Rome's executioner

CHAPTER XVIIII

The early-morning mist still clung to the lower reaches of the city along the shores of the Tiber, shrouding the island opposite the Campus Martius, as Vespasian, Caenis and Gaius climbed the Palatine in the fresh dawn light. All around them, groups of senators, carrying their folding stools, made their way in the same direction, towards the Temple of Apollo on the southern side of the hill; the mood amongst them was generally buoyant but, here and there, small clusters of less exuberant senators walked slowly with grim faces, the future weighing heavily upon their shoulders.

The crowds grew thicker as they approached the Temple of Apollo because the ordinary people of Rome, drawn by the rumour of Sejanus’ elevation, were gathering to witness the day’s unfolding events. Gaius’ senatorial toga was enough to clear a path for them as the deferential crowd parted to let the senators through to the beautiful, octagonal temple set on a podium, built by Augustus in thanks to his guardian god for his victories.

Paetus met them at the foot of the steps leading up to the temple doors and quickly got them through the security cordon of a century of togate Praetorians. Gaius went ahead with Caenis to find a place under the portico where he would be able to find her again in a hurry.

‘Why aren’t you in the Forum, Vespasian?’ Paetus enquired as they mounted the steps.

‘I’ve been asked to come here,’ Vespasian replied simply as scores of senators flooded past them into the building.

Paetus looked at him shrewdly. ‘I needn’t ask who by. So things may not be going the way the rumours suggest, eh?’

‘Perhaps not, Paetus. I really don’t know. I’m in the rather unpleasant position of being used as a tool for a purpose that I don’t fully understand.’

‘It was ever thus for us junior magistrates. This is not a day to be in Rome, wouldn’t you say, old boy?’

A loud cheer erupted from the crowd below and Vespasian turned to see both the Consuls, each preceded by twelve fascesbearing lictors, cut two different swathes through the milling citizenry as if competing to reach the temple first.

‘Well, this will be fun,’ Paetus observed dryly. ‘It’s the first time the two Consuls have attended a meeting of the Senate together since Memmius Regulus took over from Faustus Sulla as Senior Consul at the beginning of this month; his junior colleague, Fulcinius Trio, hates him because he’s the Emperor’s man not Sej-’ Paetus stopped abruptly and looked at Vespasian. ‘Oh! I see,’ he said slowly. ‘This has been planned well in advance, hasn’t it?’

‘Yes, it has, but nobody except Tiberius knows what the outcome will be.’

‘Well, Memmius Regulus must be pretty confident that he knows; he cancelled the three treason trials in the Forum this morning, all of which had been brought by Sejanus.’ He turned to go. ‘I’d better go in before the Consuls; I’ll see you later in what will be a different Rome, one way or another.’

Vespasian watched him go with that uncertain phrase echoing in his head.

Regulus had won the race to be the first Consul to arrive and he mounted the steps with all the dignity befitting his rank, followed, a few paces behind, by a sour-faced Fulcinius Trio. As they disappeared into the temple Gaius returned, having left Caenis between the first two of the Luna marble columns of the portico, just to the right of the main door.

‘I’d better be going in, my dear boy,’ he said, sounding more than a little nervous. He indicated Caenis’ position. ‘You’d best go and join her. Good luck.’

Vespasian did not need a second invitation to vacate the entrance; as his uncle turned to leave, a mighty cheer broke out from the crowd and it parted to reveal Sejanus walking, in amongst a large group of his supporters, directly towards him.

Vespasian skipped behind the column to find Caenis ready with a wax tablet and bronze stylus in hand, but looking worried.

‘Are you all right, Caenis?’

‘I can’t see the slave that I’m meant to hand the first list to,’ she replied, scanning the crowd.

‘Keep looking, I’m sure he’ll turn up,’ Vespasian assured her as Sejanus’ party mounted the steps; when they reached the top Sejanus stopped.

‘Friends,’ he said, addressing the senators around him, ‘go on in and reserve a place of honour for me; I’ll stay out here a while until everyone is in and then I shall enter last, for maximum effect.’

His supporters cheered him and then began to make their way inside.

Vespasian peered out from behind the column and caught a glimpse of Sejanus; he did not look like a man confident of high honour. His square-jawed face seemed strained and he wore a heavy frown; his hands were fidgeting. He turned suddenly, feeling that someone close by was watching him, and caught sight of Vespasian as he ducked back behind the column.

