Sejanus
Lucius Aelius Sejanus | |
---|---|
Born | c. 20 BC Volsinii, Etruria |
Died | October 18, 31 AD (aged 50) Rome |
Allegiance | Roman Empire |
Years of service | 14 AD – AD 31 |
Rank | Praetorian prefect |
Commands held | Praetorian Guard |
Other work | Consul of the Roman Empire in 31 |
Lucius Aelius Sejanus (c. 20 BC – 18 October AD 31), commonly known as Sejanus (
While the Praetorian Guard was formally established under Emperor Augustus, 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; these changes had a lasting impact on the course of the Principate.
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 in AD 26, Sejanus was left in control of the administration of the empire. For a time the most influential and feared citizen of Rome, Sejanus suddenly fell from power in AD 31, the year his career culminated with the consulship. Amidst suspicions of conspiracy against Tiberius, Sejanus was arrested and executed, along with his followers.
Family
Sejanus was born around 20 BC at Volsinii, Etruria, into the Seia gens. His father was Lucius Seius Strabo.[2][3] The Seii were Romans of the Equites class (or knights), the second-highest social class of the Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire. Sejanus' grandfather maintained relations with senatorial families through his marriage with Terentia, a sister of the wife of Gaius Maecenas, who was one of Emperor Augustus' most powerful political allies.[3]: p. 76
Strabo married into equally illustrious families. One of his wives was Cosconia Gallita, sister of Servius Cornelius Lentulus Maluginensis (suffect consul in AD 10) and Publius Cornelius Lentulus Scipio (suffect consul in AD 2).[3]: p. 76 Sejanus was once thought to have possibly been a child of this marriage, but Ronald Syme has argued that Sejanus' mother was a Junia Blaesa,[4] sister of Junius Blaesus.
Sejanus' brother
Sejanus was later adopted into the
The adoptive family of Sejanus counted two consuls among their ranks:
According to the ancient historian Tacitus, Sejanus was also a former favourite of the wealthy Marcus Gavius Apicius, whose daughter may have been Sejanus' first wife Apicata.[2] With Apicata, Sejanus had two sons, Strabo and Capito Aelianus, and a daughter, Junilla.[3][7]
Rise to power
Praetorian prefect
It is likely that Sejanus' father Strabo came to the attention of Augustus through his father's connection with Maecenas. Sometime after 2 BC,[8] Strabo was appointed prefect of the Praetorian Guard, 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 AD 14. Little is known about the life Sejanus led prior to this date, but according to Tacitus, he accompanied Gaius Caesar, adopted son of Augustus, during his campaigns in Armenia in 1 BC.[2] Upon the accession of Tiberius in AD 14, 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 formed by Augustus in 27 BC, with the specific function to serve as a bodyguard to the emperor and members of the imperial family.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11] Augustus was careful however to uphold the republican veneer of this regime, and only allowed nine cohorts to be formed (one fewer than in a normal Roman legion), which were inconspicuously scattered across various lodging houses in the city, and commanded by two prefects.[12]
When Strabo was assigned to the
Feud with Drusus
In his capacity as Praetorian prefect, Sejanus quickly became a trusted advisor to Tiberius. By AD 23, he exerted a considerable influence over the decisions of the emperor, who referred to Sejanus as "Socius Laborum" (my partner in my toils).
The history of Sejanus and Drusus dated back to at least AD 15. That year a mutiny had broken out among legions posted in Pannonia and Germania. While his adopted son Germanicus restored order in Germania, Tiberius' biological son Drusus was sent to quell the uprising in Pannonia, accompanied by Sejanus and two Praetorian cohorts.[20] In part due to what the soldiers believed to be bad omens, Drusus quickly managed to restore 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.[21] Despite this success, the following years witnessed a growing animosity between Drusus and Sejanus.
