Blog: Layer by Layer

Conspirators encircle Julius Caesar. "Murder of Caesar" painting by Karl Theodor von Piloty (1865).

Conspiracy is the stuff of Ancient Rome.

Originally a neutral term, since the mid-1960s it has acquired a somewhat derogatory meaning, implying a paranoid tendency to see the influence of some malign covert agency in events. ¹ The term nowadays is therefore used sometimes to dismiss claims, as though they must automatically be ridiculous, misconceived, paranoid, unfounded, outlandish or irrational. ² In Ancient Rome, however – and regardless of the state of mind of some emperors as they considered past and possible future assassination attempts against them – conspiracy both by and against the imperial throne was so common as to be almost the normal state of affairs.

As illustrated (top), the empire itself was founded upon a successful conspiracy, the assassination plot by approximately 60 Roman senators against Julius Caesar, on the Ides of March, 44 BCE and which precipitated the end of the Roman Republic. The conspirators discussed many plans, as described by Nicolaus of Damascus:

The conspirators never met exactly openly, but they assembled a few at a time in each other’s homes. There were many discussions and proposals, as might be expected, while they investigated how and where to execute their design. Some suggested that they should make the attempt along the Sacred Way, which was one of his favorite walks. Another idea was to do it at the elections, during which he had to cross a bridge to appoint the magistrates in the Campus Martius. Someone proposed that they draw lots for some to push him from the bridge and others to run up and kill him. A third plan was to wait for a coming gladiatorial show. The advantage of that was, because of the show, no suspicion would be aroused if arms were seen. The majority opinion, however, favored killing him while he sat in the Senate. He would be there by himself, since only Senators were admitted, and the conspirators could hide their daggers beneath their togas. This plan won the day.

Augustus, the adopted son of Caesar and the first emperor, faced many more:

Table from Conspiracies Against Augustus by John Paul Adams, CSUN.

The death of Augustus is still shrouded in mystery. On 19 August 14 CE, Augustus died while visiting the place of his birth father’s death at Nola. Both Tacitus and Cassius Dio wrote that Livia brought about his death by poisoning fresh figs. ³

The reign of Tiberius, his successor, also had its share of conspiracies and even his life is still very much a mystery. In 6 BCE and on the verge of accepting command in the East to become the second most powerful man in Rome, Tiberius withdrew from public life and retired to Rhodes. ⁴ Nobody today knows why. Among the various conspiracies during his reign as emperor, two are worthy of mention here.

The first is the death of the renowned general, Germanicus, son of Antonia Minor.

69. Germanicus meanwhile, as he was returning from Egypt, found that all his directions to the legions and to the various cities had been repealed or reversed. This led to grievous insults on Piso, while he as savagely assailed the prince. Piso then resolved to quit Syria. Soon he was detained there by the failing health of Germanicus, but when he heard of his recovery, while people were paying the vows they had offered for his safety, he went attended by his lictors, drove away the victims placed by the altars with all the preparations for sacrifice, and the festal gathering of the populace of Antioch. Then he left for Seleucia and awaited the result of the illness which had again attacked Germanicus. The terrible intensity of the malady was increased by the belief that he had been poisoned by Piso. And certainly there were found hidden in the floor and in the walls disinterred remains of human bodies, incantations and spells, and the name of Germanicus inscribed on leaden tablets, half-burnt cinders smeared with blood, and other horrors by which in popular belief souls are devoted so the infernal deities. Piso too was accused of sending emissaries to note curiously every unfavourable symptom of the illness. (Tacitus: Annals Book 2)

A practical witch, or magician will want to back up their curses with poison if at all possible and in the Graeco-Roman world, “black magic” and poisoning were common.

Eyguieres Curse Tablet. A curse tablet or binding spell (defixio in Latin) is a type of curse found throughout the Graeco-Roman world, in which someone would ask the gods to do harm to others.

There were numerous reasons in Ancient Rome to kill a successful, popular general and we may never know what happened. This particular event rumbled on, into what is known as the Pisonian Conspiracy. Before we broach that, there is the purported conspiracy of Sejanas against Tiberius, who at this time lived on the island of Capri in imperial isolation. Later, many lurid tales were told of his life there, but all without solid foundation – a possible conspiracy of misinformation in itself.

There is no confirmation of a Sejanus conspiracy – the unsubstantiated charges against him were reported by Antonia Minor – but for some reason, Tiberius turned violently against his lieutenant and instituted a campaign of terror against his supporters, so perhaps the conspiracy was against Sejanus by either Antonia Minor, or Tiberius himself. All we may know for sure is that somebody conspired and as a result, many died most unpleasantly.

"The Death of Tiberius" by Jean-Paul Laurens, depicting the Roman emperor about to be smothered under orders of Naevius Sutorius Macro

After the death of Sejanus, Suetonius records that he became paranoid ⁵ and with reason. the reign of his successor Gaius – known to us as Caligula/Little Boots – was replete with conspiracies.

Once Caligula had reviewed the records of the treason trials held by Tiberius, he decided that numerous senators were not to be trusted and so ordered a new set of investigations and trials, which resulted in various changes and executions. These instigated further conspiracies against him. ⁶

The ‘histories’ for Caligula are mainly fanciful speculations, probably to serve a political purpose; there are two by his contemporaries: by Philo, who was largely favourable towards him; and by Seneca the Younger, who was almost put to death by Caligula in 39, likely due to his associations with conspirators. ⁷

His fear of conspiracies was justified by events, for on 24 January 41, Praetorian guards killed Caligula while he was addressing a troupe of actors – Suetonius records that Caligula’s death was similar to that of Julius Caesar.

Claudius, son of Antonia Minor, became emperor mainly because he was regarded as too stupid to be worth killing. Even so, ancoent historians claim he was poisoned in the early hours of 13 October 54, with a variety of suspects.

Nero succeeded Claudius and few if any emperors are more surrounded by conspiracies, the effects of which live with us still, as modern historians wallow in the salacious and unreliable gossip used to denigrate him.

The main conspiracy in his reign is said to have been an assassination attempt led by Gaius Calpurnius Piso and at least 41 individuals were accused of being part of the conspiracy.

The Great Fire in July 64 was ascribed by Tacitus to Chrestians, a term later modified by hand unknown to “Christians” – another minor conspiracy in itself. Chamberlains were described as being seen starting the fire, but whether they worked for or against Nero is unknown. To complicate matters, one chamberlain is Epaphroditus, mentioned in the New Testament ⁸ as a friend and colleague of Paul of Tarsus. The same Epaphroditus was with Nero when he was thought to have killed himself and much later, the Emperor Domitian held him accountable for Nero’s death.

Domitian was murdered on 18 September 96, in a palace conspiracy organized by court officials. ⁹ A highly detailed account of the plot and the assassination is provided by Suetonius, who alleges that Domitian’s chamberlain Parthenius was the chief instigator behind the conspiracy, citing the recent execution of Domitian’s secretary Epaphroditus as the primary motive. ¹⁰

The murder itself was carried out by a freedman of Parthenius named Maximus, and a steward of Domitian’s niece Flavia Domitilla, named Stephanus. Flavia Domitilla was daughter of Domitilla the Younger by an unknown father, perhaps Quintus Petillius Cerialis. She married her cousin, the consul Titus Flavius Clemens. Flavia Domitilla is a saint in the Greek Orthodox Church and also the Roman Catholic Church.

Basilica di San Clemente. The lowest levels of the present basilica are remnants of the foundation of a republican era building that was destroyed in the Great Fire of 64. A new house was built on those foundations shortly thereafter. At this time, the home was owned by the family of Roman consul and Titus Flavius Clemens

Titus Flavius Clemens was a great-nephew of the Roman Emperor Vespasian and a second cousin to Roman Emperors to Titus and Domitian. He is a saint in the Catholic Church and in the Greek Orthodox Church.

Roman emperors had to be on a constant lookout for conspiracies against themselves – paranoia was an occupational hazard and often their fears were justified. They fought fire with fire, using whatever means they could to try to survive a little longer. Just as a new ruler orders damnation against his enemies and new histories to be composed to justify himself, so when he dies, the histories are often rewritten to damn him and justify the next. The last ones standing have the last word and in the case of Rome, they are the Christians.

In the 7th century, the earliest histories of the Roman Church appear, under the names of “Eusebius of Caesarea” and “Lactantius”, claiming – though without historical support – an earlier provenance. Prior to that, the term ‘Jesus Christ’ first appears ca. 340 in Phrygia, though that may be an exception, for the term did not enter general use until later. One method we are using to try and ascertain the chronology of Christianity is to see when imperial Roman institutions – especially those based within extant archaeological sites – are adopted for Christian – particularly Papal – usage.

