Marcus Cocceius Nerva was

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 throug ...

of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...

in 36 BC, together with

Lucius Gellius Poplicola Lucius Gellius Poplicola or Publicola ( 43–31 BC) was a Roman senator who led a checkered political career during the civil wars of the late Republic. Initially a supporter of Julius Caesar's assassins, Brutus and Cassius, he defected to the Se ...

. His family were of

Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...

n origin and were supporters of

Marcus Antonius Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the autoc ...

, providing him with a number of generals and diplomats. Nerva was '' Proquaestor pro

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 ...

e'' under Antonius in 41 BC, and it is assumed that he was with

Lucius Antonius Lucius Antonius is a combination of ''praenomen'' and family name ''( nomen)'' used by ancient Roman men from a plebeian branch of the '' gens Antonia,'' including: * Lucius Antonius (brother of Mark Antony) * Lucius Antonius (grandson of Mark Ant ...

during the Perusine War. He was one of the key military officers in Antonius's army who refused to fight Octavianus and brought about the reconciliation between the two men in 40 BC. Around 38 BC, Marcus Antonius appointed Nerva as 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 area ...

, during which time he was acclaimed as

imperator The Latin word ''imperator'' derives from the stem of the verb la, imperare, label=none, meaning 'to order, to command'. It was originally employed as a title roughly equivalent to ''commander'' under the Roman Republic. Later it became a part o ...

for some military action at

Lagina Lagina ( grc, Λάγινα) or Laginia (Λαγινία) was a town in the territory of Stratonicea, in ancient Caria. It contained an important temple of Hecate, at which every year great festivals were celebrated. Tacitus, when speaking of the ...

. For his services to Marcus Antonius, Nerva was elected consul in 36 BC. In 31 BC he was elected to the ''

Quindecimviri sacris faciundis In ancient Rome, the were the fifteen () members of a college (''collegium'') with priestly duties. They guarded the Sibylline Books, scriptures which they consulted and interpreted at the request of the Senate. This ''collegium'' also oversaw t ...

'', and was raised to the Patriciate after 29 BC.Broughton, ''MRR²'', p. 427 He is the great-grandfather of the more famous Emperor

Nerva Nerva (; originally Marcus Cocceius Nerva; 8 November 30 – 27 January 98) was Roman emperor from 96 to 98. Nerva became emperor when aged almost 66, after a lifetime of imperial service under Nero and the succeeding rulers of the Flavian dy ...

who ruled the Roman Empire from 96 to 98 AD. His son, also named Marcus Cocceius Nerva, was part of the entourage of emperor

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

Sources

* T. Robert S. Broughton, ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, Vol II'' (1952). * Syme, Ronald, ''The Roman Revolution'', Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1939. * Anthon, Charles & Smith, William, ''A New Classical Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography, Mythology and Geography'' (1860).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cocceius Nerva, Marcus (consul 718 AUC) 1st-century BC Roman consuls Ancient Romans who committed suicide Nerva, Marcus (consul 718 AUC) Roman governors of Asia

Sources

See also

References