Gaius Popilius Carus Pedo
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Gaius Popilius Carus Pedo 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 held several offices in the emperor's service during the second century. He was suffect consul in succession to Tiberius Licinius Cassius Cassianus as colleague of Sextus Cocceius Severianus Honorinus until the end of 147. His cognomen has been interpreted as indicating that Carus Pedo originated in one of the Western provinces of the Empire, although some experts favor an Italian origin.Edward Dabrowa, ''Legio X Fretensis: A Prosopographical Study of its Officers (I-III c. A.D.)'' (Stuttgart: Franz Steiner, 1993), p. 44
Ronald Syme Sir Ronald Syme, (11 March 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a New Zealand-born historian and classicist. He was regarded as the greatest historian of ancient Rome since Theodor Mommsen and the most brilliant exponent of the history of the Roman ...
counted 21 examples of the
cognomen A ''cognomen'' (; plural ''cognomina''; from ''con-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became here ...
"Pedo" in the region of the western Alps, although his membership in the
tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...
"Quirina" precludes
Gallia Narbonensis Gallia Narbonensis (Latin for "Gaul of Narbonne", from its chief settlement) was a Roman province located in what is now Languedoc and Provence, in Southern France. It was also known as Provincia Nostra ("Our Province"), because it was the ...
; however, Syme also counted 16 examples of the
gentilicium The (or simply ) was a hereditary name borne by the peoples of Roman Italy and later by the citizens of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. It was originally the name of one's (family or clan) by patrilineal descent. However, as Rome expande ...
Popilius in the Spanish provinces. A number of scholars, including Syme, have suggested that Carus Pedo is related to
Marcus Pedo Vergilianus Marcus Pedo Vergilianus was consul at the beginning of AD 115, during the reign of Trajan. He died in an earthquake toward the end of that year. Career Vergilianus was a Roman senator early in the second century. In the year 115, he was consul ...
, suffect consul in 115, based on sharing their uncommon name element; however as Carus Pedo's father's
praenomen The ''praenomen'' (; plural: ''praenomina'') was a personal name chosen by the parents of a Roman child. It was first bestowed on the ''dies lustricus'' (day of lustration), the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the bi ...
is known to be "Gaius", if they are related, this Pedo would be a nephew or cousin of the consul of 115. On the other hand, experts consider Carus Pedo the grandfather of
Popilius Pedo Apronianus Popilius Pedo Apronianus (died 205) was a Roman senator, who was active during the reign of Septimius Severus. He was Roman consul in the year 191 with Marcus Valerius Bradua Mauricus as his colleague. A member of the Patrician order, Apronianus ...
, ordinary consul in 191.


Life

Pedo's ''
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 '' ...
'' is documented in an inscription from
Tibur Tivoli ( , ; la, Tibur) is a town and in Lazio, central Italy, north-east of Rome, at the falls of the Aniene river where it issues from the Sabine hills. The city offers a wide view over the Roman Campagna. History Gaius Julius Solinu ...
. He started his senatorial career likely in his teens as a member of the ''decemviri stlitibus iudicandis'', one of the four boards of the ''
vigintiviri __NOTOC__The ''vigintisexviri'' ( ''vigintisexvir''; ) were a college ( ''collegium'') of minor magistrates (''magistratus minores'') in the Roman Republic. The college consisted of six boards: * the ''decemviri stlitibus judicandis'' – 1 ...
'', a minor ''
collegium A (plural ), or college, was any association in ancient Rome that acted as a legal entity. Following the passage of the ''Lex Julia'' during the reign of Julius Caesar as Consul and Dictator of the Roman Republic (49–44 BC), and their rea ...
'' young senators serve in at the start of their careers. Next he was a
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 to ...
in
Legio III Cyrenaica Legio III Cyrenaica, ( Third Legion " Cyrenean") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. The legion had its origins among the forces of Mark Antony during the civil wars of late first century BC. In the Imperial period it was stationed in Egyp ...
around 132–135,Dabrowa, ''Legio X Fretensis'', p. 45 which was stationed in
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 ...
at the time; while holding this commission he received ''
dona militaria As with most other military forces the Roman military adopted an extensive list of decorations for military gallantry and likewise a range of punishments for military transgressions. Decorations, awards and victory titles Crowns *Grass crown ...
'' or military decorations. This was followed by holding in succession the traditional series of republican magistracies, all as candidate of the emperor:
quaestor A ( , , ; "investigator") was a public official in Ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officials who ...
,
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 of ...
, and at last
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 ...
. At this point Pedo was 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 officer ...
'' or commander of
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 diss ...
around AD 141, but he rejected the post for unknown reasons. "There is a view that he did so because of bad health," writes Edward Dabrowa. Nevertheless, "the refusal did not affect his further career." Carus Pedo held two civilian administrative posts prior to his consulship. The first was as curator of three important roads: the
Via Aurelia The ''Via Aurelia'' (Latin for "Aurelian Way") is a Roman road in Italy constructed in approximately 241 BC. The project was undertaken by Gaius Aurelius Cotta, who at that time was censor.Hornblower, Simon, & Antony Spawforth. ''The Oxford Cl ...
, both the older and new sections, the
Via Cornelia Via Cornelia is an ancient Roman road that supposedly ran east–west along the northern wall of the Circus of Nero on land now covered by the southern wall of St. Peter's Basilica. The location is closely associated with the Via Aurelia and the Vi ...
and the
Via Triumphalis Via Trionfale is a Roman road that leads to and within Rome, Italy. Formerly called Via Triumphalis, it was an ancient consular road that connected Rome to Veii. The northern terminus of the road connects with the Via Cassia. History The name giv ...
. His next post was prefect of the ''
aerarium Saturni Aerarium, from ''aes'' (“bronze, money”) + -''ārium'' (“place for”), was the name given in Ancient Rome to the public treasury, and in a secondary sense to the public finances. ''Aerarium populi Romani'' The main ''aerarium'', that ...
'', which
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 to 144–146. Following his consulship, Pedo was admitted to the ''collegium'' of the ''
Septemviri epulonum The (Latin for "feasters"; sing. ''epulo'') arranged feasts and public banquets at Roman festival, festivals and games ''(ludi)''. They constituted one of the four great collegium (ancient Rome), religious corporations (''quattuor amplissima co ...
''; Dabrowa estimates this happened between the years 147 and 152. Also after his consulship Pedo was appointed curator of the '' operum publicorum'', one of the overseers of the public works of Rome; an inscription attests he was curator on 19 September 150. Then he was appointed governor of
Germania Superior Germania Superior ("Upper Germania") was an imperial province of the Roman Empire. It comprised an area of today's western Switzerland, the French Jura and Alsace regions, and southwestern Germany. Important cities were Besançon ('' Vesontio' ...
from circa 151 to circa 155. Upon returning to Rome, Pedo was admitted to another priesthood, the ''
sodales Hadrianales The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence o ...
'', circa 159/160. In 161/162 Pedo was appointed governor and censor over
Gallia Lugdunensis Gallia Lugdunensis ( French: ''Gaule Lyonnaise'') was a province of the Roman Empire in what is now the modern country of France, part of the Celtic territory of Gaul formerly known as Celtica. It is named after its capital Lugdunum (today's Lyon ...
, and upon returning to Rome 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 ...
immediately allotted to him
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 area ...
, over which he was again proconsular governor 162/163. His life after his governorship of Asia is unknown, as well as the date of his death.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Popilius Carus Pedo, Gaius 2nd-century Romans Senators of the Roman Empire Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome Roman governors of Germania Superior Roman governors of Gallia Lugdunensis Roman governors of Asia Epulones of the Roman Empire Popillii