Poenius Postumus was '' praefectus castrorum'' (camp prefect) of the

Roman legion The Roman legion ( la, legiō, ) was the largest military unit of the Roman army, composed of 5,200 infantry and 300 equites (cavalry) in the period of the Roman Republic (509 BC–27 BC) and of 5,600 infantry and 200 auxilia in the period of ...

II ''Augusta'', stationed in Britain during the rebellion of

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 ...

in 61 AD. In this position he would have been in charge of all administrative, training and equipment matters, and would also have been acting commander of the legion in the absence of its two most senior officers: the legate ('' legatus'') and the senior military tribune ('' tribunus laticlavius''). In the general area of

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

with his troops, Poenius Postumus ignored the call to join the

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 ...

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 putting down the rebellion. Hearing of the Roman defeat of Boudica, and having denied his troops a share in the glory, he fell on his sword. The II ''Augusta'' are known to have been based at Exeter in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

. The ''praefectus castrorum'' or camp prefect was normally promoted from the ranks, and was third-in-command of a legion's command structure. In this case, the decision whether to move the troops to help put down the rebellion fell to Postumus, implying that the

legate Legate may refer to: *Legatus, a higher ranking general officer of the Roman army drawn from among the senatorial class :*Legatus Augusti pro praetore, a provincial governor in the Roman Imperial period *A member of a legation *A representative, ...

and the senior

tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs acted as a check on the ...

were unavailable, probably acting as members of Suetonius Paulinus's staff during the campaign on the island of

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

, which preceded the revolt.Graham Webster (1978), ''Boudica: the British Revolt Against Rome AD 60'' p. 95

References

Ancient Romans in Britain 61 deaths Ancient Roman military personnel who committed suicide Year of birth unknown {{Europe-mil-bio-stub