10 powerful Roman women who were able to influence politics in ancient Rome

After her birth in 58 BCE into the powerful Claudian family, Livia Drusilla married Tiberius Claudius Nero and bore two sons, including the future Emperor Tiberius.

In 38 BCE, Octavian divorced his own wife and forced Livia’s husband to do the same, taking Livia as his bride in a union that secured political loyalty and connected two rising lines.

For the next five decades, Livia remained a central figure in Augustus’s domestic circle and advised him on matters that ranged from marriage laws to court appointments.

She likely helped shape the moral climate surrounding the Lex Julia de Maritandis Ordinibus and other Augustan reforms that aimed to stabilise Roman society, although her role in crafting the legislation itself is not documented.

Tacitus and other ancient sources suggested that she had possibly arranged the deaths of potential rivals to clear the path for Tiberius, though some historians reject these claims as exaggerated.

Still, access to Augustus combined with sharp intelligence and her family’s growing importance allowed her to act with long-term purpose.

After Augustus had died in 14 CE, Livia received the title Julia Augusta and received many of the same public honours as male members of the imperial family.

She appeared on several provincial coins during her lifetime, which was somewhat unusual for a living woman, and the central Roman mint did not yet follow this practice.

Although Tiberius refused to honour her with deification during his reign, this denial did not erase her significance. S

he had helped secure the dynastic continuity of the Julio-Claudian line, and her influence eventually became a blueprint for imperial women who followed.

Born in 15 CE as the daughter of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder, Agrippina the Younger inherited immense dynastic prestige.

Her marriage to Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus produced Nero, and after a period of exile under Caligula, she returned to prominence when she married her uncle, Emperor Claudius, in 49 CE.

When she persuaded Claudius to adopt Nero and to marry him to Claudius’s daughter, Agrippina largely eliminated rivals and tightened her control over the succession.

She also played a role in the exile and eventual death of Britannicus, Claudius’s biological son and Nero’s rival.

Soon after, Claudius died under suspicious circumstances. Tacitus claimed Agrippina had poisoned him, though the evidence remains uncertain.

Nevertheless, Nero’s rapid rise confirmed her success. At first, she exercised authority openly, and she sat beside Nero in meetings and issued orders through palace staff.

She was among the first Roman women who received the title Augusta while still alive.

Eventually, Nero pushed her aside. By 59 CE, their relationship collapsed, and he arranged her murder.

Still, Agrippina had already fulfilled her goal. She installed her son as emperor and demonstrated that a woman could sometimes dominate court politics through marriage, strategy, and relentless drive.

Cornelia was the daughter of Scipio Africanus and married Tiberius Gracchus and gave birth to twelve children.

Only two of them, Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus, lived to adulthood and entered public life.

After her husband had died, Cornelia refused remarriage, and she even turned down a royal proposal from Egypt because she instead focused her energy on raising her sons.

Under her guidance, they developed strong rhetorical skills and a vision for reform. Cornelia kept a well-regarded household for learning and wrote letters to Rome’s political elite.

Her influence over her sons was not passive. She shaped their values, connected them with allies, and defended their reputations when they faced opposition from the Senate.

She reportedly referred to her sons as her “jewels,” a phrase later celebrated as an expression of Roman maternal virtue.

After their deaths, Cornelia retired from public life but kept her reputation.

Romans later viewed her as the ideal mother, but her real impact came from her role as political educator and strategist.

Her decisions in the domestic sphere shaped reform movements that shook the foundations of Roman law and land ownership.

The first of these reforms began during Tiberius Gracchus’s tribunate in 133 BCE.

During the final collapse of the Republic, Fulvia positioned herself as a political leader in her own right.

Through successive marriages to Publius Clodius Pulcher, Gaius Curio, and Mark Antony, she obtained access to political networks and financial resources, which helped her secure the loyalty of soldiers.

After Antony departed for the East, she filled the power vacuum in Italy.

In 41 BCE, Fulvia and Antony’s brother Lucius Antonius led the Perusine War against Octavian’s forces.

The siege of Perusia, which ended in defeat for Fulvia, was one of the few military confrontations led by a woman during the Roman civil wars.

Although they lost the conflict, Fulvia had raised troops, issued commands, and defended her husband’s interests by force.

Ancient authors attacked her character and motives, accusing her of overstepping traditional roles, yet her actions showed firm leadership and daring tactical moves.

Several coins from the Eastern provinces that were possibly struck in her name appear to show her portrait, though numismatists continue to debate the identification.

After her defeat, she fled to Greece, where she died shortly after Antony made peace with Octavian.

Her political career ended abruptly, but her participation in military affairs and direct challenge to the future emperor gave her a place in Roman history unmatched by any other woman of her time.

Born around 160 CE in Syria to a family of hereditary priests, Julia Domna married Septimius Severus and helped solidify his rule when he became emperor in 193 CE.

Her Eastern standing, combined with her intelligence and ability to adapt, made her an ideal imperial partner during an era of expansion and crisis.

During Severus’s military campaigns, Julia travelled with him and managed military affairs from within the camp, and the army granted her the title Mater Castrorum, or “Mother of the Camp".

She was also honoured with additional imperial titles such as Mater Augustorum.

After Severus died, she tried to negotiate between their sons, Caracalla and Geta, but failed to keep peace.

