Lucius Duvius Avitus 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 held several offices in the emperor's service. 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 the ''

nundinium Nundinium was a Latin word derived from the word '' nundinum'', which referred to the cycle of days observed by the Romans. During the Roman Empire, ''nundinium'' came to mean the duration of a single consulship among several in a calendar year. S ...

'' of November to December 56 with

Publius Clodius Thrasea Paetus Publius Clodius Thrasea Paetus (died AD 66), Roman senator, who lived in the 1st century AD. Notable for his principled opposition to the emperor Nero and his interest in Stoicism, he was the husband of Arria, who was the daughter of A. Caecina ...

as his colleague. Avitus is the only known member of his family known to have held the consulship. Prior to becoming consul, Avitus is known to have been governor of the imperial province of

Gallia Aquitania Gallia Aquitania ( , ), also known as Aquitaine or Aquitaine Gaul, was a province of the Roman Empire. It lies in present-day southwest France, where it gives its name to the modern region of Aquitaine. It was bordered by the provinces of Gallia ...

, in an unknown year. However, his tenure as governor of

Germania Inferior Germania Inferior ("Lower Germania") was a Roman province from AD 85 until the province was renamed Germania Secunda in the fourth century, on the west bank of the Rhine bordering the North Sea. The capital of the province was Colonia Agrippin ...

is better known, which he held from 58 to the year 60.

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

records his military activities in the year 58. After the

Frisii The Frisii were an ancient Germanic tribe living in the low-lying region between the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and the River Ems, and the presumed or possible ancestors of the modern-day ethnic Dutch. The Frisii lived in the coastal area ...

unsuccessfully attempted to migrate into the province and settle on some uninhabited lands, the

Ampsivarii The Ampsivarii, sometimes referenced by modern writers as Ampsivari (a simplification not warranted by the sources), were a Germanic tribe mentioned by ancient authors. Their homeland was originally around the middle of the river Ems, which fl ...

, one of the

Germanic tribes The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and ear ...

, likewise attempted to relocate there. Avitus' official response was to command them to submit to Roman rule; unofficially he told their king Boiocalus, an old personal friend, that he was willing to cede to them the lands to live on. However, the Ampsivarii took offense to this response, and called to their old allies to aid them to invade Germania Inferior. Avitus responded to this threat by writing to

Titus Curtilius Mancia Titus Curtilius Mancia was a Roman senator, who held several offices in the emperor's service during the middle of the first century. He was suffect consul in the ''nundinium'' of November to December 55 as the colleague of Gnaeus Cornelius Lentul ...

, governor of

Germania Superior Germania Superior ("Upper Germania") was an imperial province of the Roman Empire. It comprised an area of today's western Switzerland, the French Jura and Alsace regions, and southwestern Germany. Important cities were Besançon ('' Vesontio' ...

, and asking him to campaign on the further side of the Rhine. This demonstration of force cowed the allies Boiocalus had called on, and the Ampsivarii were forced to retreat to the lands of the

Usipii The Usipetes or Usipii (in Plutarch's Greek, Ousipai, and possibly the same as the Ouispoi of Claudius Ptolemy) were an ancient tribe who moved into the area on the right bank (the northern or eastern bank) of the lower Rhine in the first century B ...

and the

Tubantes The Tubantes were a Germanic tribe, living in the eastern part of the Netherlands, north of the Rhine river. They are often equated to the ''Tuihanti'', who are known from two inscriptions found near Hadrian's Wall. The modern name Twente derives f ...

. These tribes did not provide them shelter for long, and the Ampsivarii were forced to seek shelter from other peoples. Tacitus relates that "after long wanderings, as destitute outcasts, received now as friends now as foes, their entire youth were slain in a strange land, and who could not fight were apportioned as booty."Tacitus, ''

Annales Annals are a concise form of historical writing which record events chronologically, year by year. The equivalent word in Latin and French is ''annales'', which is used untranslated in English in various contexts. List of works with titles contai ...

'', XIII.54-56

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duvius Avitus, Lucius 1st-century Romans Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome Roman governors of Gallia Aquitania Roman governors of Germania Inferior