Cossus Cornelius Lentulus Gaetulicus was a
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
and general, who was
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 throug ...
in 1 BC with
Lucius Calpurnius Piso the Augur
Lucius Calpurnius Piso (also known to contemporaries as Lucius Calpurnius Piso the Augur) (died AD 24) was a Roman Senate of the Roman Empire, senator who was appointed Roman consul, consul in 1 BC as the colleague of Cossus Cornelius Lentulus Gaet ...
as his colleague.
Originally born Cossus Cornelius Lentulus, Gaetulicus was a member of the
patrician
Patrician may refer to:
* Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage
* Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...
Lentulus branch of the
Cornelii
The gens Cornelia was one of the greatest patrician houses at ancient Rome. For more than seven hundred years, from the early decades of the Republic to the third century AD, the Cornelii produced more eminent statesmen and generals than any othe ...
clan.
Despite giving the appearance of laziness,
[Syme, pg. 436] he was given a number of important commands. After serving as consul in 1 BC alongside Lucius Calpurnius Piso, he was elected
proconsul
A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority.
In the Roman Republic, military command, or ' ...
of
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
in 6 AD. Whilst there, he fought a successful campaign against the
Gaetuli
Gaetuli was the Romanised name of an ancient Berber tribe inhabiting ''Getulia''. The latter district covered the large desert region south of the Atlas Mountains, bordering the Sahara. Other documents place Gaetulia in pre-Roman times along the ...
, which earned him the ''
agnomen
An ''agnomen'' (; plural: ''agnomina''), in the Roman naming convention, was a nickname, just as the ''cognomen'' was initially. However, the ''cognomina'' eventually became family names, so ''agnomina'' were needed to distinguish between simila ...
'' Gaetulicus.
[Smith, p. 430] One of the few individuals trusted by the
emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
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 ...
,
he was sent to
Pannonia
Pannonia (, ) was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located in the territory that is now wes ...
in 14 AD to accompany Tiberius' son
Drusus
Drusus may refer to:
* Claudius (Tiberius Claudius Drusus) (10 BC–AD 54), Roman emperor from 41 to 54
* Drusus Caesar (AD 8–33), adoptive grandson of Roman emperor Tiberius
* Drusus Julius Caesar (14 BC–AD 23), son of Roman emperor Tiberiu ...
in putting down a mutiny of the legions there.
Later, he was given the post of
praefectus urbi
The ''praefectus urbanus'', also called ''praefectus urbi'' or urban prefect in English, was prefect of the city of Rome, and later also of Constantinople. The office originated under the Roman kings, continued during the Republic and Empire, and ...
in 33 AD,
holding it for a number of years prior to his death.
Gaetulicus had at least two sons,
Cossus Cornelius Lentulus and
Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Gaetulicus, consuls in 25 and 26 AD respectively.
[Syme, p. 437]
Sources
* Syme, Ronald, ''The Roman Revolution'', Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1939.
* Smith, William, ''A New Classical Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1860)
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornelius Lentulus Gaetulicus, Cossus
Imperial Roman consuls
Roman governors of Africa
1st-century BC Romans
Gaetulicus, Cossus
Roman patricians