page_title: Sejanus
section_title: Feud with Drusus
hierarchical_section_title: Sejanus / Rise to power / Feud with Drusus
caption_attribution_description: English: Portrait of Julius Caesar Drusus (13 BC–23 CE). Español: Retrato de Julio César Druso (13 a.C.–23 d.C.).
context_page_description: Lucius Aelius Sejanus, commonly known as Sejanus, was an ambitious soldier, friend and confidant of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. An equestrian by birth, Sejanus rose to power as prefect of the Roman imperial bodyguard, known as the Praetorian Guard, of which he was commander from AD 14 until his death in AD 31.
  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 would have 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.
context_section_description: 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). By this time he had been raised to the rank of praetor, a position which was not normally granted to Romans of the equestrian class. A statue had been erected in his honor in the Theatre of Pompey, and in the Senate, his followers were advanced with public offices and governorships. However this privileged position caused resentment among the senatorial class and the imperial family, in particular earning him the enmity of Tiberius' son Drusus Julius Caesar.
  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. 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. Despite this success, the following years witnessed a growing animosity between Drusus and Sejanus.
  Since the death of Germanicus, Drusus had been openly groomed as the successor of his father, successfully commanding legions in Illyricum in AD 18, and sharing the consulship with Tiberius in AD 21. In practice it was still Sejanus who was the second man in the empire, and he was ambitious to further expand his power. As early as AD 20, Sejanus had sought to solidify his connection with the imperial family by betrothing his daughter Junilla to the son of Claudius, Claudius Drusus. At the time the girl was only 4 years old but the marriage never happened, as the boy mysteriously or accidentally died a few days later of asphyxiation.
  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, and he openly lamented that "a stranger was invited to assist in the government while the emperor's son was alive".  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. With her as an accomplice, Drusus was slowly poisoned and died of seemingly natural causes on September 13, AD 23.
caption: Bust of Drusus the Younger (Drusus Julius Caesar), son of Tiberius. In a conspiracy that involved his own wife Livilla, Drusus was poisoned in AD 23 by agents of Sejanus.
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