Lucius Roscius Aelianus Maecius Celer 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 ...

of the second century. 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 AD 100 with Tiberius Claudius Sacerdos Julianus as his colleague. Celer is primarily known from inscriptions. The origins of Maecius Celer have attracted some discussion. The fact that the final elements of our man's name are shared with the consul of 101, Marcus Maecius Celer, have led some expertsDer Neue Pauly, Stuttgardiae 1999, T. 7, c. 636. to suggest the two men are brothers and our Maecius Celer had been adopted by a Roscius. However Olli Salomies endorses Ronald Syme's hypothesis that his

filiation Filiation is the legal term for the recognized legal status of the relationship between family members, or more specifically the legal relationship between parent and child. As described by the Government of Quebec: Filiation is the relationship ...

''M.f.'' refers to a Marcus Roscius, namely

Marcus Roscius Coelius Marcus Roscius Coelius (or Caelius) was a Roman military officer of the 1st century AD. He was appointed suffect consul for the ''nundinium'' March-April AD 81 with Gaius Julius Juvenalis as his colleague. There is some uncertainty about his name ...

, consul in 81, who married an aunt of the consul of 101, and this was the source of the last two name elements; instead of brothers, the two Maecii Celeres are cousins.Salomies, ''Adoptive and polyonymous nomenclature in the Roman Empire'', (Helsinki: Societas Scientiarum Fennica, 1992), p. 134 Lucius Roscius L. . Qui. Paculus Maeius Celer M ..Postumus Mam lianus? ...Vergilius Staberia us ... quaestor to the emperor

Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...

, is likely the son or grandson of this Maecius Celer.

Career

Celer'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 partially known from an inscription set up at

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 ...

by his friend, Gaius Vecilius Probus;

Anthony Birley Anthony Richard Birley (8 October 1937 – 19 December 2020) was a British ancient historian, archaeologist and academic. He was the son of Margaret Isabel (Goodlet) and historian and archaeologist Eric Birley. Early life and education Anthony ...

notes that "Vecilius Probus gave only a selection of posts on the Tibur inscription. Otherwise, it would certainly be curious that he held a relatively early consulship, with no appointments in the imperial service to his credit."Birley, ''The Fasti of Roman Britain'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1981), p. 270 According to Probus, Celer's career began as one of the ''decemviri stlitibus iudicandis'', one of the four boards of the '' vigintiviri'', a preliminary and required first step toward gaining entry into the Roman Senate. Celer was then military tribune in Legio IX Hispana, which was stationed in

Roman Britain Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered was ...

. During Domitian's Chattan War of 83, two vexillations were sent from Legio IX to Germany, one under Celer, the other under Velius Rufus. For Celer's efforts in the conflict, he was awarded '' Dona militaria'' appropriate for his rank. He was admitted to the Senate when he became

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 ...

for an unnamed emperor, possibly

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 ...

; this was followed by the traditional republican magistracies of plebeian tribune and

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 ...

. Syme argues the date of his praetorship fell in the years 90 to 94, making him a contemporary of

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his t ...

. Celer's consulate followed. The only office Celer is known to have held after his consulate is 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 governorship of

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 ...

, which Werner Eck has dated to 117/118.Eck, "Jahres- und Provinzialfasten der senatorischen Statthalter von 69/70 bis 138/139", '' Chiron'', 13 (1983), pp. 148f His life after this governorship, as well as the date of his death, is unknown.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roscius Aelianus Maecius Celer Lucius 1st-century Romans 2nd-century Romans Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome Roman governors of Africa Ancient Romans in Britain