‘You there, what are you doing?’ he shouted, moving towards Vespasian’s and Caenis’ position.

‘Prefect!’ A voice called from the bottom of the steps, stopping Sejanus in his tracks.

‘Macro, thank the gods,’ Sejanus exclaimed with relief in his voice. ‘Has there been a message from the Emperor? I’ve heard nothing from him for eight days now; I don’t want to go into the meeting unless I’m absolutely sure that he is favouring me and this isn’t a trap.’

‘There has been, sir,’ Macro replied, taking the steps two by two, and taking a sealed scroll from the fold in his toga.

‘Give it to me,’ Sejanus ordered.

‘It’s for the Senate,’ Macro stated, ‘the seal is only to be broken by the senior Consul at the Emperor’s express orders.’

‘Who delivered it?’

‘I did.’

‘You’ve been with the Emperor,’ Sejanus exclaimed incredulously. ‘By whose authority?’

‘The Emperor himself summoned me to Capreae two days ago. I saw him yesterday morning and travelled back overnight using our horse-relay service.’

‘What? Why you and not me?’ Sejanus asked with low menace in his voice.

‘Because, sir,’ Macro replied calmly, ‘the Emperor felt that it would be inappropriate for you to carry this message to the Senate.’

‘Do you know the contents, Macro?’

‘I do, sir; let me be the first to congratulate you.’ Macro clapped Sejanus on the arm. ‘It’s what we have hoped for: Tiberius is asking the Senate to vote you what you deserve for the services that you’ve rendered both to him and to Rome.’

‘Tribunician power! Has he made me his heir?’

‘The Emperor said to tell you that this letter contains almost everything that you deserve.’

‘Almost everything?’

‘Almost.’

‘Then I shall be content with that for the present,’ Sejanus said with relief in his voice. ‘Come, my friend, let us enter together.’

‘I’ll only deliver the letter to the Senior Consul; then I’ll go back to the Praetorian Camp to prepare the men for your welcome.’

‘Do that, my friend,’ Sejanus said as they entered the temple, ‘you will not find me ungrateful.’

Applause burst out as they stepped through the doors.

Vespasian looked at Caenis with concern. ‘What do you think?’

‘I think that we have to wait to know for sure one-’

‘Way or another?’ he cut in, smiling at her.

‘Yes, my love,’ she said, squeezing his hand.

‘Vespasian, sir, sir!’ a familiar voice shouted from the crowd.

Vespasian looked round and saw Magnus with two of his crossroads brothers, Sextus and Marius, at the bottom of the steps. He quickly went down to them and, as one of the Vigintiviri, authorised them through the Praetorians.

‘Antonia sent us, sir,’ Magnus puffed as they went up the steps, ‘something about a message to take to her.’

‘You’re just in time,’ Vespasian said, seeing Gaius slipping out of the temple.

‘The Consuls have just taken the auspices and pronounced the day as good for the business of Rome,’ Gaius said as he approached Vespasian. ‘It’s quite an eye-opener in there; six new faces sitting with Sejanus including three ex-praetors and two ex-Consuls, Aulus Plautius and Silius Nervus. I’ll call you in when it starts to get really interesting.’

He bustled off to give the names to Caenis.

‘So why did Antonia send you?’ Vespasian asked Magnus.

‘She said that she was worried a slave would be intercepted and she thought that a bit of muscle was called for. Why, I don’t know, but she’s anxious about something — I can tell.’

‘Getting to know her moods now, you old goat?’

Magnus frowned. ‘Very funny, I’m sure,’ he said as Caenis handed him the wax tablet with the names written on it. ‘We’d best be going, sir. I’ll see you in the Forum later.’

‘Why?’

‘I don’t know; I just do what I’m told and that’s what Antonia told me to do: go to the Forum with all my brothers and wait for you.’

‘Well, it’s always best to obey the last order. I’ll see you there, I suppose.’

Vespasian watched Magnus and his brothers going back down the steps, with the growing feeling that he was a very small piece in a large and intricate game that he had little understanding of, and that he could just as easily be sacrificed as be used to make the winning move.

