The man in the gold breastplate is not Captain Kirk but Patrick Stewart, who is playing Sejanus in the classic BBC series, I Claudius. The officer, smirking behind Sejanus, is Macro, Prefect of the Vigiles. He is smirking because he has orders to kill Sejanus.
This crisis cements Vespasian in the familia of Antonia and the heart of Caenis.
The door to the dining room opens. It is Caenis.
"My lady, Macro's man, has arrived with this message for you."
Antonia read the tablet, handed it back to Caenis and nodded to Vespasian.
"What's the matter, mother?" asked Livilla in a nervous voice. She had been bubbly and vivacious all evening. She had got away with her crimes. But Antonia's black look and Vespasian's new stern manner told her that there was a problem.
"You stupid girl," her mother said in an even voice, "You could have had it all with Drusus, but you wanted this peasant instead."
"Mummy?"
"Don't mummy me. You are no longer my daughter," Antonia looked at Vespasian and Caenis, "Take her away."
It's 31 AD, the Sejanus crisis is the event that brings Vespasian into the inner circle. He had returned after three years in Thrace as a military tribune. Typically such a post was for six months. But if you had no money and no blue blood, talented men stayed on to learn how to become a real soldier. Vespasian was one of those. More on this in the next post.
This post is not a history of the downfall of Sejanus but makes a case for Vespasian's involvement in Antonia saving Tiberius.
Sejanus, a commoner, had risen to become the Prefect of the Praetorian Guard. His ambition was to become Emperor. His pathway was to kill Tiberius's son and primary heir, Drusus, estrange Tiberius from the other heirs, isolate Tiberius on Capri and legitimize his new reign by marrying Livilla, Antonia's daughter.
Somehow in 31, Antonia had become aware of this plot. What was she to do?
The most challenging part of the project was how to reach the isolated Emperor and to convince this most suspicious man of the threat. And to accomplish this while Sejanus's guards and spies surrounded the Emperor.
All accounts tell us that it was Caenis who wrote the letter to Tiberius. They also say that Pallas delivered it. But I question this. If anyone were going to convince a very suspicious Emperor, who often killed supplicants on a whim by throwing them off the cliff at his villa, it would have been a woman rather than a man. Maybe Pallas and Caenis both went to the villa?
I even question whether there was a letter. The guards could always have found a written note. We know that Caenis had a remarkable memory. She and Pallas might have brought a regular letter to Tiberius to create the opportunity for an audience. Caenis could then give the Emperor the real message in his ear.
Just as Macro needed to be sure of the Emperor's support, so Tiberius had to know that this information about Sejanus was genuine. Having two of Antonia's freed-people present gave the information credence. Having Caenis whisper it into his ear gave it a power that no written word could contain.
Back in Rome, Antonia needed men to seize and execute the Prefect. Who were these men? How were they to be persuaded when Sejanus was so powerful?
Money worked wonders with the Guard. She had plenty of that. The more difficult task was to identify who was going to be the next Prefect of the Praetorian Guard? She chose Naevius Sutorius Macro, Prefect of the Vigiles, the Roman police/fire brigade.
None of the modern historians consider how Macro was persuaded to become part of the coup. Sejanus was in total control both in Rome and on Capri. I think that Macro would have needed a direct assurance from the Emperor before he took the risk. Antonia is the only possible candidate. So her agent had to be directly linked to her. Macro had to be sure of his Imperial support.
Who negotiated the deal with Macro? It could not be her. Nor could it be her son, Claudius. Most likely, it would have been Pallas or Narcissus. As her freedmen, they provided the required direct connection to her. I am sure that one of them was involved. As we know that Pallas went to Capri, Narcissus was probably the one. But would Narcissus, a Greek secretary, be the best person to convince a tough old soldier? I think that there is a case that he brought along Vespasian, who had just returned from three years of military service, and who was a tough Sabine?
How did events unfold?
Convinced of treachery, Tiberius sent a letter to Rome that broke the spell of Sejanus. First of all, a rumour began to circulate. Tiberius was going to grant Tribunician Powers to Sejanus. In effect, these powers made Sejanus a co-emperor. Such a rumour gave Sejanus' supporters a boost in confidence. They crowded enthusiastically around Sejanus to hear the letter and so exposed themselves to Macro. The letter began by praising Sejanus. Halfway through, the tone changed and became increasingly critical. Everyone understood. Sejanus was a dead man. In days Sejanus, his ex-wife, Apicata, his young children and all those close to him were dead.
Before Apicata's death, she wrote a letter to Tiberius. She told the Emperor that his son Drusus had not died of natural causes. Livilla, then Drusus' wife and Antonia's daughter, had poisoned him.
Thanks to Antonia's support and actions to protect him, Tiberius, had initially granted mercy to Livilla and had sent her home to her mother. But, this latest information, confirmed by torturing Drusus' cupbearer Lygdus and Livilla's physician Eudemus, was too much to bear. Antonia assured the Emperor that she would take the required action. Livilla was walled up in her room and starved to death.
We can never know how ,or if for certain, Vespasian was involved. What we do know is that Vespasian gains the full support of the Familia Antonia. From this time onwards, Antonia and her Familia, especially Caenis and Narcissus, support Vespasian's career. Vespasian becomes Praetor in 39 AD at the youngest possible age. This early success could only happen if he had influential backing. Vespasian now has the 1,000,000 sesterces required for a senatorial career. The official story is that he did not want a public career, unlike his elder brother Sabinus. But as the second son of a middle-class family, I doubt that his mother had the funds to support both boys. The only explanation that makes sense to me is that the Familia Antonia had taken him into their inner circle.
Did they back him because they saw him as a man with a future? Before even 69 AD, no one, even Vespasian himself, could imagine Vespasian being Emperor. Even in early 69, Vespasian did not see this opportunity. Vespasian sent Titus on a mission to pledge allegiance to Otho in that year. Vespasian's advancement was entirely in the control of Caenis and Narcissus until Agrippina married Claudius. This was a one-sided arrangement. Vespasian depended on them.
Was his support based on love? Caenis was no dreamy slave girl. In Rome, love was a luxury. Relationships between men and women were political. There was always an underlying if implicit contract involved. Love was not enough. It was not enough for Vespasian to break convention and marry Caenis. And her love for Vespasian meant nothing to the most calculating of all men at court, Narcissus.
What bound them?
Vespasian had proved to Antonia and her familia that he would risk death for them. What stronger bond could there be?
