Domitia (ca. 8 BC-June 59) was the oldest child of

Antonia Major Antonia the Elder. (born August/September 39 BC) was a niece of the first Roman emperor, Augustus, being the eldest daughter of Octavia the Younger and her second husband, the Triumvir Mark Antony. She married Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus and be ...

and Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, and the oldest granddaughter to triumvir

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the au ...

Octavia Minor Octavia the Younger ( la, Octavia Minor; c. 66 BC – 11 BC) was the elder sister of the first Roman Emperor, Augustus (known also as Octavian), the half-sister of Octavia the Elder, and the fourth wife of Mark Antony. She was also the great-gr ...

, a great-niece of the 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 Pr ...

, second cousin and sister-in-law to the Emperor Caligula, first cousin to the Emperor Claudius, maternal aunt to 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 reputatio ...

, and paternal aunt to Emperor

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 unti ...

History

Early life

She had two younger siblings:

Domitia Lepida Domitia Lepida (c. 5 BC – AD 54) was a Roman aristocrat, related to the imperial family. She was mother of Valeria Messalina, wife of the Emperor Claudius. Lepida was a beautiful and influential figure. Like her sister, she was also very wealt ...

and Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (cos. AD 32). The date of her birth is not recorded and can be only estimated as no later than 7 BC, but possibly as much as 10 years earlier, if one would allow a long delay between her birth and those of her two siblings.

Marriages

Domitia was likely married to a cousin of

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 Gua ...

named

Quintus Junius Blaesus Quintus Junius Blaesus (died AD 31) was a Roman ''novus homo'' ("new man," that is, the first member of his family to gain entrance to the Roman nobility) who lived during the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius. He was the maternal uncle of Lucius Ael ...

with whom she had a son named

Junius Blaesus Quintus Junius Blaesus (died AD 31) was a Roman ''novus homo'' ("new man," that is, the first member of his family to gain entrance to the Roman nobility) who lived during the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius. He was the maternal uncle of Lucius Ae ...

who served as a governor under emperor

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 ...

. She married the consul Decimus Haterius Agrippa, who died in 32 as a victim of

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 ...

' reign of terror. Domitia bore Agrippa a son,

Quintus Haterius Antoninus Quintus Haterius Antoninus or known as Antoninus was a Roman senator, who was active during the reign of Claudius and Nero. Life He was suffect consul in the year AD 53 as the colleague of Decimus Junius Silanus Torquatus. Antoninus was the only ...

(cos. AD 53) in approximately 20. In 33 Domitia married the witty, wealthy, and influential

Gaius Sallustius Crispus Passienus Gaius Sallustius Passienus Crispus was a prominent figure in the Roman Empire during the first century. He held the consulship twice, and was stepfather of the future emperor Nero. Background Suetonius reports that Passienus was born at Viselliu ...

. Crispus was the adopted grandson and biological great-great nephew of the historian

Sallust Gaius Sallustius Crispus, usually anglicised as Sallust (; 86 – ), was a Roman historian and politician from an Italian plebeian family. Probably born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines, Sallust became during the 50s BC a partisan ...

. After January 41, Crispus divorced Domitia, so he could marry Domitia's former sister-in-law Agrippina the Younger, who had recently returned from exile. Thereby, Crispus became the stepfather of Agrippina's son Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus (

), who was Domitia's nephew. Crispus soon died mysteriously, leaving a fortune to Agrippina and her son. Alternatively,

Christian Settipani Christian Settipani (born 31 January 1961) is a French genealogist, historian and IT professional, currently working as the Technical Director of a company in Paris. Biography Settipani holds a Master of Advanced Studies from the Paris-Sorbo ...

had suggested that Domitia wasn't actually married to Blaesus - it was her daughter from marriage to Sallustius Crispus who become a wife of Blaesus's son. According to his hypothesis, the marriage between Domitia and Crispus took place earlier, c. 20-25.Settipani, Christian. ''Continuité gentilice et continuité sénatoriale dans les familles sénatoriales romaines à l'époque impériale'' (2000), vol. 2, Addenda et Corrigenda, p. 74

Later life

During the reigns of Caligula, Claudius and

, Domitia was an influential rival to Agrippina. In June 59, she died while confined to a bed with severe

constipation Constipation is a bowel dysfunction that makes bowel movements infrequent or hard to pass. The stool is often hard and dry. Other symptoms may include abdominal pain, bloating, and feeling as if one has not completely passed the bowel movement ...

. Nero was visiting her at the time, and she commented that when he shaved his beard (a Roman symbolic act, usually performed during a ceremony at the age of twenty-one), she would gladly die peacefully. Nero turned to those with him and joked, "I'll take it off at once." According to a rumor, he then ordered the doctors to administer a fatal dose of

laxative Laxatives, purgatives, or aperients are substances that loosen stools and increase bowel movements. They are used to treat and prevent constipation. Laxatives vary as to how they work and the side effects they may have. Certain stimulant, lubri ...

to his aunt and seized her property while she was dying. Modern scholars such as

Miriam T. Griffin Miriam Tamara Griffin (née Dressler; 6 June 1935 – 16 May 2018) was an American classical scholar and tutor of ancient history at Somerville College at the University of Oxford from 1967 to 2002. She was a scholar of Roman history and ancie ...

distrust the claim that Nero poisoned her.

References

* (edd.), ''Prosopographia Imperii Romani saeculi I, II et III'', Berlin, 1933 - . (''PIR²'')

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Domitia 10s BC births 59 deaths 1st-century BC Roman women 1st-century BC Romans 1st-century Roman women Julio-Claudian dynasty Lepida Deaths from digestive disease