Poppaea Sabina the Elder (c. 10 – c. 47 AD) was an aristocratic woman who lived during the

Principate The Principate is the name sometimes given to the first period of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the reign of Augustus in 27 BC to the end of the Crisis of the Third Century in AD 284, after which it evolved into the so-called Dominate. ...

. During her lifetime she was famed for her beauty, but as

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 ...

writes, her "fame and follies have been all but extinguished by her homonymous daughter",

Poppaea Sabina the Younger Poppaea Sabina (AD 30 – 65), also known as Ollia, was a Roman empress as the second wife of the Roman emperor, Emperor Nero. She had also been wife to the future emperor Otho. The historians of Classical antiquity, antiquity describe her as a ...

. She met her end as a victim of the empress

Valeria Messalina Valeria Messalina (; ) was the third wife of Roman emperor Claudius. She was a paternal cousin of Emperor Nero, a second cousin of Emperor Caligula, and a great-grandniece of Emperor Augustus. A powerful and influential woman with a reputation ...

, wife of

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...

. Poppaea Sabina was the daughter of

Gaius Poppaeus Sabinus Gaius Poppaeus Sabinus was a Roman senator (died AD 35), who served as consul in AD 9 with Quintus Sulpicius Camerinus as his colleague. He enjoyed the friendship of the Emperors Augustus and Tiberius. Sabinus was elected to the consulship, wit ...

, ''

homo novus ''Novus homo'' or ''homo novus'' (Latin for 'new man'; ''novi homines'' or ''homines novi'') was the term in ancient Rome for a man who was the first in his family to serve in the Roman Senate or, more specifically, to be elected as consul. When ...

'' and

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

of AD 9. She had been the wife of

Titus Ollius Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81 AD) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death. Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a mili ...

, who was a friend of the

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

of the

Praetorian Guard The Praetorian Guard (Latin: ''cohortēs praetōriae'') was a unit of the Imperial Roman army that served as personal bodyguards and intelligence agents for the Roman emperors. During the Roman Republic, the Praetorian Guard were an escort fo ...

Sejanus Lucius Aelius Sejanus (c. 20 BC – 18 October AD 31), commonly known as Sejanus (), was a Roman soldier, friend and confidant of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. Of the Equites class by birth, Sejanus rose to power as prefect of the Praetorian Guar ...

and committed suicide following Sejanus' downfall. With Ollius she had a daughter who would be the future empress to Nero. After Ollius' death she married

Publius Cornelius Lentulus Scipio Publius Cornelius Lentulus Scipio (c. 15 BC52 AD) was a Roman senator active during the Principate. He was suffect consul in the ''nundinium'' of July-December AD 24, as the colleague of Gaius Calpurnius Aviola. His name combines the two most fam ...

, consul in AD 24. Scipio had a son by a previous marriage

the Younger (consul in AD 56). With Poppaea Sabina the Elder they had a son,

Publius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus Publius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus was a Roman senator active during the Principate. He was suffect consul in the '' nundinium'' of September to December 68, as the colleague of Gaius Bellicius Natalis. Both Asiaticus and Bellicius Natalis were ...

, suffect consul in 68. Her downfall came during the reign of the emperor Claudius. His wife, Messalina, desired to possess the

Gardens of Lucullus The Gardens of Lucullus ( lat, Horti Lucullani) were the setting for an ancient villa on the Pincian Hill on the edge of Rome; they were laid out by Lucius Licinius Lucullus about 60 BC. The Villa Borghese gardens still cover of green on the site ...

which was owned by

Decimus Valerius Asiaticus Decimus Valerius Asiaticus (around 5 BCP.J. Sijpesteijn"Another οὐσία of Decimus Valerius Asiaticus in Egypt" ''Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik'', 79 (1989), p. 19347 AD,Alston, ''Aspects of Roman History AD 14-117'', p. 92 el, ...

, consul in the years 35 and again in 46. Based on the gossip that Poppaea Sabina and Asiaticus had been lovers, she directed her servant Suilius to accuse Asiaticus of treason and the pair of adultery. Asiaticus was tried in the emperor's private chambers, but instead of a guilty plea was allowed to commit suicide. Meanwhile, Messalina had agents harass Poppaea Sabina with threats of prison which led to her own suicide.Tacitus, ''

Annales Annals are a concise form of historical writing which record events chronologically, year by year. The equivalent word in Latin and French is ''annales'', which is used untranslated in English in various contexts. List of works with titles contai ...

'', XI.1-3

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sabina the Elder, Poppaea 47 deaths 1st-century Romans 1st-century Roman women Poppaei Poppaea Sabina