.44.2 and 12.54.2 may have confused the two Antonia sisters...

. The remaining children of Sejanus, Capito Aelianus and Junilla were executed in December of that year. According to ancient historians, because there was no precedent for the capital punishment of a virgin, Junilla was raped before her execution, with the rope around her neck. Their bodies were likewise thrown down the Gemonian stairs
Gemonian stairs
The Gemonian Stairs were a flight of steps located in the ancient city of Rome. Nicknamed the Stairs of Mourning, the stairs are infamous in Roman history as a place of execution.- Location :...

. At the beginning of the following year, damnatio memoriae was passed on Livilla.

Although Rome at first rejoiced at the demise of Sejanus, the city quickly plunged into more extensive trials, as Tiberius relentlessly persecuted all those who could in any way be tied to the schemes of Sejanus or had courted his friendship. The Senatorial ranks were decimated; the hardest hit were those families with political ties to the Julians. Even the imperial magistracy was not exempted from Tiberius' wrath. Arrests and executions were now supervised by Naevius Sutorius Macro. The political turmoil would continue until the death of Tiberius in 37, after which he was succeeded by Caligula
Caligula
Caligula , also known as Gaius, was Roman Emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD. Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligula's father Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, was a very successful general and one of Rome's most...

.

Most historical documentation of Tiberius' revenge is given from Suetonius and Tacitus. However their portrayal of a tyrannical, vengeful emperor has been challenged by several modern historians. The prominent ancient historian Edward Togo Salmon
Edward Togo Salmon
Edward Togo Salmon, also known as E. T. Salmon, was an ancient historian best known for his work on the Samnites and the Romanization of Italy.-Life:...

 notes in his work, A history of the Roman world from 30 B.C. to A.D. 138:

Praetorian Guard

The reforms of Sejanus, most significantly the founding of the Castra Praetoria
Castra Praetoria
Castra Praetoria were the ancient barracks of the Praetorian Guard of Imperial Rome.-History:According to the Roman historian Suetonius, the barracks were built in 23 AD by Lucius Aelius Sejanus, the praetorian prefect serving under the emperor Tiberius, in an effort to consolidate the several...

, essentially established the Praetorian Guard as the powerful political force for which it is primarily known today. Henceforth the entire Guard was at the disposal of the emperors, but the rulers were now equally at the mercy of the Praetorians. The reality of this was seen in 31 when Tiberius was forced to rely upon the vigiles against the soldiers of his own guard. Although the Praetorian Guard proved faithful to the aging Tiberius, their potential political power had been made clear.

The power Sejanus attained in his capacity as prefect proved Maecenas right in his prediction to Augustus that it was dangerous to allow one man to command the guard. Cassius Dio notes that after Sejanus, no other prefect except Gaius Fulvius Plautianus
Gaius Fulvius Plautianus
Gaius or Lucius Fulvius Plautianus was a member of the Roman gens Fulvius, a family of the patrician status which had been active in politics since the Roman Republic....

, who commanded the Guard under Septimius Severus
Septimius Severus
Septimius Severus , also known as Severus, was Roman Emperor from 193 to 211. Severus was born in Leptis Magna in the province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary succession of offices under the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. Severus seized power after the death of...

, would rise to such influence. Nevertheless, following his death the Guard began to play an increasingly ambitious and bloody role in the Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

. With the right amount of money, or at will, they assassinated emperors, bullied their own prefects, or turned on the people of Rome. In 41 Caligula was killed by conspirators from the senatorial class and from the Guard. The Praetorians placed Claudius
Claudius
Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...

 on the throne, daring the Senate to oppose their decision. In the late 1st century, a calculated uprising of Praetorians against Emperor Nerva
Nerva
Nerva , was Roman Emperor from 96 to 98. Nerva became Emperor at the age of sixty-five, after a lifetime of imperial service under Nero and the rulers of the Flavian dynasty. Under Nero, he was a member of the imperial entourage and played a vital part in exposing the Pisonian conspiracy of 65...

, led by Casperius Aelianus
Casperius Aelianus
Casperius Aelianus, who served as Praetorian Prefect under the emperors Domitian and Nerva, was a Praetorian Prefect loyal to the Roman Emperor Domitian, the last of the Flavian dynasty...

, forced Nerva to adopt the more popular Trajan
Trajan
Trajan , was Roman Emperor from 98 to 117 AD. Born into a non-patrician family in the province of Hispania Baetica, in Spain Trajan rose to prominence during the reign of emperor Domitian. Serving as a legatus legionis in Hispania Tarraconensis, in Spain, in 89 Trajan supported the emperor against...

 as his son and successor.

