Lucius Seius Strabo
Lucius Seius Strabo | |
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Born | 46 BC Egypt in 16 |
Lucius Seius Strabo (46 BC – after 16 AD) was a
His son was Lucius Aelius Sejanus, who succeeded his father as Praetorian prefect in 15, and gained great influence under Emperor Tiberius before dramatically falling from power in 31.
Family
This section's factual accuracy is disputed. (August 2020) |
Lucius Seius Strabo was born around 46 BC in
Strabo himself married into equally illustrious families. His first wife was Aelia, the daughter of
Career
Under Augustus
The
The Praetorian Guard was formally established under Augustus in 27 BC.
Not much is known about the precise activities of the Guard during this period.
The date or the reasons of Strabo's appointment are unclear. It is likely however that he came to the attention of Augustus through his mother's connection with Maecenas. A passage of
Under Tiberius
When Tiberius acceded to the supreme power upon the death of Augustus, one of his first acts was to secure the loyalty of the Praetorian Guard. The ancient historian Tacitus describes this event in his work The Annals:
Sextus Pompeius and Sextus Apuleius, the consuls, were the first to swear allegiance to Tiberius Caesar, and in their presence the oath was taken by Seius Strabo and Caius Turranius, respectively the commander of the praetorian cohorts and the superintendent of the corn supplies. Then the Senate, the soldiers and the people did the same.[13]
The order in which this occurred—the senate after the two prefects—indicates the significance that by now was attached to the office of Praetorian prefect as head of the Emperor's personal guard. Strabo would not remain prefect for much longer however, but for his services to the house of Augustus he was well rewarded by Tiberius. He took up a position in the emperor's consilium,[14] and the same year gained his own son, Lucius Aelius Sejanus, as colleague in his prefecture.[15] Together they commanded the Praetorian Guard from 14 until 15 or 16, after which Strabo was promoted to the highest office a Roman knight could attain, governor of Egypt.[16][17] The length of his governorship is unclear, nor what happened to Strabo after this appointment, but it has been suggested that he died while in office.[18]
Although Strabo distinguished himself by achieving the highest offices a Roman knight could attain under Augustus and Tiberius, his place in history has been largely overshadowed by the infamy of his son Sejanus. During a prefecture which lasted nearly 17 years, Sejanus introduced reforms to the Praetorians which helped shape the Guard into an integral and powerful branch of the Principate.[19] The soldiers were gathered to a single garrison and the number of cohorts was increased from 9 to 12.[19] Sejanus himself became a trusted advisor to Tiberius, and during the latter's withdrawal to Capri in 26 was effectually the ruler of the Roman Empire until 31. That year he suddenly fell from power amidst suspicions of Tiberius that Sejanus was secretly plotting against him.[19] He was executed along with his three children.
Notes
- .
- ^ Adams, 75
- ^ a b c d e Adams, 76
- S2CID 162326412.
- ^ a b c d Bingham, 30
- ^ a b Bingham, 32-33
- ^ Bingham, 37
- ^ Bingham, 39
- ^ According to Cassius Dio, there was a prefect under Augustus named Valerius Ligur. However modern historions suggest Dio was mistaken and confused this man with Publius Varius Ligur, who seems to have been a more likely candidate for the office. See Passerini (1939), p. 276
- ^ Passerini, Alfredo (1939). Le Coorti Pretorie. Rome. p. 276.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Bingham, 40
- ^ Macrobius, Saturnalia 2.4.18
- ^ Tacitus, Annals I.7
- ^ Crook, John (1955). Consilium Principis. Cambridge: University Press. p. 36.
- ^ Tacitus, Annals VI.8
- ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History LVII.19
- ^ Pliny the Elder, Natural Histories 36.197
- ^ Stein, Artur (1950). Die Präfekten von Ägypten in der römischen Kaiserzeit. Bern: Francke. pp. 24–25.
- ^ a b c Bingham, 67-68
References
- Adams, Freeman (1955). "The Consular Brothers of Sejanus". The American Journal of Philology. 76 (1): 70–76. JSTOR 291707.
- Bingham, Sandra J. (1999) [1997]. The praetorian guard in the political and social life of Julio-Claudian Rome. Ottawa: National Library of Canada. PDF) on 2017-03-01. Retrieved 2007-05-23.