Gaius Julius Severus 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 and aristocrat of the second century. He was suffect consul around the year 138. Severus was a member of the ancient aristocracy of

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

that persisted into Roman times. He claimed to have descended from Celtic and Macedonian Greek royalty, especially

Attalus II Attalus II Philadelphus ( Greek: Ἄτταλος Β΄ ὁ Φιλάδελφος, ''Attalos II Philadelphos'', which means "Attalus the brother-loving"; 220–138 BC) was a Greek King of Pergamon and the founder of the city of Attalia (Antal ...

, ruler of Galatia. More certainly, he was the son of Gaius Julius Quadratus. He is known to have a brother, Julius Amyntianus,Corbier
''L'aerarium saturni et l'aerarium militare; Administration et prosopographie sénatoriale''
Publications de l'École française de Rome, 24 (Rome: École Française de Rome, 1974),p. 200 and he is attested to have married Claudia Aquilla.

Career

Severus is notable for having held offices both in the ''cursus'' of his native

Ancyra Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, mak ...

, the capital of

Roman Galatia Galatia () was the name of a province of the Roman Empire in Anatolia (modern central Turkey). It was established by the first emperor, Augustus (sole rule 30 BC – 14 AD), in 25 BC, covering most of formerly independent Celtic Galatia, with it ...

, as well as in the Roman ''

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 '' ...

''. At a young age Severus held the offices of ''agoranoma'', or overseer of the marketplace, ''agonothet''; or overseer of the local games; and ''archon'' of Ancyra. He was also a ''

flamen A (plural ''flamens'' or ''flamines'') was a priest of the ancient Roman religion who was assigned to one of eighteen deities with official cults during the Roman Republic. The most important of these were the three (or "major priests"), who ser ...

'' of the Imperial Cult at Ancyra, where he demonstrated his generosity by providing from his own purse oil to the inhabitants of the city, using the money allocated for this purpose to the maintenance of public buildings. Likewise his wife, also a priestess, showed munificence. He also demonstrated his generosity towards the emperor, providing provisions for the soldiers in the Winter of 113/114 as they marched to

Trajan's Parthian campaign Trajan's Parthian campaign was engaged by Roman Emperor Trajan in 115 against the Parthian Empire in Mesopotamia. The war was initially successful for the Romans, but a series of setbacks, including wide-scale rebellions in the Eastern Medit ...

, and again in the Fall of 117 as they returned from the campaign. In return, the emperor Hadrian, Trajan's successor, adlected Severus into the Senate as an ex-

plebeian tribune Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune ( la, tribunus plebis) was the first office of the Roman state that was open to the plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the power o ...

; few persons are known to have been adlected by Hadrian, so this was an even more prestigious honor. His career as a Roman senator is recorded in an inscription from his home of Ancyra. He was

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 vari ...

, the next magistracy after plebeian tribune, probably around the year 126.Alföldy, ''Konsulat und Senatorenstand'', p. 323 Not long after this, Hadrian appointed Severus

legate Legate may refer to: *Legatus, a higher ranking general officer of the Roman army drawn from among the senatorial class :*Legatus Augusti pro praetore, a provincial governor in the Roman Imperial period *A member of a legation *A representative, ...

, or assistant, to the

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

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

; usually the proconsul selected his own assistant, so this is another unusual step Severus benefited from.

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 ...

suspects Hadrian had wanted him to handle some thorny problems of administering some of the cities of the province.Corbier, ''L'aerarium saturni'', pp. 201f An inscription from

Dorylaeum Dorylaeum or Dorylaion ( el, Δορύλαιον; tr, Şarhöyük) was an ancient city in Anatolia. It is now an archaeological site located near the city of Eskişehir, Turkey. Its original location was about 10 km southwest of Eskişehi ...

attests to his adjudication of the boundary between that city and one of its neighbors; Corbier believes that second city was Midaeum. Severus was then appointed ''

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 office ...

