Gnaeus Julius Verus was

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 general of the mid-2nd century AD. He was suffect consul, and governed several important imperial provinces:

Germania Inferior Germania Inferior ("Lower Germania") was a Roman province from AD 85 until the province was renamed Germania Secunda in the fourth century, on the west bank of the Rhine bordering the North Sea. The capital of the province was Colonia Agrippin ...

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, and

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 ...

Life

Verus came from Aequum in

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

; this has led some experts (such as

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 ...

Anthony Birley Anthony Richard Birley (8 October 1937 – 19 December 2020) was a British ancient historian, archaeologist and academic. He was the son of Margaret Isabel (Goodlet) and historian and archaeologist Eric Birley. Early life and education Anthony ...

, and

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. His ...

) to believe he was the son of

Sextus Julius Severus Gnaeus Minicius Faustinus Sextus Julius Severus was an accomplished Roman general of the 2nd century. He also held the office of suffect consul in the last three months of 127 with Lucius Aemilius Juncus as his colleague. Biography Julius Severu ...

(

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 ...

127), but other experts assert Julius Severus was his uncle. He served as tribune in the

legio X Fretensis Legio X ''Fretensis'' ("Tenth legion of the Strait") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. It was founded by the young Gaius Octavius (later to become Augustus Caesar) in 41/40 BC to fight during the period of civil war that started the disso ...

when Julius Severus was governor of Judaea from 132 to 135. That Verus served as a '' tresvir monetalis'', then '' quaestor Augusti'', and was co-opted as 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 ...

; all suggesting that he was marked out at an early stage for a prominent career. Following his achievement as

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 ...

, Verus was ''

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 ...

'' or commander of Legio XXX ''Ulpia Victrix'' in the 140s, which was stationed at

Xanten Xanten (, Low Rhenish: ''Santen'') is a town in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the district of Wesel. Xanten is known for the Archaeological Park, one of the largest archaeological open air museums in the wor ...

then part of

. He returned to Rome to serve as

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

of the '' aerarium Saturni'';

Mireille Corbier Mireille Corbier (born 24 May 1943) is a French historian of Classical history. Currently Research Director emerita at Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), she has published a number of books and articles, and since 1992 has been ed ...

dates his tenure from January 147 to the end of 149, which would make him the colleague of

Lucius Dasumius Tullius Tuscus Lucius Dasumius Tullius Tuscus was a Roman senator who was an ''amici'' or trusted advisor of the emperors Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. He was suffect consul in the '' nundinium'' of April to June 152 AD as the colleague of Publius Sufena ...

(suffect consul 152). Verus was suffect consul at some point in the years 149 to 151. The first consular office Verus held was as governor of Germania Inferior, possibly arriving there in 154. Birley notes that "Verus' dispatch to govern a province where he had commanded a legion a decade or so earlier is relatively unusual."Birley, ''Fasti of Roman Britain'', p. 119 An inscription from Birrens, north of the western end of

Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall ( la, Vallum Aelium), also known as the Roman Wall, Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Hadriani'' in Latin, is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. R ...

, shows that Verus was present in Britain as governor in 158, but he likely was present in the province before then. His dispatch to Britain with troops from Germany was probably meant to put down a revolt there, or at least to reinforce the remnants of the troops who had done so. The revolt had been led by the

Brigantes The Brigantes were Ancient Britons who in pre-Roman times controlled the largest section of what would become Northern England. Their territory, often referred to as Brigantia, was centred in what was later known as Yorkshire. The Greek geogr ...

tribe and had resulted in the abandonment of the Antonine Wall and a possible slaughter at the fort at Newstead.Birley, ''Fasti of Roman Britain'', p. 120 It is not clear when Verus left Britain. Details on his successor are few. Verus is known to have accompanied

Lucius Verus Lucius Aurelius Verus (15 December 130 – January/February 169) was Roman emperor from 161 until his death in 169, alongside his adoptive brother Marcus Aurelius. He was a member of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty. Verus' succession together with ...

east in his campaign against the

Parthians Parthian may be: Historical * A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran * Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD) * Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language * Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...

in 162, and a mile post in

dated to 163 shows he succeeded

Marcus Annius Libo Marcus Annius Libo was a Roman Senator active in the early second century AD. Life Libo came from the upper ranks of the Roman aristocracy. He was the son of Marcus Annius Verus, consul III in 126, and Rupilia Faustina. Annius Verus was Spanish o ...

as governor upon the latter's death. In Syria, he instructed road improvements along the gorge of the Barada River, as documented by inscriptions from

Abila Lysaniou Abila Lysaniou or Abila Lysaniae or Abila ( grc, Ἄβιλα ἐπικαλουμένη Λυσανίου or Ἄβιλα) was an ancient city, on the Abana River and capital of ancient Abilene, Coele-Syria. The site is currently that of the villag ...

. His offices after he left Syria are not known. Debrowa notes Verus "was an experienced man who had good relationship with the emperors." Birley admits it is possible he 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

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 ...

20 years after his consulship, since the plague of 166 had slain so many qualified men. Verus was nominated for a second consulship in 180, but he died in 179.Birley, ''Fasti of Roman Britain'', p. 121

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Julius Verus, Gnaeus 2nd-century Romans 2nd-century clergy

Roman governors of Britain This is a partial list of governors of Roman Britain from 43 to 409. As the unified province "Britannia", Roman Britain was a consular province, meaning that its governors had to first serve as a consul in Rome before they could govern it. While th ...

Augurs of the Roman Empire Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome Roman governors of Germania Inferior Roman governors of Syria Roman consuls designate Verus, Gnaeus