Since the death of Germanicus, Drusus had been groomed as the successor of his father, commanding legions in
When this failed, it seems Sejanus turned his attention toward eliminating Drusus. By AD 23 the enmity between the two men had reached a critical point. During an argument Drusus had struck the prefect with his fist,[7] and he openly lamented that "a stranger was invited to assist in the government while the emperor's son was alive".[26] Tiberius was already in his sixties, thus the possibility of Drusus succeeding his father in the near future loomed large. To secure his position, Sejanus secretly plotted against Drusus and seduced his wife Livilla.[7] With her as an accomplice, Drusus was slowly poisoned and died of seemingly natural causes on September 13, AD 23.[27]
Consolidation of power
The loss of his son was a major blow to Tiberius, personally and politically. Over the years he had grown increasingly disillusioned with the position of princeps, and by sharing the
Germanicus had died in AD 19, in somewhat suspicious circumstances in
Sejanus again attempted to marry into the
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 AD 29 changed all that.
Downfall
Denunciation
In AD 31, despite his equestrian rank, Sejanus shared the consulship with Tiberius in absentia,[41] and finally became betrothed to Livilla. Tiberius had not been seen in Rome since AD 26 and senators and equestrians courted Sejanus' favour as if he were Emperor.[42] His birthday was publicly observed and statues were erected in his honour.[42] With most of the political opposition crushed, Sejanus felt his position was unassailable. The ancient historian Cassius Dio wrote:
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.[43]
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.
But suddenly, at the end of AD 31, he was arrested, summarily executed and his body unceremoniously cast down the Gemonian stairs. What caused his downfall is unclear:[44] ancient historians disagree about the nature of his conspiracy, whether it was Tiberius or Sejanus who struck first and in which order subsequent events occurred.[45] Modern historians consider it unlikely that Sejanus plotted to seize power and, if he had planned so at all, rather might have aimed at overthrowing Tiberius to serve as a regent to Tiberius Gemellus, son of Drusus, or possibly Gaius Caligula.[45] Unfortunately the relevant section pertaining to this period in the Annals of Tacitus has been lost. According to Josephus, it was Antonia, the mother of Livilla, who finally alerted Tiberius to the growing threat Sejanus posed (possibly with information provided by Satrius Secundus), in a letter she dispatched to Capri in the care of her freedman Pallas.[46] According to Juvenal, a letter was sent from Capri with orders to execute Sejanus without a trial.[47]
Further details concerning Sejanus' fall are provided by Cassius Dio, writing nearly 200 years later in his Roman History. It appears that, when Tiberius heard to what extent Sejanus had already usurped 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.[37] 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.[48] He stepped down as consul, forcing Sejanus to do the same[49] and conferred an honorary priesthood upon Caligula, rekindling popular support for the house of Germanicus.[50] 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 in Rome to withdraw from overtly supporting Sejanus until the matter was clearly resolved.[50]
When it became obvious to Tiberius that support for Sejanus was not as strong as the emperor had feared, his next step was to choose
Execution and aftermath
That same evening the Senate convened at the
Enraged upon learning the truth, Tiberius soon ordered more killings. Livilla committed suicide or was starved to death by her mother
Although Rome at first rejoiced at the demise of Sejanus, the city was quickly plunged into more extensive trials as Tiberius persecuted all those who could in any way be tied to the schemes of Sejanus or had courted his friendship.
