{"id":1375,"date":"2022-10-14T17:06:38","date_gmt":"2022-10-14T21:06:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/?p=1375"},"modified":"2022-10-14T17:06:38","modified_gmt":"2022-10-14T21:06:38","slug":"machiavelli-and-sejanus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/machiavelli-and-sejanus\/","title":{"rendered":"Machiavelli and Sejanus"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/drsarahbond\/2016\/12\/23\/five-roman-history-films-to-binge-watch-this-holiday-season-and-some-to-feed-to-the-beasts\/?sh=863df272d0aa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/sejanus.jpg?w=300\" alt=\"Sejanus as played by Patrick Stewart in the BBC's I Claudius series\"  \/><\/a>Niccol\u00f2 Machiavelli only mentions Lucius Aelius Sejanus (aka Sejanus; 20 BCE \u2013 CE 31) once in his works: in a single paragraph found in his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gutenberg.org\/files\/10827\/10827-0.txt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Discourses, Book III, Chapter VI\u2014Of Conspiracies<\/a>. Even then, Machiavelli only mentions him in passing in a very short list of conspirators (trans. Marriott, emphasis added):<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>We see, however, that the great majority of conspirators have been persons of position and the familiars of their prince, and that their plots have been as often the consequence of excessive indulgence as of excessive injury; as when Perennius conspired against Commodus, Plautianus against Severus, and <strong>Sejanus against Tiberius<\/strong>; all of whom had been raised by their masters to such wealth, honours, and dignities, that nothing seemed wanting to their authority save the imperial name. That they might not lack this also, they fell to conspiring against their prince; but in every instance their conspiracies had the end which their ingratitude deserved.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>This oversight surprises me because the life and actions of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sejanus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sejanus<\/a> seem a rich topic for Machiavelli to have elaborated on, especially in his chapter on conspiracies. Yet Machiavelli has no more to say about the second-in-command under the Roman emperor Tiberius who came within throwing distance of overthrowing the emperor. Sejanus was a master conspirator until, of course, his final, failed gamble. But he came so very close to winning.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Not even in <em>The Prince<\/em> does he get a mention as a warning to leaders who put too much trust and power in their subordinates, as he does in <a href=\"http:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/chapters-22-26\/chapter-22-loyal-staff-wise-advisors\/\">Chapter 22<\/a>. But why not? Sejanus seems tailor-made as an icon of misplaced confidence.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"I, Claudius - Ep. 6 - Queen of Heaven - Legendado\" width=\"840\" height=\"630\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PsSgw8Q5k4k?start=668&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>(BBC radio serialization of Robert Graves&#8217; book, Episode 3 on Sejanus <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=kj5ZDGWxnP0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">can be heard here.<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>Sejanus was not in line for the succession, not even in the Julian family, but he wanted the crown, so he plotted to gain it by other means. Sejanus was an able, competent, and effective administrator. He had the full confidence of Tiberius and, at least at first, appeared entirely subservient to the emperor. But he had long-term plans well above his station.<\/p>\n<p>First, he eliminated the sons of Tiberius, Drusus and Germanicus, making both deaths seem like either an accident or the work of someone else. Tiberius was shorn of his heirs in quick succession.<\/p>\n<p>Sejanus continually undermined the position of Drusus\u2019s mother, Vipsania Agrippina, and tried to marry Drusus\u2019s widow, Livilla to get into the family, but the emperor refused permission. So instead, Sejanus persuaded the 64-year-old emperor to retire to Capri, leaving the empire in Sejanus&#8217; hands while Tiberius engaged in dissolute pursuits. Tiberius didn&#8217;t even return to Rome for his mother&#8217;s funeral. Sejanus then had Agrippina and her son, Nero, exiled and out of the way.<\/p>\n<p>As head of the Praetorian Guard, Sejanus had a personal army at his disposal to enforce his decisions. He took over more and more of the running of the government.<\/p>\n<p>Tiberius, the emperor, was happiest as a general fighting his battles, and unhappy when having to deal with the business of government. He had become increasingly embittered over having to manage it and was happy to spend his last days in Capri paying little to no attention to the empire. He let Sejanus take more and more authority onto his shoulders, and Sejanus expanded his power and base as he held the reins, making himself even more powerful than the Roman senate and in line to take over the highest seat.<\/p>\n<p>Sejanus still had the emperor&#8217;s nephews (the children of Drusus) to deal with: Drusus, Nero and Gaius. Tiberius exiled Agrippina (accused of adultery) and her son Nero; Nero committed suicide and Agrippina starved herself to death. Sejanus also got Tiberius to condemn and imprison Drusus, who then committed suicide. But Tiberius took with him his 17-year-old nephew, Gaius (Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, aka <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Caligula\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Caligula<\/a>), making him inaccessible to Sejanus&#8217;s machinations.<\/p>\n<p>Seeing himself thwarted from marrying Livilla, Sejanus wooed Gaius&#8217; sister, Livia Julia and finally got the emperor&#8217;s permission to marry her. Together they plotted to eliminate Tiberius. But Tiberius was being warned by his sister-in-law Antonia about Sejanus\u2019s designs and began a counter-plot to save himself. The emperor replaced Sejanus as the head of the Praetorian Guard\u00a0 (with \u00a0Naevius Sutorius Macro, who would later be implicated in murdering Tiberius to get Gaius on the throne). Then when Sejanus thought he was being awarded a new and higher position, Tiberius had his administrator arrested and executed. The senate rejoiced.