Lucius Saenius (possibly Lucius Saenius BalbinusRonald Syme
"Missing Senators"
'' Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte'', 4 (1955), p. 57) (fl. 1st century BC) was a Roman senator and suffect consul in 30 BC as the colleague of

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

Biography

Ronald Syme Sir Ronald Syme, (11 March 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a New Zealand-born historian and classicist. He was regarded as the greatest historian of ancient Rome since Theodor Mommsen and the most brilliant exponent of the history of the Roman ...

notes the ''gentilicum'' "Saenius" is "patently Etruscan", and suggests some kind of connection between the senator and the town Saenia Julia (modern

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...

). He was probably the son of a senator of the same name who had achieved no high offices. Saenius was considered to be one of the men who owed their career completely to

Octavian Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

and whom Octavian could use as a tool for his own purposes. In 30 BC, Saenius was appointed ''

consul suffectus A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...

''. During his time in office he issued the '' Lex Saenia'', which regulated the adlection of plebeians to the patriciate by means of a ''lex curiata'' (or law passed by the

Curiate Assembly The Curiate Assembly (''comitia curiata'') was the principal assembly that evolved in shape and form over the course of the Roman Kingdom until the Comitia Centuriata organized by Servius Tullius. During these first decades, the people of Rome w ...

). He also intervened in protecting Junia Secunda, who was accused by

Gaius Maecenas Gaius Cilnius Maecenas ( – 8 BC) was a friend and political advisor to Octavian (who later reigned as emperor Augustus). He was also an important patron for the new generation of Augustan poets, including both Horace and Virgil. During the rei ...

of being involved in the conspiracy led by her son,

Lepidus the Younger Marcus Aemilius Lepidus the Younger or Marcus Aemilius Lepidus Minor (; died 30 BC) was a son of triumvir Marcus Aemilius Lepidus and his wife Junia Secunda, a half-sister of Caesar's assassin Brutus. Lepidus was executed by Octavian, the futur ...

, against Octavian.Syme, Ronald, ''The Augustan Aristocracy'' (1986).

Clarendon Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, p. 35.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saenius, Lucius 1st-century BC Romans Senators of the Roman Republic Imperial Roman consuls Saenii Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown