Manius Laberius Maximus 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 general, who was active during the reign of

Domitian Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavi ...

and

Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...

. He was twice

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 ...

: the first time 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 September to December 89 AD as the colleague of

Aulus Vicirius Proculus Aulus Vicirius Proculus was a Roman senator active during the last half of the first century AD. He was suffect consul for the ''nundinium'' September to December 89 with Manius Laberius Maximus as his colleague. Proculus is known only through sur ...

; the second time as ordinary consul in 103 as colleague to the Emperor Trajan. He was a member of a family that originated in

Lanuvium Lanuvium, modern Lanuvio, is an ancient city of Latium vetus, some southeast of Rome, a little southwest of the Via Appia. Situated on an isolated hill projecting south from the main mass of the Alban Hills, Lanuvium commanded an extensive view ...

, where his presumed grandfather, Lucius Laberius Maximus, was a magistrate. His father, also

Lucius Laberius Maximus Lucius Laberius Maximus was a governor of Roman Egypt in 83 CE, and prefect of the imperial bodyguard, known as the Praetorian Guard, during the reign of Roman Emperor Domitian, in 84 CE. Prior to achieving these positions, Laberius Maximus h ...

, was a high equestrian official who was successively ''praefectus annonae'',

Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and

Praetorian prefect The praetorian prefect ( la, praefectus praetorio, el, ) was a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders be ...

in the years 80 to 84. His mother is unknown. Lucius' achievements enabled his son Manius to be adlected to the senatorial order.

Life

There was a considerable gap between his consulate and the first known appointment Maximus enjoyed, governor of

Moesia Inferior Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; el, Μοισία, Moisía) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River, which included most of the territory of modern eastern Serbia, Kosovo, north-eastern Alban ...

, which he held from the year 100 to 102. While governor, Maximus served as a general in Trajan's

First Dacian War The First Roman–Dacian War took place from 101 to 102. The Kingdom of Dacia, under King Decebalus, had become a threat to the Roman Empire, and defeated several of Rome's armies during Domitian's reign (81–96). The Emperor Trajan was set on ...

. During the hostilities a slave of his, Callidromus, was captured by the

Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus r ...

ns: this man was later interviewed in

Bithynia Bithynia (; Koine Greek: , ''Bithynía'') was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea. It bordered Mysia to the southwest, Pa ...

in 111 by

Pliny the Younger Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo (61 – c. 113), better known as Pliny the Younger (), was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and educate ...

. According to

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

, Maximus distinguished himself during the campaigning of 102, and was rewarded for his services by a second consulship in 103, indicating his favour with emperor Trajan. This imperial favour ended with the death of Trajan. According to the ''

Augustan History The ''Historia Augusta'' (English: ''Augustan History'') is a late Roman collection of biographies, written in Latin, of the Roman emperors, their junior colleagues, designated heirs and usurpers from 117 to 284. Supposedly modeled on the sim ...

'', on the accession of emperor Hadrian in 117, Maximus was 'in exile on an island under suspicion of designs on the throne'.''Hadrian'', V. 5 Nothing more is known of these suspected designs, but they prompted Hadrian's guard prefect

Publius Acilius Attianus Publius Acilius Attianus (1st – 2nd century AD) was a powerful Roman official who played a significant, though obscured, role in the transfer of power from Trajan to Hadrian. Life He was born in Italica, Hispania Baetica, which was also th ...

to recommend Maximus be put to death. The sequel is not known, but Hadrian was tiring of Attianus and it is more likely that Maximus was pardoned.

Family

The identity of Maximus’ wife is unknown. His only known child was a daughter, Laberia Hostilia Crispina who, after his death, became the heiress to his fortune. Crispina became the second wife of

Gaius Bruttius Praesens Lucius Fulvius Rusticus Gaius Bruttius Praesens Lucius Fulvius Rusticus (68 – 140 AD) was an important Roman Empire, Roman Roman senate, senator of the reigns of the emperors Trajan, Hadrian and Antoninus Pius. A friend of Pliny the Younger and Hadrian, he was twice con ...

, consul in 139. She bore him a son, Lucius Fulvius Gaius Bruttius Praesens Laberius Maximus, twice consul. Maximus was the great-grandfather of

Bruttia Crispina Bruttia Crispina (164 – 191 AD) was Roman Empress from 178 to 191 as the consort of Roman Emperor Commodus. Her marriage to Commodus did not produce an heir, and her husband was instead succeeded by Pertinax. Family Crispina came from an illu ...

, who married 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), ...

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. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laberius Maximus, Manius 1st-century births 2nd-century deaths 1st-century Romans 2nd-century Romans Ancient Roman generals Imperial Roman consuls Maximus, Manius People from Lanuvio Roman governors of Lower Moesia Year of death unknown Year of birth unknown