Lucius Cornelius Pusio Annius Messala 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 ...

who replaced the emperor

Domitian Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Fl ...

as suffect consul from 13 January 90 to the end of February. He is also known by the shorter form of his name, Lucius Cornelius Pusio. A suffect consul with the same name has been attested for the reign of

Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Emp ...

, who was the colleague of

Plotius Pegasus (Lucius?) Plotius Pegasus was a Roman senator and jurisconsult active under the Flavian dynasty. He was suffect consul in an uncertain year, most likely 72 or 73, as the colleague of Lucius Cornelius Pusio Annius Messalla. Shortly after his ascen ...

. Until the existence of the suffect of the year 90 was proven, inscriptions mentioning the younger Pusio were thought to refer to the older, most notably one recovered from

Tibur Tivoli ( , ; la, Tibur) is a town and in Lazio, central Italy, north-east of Rome, at the falls of the Aniene river where it issues from the Sabine hills. The city offers a wide view over the Roman Campagna. History Gaius Julius Solin ...

. The relationship between the two men is not conclusively known, although the identical names strongly suggests the younger was the son of the older. An inscription from

Leptis Magna Leptis or Lepcis Magna, also known by other names in antiquity, was a prominent city of the Carthaginian Empire and Roman Libya at the mouth of the Wadi Lebda in the Mediterranean. Originally a 7th-centuryBC Phoenician foundation, it was great ...

attests to the existence of a Marcus Annius Messala as ''

legatus 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 officer ...

'', or assistant, to the

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 ' ...

ar governor 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 ...

, which has led to the theory that the older Pusio

adopted Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

Annius Messala, who then added the older man's name to his own. At the same time, a Marcus Annius Messala has been attested as suffect consul in 83, who may be the person mentioned in the African inscription. Another theory proposed by scholars such as

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 ...

explains the element "Annius Messala" as coming from the maternal side of the older Pusio's family.Syme
"Spaniards at Tivoli"
''Ancient Society'', 13/14 (1982/1983), pp. 242f; Olli Salomies, ''Adoptive and polyonymous nomenclature in the Roman Empire'', (Helsinki: Societas Scientiarum Fennica, 1992), p. 133 Syme also notes evidence of two possible relatives in Gades: an inscription by his slave attests to one Lucius Cornelius Pusio, while another to a Marcus Cornelius L.f. Pusio. The inscription from Tibur, created by Cornelia Sabina, a likely wife or daughter, provides notice of two offices the consul of 90 held: Pusio was a member of the ''

Septemviri epulonum The (Latin for "feasters"; sing. ''epulo'') arranged feasts and public banquets at festivals and games ''(ludi)''. They constituted one of the four great religious corporations (''quattuor amplissima collegia'') of ancient Roman priests. Estab ...

'', one of the four most prestigious Roman priesthoods, responsible for arranging feasts and public banquets at

festivals A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival ...

and games (''

ludi ''Ludi'' ( Latin plural) were public games held for the benefit and entertainment of the Roman people (''populus Romanus''). ''Ludi'' were held in conjunction with, or sometimes as the major feature of, Roman religious festivals, and were also ...

''); and he was also governor of Africa, likely in the year 103/104.

Werner Eck Werner Eck (born 17 December 1939) is Professor of Ancient History at Cologne University, Germany, and a noted expert on the history and epigraphy of imperial Rome.Eck, W. (2007) ''The Age of Augustus''. 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell, cover notes. Hi ...

, "Jahres- und Provinzialfasten der senatorischen Statthalter von 69/70 bis 138/139", ''

Chiron In Greek mythology, Chiron ( ; also Cheiron or Kheiron; ) was held to be the superlative centaur amongst his brethren since he was called the "wisest and justest of all the centaurs". Biography Chiron was notable throughout Greek mythology ...

'', 12 (1982), p. 339 Lucius Cornelius Pusio is mentioned in one other inscription, the '' Testamentum Dasumii'', indicating he was still alive in the Summer of 108.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornelius Pusio Annius Messala, Lucius 1st-century Romans Pusio Annius Messala (90) Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome Roman governors of Africa Epulones of the Roman Empire