22 Facts About Sejanus

1.

When Tiberius withdrew to Capri in AD 26, Sejanus was left in control of the administration of the empire.

2.

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

3.

Sejanus was born around 20 BC at Volsinii, Etruria, into the Seii, the family of Lucius Seius Strabo.

4.

Sejanus was once thought to have possibly been a child of this marriage, but Ronald Syme has said that Sejanus' mother was a Junia Blaesa, sister of Junius Blaesus.

5.

When Strabo was assigned to the governorship of Egypt in AD 15, Sejanus became the sole commander of the Praetorians and instigated reforms that helped shape the guard into a powerful tool of the principate.

6.

The practice of joint leadership between two prefects was abandoned, and Sejanus himself appointed the centurions and tribunes.

7.

In practice it was still Sejanus who was the second man in the empire, and he was ambitious to further expand his power.

8.

When this failed, it seems Sejanus turned his attention toward eliminating Drusus.

9.

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 treasury.

10.

Only Caligula, the youngest son of Germanicus, managed to survive the purges of Sejanus, by moving to Capri with Tiberius in AD 31.

11.

Sejanus's birthday was publicly observed and statues were erected in his honour.

12.

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.

13.

Sejanus 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.

14.

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 Naevius Sutorius Macro, previously prefect of the vigiles, to replace Sejanus and effect his downfall.

15.

Sejanus was taken from prison and strangled, after which his body was cast onto the Gemonian stairs.

16.

Barbara Levick says that Sejanus must have murdered Drusus in self-defense because only Tiberius stood between the Praetorian Prefect and the end of his career at the hands of Drusus.

17.

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.

18.

Sejanus was charged for having eulogized Marcus Junius Brutus and spoken of Gaius Cassius Longinus as the last of the true Romans, which was considered an offence under the Lex Maiestatis; the Senate ordered the burning of his writings.

19.

Sejanus's fall is elaborated upon by Seneca the Younger, in his letter to Cordus' daughter Marcia To Marcia, On Consolation.

20.

Sejanus' fall is depicted in the section in Juvenal's Satire X on the emptiness of power.

21.

Sejanus is a leading figure in another Roman history play of about this time, the anonymous Tragedy of Claudius Tiberius Nero.

22.

The name of Sejanus continued to be pressed into political service during the 18th century.