Marcus Junius Silanus (AD 14–54) was a Roman senator.

Biography

He was the eldest son of

Marcus Junius Silanus Torquatus Marcus Junius Silanus Torquatus was a Roman senator. He was consul in AD 19, with Lucius Norbanus Balbus as his colleague. Biography Silanus was a descendant of the noble Roman house of the Junii Silani. His grandfather was Marcus Junius Silanu ...

and

Aemilia Lepida Aemilia Lepida is the name of several ancient Roman women belonging to the '' gens Aemilia''. The name was given to daughters of men belonging to the Lepidus branch of the Aemilius family. The first Aemilia Lepida to be mentioned by Roman histori ...

. His mother was the great-granddaughter of the 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 Pr ...

. As a member of the imperial family, Silanus could therefore be considered a possible candidate for the succession. Although he was honoured with a consulship by the Emperor

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 Drusus and Antonia Minor ...

in 46, and served as

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ' ...

ar governor of

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

, Silanus did not survive the death of that Emperor. Although Tacitus exonerates

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...

of Silanus' death, the 'first crime of the new principate,' the historian casts Agrippina, Nero's mother, as the architect of the murder, on the grounds that she feared that Silanus would avenge his brother's death, of which she was the perpetrator.''Annales'' 13.1 As with Claudius, poison was the means to Silanus' end; the epitomator of

Dio Cassius Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

' ''Roman History'' tells us that Agrippina sent Silanus the same poison which she gave her late husband; and Tacitus informs us that the lethal drug was administered by a Roman of the

Equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

class named Publius Celerius, with the aid of a

freedman A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), emancipation (granted freedom ...

named

Helius In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Helios (; grc, , , Sun; Homeric Greek: ) is the god and personification of the Sun (Solar deity). His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyperion ("the one above") an ...

. The pair committed the crime openly, and the Province of Asia eventually prosecuted Celerius for this deed; moreover, according to Tacitus, Nero saw to it that the prosecution was delayed to such an extent that Celerius died of old age. Silanus' son,

Lucius Junius Silanus Torquatus Two noblemen, an uncle and nephew, who shared the name Lucius Junius Silanus Torquatus and were descendants of the Roman Emperor Augustus, lived during the 1st century AD. Elder Silanus Silanus (died 49), was the third born son to Aemilia Lepid ...

, whom Tacitus calls a young man of moderation (''modesta iuventa''), was considered a threat on similar grounds as his father had been, and informers soon invented a conspiracy implicating him and his aunt

Junia Lepida Junia Lepida (c. AD 18 - 65) was a Roman noblewoman who lived in the first century. Life She was the second daughter of Aemilia Lepida and Marcus Junius Silanus Torquatus, one of the Junii Silani. Her maternal grandparents were Julia the Younger, ...

on charges of magic rites and incest. Upon being exiled to

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Ital ...

, he was set upon by a

centurion A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 ...

and some guards. Young Silanus, however, did not open his veins, when invited to do so; he went down fighting with his fists, and Tacitus notes that the centurion was forced to run him through with his sword; his fatal wound, according to the historian, was in front.''Annales'' 16.9

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Junius Silanus, Marcus consul 799 AUC 14 births 54 deaths 1st-century Roman consuls Julio-Claudian dynasty Marcus consul 799 AUC Ancient Roman murder victims Poisoned Romans Roman governors of Asia