While it is unproven Sejanus ever did intend to overthrow and replace Tiberius, later prefects of the Guard did aspire to become emperor themselves. Upon the suicide of Emperor Nero
Nero
Nero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....

 in 68, the Guard prefect Gaius Nymphidius Sabinus attempted to have himself declared emperor, on the pretence that he was the illegitimate son of Caligula. The attempt failed and Sabinus was killed by his own soldiers. In the early 3rd century, Plautianus was executed after a failed conspiracy against Septimius Severus
Septimius Severus
Septimius Severus , also known as Severus, was Roman Emperor from 193 to 211. Severus was born in Leptis Magna in the province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary succession of offices under the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. Severus seized power after the death of...

. According to sources, the downfall of Plautianus was largely due to suspicion of Severus' son Caracalla
Caracalla
Caracalla , was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. The eldest son of Septimius Severus, he ruled jointly with his younger brother Geta until he murdered the latter in 211...

, who was himself later murdered and replaced by his Praetorian prefect Marcus Opellius Macrinus.

Historiography

With the exception of Velleius Paterculus, ancient historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...

s have universally condemned Sejanus, although accounts differ to which extent Sejanus was manipulated by Tiberius or the other way around. Suetonius Tranquillus
Suetonius
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius , was a Roman historian belonging to the equestrian order in the early Imperial era....

 asserts that Sejanus was merely an instrument of Tiberius to hasten the downfall of Germanicus and his family, and that he was quickly disposed of once he ceased to be useful. Tacitus
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...

, on the other hand, attributes much of the decline of Tiberius' rule after 23 to the corrupting influence of Sejanus, although he is generally also harsh on Tiberius himself.

Among the writers of the time who fell victim to the regime of Sejanus and its aftermath were the historians Aulus Cremutius Cordus
Aulus Cremutius Cordus
Aulus Cremutius Cordus was a Roman historian. There are very few remaining fragments of his work, that covered the civil war and the reign of Augustus Caesar. In 25 AD he was forced by Sejanus who was praetorian prefect under Tiberius to take his life after being accused of maiestas...

, Velleius Paterculus and the poet Phaedrus. Cordus was brought to trial in 25 by Sejanus under accusations of treason. He was charged for having eulogized Marcus Junius Brutus
Marcus Junius Brutus
Marcus Junius Brutus , often referred to as Brutus, was a politician of the late Roman Republic. After being adopted by his uncle he used the name Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus, but eventually returned to using his original name...

 and spoken of Gaius Cassius Longinus
Gaius Cassius Longinus
Gaius Cassius Longinus was a Roman senator, a leading instigator of the plot to kill Julius Caesar, and the brother in-law of Marcus Junius Brutus.-Early life:...

 as the last of the true Romans, which was considered an offence under the Lex Maiestas
Law of majestas
The Law of Majestas, or lex maiestas, refers to any one of several ancient Roman laws throughout the republican and Imperial periods dealing with crimes against the Roman people, state, or Emperor....

, and the Senate ordered the burning of his writings. His fall is elaborated upon by Seneca the Younger
Seneca the Younger
Lucius Annaeus Seneca was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work humorist, of the Silver Age of Latin literature. He was tutor and later advisor to emperor Nero...

, in his letter to Cordus' daughter Marcia To Marcia, On Consolation. Seneca however tells us that her father most likely incurred Sejanus' displeasure for criticising him, because he had commissioned a statue of himself. We also know from this source that Cordus starved himself to death. Marcia was instrumental in saving her father's work, so that it could be published again under Caligula.

Phaedrus was suspected of having alluded to Sejanus in his Fables, and received some unknown punishment short of death (Cf. Fables I.1, I.2.24, and I.17). Velleius Paterculus was a historian and contemporary of Sejanus whose two-volume The Roman History details a history of Rome from the fall of Troy
Troy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...

 until the death of Livia Augusta in 29. In his work he praises both Tiberius and Sejanus, even defending the latter's high position in the government despite his equestrian rank. How much of Paterculus' writing is due to genuine admiration, prudence or fear remains an open question, but it has been conjectured that he was put to death as a friend of Sejanus.

Sejanus in later literature

The rise and fall of Sejanus have been the subject, or partial subject, of several noted works in literature, including two 17th-century plays and 20th-century novels:
  • Sejanus: His Fall (1603), a play by Ben Jonson
    Ben Jonson
    Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...