The Curia Hostilia, or Roman Senate

The term “curia” is derived from the Old Latin term “co-viria,” literally an “association of men” and by the Imperial period, a curia was any building where local government held office. The Curia in the Roman Forum functioned as a senate house for the Roman Empire.

Curia Iulia: the new senate house begun by Julius Caesar in 44 B.C. just before his assassination and continued by the triumvirs (Cass. Dio XLIV.5; XLV.17; XLVII.19). It was completed and dedicated in 29 B.C. by Augustus (Mon. Anc. IV.1: curiam et continens ei chalcidicum feci; VI.13; Suet. Calig. 60; Cass. Dio LI.22). Like its predecessor, the curia Hostilia, and the curia Pompeia, it was inaugurated as a templum (Varro ap. Gell. XIV.7.7). See also CIL VI.877a (=32324), 1718, 32326 (Act. Lud. Saec. Sever. i.5); s.c. de Mytilenaeis in Berl. Sitzber. 1889, 966. p144 Augustus set up in it a statue of Victory (Dio LI.22; v. Victoria, ara) and built an annex called the Chalcidicum (q.v.). The Secretarium Senatus, another annex of the senate house, probably also formed part of the structure of Augustus, though we have no direct evidence of its existence before the time of Diocletian.

The curia Iulia, like the older curia, was built in comitio (Plin. NH XXXV.27, 131); in fact several senatus consulta which have come down to us in their Greek form…one under Hadrian, however, is more explicit (in comitio in curia, EE II.273, 282).

The curia as restored by Augustus is believed by Hülsen (Neueste Ausgr. 12, fig. 7*), who had previously (HC 51) connected them with the basilica Iulia, to be represented in coins of 29?27 B.C. (Cohen, Aug. 122; BM. Rep. II.16.4358, 4359 = Aug. 631, 632; cf. p. cxxiii, n4, where it is referred to the temple of Julius; while Richmond (JRS 1914, 218) wrongly refers it to a little shrine just outside the Atrium of Augustus on the Palatine). The statue of Victory standing on a globe which came from Tarentum is shown in the apex of the pediment, and is represented on other coins of the same date (BM Aug. 622?3; Cohen, Aug. 113; BM. Rep. II.14, 15.4356?7, where it is wrongly stated to have been placed in the basilica Iulia).

Domitian restored the curia in 94 A.D. (Hieron. 161),1 and it was no doubt he who took the opportunity of dedicating the Chalcidicum to his patron goddess Minerva, whence it acquired the name of Atrium Minervae (Notit. Reg. VIII). This curia is represented in the famous Anaglypha Traiani (see Rostra). It is perhaps also represented in one of the reliefs of the arch of Benevento (Mitt. 1892, 257; SScR 194). The curia was burnt down in the fire of Carinus, and rebuilt by Diocletian (Chron. 148), and the existing building dates from his time.
- Curia Julia, p143 Article on pp143?146 of Samuel Ball Platner (as completed and revised by Thomas Ashby): A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome, London: Oxford University Press, 1929.

Denarius of Augustus Bare head r. in linear circle. Rev. Curia Julia on low podium, in front, balustrade; between the central intercolumnation, closed door, above, three windows.

This senate building was transformed at the beginning of the seventh century into the church of St. Hadrian and the bronze doors were moved to the church of St. John Lateran.

The ancient basilica of S. Martina, built in the ruins of the Secretarium Senatus, is first mentioned under Hadrian I (772?795; LP XCVII.51, 96). It is called S. Martinae sita in tribus fatis under Leo III (LP XCVIII.90; HCh 381). It was restored by Pietro da Cortona in 1640 and its level raised, so that the older structure (in which no traces of antiquity are actually visible) serves as the crypt. (Ibid.)

We therefore see the Roman Curia of the Roman Empire transition in usage to the Roman Curia of the Roman Church.

The Fall of Rome by Thomas Cole

There is a simple picture of Rome being over-run by barbarian hordes, though the history of the Western Roman Empire is more complex and not so final. Rome was sacked a number of times and these “barbarians” settled areas of the West.

