Publius Cornelius Lentulus Scipio 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 ...

active during the reign of 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 ...

. He was suffect consul for the second half of AD 2 with

Titus Quinctius Crispinus Valerianus Titus Quinctius Crispinus Valerianus was a Roman senator, who was active during the reign of Augustus. He was suffect consul in the second half of AD 2 as the colleague of Publius Cornelius Lentulus Scipio. Crispinus Valerianus was of Patrician de ...

as his colleague. He was the earliest member of the

Cornelii The gens Cornelia was one of the greatest patrician houses at ancient Rome. For more than seven hundred years, from the early decades of the Republic to the third century AD, the Cornelii produced more eminent statesmen and generals than any othe ...

gens to combine the name of the two most famous branches of that family, the Lentuli and the Scipiones, in his own name. The fact that another member of the Cornelii Lentuli revived the name of one of its famous but extinct branches, the Maliginensis, in his own name, namely

Servius Cornelius Lentulus Maluginensis Servius Cornelius Lentulus Maluginensis (died AD 23) was a Roman statesman, who flourished during the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius. He was '' flamen dialis'', and consul ''suffectus'' in AD 10. Descent Descended from the patrician Cornelia g ...

, consul in the year 10, has led a number of experts to believe the two were brothers. That the filiation of each indicates both were the son of a Gnaeus and grandson of a Gnaeus strengthens this theory.

Ronald Syme Sir Ronald Syme, (11 March 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a New Zealand-born historian and classicist. He was regarded as the greatest historian of ancient Rome since Theodor Mommsen and the most brilliant exponent of the history of the Roman ...

acquiesced to this identification "until something better comes along." The identity of this Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus is uncertain: Syme suggests he could be Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus "the admiral", or he could be Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus,

quaestor A ( , , ; "investigator") was a public official in Ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officials who ...

Caesaris shortly after the

Battle of Actium The Battle of Actium was a naval battle fought between a maritime fleet of Octavian led by Marcus Agrippa and the combined fleets of both Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII Philopator. The battle took place on 2 September 31 BC in the Ionian Sea, nea ...

, but concludes that "little profit will accrue from further speculation in those territories." The latter Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus is sometimes identified with

Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Augur Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus "Augur" (c. 54 BC – 25 AD) was a politician and general of the early Roman Empire during the reign of Augustus, who became consul in 14 BC as the colleague of Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi. Enormously wealthy, he reputed ...

. Little is known of this consul, all of which relates to his descendants. Syme identifies his son as

Publius Cornelius Lentulus Scipio Publius Cornelius Lentulus Scipio (c. 15 BC52 AD) was a Roman senator active during the Principate. He was suffect consul in the '' nundinium'' of July-December AD 24, as the colleague of Gaius Calpurnius Aviola. His name combines the two most fam ...

, consul in 24.Syme, ''Augustan Aristocracy'', pp. 296f

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornelius Lentulus Scipio, Publius (02) 1st-century BC Romans 1st-century Romans Senators of the Roman Empire Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Scipio