Cossus Cornelius Lentulus Gaetulicus 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 lett ...

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 ...

and general, who was

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

in 1 BC with Lucius Calpurnius Piso the Augur as his colleague. Originally born Cossus Cornelius Lentulus, Gaetulicus was a member of the patrician Lentulus branch of the Cornelii clan. Despite giving the appearance of laziness,Syme, pg. 436 he was given a number of important commands. After serving as consul in 1 BC alongside Lucius Calpurnius Piso, he was elected

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 ...

in 6 AD. Whilst there, he fought a successful campaign against the

Gaetuli Gaetuli was the Romanised name of an ancient Berber tribe inhabiting ''Getulia''. The latter district covered the large desert region south of the Atlas Mountains, bordering the Sahara. Other documents place Gaetulia in pre-Roman times along the ...

, which earned him the ''

agnomen An ''agnomen'' (; plural: ''agnomina''), in the Roman naming convention, was a nickname, just as the '' cognomen'' was initially. However, the ''cognomina'' eventually became family names, so ''agnomina'' were needed to distinguish between sim ...

'' Gaetulicus.Smith, p. 430 One of the few individuals trusted by the

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

, he was sent to

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located in the territory that is now west ...

in 14 AD to accompany Tiberius' son

Drusus Drusus may refer to: * Claudius (Tiberius Claudius Drusus) (10 BC–AD 54), Roman emperor from 41 to 54 * Drusus Caesar (AD 8–33), adoptive grandson of Roman emperor Tiberius * Drusus Julius Caesar (14 BC–AD 23), son of Roman emperor Tiberius ...

in putting down a mutiny of the legions there. Later, he was given the post of

praefectus urbi The ''praefectus urbanus'', also called ''praefectus urbi'' or urban prefect in English, was prefect of the city of Rome, and later also of Constantinople. The office originated under the Roman kings, continued during the Republic and Empire, a ...

in 33 AD, holding it for a number of years prior to his death. Gaetulicus had at least two sons, Cossus Cornelius Lentulus and Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Gaetulicus, consuls in 25 and 26 AD respectively.Syme, p. 437

Sources

* Syme, Ronald, ''The Roman Revolution'', Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1939. * Smith, William, ''A New Classical Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1860)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornelius Lentulus Gaetulicus, Cossus Imperial Roman consuls Roman governors of Africa 1st-century BC Romans Gaetulicus, Cossus Roman patricians