Lucius Volusius Saturninus (38/37 BC56 AD)

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

, ''

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.30 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 ...

from the powerful

plebeian In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words " commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins ...

Volusia gens, or family. He held several offices in the emperor's service. Saturninus attracted the attention of his contemporaries for his long life: he died at the age of 93, and having sired a son at the age of 62.

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

, '' Natural History'' VII.62

Biography

Early life

Saturninus was the son of Lucius Volusius Saturninus, a cousin of emperor

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

Nonia Polla ''Nonia'' is a genus of snout moths described by George Hampson Sir George Francis Hampson, 10th Baronet (14 January 1860 – 15 October 1936) was an English entomologist. Hampson studied at Charterhouse School and Exeter College, Oxford. He ...

, the daughter of Lucius Nonius Asprenas, consul in 36 BC. He had a sister named

Volusia Saturnina Volusia Saturnina also known from her funeral inscription as Volusia Latina Saturnina was a Roman noble woman who lived in the Roman Empire in the second half of the 1st century BC and first half of the first century AD. Family background Saturni ...

who was the mother of empress

Lollia Paulina Lollia Paulina, also known as Lollia Paullina Caligula Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germani ...

Career

His career is known from three inscriptions recovered from Nin in the

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see names in other languages) is one of the four historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of the Adriatic Sea, str ...

n region of

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. They present some difficulties. They are in fragmentary condition, but their pieces supplement each other allowing the gaps in their texts to be restored. Further, these inscriptions only document all but one of the offices he held after he was consul -- the last one is known from literary sources -- and the entries appear to be out of chronological order. Saturninus was elected suffect consul for the '' nundinium'' July to December of AD 3, as the colleague of

Publius Silius Publius Silius was a Roman senator active during the reign of the emperor Augustus. He was suffect consul in AD 3, replacing Lucius Aelius Lamia; his colleague was Lucius Volusius Saturninus. Silius was the oldest son of Publius Silius Nerva. ...

. Here we learn he was a member of two Roman priesthoods: the ''

sodales Augustales The Sodales or Sacerdotes Augustales (''singular'' Sodalis or Sacerdos Augustalis), or simply Augustales,Tacitus, ''Annales'' 1.54 were an order ('' sodalitas'') of Roman priests originally instituted by Tiberius to attend to the maintenance of t ...

'' and the '' sodales Titii''. Obviously the first did not exist until the emperor

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

was deified after his death (AD 14), so he may have been admitted to the second first. Then we learn he was a ''

legatus pro praetore 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 office ...

'' or governor of two unnamed provinces, one during the reign of Augustus (thus falling before AD 14), the other under the reign of

(14-37); it was not the practice in the early years of the

Principate The Principate is the name sometimes given to the first period of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the reign of Augustus in 27 BC to the end of the Crisis of the Third Century in AD 284, after which it evolved into the so-called Dominate. ...

to name the province one governed, so that information is missing. The identity of one province is obvious, for these inscriptions -- as well as several others -- have been found in the territory of

Roman Dalmatia Dalmatia was a Roman province. Its name is derived from the name of an Illyrian tribe called the Dalmatae, which lived in the central area of the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It encompassed the northern part of present-day Albania, much of C ...

. Saturninus was governor of Dalmatia for an extended time, for emperor Tiberius fell into the habit of prolonging the tenure of his governors: instead of a term of the usual three years, when Publius Cornelius Dolabella was appointed governor of Dalmatia in the year 14, he was there at least five years, or until 19 or 20, when Saturninus replaced him. Saturninus, in turn, found his tenure prolonged, remaining as governor, according to

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 ...

, "into the reign of

Caligula Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germani ...

". The other province has been identified as Galatia-Pamphylia. Following his return to Rome, Saturninus obtained the religious title of Augur, the latest title recorded on the Dalmatian inscriptions. Literary sources report that within a few years of returning to Rome he was also appointed

Urban prefect The ''praefectus urbanus'', also called ''praefectus urbi'' or urban prefect in English, was prefect of the city of Rome, and later also of Constantinople. The office originated under the Roman kings, continued during the Republic and Empire, and ...

, which office he held until his death.

Reputation and posthumous honors

When Saturninus died at the age of 93, according to Tacitus, he had accumulated a conspicuous fortune, had an honorable reputation, and through wisdom avoided the malevolence of many of the emperors. When he died, the Senate, under the sponsorship of Emperor

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 unti ...

, ordered a state funeral and the erection of a number of statues throughout Rome. The statues included a bronze one in the

Forum of Augustus The Forum of Augustus ( la, Forum Augustum; it, Foro di Augusto) is one of the Imperial fora of Rome, Italy, built by Augustus (). It includes the Temple of Mars Ultor. The incomplete forum and its temple were inaugurated in 2 BC, 40 years after ...

, two marble statues in the temple of the Deified Augustus, one consular statue in the temple of the Deified Julius, another on the Palatium intra Tripylum, a third in the forecourt of

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

in sight of the

curia Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...

, a statue as Augur, an

equestrian statue An equestrian statue is a statue of a rider mounted on a horse, from the Latin ''eques'', meaning 'knight', deriving from ''equus'', meaning 'horse'. A statue of a riderless horse is strictly an equine statue. A full-sized equestrian statue is a d ...

and a statue on a

curule chair A curule seat is a design of a (usually) foldable and transportable chair noted for its uses in Ancient Rome and Europe through to the 20th century. Its status in early Rome as a symbol of political or military power carried over to other civilizat ...

sitting near the

Theatre of Pompey The Theatre of Pompey ( la, Theatrum Pompeii, it, Teatro di Pompeo) was a structure in Ancient Rome built during the latter part of the Roman Republican era by Pompey the Great (Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus). Completed in 55BC, it was the first perma ...

Descendants

Saturninus married the aristocrat Cornelia Lentula, the daughter of the consul of 3 BC, Lucius Cornelius Lentulus. Cornelia bore Saturninus two sons: Lucius Volusius Saturninus, who became

pontiff A pontiff (from Latin ''pontifex'') was, in Roman antiquity, a member of the most illustrious of the colleges of priests of the Roman religion, the College of Pontiffs."Pontifex". "Oxford English Dictionary", March 2007 The term "pontiff" was la ...

, and

Quintus Volusius Saturninus Quintus Volusius Saturninus (born AD 25) was a Roman Senator who lived in the Roman Empire during the Principate. He was consul in the year 56 with Publius Cornelius Scipio as his colleague. Family background The Volusii, according to Tacitus, ...

, consul of 56.Rudolf Hanslik, "Q. Volusius Saturninus 20", '' Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft'', Supplement 9A, col. 1863

References

External links

Entry in historical sourcebook of Lucius Volusius Saturninus by Mahlon H. Smith
{{DEFAULTSORT:Volusius Saturninus, Lucius Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome Roman governors of Dalmatia Roman governors of Galatia Urban prefects of Rome Augurs of the Roman Empire 1st-century BC Romans 1st-century Romans 30s BC births Year of birth uncertain 56 deaths Saturninus, Lucius