The sound of footsteps behind him made him turn; he came face to face with Macro.

‘What are you doing here?’ Macro snarled with barely concealed contempt.

‘I’m here in my capacity of triumvir capitalis, awaiting the Senate’s orders,’ Vespasian replied. He was determined not to be intimidated.

Macro laughed. ‘Pray to the gods then that it’s not your execution that you’ll be overseeing.’ He pushed past Vespasian and stood at the top of the steps, withdrew a further scroll from his toga fold and waved it in the air. ‘Men of the Praetorian Guard, you know me, I am Tribune Naevius Sutorius Macro; I have here a warrant from your Emperor.’ He unrolled the scroll with a flourish. ‘He requires you to go back to your camp where I will read a personal message from him to all the members of the Guard concerning the events of this day; I can, however, tell you that it contains a promise of a largesse to every man.’

The Guards cheered and waved the loose ends of their togas in the air. Macro signalled to someone at the back of the evergrowing mob of spectators.

‘The Senate will remain guarded,’ he continued as a group of men started to push their way forward through the crowd, ‘have no fear of that. Now follow me.’ He walked down the steps and led the century away.

As the last Praetorian left the front of the temple a new body of men took their place: the Vigiles were now guarding the Senate.

Half an hour had gone by and the sun was now well above the hills to the east, casting a soft light over the rooftops of the city. The crowd was getting restless as no news of what was happening inside the temple had filtered out; a few late-arriving senators had gone in but no one as yet had left and the doors remained half-closed.

Vespasian sat with Caenis on a bench in the shade of the portico; he could hear the voice of the Senior Consul, Regulus, reading aloud, but his words were indistinct. Vespasian had started to become concerned about the outcome of the letter; if Tiberius was going to damn Sejanus after praising him, as Pallas had said he would, then he was taking his time over it. He was on the verge of sharing his worries with Caenis when one of the public slaves, used by the senators to run messages, stepped out of the door and approached him with a bow.

‘The senator Gaius Pollo has requested that you attend him immediately,’ he said with a thick Gallic accent.

Vespasian’s pulse quickened as he stood up and, with a squeeze of Caenis’ shoulder, followed the slave into the temple.

It was packed with senators all sitting on their low folding stools; at the far end, below a statue of Apollo, stood Regulus reading from a scroll. As Vespasian made his way behind the rear line of senators he heard the Consul declaiming in a highpitched, clear voice:

‘… and furthermore, Conscript Fathers, I consider his allowing of sacrifices to be made to him in public in front of the many statues of himself that now litter the city an affront to my position as your Emperor. I have made it clear on many occasions that I do not wish to be worshipped and have only allowed very few temples to be dedicated to me, and then only to bestow a mark of favour on the municipality that requested the honour if I considered them deserving of it; yet he would have the whole Empire worship him if he could.’

The slave led him to Gaius’ place at the rear of the left-hand side.

‘It’s started to happen, dear boy, look,’ Gaius whispered, pointing to the other side of the room.

Vespasian craned his neck to see over the massed heads of the senators in front of him. Over to Regulus’ right-hand side sat Sejanus with an impassive look on his face; as he was watching, two senators near Sejanus stood up and, picking up their stools, crossed over to Gaius’ side. The others surrounding him were whispering to one another, with countenances full of confusion or fear.

‘Tell Caenis: Aulus Plautius and Sextus Vistilius at “but what of his lesser qualities”; and those two, Silius Nerva and Livius Gallus at “have the whole Empire worship him”. Go, and take the slave with you so that you can come straight back in.’

Caenis was waiting for him outside and he quickly relayed the names to her. ‘It seems to be happening, Caenis,’ he said excitedly as she finished writing. ‘His supporters have certainly lost their triumphant demeanour.’

‘If it is, then we’ve got a lot to thank Caligula for,’ she replied seriously as he turned to follow the slave back in.

‘“As to his divorcing his loyal wife Apicata five years ago…”’ As Vespasian made his way back to Gaius to receive seven more names, Regulus read:

‘… on the assumption that I would let him marry my beloved son Drusus’ widow, I considered that to be an arrogant move at the time, and still do. Whether it was because he genuinely desired her or whether it was because he felt that in marrying her he would further ingratiate himself with me I will leave to you, Conscript Fathers, to decide.’