'' or commander of

Legio IV Scythica Legio was a Roman military camp south of Tel Megiddo in the Roman province of Galilee. History Following the Bar Kokhba Revolt (132-136CE), Legio VI Ferrata was stationed at Legio near Caparcotna. The approximate location of the camp of the Leg ...

from approximately the year 130 to 132, then stationed in Syria; Corbier notes his homonymous son served as

military tribune A military tribune (Latin ''tribunus militum'', "tribune of the soldiers") was an officer of the Roman army who ranked below the legate and above the centurion. Young men of Equestrian rank often served as military tribune as a stepping stone ...

of that legion under him. The most noteworthy event of his command was that the governor of Syria, Gaius Poblius Marcellus, was called away to attend to the Bar Kochba revolt, which required Severus to fill in as governor of this strategic province. His interim term as governor must have been successful, for Severus was constantly in the imperial service for the rest of the 130s; this close sequence of offices make dating the exact year he held any office controversial. He won the

sortition In governance, sortition (also known as selection by lottery, selection by lot, allotment, demarchy, stochocracy, aleatoric democracy, democratic lottery, and lottocracy) is the selection of political officials as a random sample from a larger ...

to govern Achaea for 133/134. Next, Hadrian picked him to govern

Bithynia and Pontus Bithynia and Pontus ( la, Provincia Bithynia et Pontus, Ancient Greek ) was the name of a province of the Roman Empire on the Black Sea coast of Anatolia (modern-day Turkey). It was formed during the late Roman Republic by the amalgamation of the ...

, which has been dated from 134 to 135 or 136. Corbier suspects his duties included the same charge that Pliny the Younger and

Gaius Julius Cornutus Tertullus Gaius Julius Cornutus Tertullus was a Roman senator who was active during the late 1st and early 2nd centuries. He is best known as the older friend of Pliny the Younger, with whom Cornutus was suffect consul for the '' nundinium'' of September t ...

were given before him: to sort out the finances of its cities. This he handled with a success that brought him fame with its inhabitants that was still remembered in Dio Cassius' time. After returning to Rome from that province, Severus was appointed prefect of the '' aerarium Saturni''; the time he held this office must be squeezed in between his governorship and his suffect consulship, possibly as early as the year 135 to the year 138. Either in 138 or 139 Severus was honored with a consulship. His residency in Rome was extended with more appointments by Hadrian. First he was ''curator operum locarumque publicorum et aedium sacrarum'' ("overseer of public buildings, places, and sacred works") around 140. About this time he was admitted to the

College of Pontiffs The College of Pontiffs ( la, Collegium Pontificum; see ''collegium'') was a body of the ancient Roman state whose members were the highest-ranking priests of the state religion. The college consisted of the '' pontifex maximus'' and the other '' ...

, the most prestigious of the ancient Roman priesthoods. This was followed by an appointment as governor of

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 Agripp ...

from the year 142 to 145. Corbier notes his son accompanied him again, this time as commander of

Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix ("Trajan's Victorious Thirtieth Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. Their emblems were the gods Neptune and Jupiter and the Capricorn. ''Ulpia'' is Trajan's own '' gens'' ('' Ulpia''), while the cognomen "''V ...

.Corbier, ''L'aerarium saturni'', p. 204 Severus returned to Rome in time to participate in the sortition for one of the two consular public provinces, and he received Asia as his to govern in the years 152/153. Corbier imagines him at this point as having felt like an exile, having spent so many years away from his ancestral Asia Minor.Corbier, ''L'aerarium saturni'', p. 205 Seeing this province, where he began his imperial career some 25 years earlier, must have been a welcoming event. Here he came into conflict with the Greek orator

Aelius Aristides Publius Aelius Aristides Theodorus ( grc-gre, Πόπλιος Αἴλιος Ἀριστείδης Θεόδωρος; 117–181 AD) was a Greek orator and author considered to be a prime example as a member of the Second Sophistic, a group of celebr ...

, who had protested he could not discharge his civic duties due to his illness; despite his pleas, Severus ruled Aelius was liable for them. At this point Severus leaves the pages of history. Since he was, at the youngest, in his sixties, Severus probably died not long after leaving the province of Asia.

Career

References

Further reading