Lucius Salvius Otho was the father of the Roman emperor

Otho Marcus Otho (; born Marcus Salvius Otho; 28 April 32 – 16 April 69) was the seventh Roman emperor, ruling for three months from 15 January to 16 April 69. He was the second emperor of the Year of the Four Emperors. A member of a noble Etru ...

. He was born of a distinguished and well-connected family on his mother's side. His close friendship with

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 ...

, and physical similarity to him, led to rumours that he was Tiberius's son.

Biography

Early life

Lucius was the son of a Marcus Salvius Otho, whose father was an

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities ** Etrusca ...

. Marcus had been raised in empress

Livia Livia Drusilla (30 January 59 BC – 28 September AD 29) was a Roman empress from 27 BC to AD 14 as the wife of Roman emperor, Emperor Augustus Caesar. She was known as Julia Augusta after her formal Adoption in ancient Rome, adoption into the J ...

's home. His mother's identity is unknown, although she is described as having been well connected. The appearance of the name "Titianus" in his family has led to speculation that she may have been from the gens Titia. Potentially a daughter of

Marcus Titius Marcus Titius was a Roman politician ( suffect consul in 31 BC) and commander at the end of the Roman Republic. Descent and proscription Marcus Titius was the son of a Lucius Titius and nephew of Lucius Munatius Plancus. The offices which Lucius ...

and his wife Fabia Paullina, but possibly his sister or niece instead. A Titia L. f. is known from inscription to have been the wife of a Salvius. This woman died young in 23 BC. It is not certain if this woman was Otho's mother or possibly grandmother. Regardless, Lucius was widely assumed to be emperor

's illegitimate son, due to the excessive affection Tiberius bestowed on him, as well as a strong physical resemblance. This was a double edged sword for his children as it made them related to the

Julio-Claudians , native_name_lang=Latin, coat of arms=Great_Cameo_of_France-removebg.png, image_size=260px, caption= The Great Cameo of France depicting emperors Augustus, Tiberius, Claudius and Nero, type=Ancient Roman dynasty, country= Roman Empire, estates=* ...

, but also connected them to Tiberius, who was unpopular with the people of Rome.

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 ...

thought Lucius might have been born as late as

6 BC __NOTOC__ Year 6 BC was a common year starting on Sunday or Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar (the sources differ, see leap year error for further information) and a common year starting on Friday of the Prolept ...

, but possibly earlier, if Titia L. f was his mother then he would have to have been born in 23 BC at the latest. Tiberius would have been around 19 at this time.

Career

Lucius was renowned for the severity of his command in the regular offices at Rome, 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 ' ...

ate of Africa, and several special military commands. He was made

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 ...

''suffectus'' in July 33 AD. In Illyricum, in 42, some soldiers supported a rebellion against

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...

by Illyricum's governor,

Lucius Arruntius Camillus Scribonianus Lucius Arruntius Camillus Scribonianus was a Roman senator, who was active during the reign of Tiberius. He was consul in AD 32. Ten years later, he revolted against the emperor Claudius, but was swiftly defeated.''PIR'', vol. I, p. 145. Family Bo ...

. Afterwards, they tried to cover the revolt up by killing their officers, who were the revolt's ringleaders. Claudius promoted them for doing so, but Lucius had them executed in his presence in the principia for killing their officers. He rebuilt his reputation at court by forcing the slaves of an unnamed

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

to betray their master's plot to kill the emperor. As a result, the Senate set up his statue in the palace, and Claudius enrolled him among the

patricians The patricians (from la, patricius, Greek: πατρίκιος) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after ...

, praising him in the highest terms and calling him "a man of greater loyalty than I can even pray for in my own children".

Marriage and issue

Lucius is known to have had two sons and at least one daughter. *A daughter Salvia (possibly born around 12 AD), whom he betrothed to Tiberius' adoptive grandson and great-nephew

Drusus Caesar Drusus Julius Caesar (c. AD 8 – 33) was the adopted grandson and heir of the Roman emperor Tiberius, alongside his brother Nero. Born into the prominent Julio-Claudian dynasty, Drusus was the son of Tiberius' general and heir, Germanicus. Af ...

at a very young age. It has been speculated that the marriage did not end up happeing because this girl died young, but this is not certain, it is possible the engagement was simply broken off due to politics within the Julio-Claudian family (such as rising tensions between Tiberius and

Agrippina the Elder Agrippina "the Elder" (also, in Latin, , "Germanicus's Agrippina"; – AD 33) was a prominent member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. She was the daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (a close supporter of the first Roman emperor, Augustus) and ...

). In ''

De vita Caesarum ''De vita Caesarum'' (Latin; "About the Life of the Caesars"), commonly known as ''The Twelve Caesars'', is a set of twelve biographies of Julius Caesar and the first 11 emperors of the Roman Empire written by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus. The g ...

Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; c. AD 69 – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is a set of biographies ...

states that on the day of his suicide emperor Otho wrote a letter of condolences to a sister. *

Lucius Salvius Otho Titianus Lucius Salvius Otho Titianus was the elder brother of the Roman Emperor Otho (reigned 69 AD). As a Roman senator, he was consul in the year 52 as the colleague of Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix, and appointed consul as his brother's colleague for ...

, consul in 52 *Emperor

claims that Lucius wife

Albia Terentia Albia may refer to: * Albia gens, an ancient Roman family * Albia Terentia, mother of Roman emperor Otho * Albia Dominica, wife of Roman emperor Valens * Albia, a medieval name for the river Elbe * Albia, Iowa Albia is a city in and the county ...

was the mother of both of his sons, but the age difference between his older son Titianus and the emperor Otho has prompted some historians such as

and Charles Murison to doubt the plausibility of this and speculate that Titianus and Drusus's fiancée may have been the children of an earlier wife.

Notes

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salvius Otho, Lucius 1st-century Roman consuls Otho, Lucius Family of Otho