Gnaeus Caecilius Simplex was a Roman

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 middle of the first century AD. The ephemeral emperor Vitellius appointed him consul during the Year of Four Emperors with

Gaius Quinctius Atticus The gens Quinctia, sometimes written Quintia, was a patrician family at ancient Rome. Throughout the history of the Republic, its members often held the highest offices of the state, and it produced some men of importance even during the imperia ...

as his colleague, replacing Martius Macer and Quinctius Atticus. Many believed Simplex had bribed Vitellius to be appointed to this magistracy, and he was accused of this in the Senate; however Vitellius defended Simplex, and "afterwards bestowed on Simplex a consulship that had not been bought with crime or money." His first known office was as proconsular governor of Sardinia, which at the time was a public province; he held this office in the term 67/68. During his consulate in the last two months of the year 69, Simplex is recorded for two acts. The first was being in charge of recording the names of volunteers wanting to join Vitellius' army against the forces of Vespasian. The second, on the morning of 18 December of the same year, was to refuse to accept Vitellius' dagger when he attempted to give it away as a form of resigning the office of emperor. An inscription from Musti in Tunisia published in 2009 provides additional information about Simplex. One is that Simplex was proconsular governor of Africa, most likely in the late 80s. The second is it provides not only his praenomen ''Gnaeus'', but a second and previously unknown gentilicum, ''Pinarius''. There are two other senators who bear the nomina "Gnaeus Pinarius":

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 Aemilius Cicatricula Gnaeus Pinarius Aemilius Cicatricula was a Roman senator, who was active during the reign of Domitian. He was suffect consul in the ''nundinium'' of November-December 72 as the colleague of Sextus Marcius Priscus. He is known entirely from inscript ...

, suffect consul in 72. This led Olli Salomies 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."Salomies
"Adoptive and polyonymous nomenclature in the Roman Empire -- Some Addenda"
''Tituli'', 10 (2014), p. 528

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caecilius Simplex 1st-century Romans Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome Roman governors of Sardinia Roman governors of Africa Simplex, Gnaeus Caecilius