Lucius Valerius Messalla Thrasea Priscus (died c. 212) 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 ...

active during the reigns of

Commodus Commodus (; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was a Roman emperor who ruled from 177 to 192. He served jointly with his father Marcus Aurelius from 176 until the latter's death in 180, and thereafter he reigned alone until his assassination. ...

and

Septimus Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary succe ...

Life

Thrasea Priscus was a member of the second century

gens Valeria The gens Valeria was a patrician (ancient Rome), patrician family at ancient Rome, prominent from the very beginning of the Roman Republic, Republic to the latest period of the Roman Empire, Empire. Publius Valerius Poplicola was one of the Ro ...

. It is possible he was the son of

Lucius Vipstanus Poplicola Messalla Lucius Vipstanus Poplicola Messalla was a patrician senator. Life He was the son of Lucius Vipstanus Messalla, ordinary consul in 115. The presence of the ''cognomina'' "Popicola" and "Messalla" indicates that he was related to the Valerii throu ...

, who may have been a '' praetor designatus'' but died before he acceded to the consulate, by his wife Helvidia Priscilla. If so, Thrasea Priscus altered his ''gentilicum'' to reflect his descent through the Vipstani from the republican Valerii. He was appointed

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 196 as the colleague of

Gaius Domitius Dexter Gaius Domitius Dexter (fl. 2nd century) was a Roman senator who was appointed consul twice: firstly as suffect consul prior to AD 183, and secondly as ordinary consul in AD 196 with Lucius Valerius Messalla Thrasea Priscus as his colleague. Biogr ...

. After stepping down from the consulate, Thrasea Priscus may have held the office of ''

curator aquarum The ''Curator Aquarum'' was a Roman official responsible for managing Rome's water supply and distributing free grain. Curators were appointed by the emperor. The first curator was Agrippa. Another notable ''Curator Aquarum'' was Frontinus, a Ro ...

'' (or supervisor of

aqueducts Aqueduct may refer to: Structures *Aqueduct (bridge), a bridge to convey water over an obstacle, such as a ravine or valley *Navigable aqueduct, or water bridge, a structure to carry navigable waterway canals over other rivers, valleys, railw ...

) in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, around 198. Thrasea Priscus may have been a partisan of

Publius Septimius Geta Publius Septimius Geta ( ; 7 March 189 – 19/26 December 211) was Roman emperor with his father Septimius Severus and older brother Caracalla from 209, when he was named ''Augustus'' like his brother, who had held the title from 198. Severus d ...

, the brother and rival of 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), ...

Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname "Caracalla" () was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. He was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Emperor S ...

. He became one of the victims of the earliest purges of Caracalla, being struck down in the emperor's presence after the murder of Geta.

Christian Settipani Christian Settipani (born 31 January 1961) is a French genealogist, historian and IT professional, currently working as the Technical Director of a company in Paris. Biography Settipani holds a Master of Advanced Studies from the Paris-Sorbo ...

has speculated that Thrasea Priscus married Coelia Balbina, possibly the daughter of

Marcus Aquilius Coelius Apollinaris Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to: * Marcus (name), a masculine given name * Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name Places * Marcus, a main belt asteroid, also known as (369088) Marcus 2008 GG44 * Mărcuş, a village in Dobârl� ...

, and a very close relative of the future

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), ...

Balbinus Decimus Caelius Calvinus Balbinus (died 238 AD) was Roman emperor with Pupienus for three months in 238, the Year of the Six Emperors. Origins and career Not much is known about Balbinus before his elevation to emperor. It has been conjectu ...

, due to the appearance of the ''cognomen'' Balbinus in his great-grandson's name. It is believed that Thrasea Priscus had a son, Lucius Valerius Messalla, who was

in 214.Memmen, p. 125

Ancestry

Notes

References

Sources

* Mennen, Inge, ''Power and Status in the Roman Empire, AD 193-284'' (2011) {{DEFAULTSORT:Valerius Messalla Thrasea Priscus, Lucius 210s deaths 2nd-century Romans 3rd-century Romans Imperial Roman consuls Thrasea Paetus, Lucius