Most historical documentation of Tiberius' revenge is given by Suetonius and Tacitus; their portrayal of a tyrannical, vengeful emperor has been challenged by several modern historians. Edward Togo Salmon wrote that,
In the whole twenty two years of Tiberius' reign, not more than fifty-two persons were accused of treason, of whom almost half escaped conviction, while the four innocent people to be condemned fell victims to the excessive zeal of the Senate, not to the Emperor's tyranny.[64]
Legacy
Praetorian Guard
The reforms of Sejanus most significantly included the founding of the
Historiography
With the exception of Velleius Paterculus, ancient historians have universally condemned Sejanus, although accounts differ regarding the extent to which Sejanus was manipulated by Tiberius or the other way around.[2][45][70][71] Suetonius Tranquillus 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.[72] Tacitus, on the other hand, attributes much of the decline of Tiberius' rule after AD 23 to the corrupting influence of Sejanus, although he is generally also harsh on Tiberius.[73]
Among the writers who fell victim to the regime of Sejanus and its aftermath, were the historians
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).[76] Velleius Paterculus was an historian and contemporary of Sejanus, whose two-volume The Roman History details a history of Rome from the fall of Troy until the death of Livia Augusta in AD 29. In his work he praised Tiberius and Sejanus, even defending the latter's high position in the government, despite not ranking higher than equestrian.[77] It has been conjectured that he was put to death as a friend of Sejanus.[78]
Literary interpretations
Sejanus' fall is depicted in the section in
Making contemporary political points in this way through reinterpretation of distant historical episodes was now common. In 17th century France, the fall of the powerful
Following Buckingham's death in 1628, when it was safer to do so, a translation of a history by Pierre Matthieu was published under the title, The Powerful Favourite, the life of Aelius Sejanus.[84] This was followed in 1634 by another translation, Sir Thomas Hawkins' Politicall Observations upon the Fall of Sejanus, which had originally been titled Della peripetia di fortuna (Of Changes of Fortune) by its author, Giovanni Battista Manzini.[85][86] Later in the century Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, was the target of the four-page political pamphlet Sejanus, or The popular favourite, now in his solitude, and sufferings, signed with the pseudonym Timothy Tory (1681).[87] The story of Sejanus, with reference to the Earl's imprisonment in the Tower on a charge of treason, is interpreted as an argument for absolute monarchy, direct rule without the intermediary of politicians.[88]
The name of Sejanus continued to be pressed into political service during the 18th century. Prime Minister Robert Walpole was attacked in 1735 in the course of a popular skit, C----- and country: A play of seven acts...the whole concluding with the grand masque, call'd, The downfall of Sejanus; its authorship is attributed to 'a masquerader' and in the printed version the masque precedes the play, although it is performed last. This gives the clue of how to take what is to follow and consists of a conversation between Punch and the Hangman, opening with the question 'Is this same Sejanus to go out of the World like a Man, or to die the Death of a mad Dog? For he has lived like a sad One, from the first Day that the Emperor Tiberius took him into Favour.'[89] A subtler attack on a later prime minister occurred in 1769 when Jonson's Sejanus was reissued under the title of The Favourite. This was prefaced with a tongue-in-cheek dedication to Lord Bute, denying that there can be any comparison between the conduct of Sejanus and that of his lordship.[90]
Elsewhere in Europe there were other dramatic adaptations of the story. They included Jean de Magnon's rhyming tragedy, Sejanus (1647) and Henri van der Zande's De dood van Elius Sejanus of Spiegel voor der vorsten gunstelingen (The death of Sejanus, a mirror for the favourites of princes, Amsterdam 1716).[91][92] Later there was another recycling of Jonson's tragedy in England by the Irish actor Francis Gentleman. Abridged and ‘improved’ by some additions of his own, he published his Sejanus, a tragedy: as it was intended for the stage (1752), when he could not get it acted.[93] Later plays include a 5-act tragedy by A.Arterton (1875) and the privately printed Sejanus: A Tragedy in Five Acts by P. J. A. Chaulk (1923)
A later fictional treatment of the historical episode appeared as the first story of
The aim of some later novels has been to concentrate as much on local colour as on the story. This was true of William Percival Crozier's historical romance The Fates Are Laughing (1945), which was written by a classicist with an eye for detail and set during the fall of Sejanus and the reign of Caligula.[100] It is equally true of some recent detective novels set in Roman times. David Wishart's Sejanus (London, 1998) features Marcus Corvinus, and James Mace's Empire Betrayed: The Fall of Sejanus (2013) focused on a military colleague, Aulus Nautius Cursor.[101]
Sejanus on screen
Sejanus was played by Barrie Ingham in the 1968 TV series The Caesars, and by Patrick Stewart in the 1976 TV series I, Claudius, based on Graves' novels.
References
- ISBN 9780877798095.
- ^ a b c d Tacitus, Annals IV.1
- ^ JSTOR 291707.
- ISBN 9780198147312.
- ISBN 9780198147312.
- ^ Tacitus, Annals III.72, III.73
- ^ a b c Tacitus, Annals IV.3
- ^ According to the Bingham dissertation, while the Guard had been formally established by Augustus in 27 BC, the first prefects were not appointed until 2 BC. See Bingham, p. 39.
- ^ Bingham, p. 30.
- ^ Bingham, p. 238.
- ^ Bingham, p. 232.
- ^ Bingham, pp. 231, 40.
- ^ a b Cassius Dio, Roman History LVII.19
- ^ Bingham, p. 43.
- ^ a b c d Tacitus, Annals IV.2
- ISBN 0198143273.
- ^ Bingham, p. 50.
- ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History LVII.22
- ^ a b c Seneca the Younger, Essays, To Marcia On Consolation XXII.4–6
- ^ Tacitus, Annals I.24
- ^ Tacitus, Annals I.29, I.30
- ^ Tacitus, Annals II.44, II.62
- ^ Tacitus, Annals III.31
- ^ Tacitus, Annals III.29
- ^ Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Claudius 27
- ^ Tacitus, Annals IV.7
- ^ a b Tacitus, Annals IV.8
- ^ Tacitus, Annals III.56
- ^ Tacitus, Annals II.72
- ^ Tacitus, Annals IV.52, IV.53, IV.54
- ^ a b Tacitus, Annals IV.12
- ^ Tacitus, Annals IV.39
- ^ Tacitus, Annals IV.40
- ^ Tacitus, Annals IV.57, IV.67
- ^ Tacitus, Annals IV.41
- ^ Tacitus, Annals V.3
- ^ a b Cassius Dio, Roman History LVIII.4
- ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History LVIII.3
- ^ Tacitus, Annals, VI.23 – VI.25
- ^ Tacitus, Annals VI.3
- ^ Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Tiberius 65
- ^ a b Cassius Dio, Roman History LVIII.1
- ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History LVIII.5
- ^ Bingham, p. 66.
- ^ JSTOR 293155.
- ^ Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews XVIII.6.6
- ^ Juvenal, Satire X.67–72
- ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History LVIII.6
- ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History LVIII.7
- ^ a b Cassius Dio, Roman History LVIII.8
- ^ Bingham, p. 63.
- ^ a b c Cassius Dio, Roman History LVIII.9
- ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History LVIII.10
- ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History LVIII.12
- ^ a b c Cassius Dio, Roman History LVIII.11
- ^ A recovered fragment of the Fasti Ostienses, shows that Cassius Dio erred in his account on the deaths of Sejanus' family (Dio, LVIII.11). The eldest son Strabo was executed (October 24) and the remaining children were executed sometime in December. See Freeman, Adams (1955), op. cit., for the Latin inscription.
- ^ Tacitus, Annals IV.11
- ISBN 9780415217538. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
- ^ a b Tacitus, Annals V.9
- ^ Tacitus, Annals VI.2
- ^ Tacitus, Annals VI.19
- ^ Tacitus, Annals VI.10
- ^ Tacitus, Annals VI.29
- ^ Salmon, Edward Togo (1987). A History of the Roman World From 30 B.C. to A.D. 138 (6th ed.). Methuen. p. 133.
- ^ Durry, Marcel (1938). Les Cohortes Prétoriennes. Paris: Editions De Boccard. p. 156.
- ^ Bingham, p. 234f.
- ^ Bingham, p. 65f.
- ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History LII.24
- ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History LVIII.14
- ^ Seneca the Younger, Essays, To Marcia On Consolation
- ^ Philo, On the Embassy to Gaius XXIV
- The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Tiberius 55
- ^ Tacitus, Annals III.7, VI.51
- ^ Tacitus, Annals IV.34–35
- ^ a b Seneca the Younger, Essays, To Marcia On Consolation I.2–4
- ^ Phaedrus, Fables Book III, preface
- ^ Velleius Paterculus, Roman History, II.127–128 II.127–128
- ^ Cruttwell, C. T. (1878) A History of Roman Literature. 2nd Ed. London: Charles Griffin & Co. p.345
- ^ "A.S.Kline translation, lines 56–113". Poetryintranslation.com. Retrieved 2013-12-25.
- JSTOR 1086137.
- ^ "Online introduction and text". Extra.shu.ac.uk. Retrieved 2013-12-25.
- ^ Siobhan C. Keenan, “Staging Roman History, Stuart Politics, and the Duke of Buckingham: The Example of The Emperor’s Favourite Early Theatre 14.2 (2011)
- ^ John Forster, Lives of Eminent British Statesmen, London 1836, p.42ff
- ^ Volume 1, Google Books
- ^ Google Books
- ^ Siobhan C. Keenan, "Staging Roman History, Stuart Politics, and the Duke of Buckingham: The Example of The Emperor’s Favourite", Early Theatre 14.2 (2011)
- ^ Google Books
- ^ W. Thomas, Wilfrid Laurier University 2006, The Crafting of Absalom and Achitophel: Dryden’s Pen for a Party, pp.52–7
- ^ Masquerader (1735). C----- and Country. A Play of Seven Acts (In which will be revived, the Entertaining Scene of the Blundering Brothers. To which is Added, The Comical Humours of Punch. The Whole concluding with the Grand Masque, call'd The Downfall of Sejanus). London, ENG: T. Monger. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
- ^ Jonson, Ben (1770). The Favourite.
- ^ Magnon, Jean (1647). Sejanus.
- ^ Zande, Henri van der (1716). De dood van Elius Sejanus of Spiegel voor der vorsten gunstelingen.
- ^ See the preface, pp.v-xiii
- ^ "pp.1–55 Web archive text". Retrieved 2013-12-25.
- ISBN 9780141911748.
- ^ Gary DeLashmutt, "Sejanus and the Chronology of Christ's death", Xenos Christian Fellowship Archived 2014-12-21 at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 9782952916264.
- ISBN 9780825497216.
- ^ "Background". The Conspiracy to Assassinate Jesus Christ. Archived from the original on 2017-04-20. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
- ^ Full text at the University of Florida libraries
- ^ Author's summary
Sources
- Tacitus, Cornelius (1942) [109]. Hadas, Moses (ed.). The Complete Works of Tacitus. The Annals (From the Passing of the Divine Augustus) [1876]…. Church, Alfred John & Brodribb, William Jackson (transl.). New York, NY: The Modern Library. ASIN B0006APTTQ. Retrieved April 4, 2017. See digital versions at Wikisource, MIT, and Perseus (Tufts University). A further edition, see Tacitus, Cornelius (1942). Bryant, Sara (ed.). The Complete Works of Tacitus. The Annals…. Church & Brodribb (transl.). New York, NY: Perseus/Random House.
- Bingham, Sandra J. (1997). The Praetorian Guard in the Political and Social Life of Julio-Claudian Rome (PDF) (Ph.D. Dissertation). Vancouver, BC and Ottawa, ON: The University of British Columbia and National Library of Canada. ISBN 0612271064. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
- Dio Cocceianus, Cassius (1924). Foster, Herbert Baldwin (ed.). Roman History. Loeb Classical Library, Vol. VII, Books 56–60. Cary, Earnest (transl.). London, New York: William Heinemann, Harvard University Press. ISBN 0674991931. Retrieved April 4, 2017. See digital versions at Wikisource, Penelope (The University of Chicago), and Perseus (Tufts University).
- The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Tiberius, Latin text with English translation.
- Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews Book XVIII, Chapter 6 English translation.
- Seneca the Younger, Essays To Marcia On Consolation English translation.
- Satires, 10th SatireLatin text.
Further reading
- Vacanti, Claudio (2022). Lucio Elio Seiano. Il potere all'ombra dell'imperatore Tiberio. Roma: Carocci. ISBN 978-8829017119.
- Bingham, Sandra (2013). The Praetorian Guard: A History of Rome's Elite Special Forces. New York: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1845118846.
- Boddington, Ann (January 1963). "Sejanus. Whose conspiracy?". American Journal of Philology. 84 (1): 1–16. JSTOR 293155.
- Syme, Ronald (1956). "Seianus on the Aventine". Hermes. 84 (3). Franz Steiner Verlag: 257–66. JSTOR 4474933.
External links
- Sejanus, biography at xenos.org Archived 2014-12-21 at the Wayback Machine