Marcus Scribonius Libo Drusus (died 13 September 16) was a Roman accused of treason against the emperor

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

Biography

Early life

He was likely the son or paternal grandson of

Marcus Livius Drusus Libo Marcus Livius Drusus Libo was an ancient Roman consul of the early Roman Empire. He was the son of Lucius Scribonius Libo by an unknown wife and adopted brother of Roman empress Livia. His natural paternal aunt was Scribonia, the second wife of ...

(adopted brother of empress

Livia Livia Drusilla (30 January 59 BC – 28 September AD 29) was a Roman empress from 27 BC to AD 14 as the wife of Roman emperor, Emperor Augustus Caesar. She was known as Julia Augusta after her formal Adoption in ancient Rome, adoption into the J ...

). It is also possible that he was Marcus Livius nephew whom was adopted. Libo Drusus was regarded as a fatuous young man, who had tastes for absurdities.

Trial

Along with his brother

Lucius Scribonius Libo Several men of plebeian status were named Lucius Scribonius Libo during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire; they were members of the ''gens'' Scribonia. L. Scribonius Libo (praetor 204 BC) Lucius Scribonius Libo was a tribune of the plebs in 216 ...

, he was accused of conspiring against the Roman Emperor

. This included asking a fortune-teller if he would be rich enough to pave the Via Appia, as far as Brundisium or

Brindisi Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Histo ...

with money.

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his t ...

described the accusations against Libo as 'preposterous' and 'pointless'. The two men were tried in a senatorial court by the Emperor Tiberius. At the trial, Marcus was ill and pleaded for mercy. A maternal relative,

Publius Sulpicius Quirinus Publius Sulpicius Quirinius (c. 51 BC – AD 21), also translated as Cyrenius, was a Roman aristocrat. After the banishment of the ethnarch Herod Archelaus from the tetrarchy of Judea in AD 6, Quirinius was appointed legate governor of Syria, ...

, defended them and appealed to the Emperor. Tiberius told him to apply to the senate.

wanted to investigate Libo's slaves but there was a senatorial decree preventing confessions from tortured slaves from being used in trials against their own masters. To get around this

had Libo's slaves sold to the treasury agent, then the accusations made against Libo were considered confirmed by Libo's ex slaves. His aunt, Scribonia (second wife of Roman Emperor

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 Pri ...

), tried to convince Marcus to face trial rather than commit suicide. However, Marcus committed suicide by stabbing himself twice in the stomach on 13 September 16 AD. The

Roman Senate The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...

agreed to divide his property among his accusers, which was the common practice of the time. Furthermore, his statue and funeral masks were removed from descendants' funeral parades and members of the gens ‘Scribonius’ were forbidden to bear the name ‘Drusus’. His supporters were executed, and the day of his death was declared a public holiday.

References

Bibliography

Sources

- The Annals of Imperial Rome - Chapter 4 - The First Treason Trials *

Lucius Annaeus Seneca Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger (; 65 AD), usually known mononymously as Seneca, was a Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, dramatist, and, in one work, satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature. Seneca was born in ...

- Letters to Lucilius, Letter 70, chapter 10 *

Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; c. AD 69 – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is a set of biographies ...

- The Twelve Caesars - Tiberius, Paragraph 25 Accession {{DEFAULTSORT:Scribonius Libo, Marcus Senators of the Roman Empire 1st-century Romans 16 deaths Ancient Romans who committed suicide Libo Year of birth unknown Ancient Roman adoptees