Quintus Petillius Cerialis Caesius Rufus ( AD 30 — after AD 83), otherwise known as Quintus Petillius Cerialis, 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 ...

general and administrator who served in Britain during

Boudica Boudica or Boudicca (, known in Latin chronicles as Boadicea or Boudicea, and in Welsh as ()), was a queen of the ancient British Iceni tribe, who led a failed uprising against the conquering forces of the Roman Empire in AD 60 or 61. She ...

's rebellion and went on to participate in the

civil wars A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

after the death 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 ...

. He later crushed the rebellion of

Julius Civilis Gaius Julius Civilis was the leader of the Batavian rebellion against the Romans in 69 AD. His nomen shows that he (or one of his male ancestors) was made a Roman citizen (and thus, the tribe a Roman vassal) by either Augustus or Caligula. Earl ...

and returned to Britain as its governor. Because he probably succeeded

Caesius Nasica Caesius Nasica was a Roman military officer of the Roman Imperial army. He commanded Legio IX ''Hispana'' in Britain, and defeated the first revolt of Venutius of the Brigantes during the governorship of Aulus Didius Gallus (52 to 57).Tacitus, '' ...

as commander of Legio IX Hispana, and since brothers are often attested as serving in succession in the same post,

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 ...

suggests that Cerialis was the younger brother of Nasica, and had been

adopted Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

by Petillius Rufus, who was known as

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 ...

in AD 28. However, in his monograph of naming practices in the first centuries of the Roman Empire, Olli Salomies argues that Cerialis was actually the biological son of Petillius Rufus by a woman named Caesia, who may have been the daughter of a Caesius Cerialis, therefore Caesius Nasica would not have been his brother "but a close relative."

Boudican rebellion

His first important assignment was as legate of Legio IX Hispana (Ninth Iberian Legion) in the

Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...

Britannia Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Great ...

, under governor

Gaius Suetonius Paulinus Gaius Suetonius Paulinus (fl. AD 41–69) was a Roman general best known as the commander who defeated the rebellion of Boudica. Early life Little is known of Suetonius' family, but it likely came from Pisaurum (modern Pesaro), a town on the Adri ...

. In the defeat of the 60/61 rebellion led by Queen

of the

Iceni The Iceni ( , ) or Eceni were a Brittonic tribe of eastern Britain during the Iron Age and early Roman era. Their territory included present-day Norfolk and parts of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, and bordered the area of the Corieltauvi to the we ...

, Cerialis suffered a serious defeat when attempting to relieve the city of Camulodunum (

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

), which was taken by the Britons before he arrived. "The victorious enemy met Petilius Cerialis, commander of the ninth legion, as he was coming to the rescue, routed his troops, and destroyed all his infantry. Cerialis escaped with some cavalry into the camp, and was saved by its fortifications."

Civil war

As the son in law of

Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...

, being the husband of

Domitilla the Younger Flavia Domitilla the Younger or Flavia Domitilla Minor (c. 45 – c. 66) was the only daughter of the Roman Emperor Vespasian. Biography She was the child of Vespasian and his wife Domitilla the Elder. She was born after her brother Titus a ...

, Cerialis was made a hostage by Vitellius in 69, during the civil wars of the

Year of Four Emperors A year or annus is the orbital period of a planetary body, for example, the Earth, moving in its orbit around the Sun. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, marked by change in weather, the hour ...

. Cerialis managed to escape disguised as a peasant and joined the Flavian army. He was one of the cavalry leaders that conquered Rome for the approaching Vespasian. His role was to enter Rome via Sabine territory along the Via Salaria. This success and his brother-in-law's trust gave him the command of XIV ''Gemina'', then stationed in the difficult province of Germania Inferior. Again, Cerialis had to deal with a local revolt, the Batavian rebellion, in which the local tribes, led by

, a romanized prince, besieged two Roman legions at Xanten. Cerialis was again successful and received honours from Vespasian, which included his first

consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth coun ...

Later career

In 71, Cerialis was appointed

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 ...

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 ...

, bringing the II ''Adiutrix'' with him to the province. He was supported by

Gnaeus Julius Agricola Gnaeus Julius Agricola (; 13 June 40 – 23 August 93) was a Roman general and politician responsible for much of the Roman conquest of Britain. Born to a political family of senatorial rank, Agricola began his military career as a military tribun ...

, commander of XX ''Valeria Victrix''. As governor, Cerialis campaigned against the

Brigantes The Brigantes were Ancient Britons who in pre-Roman times controlled the largest section of what would become Northern England. Their territory, often referred to as Brigantia, was centred in what was later known as Yorkshire. The Greek geogr ...

of northern England. In 74, Cerialis left Britain; a military diploma dated 21 May 74 attests he was consul a second time, with

Titus Clodius Eprius Marcellus Titus Clodius Eprius Marcellus (died AD 79) was a Roman senator, twice consul, best known for his prosecution of the Stoic senator Thrasea Paetus and his bitter quarrel with Helvidius Priscus. Eprius was also notorious for his ability to ingr ...

as his colleague. According to the 1911 ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', "

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 ...

says that he was a bold soldier rather than a careful general, and preferred to stake everything on the issue of a single engagement. He possessed natural eloquence of a kind that readily appealed to his soldiers. His loyalty to his superiors was unshakable".

References

External links

Livius.org: Quintus Petillius Cerialis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petillius Cerialis, Quintus 30s births 1st-century Romans Year of birth uncertain Year of death missing Ancient Roman adoptees Ancient Roman generals Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome People of the Year of the Four Emperors Flavian dynasty Ancient Romans in Britain Cerialis, Quintus Roman governors of Britain Roman governors of Germania Inferior