Gaius Caristanius Fronto 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 lette ...

soldier and equites whom

Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...

promoted to the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...

for his loyalty to the latter in the

Year of Four Emperors A year or annus is the orbital period of a planetary body, for example, the Earth, moving in its orbit around the Sun. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, marked by change in weather, the hou ...

(AD 69). He was appointed suffect consul in AD 90 as the colleague of Quintus Accaeus Rufus. Antiocheia in Psidia

In the words of G.L. Cheesman, Caristanius Fronto came of a family "of Italian origin, but had never risen into prominence there. One of its members was presumably enrolled in the army during the civil wars, and included among the veterans settled in the ' colonia' at Antioch", that is

Antioch in Pisidia Antioch in Pisidia – alternatively Antiochia in Pisidia or Pisidian Antioch ( el, Ἀντιόχεια τῆς Πισιδίας) and in Roman Empire, Latin: ''Antiochia Caesareia'' or ''Antiochia Colonia Caesarea'' – was a city in th ...

Other inscriptions there attest to an ancestor with a similar name, Gaius Caristanius Fronto Casesianus Julius. Casesianus Julius was the representative of

Publius Sulpicius Quirinius Publius Sulpicius Quirinius (c. 51 BC – AD 21), also translated as Cyrenius, was a Roman Empire, Roman Aristocracy (class), aristocrat. After the banishment of the ethnarch Herod Archelaus from the Tetrarchy (Judea), tetrarchy of Judea in AD 6, ...

, the titular duumvir of the ''colonia'', and Cheesman surmises that Casesianus Julius participated in the war against the Homonadesians who had settled in the

Taurus Mountains The Taurus Mountains ( Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar'') are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean coastal region from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğird ...

between Attaleia and

Ikonion Konya () is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium (), although the Seljuks also called it D ...

, a war that Quirinius brought to a successful conclusion. Cheesman dates Quirinius' role in this conflict to between 8 and 6 BC, which gives an approximate date for Caseianus Julius.

Life

An inscription found

, provides us information about Caristanius Fronto's career. After holding a local magistracy in Antioch, Fronto proceeded through the steps of the equestrian ''

tres militiae The ''tres militiae'' ("three military posts") was a career progression of the Roman Imperial army for men of the equestrian order. It developed as an alternative to the ''cursus honorum'' of the senatorial order for enabling the social mobility ...

'': first prefect or commander of an infantry cohort; commissioned ''

tribunus angusticlavius A ''tribunus angusticlavius'' ("narrow-striped tribune"; plural: ''tribuni angusticlavii'') was a senior military officer in the Roman legions during the late Roman Republic and the Principate. The ''tribunus angusticlavius'' was a junior military ...

'' with an unnamed legion; lastly as prefect of the

ala Ala, ALA, Alaa or Alae may refer to: Places * Ala, Hiiu County, Estonia, a village * Ala, Valga County, Estonia, a village * Ala, Alappuzha, Kerala, India, a village * Ala, Iran, a village in Semnan Province * Ala, Gotland, Sweden * Alad, S ...

I Bosporanorum, an auxiliary unit raised from natives of the

Bosporus The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern Tu ...

.Cheesman, "The Family of the Caristanii", pp. 260f There are two known ''alae'', one stationed in

Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It ...

, the other which had been transferred to Syria some point between the reigns of

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 ...

and

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 unti ...

, and it is unknown which Fronto commanded; Bernard Rémy believes Fronto commanded the one stationed in Syria.Rémy
''Les carrières sénatoriales dans les provinces romaines d'Anatolie au Haut-Empire (31 av. J.-C. - 284 ap. J.-C.)''
(Istanbul: Institut Français d'Études Anatoliennes-Georges Dumézil, 1989), p. 63 Fronto's promotion to the Senate was in two steps: first he was adlected ''inter tribunicos'', that is, with the rank of having been

plebeian tribune Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune ( la, tribunus plebis) was the first office of the Roman state that was open to the plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the power o ...

; then advanced to

praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vari ...

ian rank. His advancement excused him from the expenses of the praetorship, foremost of which were sponsoring the ''

ludi ''Ludi'' (Latin plural) were public games held for the benefit and entertainment of the Roman people (''populus Romanus''). ''Ludi'' were held in conjunction with, or sometimes as the major feature of, Roman religious festivals, and were also ...

'' or public games, which was a considerable expense: one inscription records that for three of the six ''ludi'' the state allocated over 1,600,000 sesterces for them, and praetors were expected to match or exceed this amount with their contributions. Promoting Fronto to the Senate in two steps was an unusual approach; all but one other man Vespasian is known to have adlected to the Senate were directly adlected ''inter praetorios''. George W. Houston's study of Vespasian's adlection of men into the Senate shows that the emperor followed the ''leges annorum'' for the traditional magistracies, and suggests that at the time Vespasian promoted Fronto to the Senate (either in 74 or 75) Fronto was not yet 30 the age required by law to be praetor. Once Fronto reached that age, however, the emperor promoted him to the rank of having held that magistracy. After this followed an appointment as ''

legatus A ''legatus'' (; anglicised as legate) was a high-ranking Roman military officer in the Roman Army, equivalent to a modern high-ranking general officer. Initially used to delegate power, the term became formalised under Augustus as the officer ...

'' or assistant to the proconsular governor of

Bithynia et Pontus Bithynia and Pontus ( la, Provincia Bithynia et Pontus, Ancient Greek ) was the name of a province of the Roman Empire on the Black Sea coast of Anatolia (modern-day Turkey). It was formed during the late Roman Republic by the amalgamation o ...

in the 70s, which was a

Senatorial province A senatorial province ( la, provincia populi Romani, province of the Roman people) was a Roman province during the Principate where the Roman Senate had the right to appoint the governor (proconsul). These provinces were away from the outer b ...

at the time; Rémy suggests the governor was

Marcus Salvidienus Proculus The gens Salvidiena was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned toward the end of the Republic, and from then to the end of the second century they regularly filled the highest offices of the Roman state. Origi ...

. Next Caristanius served as ''

legatus legionis A ''legatus'' (; anglicised as legate) was a high-ranking Roman military officer in the Roman Army, equivalent to a modern high-ranking general officer. Initially used to delegate power, the term became formalised under Augustus as the office ...

'' or commander of the

Legio IX Hispana Legio IX Hispana ("9th Spanish Legion"), also written Legio VIIII Hispana, was a legion of the Imperial Roman army that existed from the 1st century BC until at least 120 AD. The legion fought in various provinces of the late Roman ...

. Worthy of note is that the inscription from Antioch mentions the province the IX Hispana was stationed in,

Roman Britain Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered wa ...

. Rémy notes that of all the known inscriptions recording careers, only 13 indicate the province where the unit was located; this led Rémy to argue that Caristanius was the first man from Anatolia to command a legion in Britain, if not the Western part of the Empire. Birley believes this was from about 76 to 79, during the administrations of Sextus Julius Frontinus and

Agricola Agricola, the Latin word for farmer, may also refer to: People Cognomen or given name :''In chronological order'' * Gnaeus Julius Agricola (40–93), Roman governor of Britannia (AD 77–85) * Sextus Calpurnius Agricola, Roman governor of the mi ...

. Afterwards, Caristanius served as governor of

Lycia et Pamphylia Lycia et Pamphylia was the name of a province of the Roman empire, located in southern Anatolia. It was created by the emperor Vespasian (69–79), who merged Lycia and Pamphylia into a single administrative unit. In 43 AD, the emperor Claudius ...

from 81 to 84 according to

Werner Eck Werner Eck (born 17 December 1939) is Professor of Ancient History at Cologne University, Germany, and a noted expert on the history and epigraphy of imperial Rome.Eck, W. (2007) ''The Age of Augustus''. 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell, cover notes. Hi ...

, dates that Rémy concurs with. There is a gap of 6 years between the date Fronto stepped down as governor of Lycia et Pamphylia and when he was suffect consul; Rémy notes that typically the former governors of this province immediately advanced to the consulate, or within two or three years, and explains this abnormality by noting that under

Domitian Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Fl ...

a long interval between praetorship and consulate was the rule in Senatorial careers. A fragmentary inscription found near Synnada led Cheesman to suggest Caristanius might have been Proconsul of Asia. However, Rémy argues that it only proves he owned property near that town, and concludes "Under Nerva and Trajan, he may have lost Imperial favor."

Family

An inscription in Greek found at Antioch in Pisidia provides us the name of his wife. her name was formerly read as Sergia L. f. Paulla, a possible daughter of Lucius Sergius Paullus, ''curatores riparum et alvei Tiberis'' during the reign of Claudius. However, in a re-examination of the evidence

Michel Christol Michel Christol (25 October 1942, Castelnau-de-Guers) is a French historian, specialist of ancient Rome, and particularly epigraphy. Biography Born in Herault, Michel Christol attended high school in Béziers then his university studies in Mon ...

and Thomas Drew-Bear found an unpublished inscription which attests that her name was Calpurnia Paulla Calpurni Longi filia, the daughter of a Calpurnis Longus also mentioned in the Greek Antiochan text. Fronto is known to have two sons, Fronto and Paulinus. Gaius Caristanius Julianus, proconsul of Achaea around 101, was either Fronto's younger brother or a cousin.Birley, ''Fasti'', p. 234; Cheesman, "Family of the Caristanii", pp. 253-266

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caristanius Fronto, Gaius 1st-century Romans Roman governors of Lycia et Pamphylia Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown