Publius Metilius Nepos (c. 45 – 127 AD) 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 ...

during the late 1st century. He is known to have been

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 September to December 91, and 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 ...

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 ...

by the Emperor

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 ...

before his death, and held the post until 98. While governor, he may have founded the

colonies In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...

of ''Colonia Domitiana Lindensium'' (

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln ...

) and ''Colonia Nervia Glevensium'' (

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

). Further details about Nepos are more difficult about which to be confident. The inscriptions of the

Frater Arvale In ancient Roman religion, the Arval Brethren ( la, Fratres Arvales, "Brothers of the Fields") or Arval Brothers were a body of priests who offered annual sacrifices to the Lares and gods to guarantee good harvests. Inscriptions provide eviden ...

record a Publius Metilius Sabinus Nepos as one of their brotherhood who attended their meetings in the years 105, 110, and 111, who had died by 26 February 118 when a successor was co-opted in his place.Birley, ''Fasti'', p. 84 On the other hand, a papyrus from

Roman Egypt , conventional_long_name = Roman Egypt , common_name = Egypt , subdivision = Province , nation = the Roman Empire , era = Late antiquity , capital = Alexandria , title_leader = Praefectus Augustalis , image_map = Roman E ...

records the joint consulate of P. Metilius Nepos II and

Marcus Annius Libo Marcus Annius Libo was a Roman Senator active in the early second century AD. Life Libo came from the upper ranks of the Roman aristocracy. He was the son of Marcus Annius Verus, consul III in 126, and Rupilia Faustina. Annius Verus was Spanish ...

for 128; apparently Nepos died in late 127, and his term assigned to another person. Some assistance is provided by the presence of a "Metilius" -- who could be Publius Metilius Nepos or Publius Metilius Sabinus Nepos -- as suffect consul in 103. It is likely we have two consular senators with similar names: one died before February 118, the other in late 127.

Pliny the Younger Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo (61 – c. 113), better known as Pliny the Younger (), was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and educate ...

addressed several letters to a Nepos, and at least one more to a Sabinus. It is not yet possible to determine which Nepos Pliny was writing to, nor even be assured he was writing to either of these Metilii Nepotes. The question of children and descendants is an open one. On one hand there is a Publius Metilius P.f. Secundus, suffect consul in 123, who could be the son of either Metilii Nepotes; on the other, Anthony Birley notes there are two polyonymous senators of the next generation whose names are part of their nomenclature:

Marcus Sedatius Severianus Marcus Sedatius Severianus (105–161 or 162) was a Roman senator, suffect consul, and general during the 2nd century AD, originally from Gaul. Severianus was a provincial governor and later a provincial consul. The peak of his career was as suffe ...

, consul in 153, and

Marcus Metilius Aquillius Regulus Marcus Metilius Aquillius Regulus (his recorded full name is Marcus Metilius Aquillius Regulus Nepos Volusius Torquatus Fronto) was a Roman Empire, Roman Roman senate, senator of the second century AD. A member of the patrician (ancient Rome), patr ...

, consul in 157.Birley, ''Fasti'', p. 85 The solution awaits further information.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Metilius Nepos, Publius 40s births Year of birth uncertain 127 deaths Roman governors of Britain Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome Roman consuls designate 1st-century Romans 2nd-century Romans Nepos, Publius