Having just managed to recall all the seven names and give them to Caenis, Vespasian returned for a third time. Regulus was still holding forth:

‘… and through a weakness brought on by my recurring bouts of sickness, consented to the union last year. That, Conscript Fathers, was an error which I will now undo. I now formally dissolve the betrothal of Lucius Aelius Sejanus to my daughter-in-law, Livilla.’

At that point there was a mass migration away from Sejanus; the noise of stools folding and senators walking across the floor forced Regulus to pause as Vespasian once again reached Gaius.

‘Well, that makes it easy, dear boy,’ Gaius whispered to him, ‘everyone else at “formally dissolve the betrothal”. You might as well stay and watch what happens; no one will notice you in this atmosphere.’

Sejanus was left completed isolated with his head in his hands as Regulus continued reading the Emperor’s words:

‘I hope that you will agree with me, Conscript Fathers — whose opinion I have always valued — that these and the numerous other offences that he has committed, including the bearing of false witness against many of your number, cannot go unpunished. I would therefore ask you, Conscript Fathers, to vote on whether or not he should be.. ’

At this point Regulus was forced to pause again as his voice was drowned by an eruption of howls of anger directed at Sejanus from all present. Even those senators who had until very recently been sitting close by him joined in, either through fear or because they believed that if they denounced him vehemently now their earlier support of the doomed man would somehow be forgotten.

Praetors, tribunes and quaestors, including Paetus, surrounded Sejanus but he made no move to flee to appeal to the crowd outside; he just sat in thought.

The noise died down and Regulus finished: ‘“… whether or not he should be imprisoned.”’

There was a stunned silence. Vespasian glanced around at the senators, all as visibly shocked as himself — Macro had not lied to Sejanus, the letter did ask for almost everything that he deserved.

Regulus rolled up the scroll. ‘Conscript Fathers, I believe that we are as one in wishing to grant our Emperor’s request.’

There was a general chorus of agreement; even the Junior Consul Fulcinius Trio was nodding his head slightly as he stepped forward. ‘Seeing that you seem to be all agreed,’ he said carefully, ‘I believe that the Senior Consul need only ask one of you for your opinion because it will be the opinion of all of you.’

‘So be it,’ Regulus concurred as the suggestion met with approval. ‘Lucius Aelius Sejanus, come here and stand before me.’

Sejanus continued sitting in thought as if he had not heard.

Regulus repeated the command; still nothing.

The third time he shouted Sejanus suddenly looked up. ‘Me?’ he questioned in the tone of a man surprised to be given an order after so many years of only delivering them. ‘Are you ordering me?’

‘I, in the name of the whole house, am ordering you.’

Sejanus looked around and with a dismissive sneer went and stood before Regulus.

‘Senator Pollo,’ Regulus called out, causing Gaius to almost fall off his stool, ‘do you think that this man should be imprisoned?’

Gaius winced and then, with some trepidation, got to his feet. ‘I do think that he should be imprisoned, Consul,’ he said slowly and clearly.

‘Then that is the will of the house. Take him to the Tullianum.’

‘And just who is going to escort me there,’ Sejanus drawled, ‘through my Praetorians? Do you think that they’ll let this happen? They’ll slaughter you all first, like the sheep that you are.’

‘Graecinius Laco, are your Vigiles all in position?’ Regulus asked.

A tall man with a few days of thick black stubble on his face stepped forward from the far end of the temple. ‘They are, Consul, and Tribune Macro has taken the Guard back to their camp.’

‘What!’ Sejanus roared, jumping forward and being restrained by at least four men. ‘Macro! The filthy whore’s whelp, I’ll have him for this when the Emperor sees sense and releases me; just as I’ll have every one you, you Convict Blatherers.’

‘Take him away, Laco,’ Regulus ordered. ‘Consul Trio, you and I will now address the people together.’

Vespasian watched as Sejanus was led, head held high and shrugging off the restraining hands of his surrounding escort, from the Temple of Apollo.

Vespasian and Gaius squeezed out of the door through the crush of senators and gave the last and easy part of the list to Caenis.

‘I should get back to my mistress now, my love,’ she said as Regulus and Trio took up position at the top of the temple steps, ready to address the confused crowd, who had just watched the man who had held sway over them for the best part of the last decade taken away in disgrace.

