Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Auction 123 23-24 May 2023
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SPAIN, Bilbilis. Tiberius. AD 14-37. Æ As (29.5mm, 12.98 g, 1h). L. Aelius Sejanus, praetorian consul. Struck AD 31. Laureate head right / (MVN) • (AV)GVSTA BILBILIS above, • TI • CÆSARE • V • L • ÆLIO • SEIANO below, laurel wreath containing COS. ACIP 3024; Burgos 284; RPC I 398. Brown surfaces, minor porosity. VF. Important historical type with the name of Sejanus. Rare with the full name of Sejanus intact.
From the D.K. Collection.
Lucius Aelius Sejanus came from an up-and-coming equestrian family. Early in his career, Sejanus served with Augustus' grandson Gaius in the east, and may have accompanied Drusus Caesar north to quell the mutinies that broke out upon Augustus' death. He was made praefectus praetorio (commander of the Praetorian Guard) along with his father Lucius Seius Strabo, but when Strabo was promoted to the post of praefectus Aegypti, Sejanus took sole command of the Guard. As head of a force of 12,000 loyal soldiers, he used his position to gain influence over Tiberius.
In AD 23, upon the death of Drusus Caesar, Sejanus proposed marrying Drusus' widow Livilla, with whom he was allegedly having an affair. So indispensable had he become in maintaining order in the capital that Tiberius called him "the partner of my labors," a position that Sejanus carefully built upon following the emperor's retirement to Capri in AD 26. Using the emperor's absence to his advantage, Sejanus imprisoned Germanicus' widow, Agrippina Senior, her sons Nero and Drusus, and their supporters on charges of treason. In AD 31, Sejanus served as consul with Tiberius – the first step, he hoped, in acquiring tribunician power and becoming the imperial heir. Although Sejanus' position seemed unassailable, Tiberius became aware of Sejanus' machinations and condemned his consular colleague in a letter to the Senate. Sejanus and his children were executed, reprisals followed against his adherents, and the Senate issued a damnatio memoriae.
From the D.K. Collection.
Lucius Aelius Sejanus came from an up-and-coming equestrian family. Early in his career, Sejanus served with Augustus' grandson Gaius in the east, and may have accompanied Drusus Caesar north to quell the mutinies that broke out upon Augustus' death. He was made praefectus praetorio (commander of the Praetorian Guard) along with his father Lucius Seius Strabo, but when Strabo was promoted to the post of praefectus Aegypti, Sejanus took sole command of the Guard. As head of a force of 12,000 loyal soldiers, he used his position to gain influence over Tiberius.
In AD 23, upon the death of Drusus Caesar, Sejanus proposed marrying Drusus' widow Livilla, with whom he was allegedly having an affair. So indispensable had he become in maintaining order in the capital that Tiberius called him "the partner of my labors," a position that Sejanus carefully built upon following the emperor's retirement to Capri in AD 26. Using the emperor's absence to his advantage, Sejanus imprisoned Germanicus' widow, Agrippina Senior, her sons Nero and Drusus, and their supporters on charges of treason. In AD 31, Sejanus served as consul with Tiberius – the first step, he hoped, in acquiring tribunician power and becoming the imperial heir. Although Sejanus' position seemed unassailable, Tiberius became aware of Sejanus' machinations and condemned his consular colleague in a letter to the Senate. Sejanus and his children were executed, reprisals followed against his adherents, and the Senate issued a damnatio memoriae.