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 of Bavaria Sabina of Bavaria Sabina of Bavaria-Munich (24 April 1492 – 30 August 1564) was Duchess consort of Württemberg by marriage to Ulrich, Duke of Württemberg. Sabina was the daughter of Albert IV, Duke of Bavaria and his wife Kunigunde of Austria, daughter of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Leonor of Portugal. Sabina was promised at the age of six years for strategic reasons by her uncle, King Maximilian I, to Ulrich of Württemberg to whom she was married 15 years later. This marriage was unhappy because of Ultich's tendency to violence, so that Sabina was ultimately forced to flee