Domina Victrix

Chapter 5: 19 AD, Rome and Caesarensis, Mauretania

Senator Julius Antonius climbed into his litter for the journey from his home on the Esquiline Hill to Sejanus' home near the vacant Domus Augustus on the Palatine Hill. He had sent a courier ahead to let Sejanus know he was coming and hoped he could make the visit quick and be home before dinner. He fumed as carts, pedestrians, horses, and donkeys jostled through the narrow, winding, paved streets of the City, slowing his progress. A Senator's litter had precedence to or from the Curia, but his bearers had to shout and elbow their way along with everyone else at other times. At least it gave him time to think.

The gens Antonii claimed descent from Heracles. Most noble families tried to tie back to some god or hero or another, but his grandfather, Mark Antony, believed it, as he later came to believe that he was the living embodiment of Osiris and Bacchus. Following the death of Julius Caesar and the elimination of his assassins, three men tried to rule the Roman world. Antony's portion was Syria. After the death of Julius' grandmother Fulvia, Antony married Octavia and embarked on a campaign against Parthia. It ended in a bloody stalemate but the accords did guarantee the integrity of Armenia as a buffer state.

Antony had not achieved victory over Parthia but he had come as near as any Roman had. Bolstered by his liaison with Cleopatra, he had also come close to severing the entire eastern half of the Empire. Then came Octavian's victory at Actium and the siege of Alexandria. Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide. Her son Caesarion and Antony's eldest boy by Fulvia were executed on Octavian's order. But the death of Antony left a vacuum which Augustus had to fill. He legitinated Marcus Antonius, then a young Cavalry Prefect in Syria and later forwarded Julius' father's career as well. In time, Julius' father was implicated in an adultery scandal with Julia, daughter of Augustus and wife of Tiberius. He committed suicide, and Julius himself tried to pick up what remained of the Antony family's reputation in Rome. That meant making sure that the both the Roman and Syrian branches married well. Julius' cousin Livilla was married to Tiberius' son Drusus. Julius himself was married to a niece of Augustus.

The Antioch branch of the family were also doing well. Old Marcus and then his son married royalty. Tryphaena's brother Artaxis, yet another Antony descendant, had been selected by both Rome and Parthia as King of Armenia around the same time as Germanicus deployed to Syria. His son, Mithradates, was another promising young cavalry commander of the stature of Juba and Lucius. Those facts presented a golden opportunity. Julius arrived at Sejanus' home just as a young Legatus was leaving. Julius recognized the new General as Pilate.

"Married life must be agreeing with you," Julius said.

"That and we're off to Panonnia soon," Pilate said. "I can't wait to be gone."

Julius bid him farewell and entered the vestibule of Sejanus' home. Sejanus greeted him near the impluvium or reflective pool, and led him to his praetorium or private office. He indicated a chair and poured two cups of sweet wine. After toasting the Emperor's health, Julius set his cup aside and came to his point.

"I'm here on behalf of my uncle, my cousin and his daughters, Victoria and Fortuna."

"I have no authority to offer Juba's hand or that of Mithradates in marriage," Sejanus said. "As you know, the August One has made the girls' marriages and those of Ptolemy's brother and Artaxis' son matters under his own purview."

"And I would be surprised if he hasn't thought of these possibilities," Julius said. "It's only a matter of time before Parthia overruns Armenia again. You can't hope to keep Armenia intact without cavalry."

"Which Ptolemy has," Sejanus said. "And Juba's abilities in that regard are well-known. Mithradates, too. What's also known are both men's ancestry, and that of Victoria and Fortuna. The girls carry two lines of Antony's blood, and Juba is the grandson of Cleopatra. Mithradates is Parthian on his mother's side."