Sempronius Densus
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Sempronius Densus was 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 ...
in 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 ...
in the 1st century. He was bodyguard to the deputy
emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
, and is remembered by history for his courage and loyalty in singlehandedly defending his charge from scores of armed assassins, while all his comrades deserted or switched sides.


Conspiracy

On January 10, 69 CE, Emperor
Galba Galba (; born Servius Sulpicius Galba; 24 December 3 BC – 15 January AD 69) was the sixth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 68 to 69. After his adoption by his stepmother, and before becoming emperor, he was known as Livius Ocella Sulpicius Ga ...
chose a man to become his deputy and heir. One of Galba's advisors had led Marcus
Otho Marcus Otho (; born Marcus Salvius Otho; 28 April 32 – 16 April 69) was the seventh Roman emperor, ruling for three months from 15 January to 16 April 69. He was the second emperor of the Year of the Four Emperors. A member of a noble Etru ...
to expect to be appointed to this office, but instead Galba chose one Piso Licinianus. This unexpected choice led Otho to conspire to assassinate both of them and seize power.


Assassination and death

On January 15 Otho struck. Galba and Piso were being carried on litters through the street when they were accosted by a large company of renegade
Praetorians The Praetorian Guard (Latin language, Latin: ''cohortēs praetōriae'') was a unit of the Imperial Roman army that served as personal Bodyguard, bodyguards and military intelligence, intelligence agents for the Roman emperors. During the Roman R ...
in Otho's employ. The Praetorians were supposed to be the personal bodyguard of the emperor, but now they intended his death. Of all the soldiers present, only Sempronius Densus, who had been assigned by Galba to guard Piso, stood firm, while his colleagues either joined in the murder or melted away. While Piso fled to seek a safe hiding place, Sempronius bought him time to escape, first remonstrating with the assassins and then fighting them to the death. At this point sources differ slightly. According to
Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...
, Sempronius gave his life defending both Galba and Piso: After Sempronius finally fell, the assassins surrounded Galba and killed him.
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 ...
however describes Galba's death as occurring first in the order of events, followed by the centurion's last stand, in which Sempronius uses a
pugio The ''pugio'' (; plural: ''pugiones'') was a dagger used by Roman soldiers as a sidearm. It seems likely that the ''pugio'' was intended as an auxiliary weapon, but its exact purpose for the soldier remains unknown. Officials of the empire took t ...
.
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 ...
simply relates: Suetonious entirely omits the death of Sempronius from his accounts on the deaths of Galba and Piso.


Outcome

However, all of the sources agree on what happened next. While most of the assassins hacked Galba's corpse to pieces and paraded his severed head on a pole, two of them sought out Piso, who had taken refuge in the
Temple of Vesta The Temple of Vesta, or the aedes (Latin ''Aedes Vestae''; Italian: ''Tempio di Vesta''), is an ancient edifice in Rome, Italy. The temple is located in the Roman Forum near the Regia and the House of the Vestal Virgins. The Temple of Vesta hous ...
. They dragged him outside and killed him at the door. Around 120 people later claimed credit for killing Galba and Piso, hoping that Otho would reward them. However, in April that year Otho was deposed by
Vitellius Aulus Vitellius (; ; 24 September 1520 December 69) was Roman emperor for eight months, from 19 April to 20 December AD 69. Vitellius was proclaimed emperor following the quick succession of the previous emperors Galba and Otho, in a year of ci ...
, who replaced him as emperor. Vitellius found the list of their names and ordered them all executed. He also disbanded the Praetorian Guard (although the Guard was reinstated by the next emperor,
Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...
). Although ultimately unsuccessful, Sempronius Densus's last stand is recorded by historians as being the only heroic act done in Rome that day.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Densus, Sempronius 69 deaths 1st-century Romans Ancient Roman murder victims Bodyguards Members and leaders of the Praetorian Guard People of the Year of the Four Emperors Year of birth unknown Sempronii