‘I’ll come with you, seeing as my services don’t seem to be required here now,’ Vespasian said with genuine regret; it had been the first execution that he had been almost looking forward to.

‘I’m going to listen to Regulus and then I’ll follow you, I think.’ Gaius looked less than pleased. ‘I’m anxious to see what Antonia will do now. Go around the back of the temple — there’s another set of steps there; you’ll never get through this mob.’

As Vespasian and Caenis made their way around the temple they heard Regulus begin his address.

‘People of Rome,’ he declaimed, ‘today your Emperor and the Senate have seen fit to protect you from a man who has sought to dominate you for too long.’ A scattering of cheers rang out. ‘A man who has grown too large for our city.’ More substantial cheers greeted this remark. ‘A man who, like Icarus, has flown too high and has now been burned by the sun. Is it not right, since our Emperor is like the sun to us, guiding us through this life, that this man, Sejanus, should have been brought down in the temple of the sun god himself: Apollo?’

Thunderous cheers drowned Regulus out as Vespasian and Caenis made their way down the back steps of the temple.

‘He’s certainly getting them going,’ Vespasian observed as they headed towards Antonia’s house, just two hundred paces away.

‘He needs to,’ Caenis replied, struggling to keep up with him. ‘Sejanus has been very generous in sponsoring games. He’s not unloved by all the people, by any means; if Regulus doesn’t get them on his side they could well riot and try to free him.’

Vespasian shuddered at the thought but realised that Caenis’ assessment was absolutely right.

They arrived at Antonia’s door and knocked; a brief glance through the viewing slot was enough for the doorkeeper to let them in.

Antonia was waiting in the atrium with the first list in her hand. ‘Vespasian,’ she said disappointedly, ‘so the Emperor didn’t demand Sejanus’ death.’

‘No, domina, only his imprisonment.’

‘I had a hunch that he wouldn’t have the balls for it. He’s still worried that Sejanus’ supporters would resist a call for his execution and maybe even encourage him into open rebellion.’

‘They were all shouting abuse at him by the end, domina.’

‘Good, because I intend to use his supporters to encourage the Senate to do what Tiberius won’t. It was for this eventuality that I had these lists drawn up. Give me that, Caenis.’

Caenis handed Antonia the second list; she scanned it quickly and compared it to the first. ‘Ah, the ex-Consul Aulus Plautius is our man, last to show himself but then first out; he’ll not be wanting that to come to the attention of the Emperor. I’ll write to him immediately and in exchange for my silence on the subject I’m sure he’ll be only too pleased to request the Consuls to hold another meeting of the Senate this afternoon, at which he will lead the calls for Sejanus’ execution, supported by the others of that faction whom he can persuade to see sense.’

Vespasian shook his head in astonishment. ‘Of course, force Sejanus’ own supporters to call for his death; that is genius, domina,’ he said admiringly.

‘No, Vespasian, that’s politics. There will be no risk of a rebellion if he is condemned by the very people who had hoped to gain from him. Now go to the Forum and wait to see whether I’m successful or not; you may still have work to do before the day is done. Come, Caenis, we’re going to be busy, I also need to send a message to Macro.’

The Forum Romanum was heaving with people of every class, all thoughts of work or business having been put aside for the day as the citizens of Rome followed events and speculated as to what the final outcome would be. Rumour and counter-rumour circulated freely, from the reasonable (Sejanus would be banished or Sejanus would be released) to the outlandish (Tiberius was on the point of death or abdication and the Republic would be restored or Tiberius was returning to Rome to execute Sejanus himself), all of which held sway in different parts of the crowd.

Vespasian managed to push his way through to the Senate House where he found Paetus and a group of senators in conversation with the two Consuls on the steps.

‘I have left a guard of Vigiles around the Tullianum, Consul,’ Paetus was saying. ‘What are your orders?’

‘We will keep him there until we are better able to discern the Emperor’s wishes,’ Regulus replied with uncertainty in his voice.

‘We already know his wishes,’ his junior colleague Trio snapped. ‘The question is how long will the Praetorian Guard stand for it? If they come marching into the city to release him, I for one will not stand in their way; in fact I will lead them to the Tullianum and unlock the cell myself.’

