Gaius Octavius Appius Suetrius Sabinus (fl. 3rd century) 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 military officer who was appointed

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 ...

twice, firstly in AD 214, and secondly in AD 240.

Biography

Originating from the town of

Histonium Vasto ( Abruzzese: '; grc, Ἱστόνιον, Histonion}, la, Histonium) is a ''comune'' on the Adriatic coast of the Province of Chieti, in southern Abruzzo, Italy. During the Middle Ages it was called d''Guastaymonis'', '' Vasto d'Aimone'' o ...

, and the son of a

, Suetrius Sabinus began his senatorial career under the reign of 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), ...

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa (Roman province), Africa. As a young man he advanced thro ...

. His first role was as a member of the ''

Decemviri Stlitibus Iudicandis The ''decemviri stlitibus judicandis'' was a civil court of ancient origin, traditionally attributed to Servius Tullius, which originally dealt with cases concerning whether an individual was free. History Originally these decemvirs were a jury of ...

'' which he filled around AD 193 or 194. He then stood as one of the imperial candidates for the office of

Quaestor A ( , , ; "investigator") was a public official in Ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officials who ...

in AD 201, before again standing for the office of

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 of ...

in AD 203. He was eventually elected to the office of '' praetor de liberalibus causis'' in AD 206. Suetrius Sabinus was next sent as a

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 ...

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 ...

before returning to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

to act as ''curator viarum viae Latinae novae'' (or curator of the

Via Latina The Via Latina (Latin for "Latin Road") was a Roman road of Italy, running southeast from Rome for about 200 kilometers. Route It led from the Porta Latina in the Aurelian walls of Rome to the pass of Mount Algidus; it was important in the ear ...

) from AD 209 to 210. His next posting was as '' iuridicus per Aemiliam et

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

m'', which he held from AD 210 to 211. Suetrius Sabinus then served under the new emperor

Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname "Caracalla" () was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. He was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Emperor S ...

during his campaign against the

Alamanni The Alemanni or Alamanni, were a confederation of Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Caracalla of 213, the Alemanni captured the in 260, and later expanded into pres ...

from AD 211 to 213. At first he was a ''

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 officer ...

'' of the

Legio XXII Primigenia Legio XXII Primigenia ("Fortune's Twenty-Second Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army dedicated to the goddess Fortuna Primigenia. Founded in AD 39 by the emperor Caligula for use in his campaigns in Germania, the XXII ''Primigenia'' ...

, serving in

Germania Superior Germania Superior ("Upper Germania") was an imperial province of the Roman Empire. It comprised an area of today's western Switzerland, the French Jura and Alsace regions, and southwestern Germany. Important cities were Besançon ('' Vesontio' ...

before he was promoted to the rank of ''praepositus vexillarii'' of

Legio XI Claudia Legio XI Claudia ("Claudius' Eleventh Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. The legion was levied by Julius Caesar for his campaign against the Nervii. XI ''Claudia'' dates back to the two legions (the other was the XIIth) recruited b ...

. By AD 213, he was the ''

Comes ''Comes'' ( ), plural ''comites'' ( ), was a Roman title or office, and the origin Latin form of the medieval and modern title "count". Before becoming a word for various types of title or office, the word originally meant "companion", either i ...

in expeditione Germanica'' (or head of the expedition against the Germanic tribes) before being appointed for a three-month stint as imperial legate of the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Raetia Raetia ( ; ; also spelled Rhaetia) was a province of the Roman Empire, named after the Rhaetian people. It bordered on the west with the country of the Helvetii, on the east with Noricum, on the north with Vindelicia, on the south-west with T ...

, serving from October to December 213. An ''amicus'' (or intimate friend) of the emperor Caracalla, Suetrius Sabinus was appointed ''

consul ordinarius 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 ...

