Gaius Vibius Marsus, whom

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his t ...

calls "''vetustis honoribus studiisque illustris''", 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 ...

active during the

Principate The Principate is the name sometimes given to the first period of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the reign of Augustus in 27 BC to the end of the Crisis of the Third Century in AD 284, after which it evolved into the so-called Dominate. ...

. He was consul in 17 AD.

Biography

Marsus 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 second half of the year 17 with Lucius Voluseius Proculus as his colleague. He was mentioned in the year 19 as one of the most likely persons to obtain the government of

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, but the post wound up going to Gnaeus Sentius Saturninus instead. In the same year he was sent to summon Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso to Rome to stand his trial. His name occurs again in 26, in the debates of the

Senate 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 just before the death 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 ...

in 37 he narrowly escaped his own death, being accused as one of the accomplices of the notorious

Albucilla Albucilla (1st-century) was a Roman noblewoman, the wife of Satrius Secundus, and was known for having had many lovers. In the last year of the reign of the emperor Tiberius, 37 AD, she was accused of treason, or impiety, against the emperor ( ...

. According to Tacitus he was governor of Syria 42-44/45, during the reign of Claudius. The name of "Gaius Vibius Marsus",

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 ' ...

, appears on several coins of Utica in

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 ...

, struck in the reign of

: they probably relate to this Vibius Marsus; and as he was disappointed in obtaining the province of Syria in the reign of Tiberius, he may have been appointed to that of Africa.

Family

Marsus was married to a woman named Laelia, they had a daughter named Vibia Laelia together who married

Publius Plautius Pulcher Publius may refer to: Roman name * Publius (praenomen) * Ancient Romans with the name: ** Publius Valerius Publicola (died 503 BC), Roman consul, co-founder of the Republic **Publius Clodius Pulcher (c. 93 BC – 52 BC), Republican politician * ...

.Inscription
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vibius Marsus, Gaius 1st-century Romans 1st-century Roman governors of Syria Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome Roman governors of Africa Roman governors of Syria Vibii

Biography

Family

See also

References