Quintus Junius Blaesus (died AD 31) 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 ...

novus homo ''Novus homo'' or ''homo novus'' ( Latin for 'new man'; ''novi homines'' or ''homines novi'') was the term in ancient Rome for a man who was the first in his family to serve in the Roman Senate or, more specifically, to be elected as consul. W ...

'' ("new man," that is, the first member of his family to gain entrance to the Roman nobility) who lived during the reigns of

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 Pr ...

and

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 the maternal uncle of

Lucius Aelius Sejanus Lucius Aelius Sejanus (c. 20 BC – 18 October AD 31), commonly known as Sejanus (), was a Roman soldier, friend and confidant of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. Of the Equites class by birth, Sejanus rose to power as prefect of the Praetorian ...

, the

Praetorian Prefect The praetorian prefect ( la, praefectus praetorio, el, ) was a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders be ...

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 ( ...

Career

Almost nothing is known of the career of Quintus Junius Blaesus prior to AD 10, when he served as suffect consul with Servius Cornelius Lentulus Maluginensis. The exception is a lead ingot attesting he was proconsul of

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

; the date of his office can be dated no closer than the long reign of

. Blaesus subsequently appears as commander of the armies stationed in

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 ...

when a mutiny broke out after the death of Augustus in the year 14. According to

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

, after military service in the

Great Illyrian Revolt The (Latin for 'War of the Batos') was a military conflict fought in the Roman province of Illyricum in the 1st century AD, in which an alliance of native peoples of the two regions of Illyricum, Dalmatia and Pannonia, revolted against the Roma ...

, soldiers were unhappy with their payment of swampy and mountainous Pannonian lands and demanded restitution. To ease tensions, Blaesus offered to commit suicide, but his request was ignored. According to the Roman historian

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

, the soldiers arrested and tortured his slaves, and then attempted to kill Blaesus. However, he managed to restore order temporarily by convincing them to send envoys to the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...

. In response, Tiberius sent his 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 ...

to put down the rebellion, accompanied by Sejanus and two Praetorian cohorts. Blaesus' next post was that of proconsul of

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 21 to 23. He was helped to achieve this office due to his nephew,

Sejanus Lucius Aelius Sejanus (c. 20 BC – 18 October AD 31), commonly known as Sejanus (), was a Roman soldier, friend and confidant of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. Of the Equites class by birth, Sejanus rose to power as prefect of the Praetorian ...

, insofar as their relationship convinced the other possible choice, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, to withdraw from contention. During his time as governor in Africa, Blaesus was successful in defeating a revolt by the Roman-born

Musulamii The Musulamii were a confederation of the Berber Gaetulian tribes, who inhabited the desert regions of what is today known as Chotts Regions in Tunisia and Algeria, as well as the Roman province of Mauretania Caesariensis, which was annexed to the ...

warlord Tacfarinas, a victory for which he earned triumphal honors. Blaesus' career came to an end in the year 31, when his nephew Sejanus was accused of treason and executed by order of Tiberius. Blaesus was put on trial as one of his associates. Instead of awaiting execution, he chose to commit suicide.

Marriage and family

The identity of the wife of Quintus Junius Blaesus is not known, nor is the date of their marriage. However, Blaesus is known to have had at least two children, both sons, each of whom became consul in his own right:

Quintus Junius Blaesus Quintus Junius Blaesus (died AD 31) was a Roman ''novus homo'' ("new man," that is, the first member of his family to gain entrance to the Roman nobility) who lived during the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius. He was the maternal uncle of Lucius A ...

(suffect consul 26) and

Lucius Junius Blaesus Lucius ( el, Λούκιος ''Loukios''; ett, Luvcie) is a male given name derived from ''Lucius'' (abbreviated ''L.''), one of the small group of common Latin forenames (''praenomina'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius derives from ...

(suffect consul 28). These sons both committed suicide in 36, when Tiberius transferred to others the priesthoods that had previously been promised to the Blaesi during their family's ascendance. The last known descendant of this Quintus Junius Blaesus was a grandson (or great-grandson), Junius Blaesus the governor of Gallia Lugdunensis, who was murdered in the year 69 by

Vitellius Aulus Vitellius (; ; 24 September 1520 December 69) was Roman emperor for eight months, from 19 April to 20 December AD 69. Vitellius was proclaimed emperor following the quick succession of the previous emperors Galba and Otho, in a year of ci ...

.Tacitus, ''Histories'' II.38.3.

Footnotes

References

* Syme, Ronald; ''Augustan Aristocracy'' (Oxford University Press, 1989). , * Tacitus, ''Annals'' * Tacitus, ''Histories'' * Cassius Dio, ''Roman History''

External links

* Tacitus, ''Annals'' Book 3, chapters 72 and 73, English translation
Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'', Book 57, Chapter 4
English translation {{DEFAULTSORT:Junius Blaesus, Quintus Junii Roman governors of Sicily Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome Ancient Roman proconsuls Roman governors of Africa 31 deaths 1st-century Romans Ancient Roman generals Ancient Romans who committed suicide Year of birth unknown

Career

Marriage and family

See also

Footnotes

References

External links