'' alongside

Lucius Valerius Messalla Apollinaris Lucius Valerius Messalla (fl. 3rd century) was a Roman senator. Life Messalla, a member of the third century gens Valeria, was possibly the son of Lucius Valerius Messalla Thrasea Priscus and speculatively his wife Coelia Balbina, since the ''cogn ...

in AD 214. The fact that his first consulate was an ordinary one, not suffect, reinforces the notion that he was held in high regard by Caracalla. After his consulship, Caracalla appointed Suetrius Sabinus as a ''iudex'' (judge representing the emperor) in an unknown province, followed by a period as '' praefectus alimentorum'' (or the officer in charge of Rome's food supply). Suetrius Sabinus next served as a

Corrector A corrector (English plural ''correctors'', Latin plural ''correctores'') is a person or object practicing correction, usually by removing or rectifying errors. The word is originally a Roman title, ''corrector'', derived from the Latin verb ''c ...

, under the title of ''electus ad corrigendum statum Italiae'', from AD 215 to 216. This was an exceptional appointment in terms of its function; it may be that his principal task was to deal with a breakdown of law and order in Italy during that time, with a rise in banditry afflicting the countryside. It is also possible that he was tasked with fixing the finances in the Italian communities, as the effects of Caracalla's taxes were causing major difficulties throughout Italy. From AD 216 to 217, Suetrius Sabinus served as the imperial legate of

Pannonia Inferior Pannonia Inferior, lit. Lower Pannonia, was a province of the Roman Empire. Its capital was Sirmium. It was one of the border provinces on the Danube. It was formed in the year 103 AD by Emperor Trajan who divided the former province of Pannonia ...

, but he was replaced on the orders of the new emperor

Macrinus Marcus Opellius Macrinus (; – June 218) was Roman emperor from April 217 to June 218, reigning jointly with his young son Diadumenianus. As a member of the equestrian class, he became the first emperor who did not hail from the senatorial ...

after the murder of Caracalla. He seemed to fall out of favour for a time, but eventually he was recalled and appointed as the

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 ' ...

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Africa Proconsularis 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 ...

between AD 225 and 230. X. Loriat believes it is a reasonable conjecture that Suetris Sabinus played a role in the elevation of the young

Gordian III Gordian III ( la, Marcus Antonius Gordianus; 20 January 225 – February 244) was Roman emperor from 238 to 244. At the age of 13, he became the youngest sole emperor up to that point (until Valentinian II in 375). Gordian was the son of Anton ...

in June 238, for he was appointed ''consul ordinarius'' a second time in 240, alongside

Lucius Ragonius Venustus Lucius Ragonius Venustus (fl. 3rd century) was an aristocrat of the Roman Empire. He was appointed '' consul ordinarius'' in 240. X. Loriot describes Ragonius Venustus as an example of the "new generation of '' clarissimi''" that emerged under the r ...

, an honor not bestowed on a private citizen since

Gaius Bruttius Praesens Lucius Fulvius Gaius Bruttius Praesens Laberius Maximus (c. 119 – after 180) was a Roman senator who held a number of imperial appointments during the reigns of emperors Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius and Commodus, and was twice consul. Al ...

in 153 and 180, and on few afterwards. During his career, Suetrius Sabinus was both an

Augur An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying i ...

and a member of the

College of Pontiffs The College of Pontiffs ( la, Collegium Pontificum; see ''collegium'') was a body of the ancient Roman state whose members were the highest-ranking priests of the state religion. The college consisted of the '' pontifex maximus'' and the other '' ...

, thus belonging to two of the four major priestly colleges. He may have lived in a house on the

Aventine Hill The Aventine Hill (; la, Collis Aventinus; it, Aventino ) is one of the Seven Hills on which ancient Rome was built. It belongs to Ripa, the modern twelfth ''rione'', or ward, of Rome. Location and boundaries The Aventine Hill is the sou ...

.Richardson, L., ''A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome'' (1992), pg. 135

Sources

* Mennen, Inge, ''Power and Status in the Roman Empire, AD 193-284'' (2011)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Octavius Appius Suetrius Sabinus, Gaius 2nd-century Romans Suetrius Sabinus Imperial Roman consuls Roman governors of Raetia Roman governors of Africa Roman legates Augurs of the Roman Empire Appius Suetrius Sabinus Appii Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown