Quintus Flavius Maesius Egnatius Lollianus Mavortius ( 330–356) was a politician of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

. In the 18th century an acephalous statue of Mavortius was discovered in Puteoli, then

Pozzuoli Pozzuoli (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Naples, in the Italian region of Campania. It is the main city of the Phlegrean Peninsula. History Pozzuoli began as the Greek colony of ''Dicaearchia'' ( el, Δικα ...

(near

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

); after a restoration, this statue entered in the local folklore as "Saint Mamozio".

Life

It is speculated by his name that he was son of an Egnatius Lollianus and wife a Flavia, daughter of a Quintus Flavius and wife a Maesia, and brother of Egnatia Lolliana, wife of Rufius Caecina Postumianus, both paternal grandchildren of Egnatius Lucillus, speculated son of Egnatius Lucillianus and paternal grandson of Lucius Egnatius Victor Lollianus. However, a familial relationship between the imperial members of the ''gens Egnatii'' and Egnatius Lucillianus has been described as "extremely doubtful". But his and his sister ''nomina'' Egnatius / Egnatia and their ''cognomina'' Lollianus / Lolliana point to a direct descent connection to their given great-great-grandfather. A pagan,His

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 ...

is an invocation to Mavors, the Old Latin and poetic name of

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

. he was

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demog ...

from 328 to 335, ''

comes Orientis The Diocese of the East ( la, Dioecesis Orientis; el, ) was a diocese of the later Roman Empire, incorporating the provinces of the western Middle East, between the Mediterranean Sea and Mesopotamia. During late Antiquity, it was one of the majo ...

'' from 330 to 336,

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 ...

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 ...

from 334 to 337, ''

praefectus urbi The ''praefectus urbanus'', also called ''praefectus urbi'' or urban prefect in English, was prefect of the city of Rome, and later also of Constantinople. The office originated under the Roman kings, continued during the Republic and Empire, an ...

'' of Rome in 342,

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 throu ...

in 355 and

praetorian prefect of Illyricum The praetorian prefecture of Illyricum ( la, praefectura praetorio per Illyricum; el, ἐπαρχότης/ὑπαρχία �ῶν πραιτωρίωντοῦ Ἰλλυρικοῦ, also termed simply the Prefecture of Illyricum) was one of four ...

for

Constantius II Constantius II (Latin: ''Flavius Julius Constantius''; grc-gre, Κωνστάντιος; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germanic ...

between 355 and 356. He encouraged the senatorial writer

Julius Firmicus Maternus __NOTOC__ Julius Firmicus Maternus was a Roman Latin writer and astrologer, who received a pagan classical education that made him conversant with Greek; he lived in the reign of Constantine I (306 to 337 AD) and his successors. His triple career m ...

to write an

astrological Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Dif ...

essay, the ''Matheseos libri VIII'', that the author dedicated to Lollianus. He married Cornelia Severa, possibly a great-great-granddaughter of

Gnaeus Cornelius Paternus Gnaeus, also spelled Cnaeus, was a Roman praenomen derived from the Latin ''naevus'', a birthmark. It was a common name borne by many individuals throughout Roman history, including: Individuals *Gnaeus Acerronius Proculus, a consul of the Roman ...

, by whom he had a son,

Quintus Flavius Egnatius Placidus Severus Quintus is a male given name derived from '' Quintus'', a common Latin forename ('' praenomen'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Quintus derives from Latin word ''quintus'', meaning "fifth". Quintus is an English masculine given name and ...

Notes

Sources

* Martindale, J. R.; Jones, A. H. M, ''The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'', Vol. I 260–395 AD, Cambridge University Press (1971) * Mennen, Inge, ''Power and Status in the Roman Empire, 193–284 AD'' (2011)

Bibliography

* Kenney, Edward John, ''The Cambridge History of Classical Literature'', Cambridge University Press, 1983, , p. 88. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lollianus Mavortius, Quintus Flavius Maesius Egnatius 4th-century Romans Late-Roman-era pagans Comites Orientis Flavii Imperial Roman consuls Praetorian prefects of the Illyricum Roman governors of Africa Roman governors of Campania Urban prefects of Rome Year of birth uncertain Year of death unknown