Gnaeus Pinarius Aemilius Cicatricula 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 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 ...
. He 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 ...
in 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 November-December 72 as the colleague of
Sextus Marcius Priscus
The gens Marcia (), occasionally written Martia, was one of the oldest and noblest houses at ancient Rome. They claimed descent from the second and fourth Roman Kings, and the first of the Marcii appearing in the history of the Republic would see ...
. He is known entirely from inscriptions.
Cicatricula's
polyonymous name poses a challenge. Olli Salomies at first reported that "among the numerous Pinarii I can find only one Gnaeus, whereas, on the other hand, this praenomen was much in use among the Cornelii", which lead him to suggest that he was originally a Gnaeus Cornelius L.f. who added the element "Pinarius" from his mother's side. However, he noted the existence of
Gnaeus Pinarius Cornelius Clemens Gnaeus Pinarius Cornelius Clemens (fl. 1st century AD) was a Roman military officer and senator who was appointed Suffect consul during the reign of Vespasian. He is primarily known through inscriptions.
Biography
Possibly originating from Hispani ...
, suffect consul in either 71 or 72, and
Gnaeus Pinarius Caecilius Simplex
Gnaeus Caecilius Simplex was a Roman senator, who was active during the middle of the first century AD. The ephemeral emperor Vitellius appointed him consul during the Year of Four Emperors with Gaius Quinctius Atticus as his colleague, replacing ...
, suffect consul in 69, which forced him to conclude "the most economical explanation for the existence of the three contemporary Cn. Pinarii would be to postulate an otherwise unknown Cn. Pinarius, probably a man of means but perhaps without an offspring, who could have adopted by testament three promising younger senators."
Another possible relative is
Gnaeus Pompeius Longinus
Gnaeus Pompeius Longinus (died 105) was a Roman senator and general. He was the 5th legate of Judaea from 85 to 89 and held the suffect consulship in the ''nundinium'' of September–October 90 as the colleague of Lucius Albius Pullaienus Pollio. ...
(full name ''Gnaeus Pinarius Aemilius Cicatricula Pompeius Longinus''), whom Salomies postulated was Cicatricula's adopted son.
Cicatricula is known to have held one more office. A fragmentary inscription recovered from
Thugga
Dougga or Thugga or TBGG was a Berber, Punic and Roman settlement near present-day Téboursouk in northern Tunisia. The current archaeological site covers . UNESCO qualified Dougga as a World Heritage Site in 1997, believing that it represents " ...
in modern-day Tunisia attests that he was present in
Roman Africa
Roman Africa may refer to the following areas of Northern Africa which were part of the Imperium Romanum and/or the Western/Byzantine successor empires :
; in the unified Roman empire :
* Africa (Roman province), with the great metropolis Cartha ...
in 79/80.
The inscription can be restored one of two ways: if restored to read ''Cn(aeo) Pinar
o Aemilio/ Cicatr
cula leg(ato) Aug(usti) pr(o) pr(aetore)
Cula may refer to:
People
* Cula Naga of Anuradhapura
* Penny Cula-Reid (born 1988), Australian Australian rules football player
* Slaviša Čula (born 1968), Serbian football player
Other
* Culă, Romanian semi-fortified building
* Cúla4, Iri ...
' (as several authorities restore this section), Cicatricula was 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 ...
'' sent to Africa on the Emperor's orders; if restored to read ''Cn(aeo) Pinar
o Aemilio/ Cicatr
cula proco(n)s(ule)' (as Salomies appears to restore it), 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 Roman Africa.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinarius Aemilius Cicatricula, Gnaeus
1st-century Romans
Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome
Cicatricula
Cicatricula