Gaius Julius Cornutus Tertullus 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 ...

who was active during the late 1st and early 2nd centuries. He is best known as the older friend of

Pliny the Younger Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo (61 – c. 113), better known as Pliny the Younger (), was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and educate ...

, with whom Cornutus was

suffect consul A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...

for the ''

nundinium Nundinium was a Latin word derived from the word '' nundinum'', which referred to the cycle of days observed by the Romans. During the Roman Empire, ''nundinium'' came to mean the duration of a single consulship among several in a calendar year. S ...

'' of September to October 100.

Family

How Cornutus is related to other known Romans of his time is unclear. Older authorities note that the one inscription that preserves his full name = ILS 1024 is missing the middle of the relevant line, and conclude from the name of his son,

Gaius Julius Plancius Varus Cornutus Gaius Julius Plancius Varus Cornutus was a man of Roman Senatorial rank who lived in the Roman Empire in the 2nd century. Cornutus was the son of Gaius Julius Cornutus Tertullus and Plancia Magna. His paternal grandparents were the Proconsul and ...

, that Cornutus' full name may be Gaius Julius Plancius Varus Cornutus Tertullus. This would imply that he is somehow related to

Marcus Plancius Varus Marcus Plancius Varus was an Anatolian Roman noble who lived in the 1st century in the Roman Empire. His paternal ancestors were originally from Latium in Central Italy. They had immigrated to Anatolia in the time of the late Roman Republic. Varus ...

, a citizen of

Perga Perga or Perge ( Hittite: ''Parha'', el, Πέργη ''Perge'', tr, Perge) was originally an ancient Lycian settlement that later became a Greek city in Pamphylia. It was the capital of the Roman province of Pamphylia Secunda, now located in ...

, who was

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 ' ...

ar governor of

Bithynia and 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 of the ...

. Further, at least one authority believes

Julia Tertulla Julia Tertulla was a Roman woman who lived in the 1st century and 2nd century in the Roman Empire. Tertulla was the daughter of suffect consul Gaius Julius Cornutus Tertullus and the identity of her mother is unknown. Tertulla was born and raised in ...

is his daughter. However, Julia Tertulla married

Lucius Julius Marinus Caecilius Simplex Lucius Julius Marinus Caecilius Simplex was a Roman empire, Roman Roman senate, senator who held several posts in the emperor's service. Simplex was then appointed Roman consul, suffect consul in late 101, with Lucius Arruntius Stella as his collea ...

, who was suffect consul in 101, which indicates either Julia was married at a very young age, or would be better considered Cornutus' sister. Further, Olli Salomies reports an unpublished inscription that proves Cornutus' wife was

Plancia Magna Plancia Magna ( el, Πλανκία Μαγνά) was a prominent woman of Perga in the Roman province of Lycia et Pamphylia who lived in the 1st and 2nd centuries. During her life she was not only a high priestess, but a member of the decurio and a ...

(which explains how that element entered their son's name), and the full name of their son.

Senatorial career

His career can be reconstructed from an inscription found in Tuscany. There is no information about which board Cornutus Tertullus served on as a member of the ''

vigintiviri __NOTOC__The ''vigintisexviri'' ( ''vigintisexvir''; ) were a college ( ''collegium'') of minor magistrates (''magistratus minores'') in the Roman Republic. The college consisted of six boards: * the ''decemviri stlitibus judicandis'' – 1 ...

'', so it may be possible he missed that office in his ''

cursus honorum The ''cursus honorum'' (; , or more colloquially 'ladder of offices') was the sequential order of public offices held by aspiring politicians in the Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire. It was designed for men of senatorial rank. The '' ...

''. The first office Cornutus is recorded as holding was urban quaestor, which was followed by

aedile ''Aedile'' ( ; la, aedīlis , from , "temple edifice") was an elected office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings () and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enf ...

as he proceeded through the traditional republican magistracies, before being adlected as a

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 vario ...

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 ...

and

Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81 AD) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death. Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a mili ...

, likely during their

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

of AD 73/74. The specific reason that Cornutus received this promotion is not recorded; examining the evidence, George W. Houston could find no evidence of how he aided the Flavian cause during 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 hour ...

or the following year. One must be content with

Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; c. AD 69 – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is a set of biographies ...