‘Then you will be going against the Senate and People of Rome,’ Regulus shouted back.

‘The Senate and People of Rome be buggered; the power lies with the Praetorians and whoever commands their loyalty. I intend to be on their side rather than lying dead on the Gemonium Stairs,’ Trio replied, pointing at the steep steps that led from the Forum up to the summit of the Capitoline Hill.

‘But you were a part of the meeting that condemned him,’ Regulus said, shocked, ‘how can you in honour go back on that decision?’

‘I may have been a part of the meeting but I didn’t vote, only one man voted, Senior Consul, and you chose him because you, like every other senator, knew him to be a supporter of Sejanus’ greatest enemy, the Lady Antonia. That has left the rest of us free to keep our opinions to ourselves until such time as we see fit to express them.’

There was a murmur of agreement amongst some of the surrounding senators.

Regulus was outraged at being so outmanoeuvred. ‘But it was your idea, which I went along with in the spirit of reconciliation, so as not to force men into voting against someone whom they had previously supported.’

Trio smiled thinly and shrugged.

Vespasian could see that the concord of the morning was starting to fracture; people were reassessing their positions as it dawned on them that the matter was far from resolved and that Trio had indeed left them room for manoeuvre.

Gaius came puffing up the steps towards the group; his usually carefully tonged hair lay flat on his head, lank with sweat.

‘Consul Regulus,’ he said, trying to regain his breath, ‘may I have a word with you in private?’

‘Very well.’ Regulus stepped away from the group, with obvious relief, to join Gaius.

The senators split up into smaller clusters, muttering.

Paetus came over to Vespasian. ‘It’s all becoming a bit tricky, old chap. A bit of a mess, I should say,’ he observed, beaming as if he was quite enjoying the situation.

‘I think that the Lady Antonia has just forced the issue,’ Vespasian replied, noticing a large group of senators cutting their way through the crowd and heading towards the Senate House.

Regulus broke off his conversation with Gaius, nodding his agreement at whatever he had been told, as Aulus Plautius led thirty or so of Sejanus’ supporters to the bottom of the steps.

Plautius pulled back his broad, muscular shoulders and raised his head; the veins on his thick neck bulged blue. ‘Consuls Regulus and Trio,’ he called in his loudest voice so that the crowd of citizens all around him heard and quietened. The silence spread throughout the Forum as people became aware that the next move in the day’s events was under way. Plautius waited until the hush was complete. ‘I demand a full meeting of the Senate immediately, to address the unsatisfactory situation that we find ourselves in.’

‘And I second that,’ Trio immediately shouted triumphantly, ‘unless you would prefer to do so yourself, Senior Consul? The day has already been declared auspicious for senatorial business, so you can’t get out of it that way.’

Regulus looked to the sky and pointed at a skein of honking geese flying in a V formation, northwest, over the Temple of Concordia at the foot of the Capitoline Hill. ‘I declare that to be a sign from the gods,’ he shouted.

‘You can’t refuse a meeting because of a flight of birds,’ Trio responded angrily.

‘I could quite easily, there are many precedents for me to do so, but I take it as a positive sign: the saviours of Rome, who, whilst the dogs stayed sleeping, woke the defenders of the Capitoline Hill when the Gauls were scaling it at night, have shown us that the Senate should meet in the Temple of Concordia, the goddess of Harmony. Summon the Senate; there, in Concordia’s sacred precinct, we shall resolve this matter.’

The crowd roared their approval of this patriotic reading of bird flight and parted to make way for the twenty-four lictors, who preceded the two Consuls to the Temple of Concordia.

Vespasian caught up with Gaius halfway across the Forum.

‘What did you tell Regulus, Uncle?’

‘When I went back to Antonia’s house a message arrived for her from Plautius saying that he agreed to her demand and that over thirty of Sejanus’ supporters, who were currently meeting at his house, would support it too, on condition that Antonia would intercede on their behalf with the Emperor. So she sent messages out to all the senators that didn’t turn up to this morning’s meeting, because they hadn’t wanted to be a part of Sejanus’ supposed victory, telling them to attend the Senate when the summons came. She asked me to come here as quickly as possible to ensure that Regulus didn’t find an excuse to refuse a further meeting.’

‘Like, for example, an ill-omened flight of birds?’

