Marcus Servilius 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 lette ...

senator who was active during the reigns of the emperors

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 ...

and

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 ...

. He was ordinary consul in AD 3 as the colleague of Lucius Aelius Lamia. Servilius was the son of Marcus Servilius,

plebeian tribune Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune ( la, tribunus plebis) was the first office of the Roman state that was open to the plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the power of ...

in 43 BC. Both were descended from Gaius Servilius Geminus the

praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vario ...

, who had renounced his

patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...

status.Syme, "Servilius Nonianus", p. 409 The consul Servilius married the daughter of the Nonius whom

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the autoc ...

proscribed over the possession of a gem. Their son was the historian

Servilius Nonianus Marcus Servilius Nonianus (died in 59AD) was a Roman senator, best known as a historian. He was ordinary consul in 35 as the colleague of Gaius Cestius Gallus. Tacitus described Servilius Nonianus as a man of great eloquence and good-nature.Tac ...

, himself consul in AD 35.

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

twice mentions Servilius in passing. The first time was when the emperor Tiberius assigned to him the entire estate of Patuleius, a wealthy

equites The ''equites'' (; literally "horse-" or "cavalrymen", though sometimes referred to as "knights" in English) constituted the second of the property-based classes of ancient Rome, ranking below the senatorial class. A member of the equestrian o ...

, despite the fact that Patuleius had made the emperor heir to part of his fortune; this gift came in the year 17. In doing this, Tiberius commented that "noble rank ought to have the support of wealth", suggesting that Servilius was relatively impoverished compared to other senators. The second mention was when Aemilia Lepida, ex-wife of

Publius Sulpicius Quirinius Publius Sulpicius Quirinius (c. 51 BC – AD 21), also translated as Cyrenius, was a Roman aristocrat. After the banishment of the ethnarch Herod Archelaus from the tetrarchy of Judea in AD 6, Quirinius was appointed legate governor of Syria, to ...

, was on trial for adultery, attempted murder through poison, and use of astrology against the Imperial house. The emperor Tiberius, who presided over the case, compelled Servilius to provide testimony in defense of Quirinius.

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 ...

notes an inscription from

Pisidian Antioch Antioch in Pisidia – alternatively Antiochia in Pisidia or Pisidian Antioch ( el, Ἀντιόχεια τῆς Πισιδίας) and in Roman Empire, Latin: ''Antiochia Caesareia'' or ''Antiochia Colonia Caesarea'' – was a city in th ...

that suggests Servilius and Quirinius were possibly friends: the inscription records the two men as successive honorary ''duoviri'' of the city. "Quirinius had been

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caes ...

's legate governing the province Galatia-Pamphylia," Syme writes. "What then was the rank and function that explains the honouring of Servilius? Perhaps a legate under Quirinius in his war against the Homonadenses. Perhaps rather governor of Galatia -- either before or after his consulship."Syme, "Servilius Nonianus", p. 412 Little is known about the rest of his life, nor when Servilius died.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Servilius, Marcus Imperial Roman consuls Senators of the Roman Empire Marcus