Caracalla killed Geta and ruled alone, but Julia retained her position. She directed correspondence, hosted philosophers, and supported writers, including Philostratus, who praised her intellectual leadership.

She also supported writers and encouraged a Greek cultural revival across the Roman world.

Following Caracalla’s assassination in 217 CE, Julia, already ill and politically isolated, starved herself to death.

Her career merged military involvement with court administration and used cultural patronage to sustain imperial authority.

Octavia, the sister of Augustus, became a key figure in securing alliances during the chaotic transition from Republic to Empire.

After the death of her first husband, Gaius Claudius Marcellus, she married Mark Antony in 40 BCE to cement a political truce between Antony and her brother.

For a time, Octavia’s presence kept tensions between the two men in check. She raised some of Antony’s children, including Iullus Antonius, and provided political advice while conducting herself with restraint and dignity.

When Antony left her for Cleopatra and withdrew to Egypt, Octavia remained in Rome, refusing to lash out publicly and maintaining control over his remaining children.

Her son Marcellus was considered a potential heir to Augustus until his early death in 23 BCE.

Virgil later commemorated him in Book VI of the Aeneid, where his premature death moved Octavia to tears during a public reading.

Later, her role as a dignified matron helped Augustus preserve the moral image of the imperial family, and she avoided public confrontation and gained admiration from senators, poets, and citizens.

Her loyalty and conduct strengthened Augustus’s regime and ensured her family’s heritage remained intact during the founding years of the Empire.

Valeria Messalina was the wife of Emperor Claudius and was one of the most powerful figures in Rome during the early years of his reign.

By manipulating court officials, arranging trials, and seizing property, she removed rivals and rewarded loyal allies.

Ancient sources described her as dangerous and erratic, though those accusations often served to discredit women who held real influence.

For a time, she worked closely with imperial freedmen such as Narcissus and Pallas, and she helped to manage administrative decisions that affected the Senate and the provinces, as she secured positions for her supporters and influenced the outcome of prosecutions, which allowed her to increase her wealth and eliminate threats.

Some accounts suggest she had played a role in the exile of Seneca the Younger in 41 CE, though the decision ultimately came from Claudius himself.

In 48 CE, she went too far, as reports claimed she married Gaius Silius in Claudius’s absence, an act that appeared to threaten the emperor’s authority and possibly the succession.

Claudius, warned by his advisors, ordered her execution without trial. Although her fall was swift, her prior success demonstrated how imperial wives could gain effective control over Rome’s political machinery.

Vibia Sabina was the niece of Emperor Trajan and the wife of Hadrian, and lived much of her life in the shadow of her husband’s vast imperial projects.

Their marriage in 100 CE served dynastic goals, but Hadrian’s personal affection lay elsewhere.

Even so, Sabina travelled extensively with him and received public honours across the empire.

Over time, her image appeared on coins and inscriptions throughout the Roman provinces, which helped project stability during Hadrian’s long absences from Rome.

Her presence reassured local elites and reinforced the image of the emperor’s family as pious and reliable across long absences.

On many coins, she appeared with attributes of Venus or Concordia, which associated her with harmony and divine favour.

After her death in 136 CE, Hadrian ordered her deification. The reasons remain unclear, but the honours suggest she fulfilled a necessary role in sustaining the image of imperial unity.

Although she rarely influenced policy directly, her symbolic presence mattered in a court that relied heavily on controlled appearances and dynastic legitimacy.

Poppaea Sabina was the second wife of Emperor Nero and became one of the most politically active and forceful women of the Julio-Claudian period.

Her first marriages, to Rufrius Crispinus and later to Otho, positioned her within Rome’s upper class, but her relationship with Nero gave her access to power.

By persuading Nero to divorce and later execute his first wife, Octavia, she cleared the path to the throne for herself.

She encouraged Nero to reward her allies, remove hostile senators, and influence religious policies.

According to Josephus, she supported Jewish causes and used her position to shield them from persecution, though this remains the only direct ancient source for such a claim.

Roman writers portrayed her as manipulative, but their hostile tone likely reflects discomfort with her influence rather than clear evidence of wrongdoing.

She also influenced Nero’s theatrical persona and encouraged his investment in public image.

She died in 65 CE while pregnant, as some sources claimed Nero had killed her in a fit of rage, though other reports suggest she died from illness or miscarriage.

Her influence over court politics and succession extended into shaping religious policy during those years, yet during that time, she exercised more control than many men in the Senate.

Hortensia was the daughter of the famous orator Quintus Hortensius and acted during one of the Republic’s most unstable periods.

In 42 BCE, the Second Triumvirate imposed a tax on wealthy women to fund their military efforts, and Hortensia responded with a public speech before the Roman Forum.

Her speech, which was reported by Appian, criticised the unfairness of forcing women to pay when they had no political power.

She challenged the triumvirs directly, arguing that if women must bear civic burdens, then they should also receive civic rights.

Her words challenged the idea that women should remain silent about public affairs, and her success revealed how elite women could use rhetorical skill to gain political influence, even without legal authority.

As a result, the number of women subject to the tax was reduced from 1,400 to 400.

Her oration remains one of the few surviving examples of public advocacy by a Roman woman, delivered in the shadow of the Lex Valeria and Lex Titia, which had handed extraordinary powers to the triumvirs.