' report that Vespasian found the Senate "weakened by frequent murders and longstanding neglect" and convinced that Cornutus was one of "the most eligible Italian and provincial candidates available." With praetorian rank, Cornutus held two further offices, first as legate to the proconsular governor of

Crete and Cyrenaica Crete and Cyrenaica ( la, Provincia Creta et Cyrenaica, Ancient Greek ) was a senatorial province of the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire, established in 67 BC. It comprised the island of Crete and the region of Cyrenaica in present-day L ...

, then as governor of the public province of

Gallia Narbonensis Gallia Narbonensis (Latin for "Gaul of Narbonne", from its chief settlement) was a Roman province located in what is now Languedoc and Provence, in Southern France. It was also known as Provincia Nostra ("Our Province"), because it was the ...

. A gap of roughly twenty years follows. Cornutus could have quickly served in both of the offices mentioned during the reign of Vespasian, who died in the year 79; the next office Cornutus held was prefect of the ''

aerarium Saturni Aerarium, from ''aes'' (“bronze, money”) + -''ārium'' (“place for”), was the name given in Ancient Rome to the public treasury, and in a secondary sense to the public finances. ''Aerarium populi Romani'' The main ''aerarium'', that ...

'' from 98 to 100, with the Younger Pliny as his colleague. This gap spans the reign of

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 Flavi ...

. It is possible that Cornutus was out of favor with this suspicious Emperor, but Pliny supplies the answer: in his ''Panegyric'' to

Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...

, Pliny notes that Cornutus declined to promote himself to the Emperor, thus refusing to hold offices during that Emperor's reign. After Cornutus completed his service at the ''aerarium Saturni'', he advanced to the office of suffect consul, which he also held with Pliny. Following this, Pliny's letters show that Cornutus was active in the Senate, taking part in the trial of

Marius Priscus Marius may refer to: People *Gaius Marius (157 BC-86 BC), Roman statesman, seven times consul. Arts and entertainment * Marius (play), ''Marius'' (play), a 1929 play by Marcel Pagnol * Marius (short story), "Marius" (short story), a 1957 story ...

for mismanagement while proconsul 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 ...

, and defending

Publicius Certus The gens Publicia (), occasionally found as Poblicia or Poplicia, was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned in history during the period following the First Punic War, and the only one to achieve the Roman co ...

when Pliny prosecuted the former ''

delator Delator (plural: ''delatores'', feminine: ''delatrix'') is Latin for a denouncer, one who indicates to a court another as having committed a punishable deed. Secular Roman law In Roman history, it was properly one who gave notice (''deferre'') to ...

'' or informer. He was appointed ''curator

Via Aemilia The ( it, Via Emilia; en, Aemilian Way) was a trunk Roman road in the north Italian plain, running from ''Ariminum'' (Rimini), on the Adriatic coast, to ''Placentia'' (Piacenza) on the river ''Padus'' ( Po). It was completed in 187 BC. The ...

'', an achievement Pliny excitedly reported to his friend Paternus the moment he learns of it. After this, Cornutus was tasked with conducting a census in

Gallia Aquitania Gallia Aquitania ( , ), also known as Aquitaine or Aquitaine Gaul, was a province of the Roman Empire. It lies in present-day southwest France, where it gives its name to the modern region of Aquitaine. It was bordered by the provinces of Gallia ...

, which was followed with governorship of

between 112 and 115. The acme of his career was when Cornutus was proconsular governor of

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

in 116/117.Eck, "Jahres- und Provinzialfasten", (1982), pp. 361f The date of his death is unknown. If we assume Cornutus was around 30 when adlected as praetor (the legal age one held that magistracy) in 73/74, he would have been in his seventies when he concluded his term in Roman Asia, so it is likely Cornutus died not long after that.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Julius Cornutus Tertullus, Gaius Senators of the Roman Empire Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome Roman governors of Gallia Narbonensis Roman governors of Bithynia and Pontus 1st-century Romans 2nd-century Romans Cornutus, Gaius Tertullus Plancii