<\/p>\n<p>Macro would prove to be the next Sejanus to the new emperor, Caligula, in another story of betrayal and manipulation, but Machiavelli never even mentioned Macro (in fact, he only mentions Caligula twice in <em>The Discourses <\/em>and not at all in<em> The Prince<\/em>).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Niccol\u00f2 Machiavelli only mentions Lucius Aelius Sejanus (aka Sejanus; 20 BCE \u2013 CE 31) once in his works: in a single paragraph found in his Discourses, Book III, Chapter VI\u2014Of Conspiracies. Even then, Machiavelli only mentions him in passing in a very short list of conspirators (trans. Marriott, emphasis added): We see, however, that the &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/machiavelli-and-sejanus\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Machiavelli and Sejanus&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[19,3,76],"tags":[78,77,79,80],"class_list":["post-1375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conspiracy","category-machiavelli","category-the-discourses","tag-conspiracies","tag-livy","tag-sejanus","tag-tiberius"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1277,"url":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/the-skirt-lifting-incident\/","url_meta":{"origin":1375,"position":0},"title":"The skirt-lifting incident","author":"Ian Chadwick","date":"March 19, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"There's a famous story about Caterina, the Countess of Sforza, told by Machiavelli in Chapter III of The Discourses. He tells a thinner, less explicit version in Chapter VII of The Florentine Histories. It's known to historians of the period and place as the \"skirt-raising incident.\" The story would be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Historical finds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Historical finds","link":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/category\/historical-finds\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":880,"url":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/machiavelli-in-context-an-audio-course\/","url_meta":{"origin":1375,"position":1},"title":"Machiavelli in Context: an Audio Course","author":"Ian Chadwick","date":"February 3, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"As an aficionado of The Great Courses, it's always a delight for me to receive a new set of lectures I can listen to in the car or when walking my dog. The wide range of topics and ideas in their catalogue provides a wealth of learning and intellectual exercise\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;influences&quot;","block_context":{"text":"influences","link":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/category\/influences\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":794,"url":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/machiavelli-and-the-pazzi-conspiracy-part-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":1375,"position":2},"title":"Machiavelli and the Pazzi Conspiracy Part 1","author":"Ian Chadwick","date":"January 28, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the historical events that had an influence on the young Niccolo Machiavelli's political and social development was the attempted assassination of the heads of the ruling Medici family, in April 1478. That Easter Sunday evening, April 26, while Lorenzo Medici (\"The Magnificent\") and his brother Giuliano, were attending\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;conspiracy&quot;","block_context":{"text":"conspiracy","link":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/category\/conspiracy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1213,"url":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/a-machiavellian-mis-quote\/","url_meta":{"origin":1375,"position":3},"title":"A Machiavellian Mis-quote","author":"Ian Chadwick","date":"February 26, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Whilst perusing the Net for some material for my book on Machiavelli, some time back, \u00a0I came across this maxim: \"Never attempt to win by force what can be won by deception.\" It's attributed on many, many sites to Machiavelli in his most famous work, The Prince. Sounds pretty Machiavellian,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Machiavelli&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Machiavelli","link":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/category\/machiavelli\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1022,"url":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/machiavelli-and-the-elizabethans\/","url_meta":{"origin":1375,"position":4},"title":"Machiavelli and the Elizabethans","author":"Ian Chadwick","date":"March 16, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"In 1555, Bishop Stephen Gardiner wrote a treatise to King Phillip II of Spain, in which he borrowed (aka plagiarized) extensively from Machiavelli's The Prince and The Discourses. Gardiner did not credit Machiavelli or attribute any of his quotes, but rather copied some of Machiavelli's content verbatim or very closely.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Books and online resources&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Books and online resources","link":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/category\/books-and-online-resources\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1168,"url":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/atheist-machiavelli\/","url_meta":{"origin":1375,"position":5},"title":"Atheist Machiavelli?","author":"Ian Chadwick","date":"May 28, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"A recent article\u00a0in the Catholic Journal\u00a0by William Borst suggests Machiavelli was \"(m)ost likely an undeclared atheist...\" but the author gives no reference from Machiavelli's\u00a0works for this statement. I would argue that, while he may have been critical of church politics at times, he carefully did not express any solid statements\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;influences&quot;","block_context":{"text":"influences","link":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/category\/influences\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1375"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1404,"href":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1375\/revisions\/1404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}