    , in the original production of which he might have been played by Shakespeare, who is listed in the 1614 edition (as Will. Shake-Speare) as part of the 1603 cast.
  • The Tragedy of Claudius Tiberius Nero (1607), a play by an anonymous contemporary of Jonson.
  • Sejanus's rise and fall is described in Juvenal
    Juvenal
    The Satires are a collection of satirical poems by the Latin author Juvenal written in the late 1st and early 2nd centuries AD.Juvenal is credited with sixteen known poems divided among five books; all are in the Roman genre of satire, which, at its most basic in the time of the author, comprised a...

    's Satire X, named either "Wrong Desire is the Source of Suffering" or "The Vanity of Human Wishes."
  • I, Claudius
    I, Claudius
    I, Claudius is a novel by English writer Robert Graves, written in the form of an autobiography of the Roman Emperor Claudius. As such, it includes history of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty and Roman Empire, from Julius Caesar's assassination in 44 BC to Caligula's assassination in AD 41...

    (1934), novel by Robert Graves
    Robert Graves
    Robert von Ranke Graves 24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985 was an English poet, translator and novelist. During his long life he produced more than 140 works...

    , as well as the subsequent 1976 television adaptation
    I, Claudius (TV series)
    I, Claudius is a 1976 BBC Television adaptation of Robert Graves' I, Claudius and Claudius the God. Written by Jack Pulman, it proved one of the corporation's most successful drama serials of all time...

    . In the television series, he is played by Patrick Stewart
    Patrick Stewart
    Sir Patrick Hewes Stewart, OBE is an English film, television and stage actor, who has had a distinguished career in theatre and television for around half a century...

    .
  • The Caesars
    The Caesars (TV series)
    The Caesars is a British television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV network in 1968. Made in black-and-white and written and produced by Philip Mackie, it covered similar dramatic territory to the later BBC adaptation of I, Claudius, dealing with the lives of the emperors of...

    (1968), television series by Granada TV, in which he is played by Barrie Ingham
    Barrie Ingham
    Barrie Ingham is an English actor in stage, TV and film.-Life and career:Ingham was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, the son of Irene and Harold Ellis Stead Ingham. He was educated at Heath Grammar School and became a Royal Artillery Officer. His major theatre debut was at Manchester Library...

    .
  • Sejanus (1998), the third novel in the Marcus Corvinus
    Marcus Corvinus (fictional character)
    Marcus Valerius Messala Corvinus is a fictional character in a series of historical detective novels by the Scottish author David Wishart.Corvinus is of a noble Roman family, living in the reign of the Emperor Tiberius...

     series by David Wishart
    David Wishart
    -Life and work:Wishart was born in Arbroath, Scotland. He studied Greek and Latin classics at Edinburgh University and after graduation taught for four years in a secondary school. He then retrained as a teacher of English as a Foreign Language and worked abroad for eleven years, in Kuwait, Greece...

    .

Primary sources

  • Tacitus
    Tacitus
    Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...

    , Annals
    Annals (Tacitus)
    The Annals by Tacitus is a history of the reigns of the four Roman Emperors succeeding Caesar Augustus. The surviving parts of the Annals extensively cover most of the reigns of Tiberius and Nero. The title Annals was probably not given by Tacitus, but derives from the fact that he treated this...

    Books 4-6, English translation
  • Cassius Dio, Roman History Book 57.19 and 58, English translation
  • Suetonius
    Suetonius
    Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius , was a Roman historian belonging to the equestrian order in the early Imperial era....

    , The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Tiberius, Latin text with English translation
  • Josephus
    Josephus
    Titus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...

    , Antiquities of the Jews
    Antiquities of the Jews
    Antiquities of the Jews is a twenty volume historiographical work composed by the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus in the thirteenth year of the reign of Roman emperor Flavius Domitian which was around 93 or 94 AD. Antiquities of the Jews contains an account of history of the Jewish people,...

    Book XVIII, Chapter 6 English translation
  • Seneca the Younger
    Seneca the Younger
    Lucius Annaeus Seneca was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work humorist, of the Silver Age of Latin literature. He was tutor and later advisor to emperor Nero...

    , Essays To Marcia On Consolation English translation
  • Juvenal
    Juvenal
    The Satires are a collection of satirical poems by the Latin author Juvenal written in the late 1st and early 2nd centuries AD.Juvenal is credited with sixteen known poems divided among five books; all are in the Roman genre of satire, which, at its most basic in the time of the author, comprised a...

     Satires, 10th Satire Latin text

Biographical sketches

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