Marcus Junius Silanus Torquatus 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 ...

. He 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 ...

in AD 19, with Lucius Norbanus Balbus as his colleague.

Biography

Silanus was a descendant of the noble Roman house of the

Junii Silani The gens Junia was one of the most celebrated families of ancient Rome. The gens may originally have been patrician, and was already prominent in the last days of the Roman monarchy. Lucius Junius Brutus was the nephew of Lucius Tarquinius ...

. His grandfather was Marcus Junius Silanus, consul with the emperor

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

in 25 BC. His mother appears to have been Calpurnia Domitia Calvina, daughter of

Lucius Calpurnius Bibulus Lucius Calpurnius Bibulus (? – died around 32 B.C.) was a Roman statesman. He was the son of the consul Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus. Biography Lucius Bibulus was the son of Julius Caesar's implacable enemy Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus. His mother coul ...

and Domitia Calvina, daughter of

Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus was a Roman general, senator and consul (both in 53 BC and 40 BC) who was a loyal partisan of Caesar and Octavianus. Biography Domitius Calvinus came from a noble family and was elected consul for 53 BC, despite a notor ...

. Torquatus married

Aemilia Lepida Aemilia Lepida is the name of several ancient Roman women belonging to the ''gens Aemilia''. The name was given to daughters of men belonging to the Lepidus branch of the Aemilius family. The first Aemilia Lepida to be mentioned by Roman historian ...

, daughter of

Julia the Younger Vipsania Julia Agrippina (19 BC – c. AD 29) nicknamed Julia Minor (Classical Latin: IVLIA•MINOR) and called Julia the Younger by modern historians, was a Roman noblewoman of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. She was emperor Augustus' first grandda ...

, and great-granddaughter of Augustus. Consul for the whole year of AD 19, he and his colleague Norbanus brought forward the ''

lex Junia Norbana In Roman Law, ''lex Iunia Norbana'' of 19 AD classified all freedmen into two classes according to their mode of enfranchisement: enfranchised citizens, (freedmen who enjoyed Roman citizenship) and enfranchised Latini (freedmen who had only Latin r ...

'', which prevented

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

manumitted by

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 ...

s from receiving the

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

, and precluding their descendants from inheritance.

Freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), abolitionism, emancipation (gra ...

under this law came to be known as ''Latini Juniani''. From AD 32 to 38, Silanus was proconsul 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 ...

Descendants

Silanus and Aemilia had five children, all of whom suffered as a result of their connection to the imperial family. * Marcus Junius Silanus (AD 14–54), consul in 46, put to death in order to ensure the succession of

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...

, and to prevent him from avenging the death of his brother, Lucius. *

Junia Calvina Junia Calvina was a Roman noblewoman who lived in the 1st century AD. Biography The daughter of Aemilia Lepida and Marcus Junius Silanus Torquatus, consul in 19, Calvina belonged to two patrician houses: the ''gens Aemilia'' and ''gens Junia'' ...

(d. after AD 79), married

Lucius Vitellius Lucius Vitellius (before 7 BC – AD 51) was the youngest of four sons of procurator Publius Vitellius and the only one who did not die through politics. He was consul three times, which was unusual during the Roman empire for someone who was ...

, a brother of the future emperor

Vitellius Aulus Vitellius (; ; 24 September 1520 December 69) was Roman emperor for eight months, from 19 April to 20 December AD 69. Vitellius was proclaimed emperor following the quick succession of the previous emperors Galba and Otho, in a year of ci ...

. Accused of incest with her youngest brother, she was exiled by

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...

, only to be recalled ten years later by the emperor

. *

Decimus Junius Silanus Torquatus Decimus Junius Silanus Torquatus (16 AD64 AD) was a Roman senator who lived during the 1st century. Life He served as an ordinary consul in 53 with Quintus Haterius Antoninus as his colleague. Decimus was the second son born to Aemilia Lepida a ...

(d. AD 64), consul in 53, forced by Nero to commit suicide after being accused of boasting of his descent from Augustus. *

Lucius Junius Silanus Torquatus Two noblemen, an uncle and nephew, who shared the name Lucius Junius Silanus Torquatus and were descendants of the Roman Emperor Augustus, lived during the 1st century AD. Elder Silanus Silanus (died 49), was the third born son to Aemilia Lepid ...

(d. AD 49), praetor in 48, he was engaged to Octavia, daughter of

. Agrippina spread a rumor that he had committed incest with his sister, as a result of which he was expelled from the Senate and deprived of his office. He committed suicide on the day that Claudius and Agrippina were married. *

Junia Lepida Junia Lepida (c. AD 18 - 65) was a Roman noblewoman who lived in the first century. Life She was the second daughter of Aemilia Lepida and Marcus Junius Silanus Torquatus, one of the Junii Silani. Her maternal grandparents were Julia the Younger, ...

, who married

Gaius Cassius Longinus Gaius Cassius Longinus (c. 86 BC – 3 October 42 BC) was a Roman senator and general best known as a leading instigator of the plot to assassinate Julius Caesar on 15 March 44 BC. He was the brother-in-law of Brutus, another leader of the cons ...

, and raised her nephew

the younger (50-66), after his father Marcus was murdered. *

Junia Silana Junia Silana (died 59 C.E.) was a Roman patrician. She was the sister of Junia Claudilla, the first wife of Caligula, before he became emperor. Silana was a prominent figure in the power struggles that transpired in the reign of three different em ...

(d. AD 59), died in exile after a feud with Agrippina.Gemäß R. Hanslik, Iunius 27. I. Silana, in: Der Kleine Pauly, Bd. 2 (1967), Sp. 1561.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Junius Silanus Torquatus, Marcus 1st-century Roman consuls Torquatus, Marcus Roman governors of Africa

Biography

Descendants

See also

References