Munatia Plancina (died 33 AD) was a Roman noblewoman who lived during the reigns of

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

and

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Cl ...

. She was the wife of the governor of Syria, Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso. The couple was accused of poisoning

Germanicus Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19) was a Roman people, Roman general and politician most famously known for his campaigns against Arminius in Germania. The son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia the Younger, Germanicu ...

, the nephew and adopted son of the Emperor Tiberius. At first, Munatia Plancina was acquitted, but when the trial was renewed she committed suicide.

Biography

Early life

Often Munatia Plancina is simply called ''Plancina''. She was probably the daughter of a certain Munatius, who was the

Comes ''Comes'' (plural ''comites''), translated as count, was a Roman title, generally linked to a comitatus or comital office. The word ''comes'' originally meant "companion" or "follower", deriving from "''com-''" ("with") and "''ire''" ("go"). Th ...

of Tiberius during his diplomatic mission in the East. In this case she was the granddaughter of

Lucius Munatius Plancus Lucius Munatius Plancus () was a Roman Senate, Roman senator, Roman consul, consul in 42 BC, and Roman censor, censor in 22 BC with Paullus Aemilius Lepidus. He is one of the classic historical examples of men who have managed to surviv ...

, who had been

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 thro ...

in 42 BC.

Marriage

Munatia Plancina was a rich woman and very self-confident because of her noble descent. She was probably the second wife of Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso. They had two sons: Gnaeus, who later changed his first name to

Lucius Lucius is a masculine given name derived from Lucius (Latin ; ), abbreviated L., one of the small group of common Latin forenames () found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius probably derives from Latin word ( gen. ), meaning "light" (<

, and Marcus Calpurnius Piso.

Conflict with Germanicus

Munatia Plancina was also a close friend of

Livia Livia Drusilla (30 January 59 BC AD 29) was List of Roman and Byzantine empresses, Roman empress from 27 BC to AD 14 as the wife of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. She was known as Julia Augusta after her formal Adoption ...

, the wife of the Emperor Augustus and mother of his successor, Tiberius. When her husband was elected governor of Syria Munatia Plancina accompanied him to his province (18 AD). At this time Germanicus was given overall command in the east of the Roman Empire. Germanicus and his wife

Agrippina the Elder (Vipsania) Agrippina the Elder (also, in Latin, , "Germanicus's Agrippina"; – AD 33) was a prominent member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. She was the daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (a close supporter of the first Roman emperor, Aug ...

subsequently travelled to Syria where they became involved in a serious quarrel with the governor Piso and his wife. The Roman historian

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...

states that like Agrippina, Munatia Plancina was sometimes present at military parades. Munatia Plancina was said to openly insult Germanicus and his wife. Tacitus goes on to say that Livia secretly ordered Munatia Plancina to take this action against Germanicus and Agrippina. Munatia Plancina was supposed to have been in contact with a Syrian called Martina who prepared the poison to be used to kill Germanicus. As Germanicus was dying (10 October 19 AD) he was said to have suspected Piso and his wife of having him poisoned. The death of Germanicus supposedly gave Munatia Plancina a lot of pleasure. Then she supported her husband Piso in taking possession of Syria through military force. In autumn 20 AD Munatia Plancina and her husband returned to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. The couple had to answer to the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate () was the highest and constituting assembly of ancient Rome and its aristocracy. With different powers throughout its existence it lasted from the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in 753 BC) as the Sena ...

for their alleged murder of Germanicus. Munatia Plancina was convicted but Livia exerted pressure on Tiberius to acquit her. Munatia Plancina then dissociated herself from her husband Piso who committed suicide. A recently discovered senate resolution has confirmed that Munatia Plancina owed her acquittal to a recommendation of Tiberius, who had been persuaded by Livia to act in this way. But after the death of Livia, Munatia Plancina lost a powerful protectress. In 33 AD, Tiberius renewed the charge of murder against her. Munatia Plancina committed suicide before the judgement. It has been noted that the family of Munatia Plancina was poorly regarded during the reign of Tiberius because of the very negative characterization of her grandfather, Lucius Munatius Plancus, by the historian

Marcus Velleius Paterculus Marcus Velleius Paterculus (; ) was a Roman historian, soldier and senator. His Roman history, written in a highly rhetorical style, covered the period from the end of the Trojan War to AD 30, but is most useful for the period from the death o ...

, ''Roman History'' 2.83

References

{{reflist

Sources

* Rudolf Hanslik: ''Munatius 44)''. In: ''

Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft The Pauly encyclopedias or the Pauly-Wissowa family of encyclopedias, are a set of related encyclopedias on Greco-Roman world, Greco-Roman classical studies, topics and scholarship. The first of these, or (1839–1852), was begun by compiler A ...