The Eastern Roman Empire, by reoccupying some of former Western Roman Empire?s lands enlarged its territory briefly between Justinian's rise to power (red, 527) and his death (orange, 565)

Historians tend to like putting a barrier – typically “the fall of Rome”, “the collapse of the Roman Empire”, or “the establishment of Christianity within the Roman Empire” – between the two usages of the senate building,  like placing a veil over an old face in the vain attempt to obscure reality – the façade has aged, but what of the character?

In exercising supreme, full, and immediate power in the universal Church, the Roman pontiff makes use of the departments of the Roman Curia which, therefore, perform their duties in his name and with his authority for the good of the churches and in the service of the sacred pastors.
CHRISTUS DOMINUS, 9
- The Roman Curia at vatican.va

The Roman Curia today is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Catholic Church, together with the Pope. ¹¹

Strictly speaking, the ensemble of departments or ministries which assist the sovereign pontiff in the government of the Universal Church. These are the Roman Congregations, the tribunals, and the offices of Curia (Ufficii di Curia).
- Catholic Encyclopedia, Roman Curia.

There existed until recently hereditary officers of the Roman Curia, when in the 20th century the role of the old Roman nobility at the Papal Court was largely dropped, the exception being the position of Prince Assistant to the Papal Throne.

Don Francesco Ruspoli, 10th Príncipe di Cerveteri. Grand Master of the Sacred Apostolic Hospice since 2005. The Grand Master is a Participating Privy Chamberlain and the sole lay member of the Noble Privy Antechamber, as well as a Participating Privy Chamberlain of the Sword and Cape (made up of laymen, traditionally holding hereditary posts).

Titles such as the Grand Master of the Sacred Apostolic Hospice and Marshal of the Sacred Conclave are now honorary, though still hereditary.

The Roman Principate dressed in imperial purple soldiers on.

A bas relief sculpture at Naqsh-e Rostam, Iran, depicting the triumph of Shapur I over the Roman Emperor Valerian.

Having spent the last few years studying the series of great Iranian empires which preceded the conquest by Arabs, I’ve become familiar with the idea of an Iran bestriding the world like a Colosssus, as it has repeatedly and over a very long period, right into the modern era. (Maps of these empires,  below.) My feeling is that we are seeing something more than a struggle for regional ‘hegemony’ by Iran.

Iranians are generally aware of their history and cultural heritage (as best they may, considering that much is lost, perhaps irretrievably). I am still being surprised at how technically-inventive this culture was thousands of years ago, and how this technology has not been lost, but is still being used and even adopted by others.

An ice-pit – Yakhchal – in Yazd Province. In 400 BCE, Persian engineers had already mastered the technique of storing ice in the middle of summer in the desert.	Wind tower and qanat used for cooling.

To regard Iran as Third World, ‘Developing’ or in any way backward, would be to ignore how it has caught up in the last decades. Iran looks today to be a modern, technological nation. It’s military has a growing arsenal of very sophisticated weapons.

That apart, my interest is cultural and in that regard, I think I see signs that the Iranian elite not only values its past, regardless of it not being Islamic, but would aim at re-establishing as much of it as they can. I think Iran has done most of the work, already.

In the face of growing international sanctions, Pakistan is now offering support to Iran. Pakistan broke earlier sanctions to provide Iran with the science and technology to make the atomic bomb and there are voices inside Pakistan in support of a weaponised Iran in the face of US opposition. Iran and Pakistan may well seek to share Afghanistan between themselves once Nato departs.

The Iraqi government is led by pro-Iranians. If a regional war breaks out, do not be surprised to see Iranian forces move through Iraq without opposition. Next stop: Saudi (not just for the oil but also Mecca;) and possibly Jordan, to help its allies in Syria.

The concern over a possible Israeli strike against Iran misses the point, I think, for if Iran has qualms now over weaponising its nuclear power, these would disappear immediately in the face of an attack. A strike on Iran could be both a self-fulfilling prophecy of doom for Israel and the instigation of a sudden and dramatic expansion of Iranian power in the region.

Past empires:
Sassanid Persian Empire 241-651 CE

The Sassanid Empire in dark green, territory contested with the East Romans in medium green, maximum gains during Khosrau II’s rule in light green.

Parthian Empire 247 BCE – 224 CE

This probably became Scythian under Maues in the last century of the past era.

Seleucid Empire - at the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today’s Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.

A Greek-Macedonian state created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great.

Achaemenid Empire c. 550–330 BCE