Quintus Marcius Barea Soranus 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 ...

who lived in the first half of the first century AD.

Life

He was a member of the gens Marcia, which claimed descent from

Ancus Marcius Ancus Marcius was the legendary fourth king of Rome, who traditionally reigned 24 years. Upon the death of the previous king, Tullus Hostilius, the Roman Senate appointed an interrex, who in turn called a session of the assembly of the people who ...

, the third king of Rome. He was

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 34 with

Titus Rustius Nummius Gallus The gens Nummia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens appear almost exclusively under the Empire. During the third century, they frequently obtained the highest offices of the Roman state.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biog ...

, and

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ' ...

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 ...

from 41 to 43. An inscription found in

Hippo Regius Hippo Regius (also known as Hippo or Hippone) is the ancient name of the modern city of Annaba, Algeria. It historically served as an important city for the Phoenicians, Berbers, Romans, and Vandals. Hippo was the capital city of the Vandal King ...

provides information about Soranus. His filiation in this inscription attests that his father's

praenomen The ''praenomen'' (; plural: ''praenomina'') was a personal name chosen by the parents of a Roman child. It was first bestowed on the ''dies lustricus'' (day of lustration), the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the bi ...

was Gaius. Soranus was one of the ''

quindecimviri sacris faciundis In ancient Rome, the were the fifteen () members of a college (''collegium'') with priestly duties. They guarded the Sibylline Books, scriptures which they consulted and interpreted at the request of the Senate. This ''collegium'' also oversaw t ...

'', the ''

collegium A (plural ), or college, was any association in ancient Rome that acted as a legal entity. Following the passage of the ''Lex Julia'' during the reign of Julius Caesar as Consul and Dictator of the Roman Republic (49–44 BC), and their reaff ...

'' of Roman priests entrusted with the care of the Sibylline oracles, as well as having been appointed a ''

fetial A fetial (; la, fētiālis , . la, fētiālēs, label=none) was a type of priest in ancient Rome. They formed a ''collegium'' devoted to Jupiter as the patron of good faith. The duties of the fetials included advising the Senate on foreign affa ...

''. Other inscriptions recovered from the former province attest to his influence there: Soranus enfranchised a number of Africans, who afterwards used his

gentilicium The (or simply ) was a hereditary name borne by the peoples of Roman Italy and later by the citizens of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. It was originally the name of one's (family or clan) by patrilineal descent. However, as Rome expande ...

"Marcius" as their own.Lepcis Magna: Romanization
/ref>

Family

Soranus is known to have two sons:

Quintus Marcius Barea Soranus Quintus Marcius Barea Soranus was a Roman Senate, Roman senator who lived in the reign of Nero. He was Roman consul, suffect consul in 52, but later attracted the hatred of Nero, and upon being condemned to death committed suicide. He was associa ...

, suffect consul of 52; and

Quintus Marcius Barea Sura Quintus Marcius Barea Sura was a Roman Senator of the first century AD. Life Sura was the son of the suffect consul Quintus Marcius Barea Soranus; his brother was the suffect consul Quintus Marcius Barea Soranus. He was the father of Marcia Fu ...

, the grandfather of

Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marcius Barea Soranus, Quintus Senators of the Roman Empire Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome Roman governors of Africa 1st-century Romans

Barea Soranus Quintus Marcius Barea Soranus was a Roman senator who lived in the reign of Nero. He was suffect consul in 52, but later attracted the hatred of Nero, and upon being condemned to death committed suicide. He was associated with a group of Stoics ...