Lucius Hedius Rufus Lollianus Avitus (fl. 2nd century) 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 ...

and military officer. He 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 throug ...

in the year 144 as the colleague of

Titus Statilius Maximus Titus Statilius Maximus was a Roman senator of the 2nd century AD. He was consul in the year 144 as the colleague of Lucius Hedius Rufus Lollianus Avitus. He is known entirely from inscriptions. Maximus was descended from a wealthy Syrian famil ...

Biography

Rufus Lollianus was a member of the ''gens Hedia Lolliana'', which probably originated from the region of

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

. He was the son of Lucius (Hedius Rufus) Lollianus Avitus, who was appointed suffect consul in AD 114. A noted orator, he was elected to the office of

in AD 144 alongside

. This was followed by his appointment as '' curator operum publicorum'' (or curator of public works) in 146. Probably around AD 157/8 Rufus Lollianus was appointed 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 ' ...

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

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 ...

; his ''legatus proconsularis'' was Gaius Vibius Gallio Claudius Severus. During his next appointment as ''

Legatus Augusti pro praetore A ''legatus Augusti pro praetore'' (literally: "envoy of the emperor – acting for the praetor") was the official title of the governor or general of some Imperial provincess of the Roman Empire during the Principate era, normally the larger ones ...

'' (or imperial governor) of

Bithynia et Pontus Bithynia and Pontus ( la, Provincia Bithynia et Pontus, Ancient Greek ) was the name of a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire on the Black Sea coast of Anatolia (modern-day Turkey). It was formed during the late Roman Republic by the ama ...

in 159, he was confronted by

Lucian Lucian of Samosata, '; la, Lucianus Samosatensis ( 125 – after 180) was a Hellenized Syrian satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer Pamphleteer is a historical term for someone who creates or distributes pamphlets, unbound (and therefore ...

about prosecuting

Alexander of Abonoteichus Alexander of Abonoteichus ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Ἀβωνοτειχίτης ''Aléxandros ho Abōnoteichítēs''), also called Alexander the Paphlagonian ( CE), was a Greek mystic and oracle, and the founder of the Glycon cult that bri ...

; Rufus Lollianus demurred, claiming not only was Lucian's case weak, but that Alexander's patron,

Publius Mummius Sisenna Rutilianus Publius Mummius Sisenna Rutilianus was a Roman senator of the second century AD. He is best known from Lucian's vivid portrayal of him in ''Alexander vel Pseudomantis'', where the senator is described as "a man of good family and tested in many Rom ...

, was too influential to overcome.Lucian, ''Alexander vel Pseudomantis'', 57 Around AD 162, he was assigned a special task when the

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

Lucius Aurelius Verus left for the Parthian campaign. Rufus Lollianus was a '' patronus'' of Helvius Successus, the father of the future emperor

Pertinax Publius Helvius Pertinax (; 1 August 126 – 28 March 193) was Roman emperor for the first three months of 193. He succeeded Commodus to become the first emperor during the tumultuous Year of the Five Emperors. Born the son of a freed slave ...

. He was also an ''amicus'' of

Marcus Cornelius Fronto Marcus Cornelius Fronto (c. 100late 160s AD), best known as Fronto, was a Roman grammarian, rhetorician, and advocate. Of Berber origin, he was born at Cirta (modern-day Constantine, Algeria) in Numidia. He was suffect consul for the ''nundinium' ...

. Rufus Lollianus married a daughter of

Decimus Terentius Gentianus Decimus Terentius Gentianus was a Roman senator of the 2nd century AD who held a number of offices in the imperial service, as well as gentianus with Lucius Co ..as his colleague. His origins may be in Gallia Narbonensis, and Gentianus may have bee ...

, suffect consul of AD 116, and they had at least two children:

Quintus Hedius Rufus Lollianus Gentianus Quintus Hedius Rufus Lollianus Gentianus (fl. 2nd century) was a Roman military officer and senator who was appointed ''consul suffectus'' in around AD 186–188. Life Rufus Lollianus was a member of the ''gens Hedia Lolliana'' which probably origi ...

, suffect consul around AD 186–188; and

Lucius Hedius Rufus Lollianus 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 L ...

, suffect consul before AD 193.

Sources

* Mennen, Inge, ''Power and Status in the Roman Empire, AD 193-284'' (2011)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hedius Rufus Lollianus Avitus, Lucius (consul 897 AUC) 2nd-century Romans Rufus Lollianus Avitus (consul 144), Lucius Hedius Imperial Roman consuls Roman governors of Africa Roman governors of Bithynia and Pontus Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown