Publius Cornelius Lentulus Scipio (c. 15 BC52 AD) 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 ...

active during 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. ...

. He was suffect consul in the '' nundinium'' of July-December AD 24, as the colleague of

Gaius Calpurnius Aviola Gaius Calpurnius Acilius Aviola was a senator of the Roman Empire. He was '' suffect consul'' in AD 24 with Publius Cornelius Lentulus Scipio as his colleague. Aviola is also recorded as being governor of Asia in 37/38. Aviola has been identified ...

. His name combines the two most famous branches of the ''

gens In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; plural: ''gentes'' ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same nomen and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a ''stirps'' (plural: ''stirpes''). The ''gen ...

'' Cornelia, the Lentuli and the Scipiones.

Life

Scipio was the son of the identically named suffect consul of AD 2, Publius Cornelius Cn.f. Cn.f. Lentulus Scipio. A dedication erected at Brixia provides details of his career up to his consulate. His first attested office was

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 vari ...

, which was followed as one of the two prefects (called ''praetores'' before 44 AD) of the ''

aerarium Saturni Aerarium, from ''aes'' (“bronze, money”) + -''ārium'' (“place for”), was the name given in Ancient Rome to the public treasury, and in a secondary sense to the public finances. ''Aerarium populi Romani'' The main ''aerarium'', that ...

'' in the year 15. He was ''

legatus legionis 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 commander of

Legio IX Hispana Legio IX Hispana ("9th Spanish Legion"), also written Legio VIIII Hispana, was a legion of the Imperial Roman army that existed from the 1st century BC until at least 120 AD. The legion fought in various provinces of the late Roman ...

while it was stationed in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

;

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 ...

mentions Scipio participating in the successful campaign of

Quintus Junius Blaesus Quintus Junius Blaesus (died AD 31) was a Roman ''novus homo'' ("new man," that is, the first member of his family to gain entrance to the Roman nobility) who lived during the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius. He was the maternal uncle of Lucius A ...

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 ' ...

ar governor of Africa, against

Tacfarinas Tacfarinas ( Latinised form of Berber Tikfarin or Takfarin; died AD 24) was a Numidian Berber from Thagaste, located in the province of Proconsular Africa (now Souk Ahras, in Algeria), who was a deserter from the Roman army who led his own Mus ...

, and provides the year of Scipio's commission as AD 22. Syme writes his commission makes him "notable, and seems anomalous, being the earliest ''nobilis'' registered in command of a legion when praetorian rank." The next office Scipio is known to have held was after his consulate, as proconsular governor of

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

. There is a difference in opinion as to when he held this office. A standard authority, the ''

Prosopographia Imperii Romani The ', abbreviated ''PIR'', is a collective historical work to establish the prosopography of high-profile people from the Roman empire. The time period covered extends from the Battle of Actium in 31 BC to the reign of Diocletian. The final vol ...

'', dates Scipio's tenure to 36/37, based on seniority: his predecessor, Marcus Aurelius Cotta Messalinus, was consul in 20, while

, his attested successor, was consul the same year as Scipio. However, Syme points to an inscription discovered in

Lydia Lydia ( Lydian: ‎𐤮𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣𐤠, ''Śfarda''; Aramaic: ''Lydia''; el, Λυδία, ''Lȳdíā''; tr, Lidya) was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern western Turkish pro ...

which indicates the date 41/2; thus three men who achieved the rank of consul after Scipio became governor of Asia before him. "The wide variations in consular seniority will duly be noted," writes Syme, "as conveying the caprice of the Caesars or the influence of their ministers."

Family

Scipio is known to have married twice. Evidence for the name of his first wife has not yet been recovered, but she was the mother of his oldest son, Publius Cornelius Scipio, suffect consul in 56. His second wife was the beautiful Poppaea Sabina the Elder. They had a son,

Publius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus Publius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus was a Roman senator active during the Principate. He was suffect consul in the ''nundinium'' of September to December 68, as the colleague of Gaius Bellicius Natalis. Both Asiaticus and Bellicius Natalis were pic ...

, suffect consul in 68; his

agnomen An ''agnomen'' (; plural: ''agnomina''), in the Roman naming convention, was a nickname, just as the '' cognomen'' was initially. However, the ''cognomina'' eventually became family names, so ''agnomina'' were needed to distinguish between sim ...

reflects Scipio's tenure as governor of Asia. Poppaea Sabina had a reputation for promiscuity.

Messalina Valeria Messalina (; ) was the third wife of Roman emperor Claudius. She was a paternal cousin of Emperor Nero, a second cousin of Emperor Caligula, and a great-grandniece of Emperor Augustus. A powerful and influential woman with a reputation ...

, empress and wife of Claudius, suspected Poppaea had been the lover of

Decimus Valerius Asiaticus Decimus Valerius Asiaticus (around 5 BCP.J. Sijpesteijn"Another οὐσία of Decimus Valerius Asiaticus in Egypt" ''Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik'', 79 (1989), p. 19347 AD,Alston, ''Aspects of Roman History AD 14-117'', p. 92 el, ...

; she had

Publius Suillius Rufus Publius may refer to: Roman name * Publius (praenomen) * Ancient Romans with the name: ** Publius Valerius Publicola (died 503 BC), Roman consul, co-founder of the Republic **Publius Clodius Pulcher (c. 93 BC – 52 BC), Republican politician ...

prosecute her and Valerius Asiaticus. Messalina went as far as to hire agents to force Poppaea to commit suicide; Poppaea died in the year 47. A few days after her death, while dining with Scipio, the emperor Claudius absent-mindedly asked Scipio where his wife was; the widower replied simply that Poppaea "had paid the debt of nature." Another anecdote Tacitus records of Scipio and his second wife also took place after her death. Called on in the Senate for his opinion about Poppaea, he replied, "As I think what all men think about the deeds of Poppaea, suppose me to say what all men say."Tacitus, ''Annales'', XI.4

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornelius Lentulus Scipio, Publius Senators of the Roman Empire Lentulus Scipio 1st-century Romans Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome Roman governors of Asia Place of birth unknown 10s BC births Year of birth uncertain 52 deaths