Gaius chuckled. ‘Exactly. He could just as easily have declared the geese to be a sign that Rome’s luck was leaving the city and no more business should be attempted today; we’ve all seen it done before.’

They reached the Temple of Concordia, set in front of the beautiful, arched facade of the Tabularium, where all Rome’s records were kept. Gaius went in, leaving Vespasian by the doors.

For half an hour Vespasian watched as senators, many of whom had not been present at the morning meeting, appeared from every direction in answer to the Consuls’ summons, each now believing that their faction would win the debate. Amongst the last to arrive were Corbulo and his father, who looked remarkably like his son. They both appeared very unsure of the situation.

‘Vespasian, what’s going on?’ Corbulo asked nervously as his father went into the temple.

‘Well, if you’d been at the debate this morning you would know.’ Vespasian was going to enjoy toying with him.

‘We were ill,’ Corbulo replied huffily, ‘we had some bad prawns last night.’

‘You really must give up prawns: they obviously don’t agree with you.’

‘Yes, well,’ Corbulo spluttered, remembering that he had used that excuse once before in Vespasian’s presence. ‘Tell me what’s happening.’

‘If you go in and vote for the motion you’ll be fine,’ Vespasian replied enigmatically.

Realising that he was demeaning himself by asking someone who was not a senator about senatorial business, Corbulo snorted and went inside.

‘Conscript Fathers,’ Regulus’ voice carried out of the door, ‘come to order.’

The chatter inside the temple immediately died down. The doors remained opened; Vespasian stood in the doorway to watch the proceedings.

‘Although the day has already been declared auspicious,’ Regulus began, ‘we are now under the guidance of a different goddess and should therefore sacrifice to her.’

There were mutterings of assent and dissent from the opposing factions of senators; Trio instantly got to his feet but Regulus continued before he could take the floor.

‘To ensure that there are no allegations of foul play in reading the omens I invite the Junior Consul to make the sacrifice.’

Trio accepted the offer gladly; he pulled a fold of his toga over his head and stepped up to the altar. Because a flight of geese had led them to the Temple of Concordia a goose had been chosen as the most propitious sacrifice. Trio hastily despatched the bird, saying the prayers over it in a most perfunctory manner, then slit it open to examine the liver, which he quickly declared to be perfect and a sign that the good goddess of harmony favoured their endeavour.

‘Thank you for your diligence, Consul,’ Regulus said, without a trace of irony, as he took the floor again. ‘Senator Plautius has asked for this meeting, I therefore call upon him to speak first.’

Regulus sat back down on his Consul’s curule chair as Plautius stood to speak.

‘Conscript Fathers.’ He held out his right arm and, in a dramatic gesture, swept it around the room to include all the seated senators. ‘I have asked for us to meet again today because I, like many of you, feel that we haven’t rightly interpreted our Emperor’s wishes and in not doing so we have created a very combustible situation.’

There was a general murmur of agreement; neither faction could dispute that.

‘I therefore propose to examine more carefully what he meant. He asked us to vote on “whether or not he should be imprisoned”; we all took that to mean that the Emperor wanted Sejanus imprisoned, did we not?’

Again both factions found themselves agreeing.

‘Yet imprisonment of a citizen has never been a punishment recognised by the State, so was the Emperor really asking us to mete out a punishment that doesn’t exist?’

Frowns and puzzled looks passed over the faces of his fellows.

‘Let us look again at the words “whether or not”. In using that form of words Tiberius was deferring to the Senate; he was leaving the decision as to what to do with this man to us. However, Conscript Fathers, we took him too literally; it wasn’t just a choice between imprisoning Sejanus or not. No, the Emperor is sometimes too subtle for even his loyal Senate to follow.’

Another chorus of unanimous agreement rose from the senators. Vespasian smiled to himself; he could see that that sycophantic line had been put in with the Emperor’s reading of the meeting’s transcript in mind.

‘The choice our beloved Emperor was giving us wasn’t nearly so narrow; he in his wisdom knows that to have Sejanus locked up here in Rome could only lead to ill feeling, riots or even civil war. It was not just imprisonment or freedom that he was giving us the choice of, it was also imprisonment or loss of all honours previously voted him; imprisonment or confinement to his house, either here in Rome or one of his many country estates; imprisonment or denial of fire and water within three hundred miles of Rome; imprisonment or banishment to an island or a faraway town.’ He paused as the truth of what he was suggesting began to sink in to his audience and senators started to call out for their preferred punishment or for clemency. Plautius raised his strong voice and drowned them out. ‘Or, Conscript Fathers,’ he declaimed, ‘ imprisonment or death. And I call for death — but not the death of a Roman citizen that he has denied to so many of his victims. No, let it be the death of an enemy of Rome: strangulation.’

There was uproar, but Plautius stood his ground, raised his arms in the air and waited for the commotion to die down.

‘But let it not be just I who expresses his view,’ he carried on once the noise had abated enough for him to be heard again, ‘let us do this properly, unlike this morning, so that there can be no doubt as to the will of the Senate. Every senator should speak and give his opinion, and then the motion should be put to a full vote. If you agree, Senior Consul, I would have you call my colleague, Silius Nervus, to speak next as is his right as an ex-Consul.’

Plautius sat back down whilst Regulus retook the floor.

‘Consul Trio, do you agree that we take this to a full debate?’

Trio was in no position to argue, having insisted upon the meeting and having taken the auspices himself. He stood and mumbled his agreement, shocked by such a high-profile desertion from his faction.

‘Very well then, I call the ex-Consul Silius Nervus.’

A round, middle-aged man waddled forward and took the floor. ‘Conscript Fathers, I too demand death by strangulation, and also damnatio memoriae, let his name be removed from all monuments and history,’ he said simply, before waddling back to his stool.

There was a communal gasp from all sides as the senators realised that this had been an ambush and Sejanus now had no chance of reprieve. Vespasian watched with an increasing sense of awe at Antonia’s political finesse as Regulus called every senator in order of precedence, from ex-Consuls down, to speak. With a few exceptions, who pleaded briefly but ineffectually for either death by decapitation or one of the more innocuous punishments, they all called for death by strangulation.

By the time the most junior of the more than four hundred senators present had spoken the sun was getting low in the sky and it was time for the presiding Consuls to wind up the debate.

Regulus took the floor. ‘Conscript Fathers, it now only remains for the two Consuls to speak before I call a vote. I call Consul Trio.’

Trio rose slowly to his feet and walked unhurriedly into the centre of the Temple. He had the look of a beaten but unbowed man determined to pursue the only course of action left open to him.

‘Conscript Fathers, we have over the centuries witnessed many a man who has for one reason or another exceeded himself.’ His voice was slow and flat; there were angry growls from the senators as they immediately saw that this was the beginning of a filibuster. ‘Coriolanus, Gaius Marius, Sulla, Tarquinius Superbus, Appius Claudius

… ’

The list went on and on and Vespasian, like the senators, began to worry that he would talk until sundown at which time the debate would be talked out and no vote could be taken.

‘It is time to consider what manner of a man is Sejanus,’ Trio continued, having named scores of ambitious historical figures and being forced to raise his voice against the growing clamour of his furious colleagues. ‘Is he the sort of man who-’ A stool hit him full in the face, gashing his right cheek and almost felling him. He stood back erect with blood flowing on to his toga and opened his mouth to speak again; before he could get another word out he went down under a sustained salvo of brutally hurled stools and was forced to crawl from the floor and seek shelter behind his curule chair.

‘Thank you for your opinion, Consul,’ Regulus said, nodding to his bloodied and bruised colleague as if nothing was amiss. ‘I too demand death. The house will now divide, those in favour to my right, those against to my left, on this motion: That this house would condemn Lucius Aelius Sejanus to death by strangulation and that his name be expunged.’

There was almost a stampede as the senators all struggled not to be seen to be the last man standing on the left. Within a few moments the only man not to Regulus’ right was Trio, who was still cowering behind his chair; he gingerly poked his head up and looked around to see that he had been utterly defeated.

‘I declare,’ Regulus called out, ‘that the motion is-’ He stopped mid-sentence with his mouth open, staring through the doors, past Vespasian and out into the Forum.

Vespasian spun around to follow his gaze; fifty paces away, resplendent in blazing white togas, scything through the panicking crowd with ease and heading directly for the Temple of Concordia, marched a cohort of the Praetorian Guard.