Gaius Calpurnius Flaccus 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 lette ...

senator of the second century. He was attested suffect consul with Lucius Trebius Germanus as his colleague on 15 December of an undetermined year between 122 and 127. Both Flaccus and Germanus are primarily known from inscriptions.

Géza Alföldy Géza Alföldy (June 7, 1935 – November 6, 2011) was a Hungarian historian of ancient history. Life Géza Alföldy was born in Budapest. He studied at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Budapest from 1953 to 1958, where he i ...

has suggested that Flaccus might be the son of a Calpurnius Flaccus, to whom Pliny the Younger wrote a short and chatty letter. Alföldy identified the son with another Gaius Calpurnius Flaccus, known from an inscription, who was ''flamen provinciae Hispaniae'' about the time of Hadrian's visit to

Tarraco Tarraco is the ancient name of the current city of Tarragona (Catalonia, Spain). It was the oldest Roman settlement on the Iberian Peninsula. It became the capital of the Roman province of Hispania Citerior during the period of the Roman Republi ...

.Alföldy, cited in Anthony Birley, ''Fasti of Roman Britain'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1981), p. 237 The ''

cursus honorum The ''cursus honorum'' (; , or more colloquially 'ladder of offices') was the sequential order of public offices held by aspiring politicians in the Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire. It was designed for men of senatorial rank. The '' ...

'' of Flaccus is imperfectly known from an inscription from Salamis. His first known office was as ''

legatus legionis A ''legatus'' (; anglicised as legate) was a high-ranking Roman military officer in the Roman Army, equivalent to a modern high-ranking general officer. Initially used to delegate power, the term became formalised under Augustus as the office ...

'' or commander of a

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 o ...

in the Rhine provinces with "Augustus" in its name; Alföldy argues that Flaccus was ''legatus'' more likely of

Legio II Augusta Legio II Augusta ( Second Legion "Augustus'") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army that was founded during the late Roman republic. Its emblems were the Capricornus, Pegasus, and Mars. It may have taken the name "''Augusta''" from a victory ...

than

Legio VIII Augusta Legio VIII Augusta ("Augustus' Eighth Legion") was one of the oldest legions of the Imperial Roman army. In republican service They were ordered to Cisalpine Gaul around 58 BC by Julius Caesar and marched with him throughout the entirety of t ...

, since no legates of the second unit are known to have gone on to govern provinces after the

Flavian dynasty The Flavian dynasty ruled the Roman Empire between AD 69 and 96, encompassing the reigns of Vespasian (69–79), and his two sons Titus (79–81) and Domitian (81–96). The Flavians rose to power during the civil war of 69, known ...

. Next Flaccus was governor of a province whose name begins with the letters "Lu" -- either Lusitania or

Gallia Lugdunensis Gallia Lugdunensis (French: ''Gaule Lyonnaise'') was a province of the Roman Empire in what is now the modern country of France, part of the Celtic territory of Gaul formerly known as Celtica. It is named after its capital Lugdunum (today's Lyon) ...

-- from the year 119 to 121. This was followed a few years later as governor of

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

in 122/123, after which he acceded to the consulate.Eck, "Jahres- und Provinzialfasten", p. 157 Flaccus' life is unrecorded after his consulate.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Calpurnius Flaccus, Gaius 2nd-century Romans Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome Roman governors of Gallia Lugdunensis Roman governors of Lusitania Roman governors of Cyprus

Flaccus Flaccus was a composer from the 2nd century BC, of whom little is known. He was either a freedman or a slave of one of Terence's patrons and wrote musical scores for Terence's comedies (playing or composing music was no occupation for a free cit ...