Gaius Quinctius Certus Poblicius Marcellus 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 ...
senator active in the first quarter of the second century AD. He was
suffect consul 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 May to June AD 120, with
Titus Rutilius Propinquus as his colleague. The more common and shorter version of his name is Gaius Poblicius Marcellus;
[Salomies, ''Adoptive and Polyonymous Nomenclature in the Roman Empire'' (Helsinki: Societas Scientiarum Fennica, 1992), p. 125] he is known primarily from inscriptions. He later served in
Syria as the
imperial legate (the
province's governor).
Name
Marcellus'
polyonymous name has attracted much study. Olli Salomies, in his monograph on early imperial naming practices, notes that he "was most probably related to Publicius Certus, prefect of the ''
aerarium Saturni'' in 97 ... and to Quintus Certus, a Roman knight killed in 69",
[ and notes that ]Géza Alföldy
Géza Alföldy (June 7, 1935 – November 6, 2011) was a Hungarian historian of ancient history.
Life
Géza Alföldy was born in Budapest. He studied at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Budapest from 1953 to 1958, where he i ...
suggests that Publicius Certus was Marcellus' biological father and Marcellus was adopted by a descendant of Quintus Certus. That ''Certus'' is an uncommon ''gentilicium
The (or simply ) was a hereditary name borne by the peoples of Roman Italy and later by the citizens of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. It was originally the name of one's (family or clan) by patrilineal descent. However, as Rome expand ...
'' further suggests the two were related. Salomies, however, concedes Marcellus could have acquired one ''cognomen
A ''cognomen'' (; plural ''cognomina''; from ''con-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became here ...
'' through his mother, instead of through adoption. "But I must confess," Salomies concludes, "that I much prefer the explanation that Publicius Marcellus had been adopted by a relative."
Biography
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 '' ...
'' can be reconstructed from his consulship forward from an inscription. The inscription attests that at some point after his consulate, Marcellus acquired the prestigious sacral office of augur. Other offices he held recorded in this inscription were: governor of Germania Superior, which 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 between the year 120 and 128; and governor of Syria, which Dabrowa dates from the year 128 to 135. While governor of Syria, Marcellus was awarded triumphal ornaments Roman triumphal honours (Latin: ''insignia'' or ''ornamenta triumphalia'') denotes honours awarded during the Roman Empire to a victorious general in lieu of a full Roman triumph.
After 14 BC, it became the policy of the founder-emperor Augustus, ...
for his role in crushing the Bar Kokhba revolt. One of the reasons for receiving military decoration was that the commander of the Syrian navy, Sextus Cornelius Dexter, was under the commander of the Syrian governor.
The '' Historia Augusta'' states that the emperor Hadrian forced one Marcellus to commit suicide, but Birley rejects an identification with Poblicius.[Birley, ''Roman Government of Britain'', p. 111]
References
Further reading
* E. Dabrowa, ''The Governors of Roman Syria from Augustus to Septimius Severus'', 1998, pp. 92-94
* Florian Matei-Pupescu
"Two fragments of Roman military diplomas discovered on the territory of the Republic of Moldova"
''Dacia'' 51 (2007), pp. 153-159
* Eck, W. - Pangerl, A
"Syria unter Domitian und Hadrian: Neue Diplome für die Auxiliartruppen der Provinz"
''Chiron'' 36 (2006), pp. 205-247
* David Macdonald
"New Fragmentary Diploma of the Syrian Army, 22 March 129"
''SCI'' 25, pp. 97-100
* Eck W. and Pangerl A
"Neue Militardiplome für die Provinzen Syria und Iudaea/Syria Palaestina"
''SCI'' 24 (2005), pp. 114-116
* Cristopher P. Jones
"Three New Letters of the Emperor Hadrian"
'' Zeitschrift fur Papyrologie und Epigraphik'' 161 (2007) 145-156
* E. Dabrowa
"Hadrianic Governors of Syria: A Reapprisal"
''Zeitschrift fur Papyrologie und Epigraphik'', 201 (2017), pp 285–291.
* E. Dabrowa, "Poblicius Marcellus and the Bar Kokhba Revolt", ''Rivista Storica dell'Antichita'', 49 (2019), pp. 69–84.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marcellus, Gaius Quinctius Certus Poblicius
2nd-century Roman governors of Syria
2nd-century Romans
Augurs of the Roman Empire
Bar Kokhba revolt
Quinctii
Roman governors of Germania Superior
Roman governors of Syria
Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome