Women in ancient Rome it more praiseworthy to be a good husband than a good senator." A man of status during the Roman Republic was expected to behave moderately toward his wife and to define himself as a good husband. Wife beating was sufficient grounds for divorce or other legal action against the husband. Domestic abuse enters the historical record mainly when it involves the egregious excesses of the elite. The Emperor Nero was alleged to have had his first wife (and stepsister) Claudia Octavia murdered, after subjecting her to torture and imprisonment. Nero then married his pregnant mistress Poppaea Sabina, whom he kicked
Sabina Catharina of East Frisia Sabina Catharina of East Frisia Sabina Catharina of East Frisia (11 August 1582, Esens – 31 May 1618) was a Countess of Rietberg in what is now Germany. Sabina Catharina was the eldest child of Count Enno III of East Frisia and his first wife, Countess Walburgis of Rietberg. In the Treaty of Berum of 28 January, the lands her father had inherited from her mother were divided between Sabina Catherine and her sister Agnes, because their father wanted to marry again. Sabina Catherine was awarded the County of Rietberg. On 3 March 1601, Sabina married her uncle, John III,