Publius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus 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 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 September to December 68, as the colleague of Gaius Bellicius Natalis. Both Asiaticus and Bellicius Natalis were picked to be suffect consuls by emperor Galba.Ronald Syme
"Partisans of Galba"
'' Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte'', 31 (1982), p. 475 Although it is not clear from his name, Asiaticus was a member of the Cornelii Lentuli, one of the

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 ...

branches of the gens Cornelia. His father was

Publius Cornelius Lentulus Scipio Publius Cornelius Lentulus Scipio (c. 15 BC52 AD) was a Roman senator active during the Principate. He was suffect consul in the '' nundinium'' of July-December AD 24, as the colleague of Gaius Calpurnius Aviola. His name combines the two most fam ...

, suffect consul in 24, and the beautiful

Poppaea Sabina the Elder Poppaea Sabina the Elder (c. 10 – c. 47 AD) was an aristocratic woman who lived during the Principate. During her lifetime she was famed for her beauty, but as Ronald Syme writes, her "fame and follies have been all but extinguished by her homony ...

; his older half-brother was Publius Cornelius Scipio, suffect consul in 56. Asiaticus is the last known member of the Cornelii Lentuli. Asiaticus owed the final element of his name to the fact he was born when his father was 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 ...

. This provides an important clue to the year of his birth. The older Scipio had been thought to have been governor in 36/37; however,

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 ...

points to an inscription discovered in Lydia which indicates the date of Scipio's governorship falls in 41/2. The old date apparently is based on Asiaticus having been appointed consul at the earliest age permitted by the ''

Lex annales Lex or LEX may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lex'', a daily featured column in the ''Financial Times'' Games * Lex, the mascot of the word-forming puzzle video game ''Bookworm'' * Lex, the protagonist of the word-forming puzzle video ga ...

'', which for a patrician is 32; however, based on the new evidence, Asiaticus acceded to the highest Republican magistracy as early as the age of 26. "That recalls the favour extended to nobiles in close propinquity to the dynasty," writes Syme, "and it may have encouraged forecasts about an impending choice of heir." Asiaticus disappears from history after his consulate. The

Year of the Four Emperors The Year of the Four Emperors, AD 69, was the first civil war of the Roman Empire, during which four emperors ruled in succession: Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian. It is considered an important interval, marking the transition from the ...

followed immediately upon his consulate, and

Vitellius Aulus Vitellius (; ; 24 September 1520 December 69) was Roman emperor for eight months, from 19 April to 20 December AD 69. Vitellius was proclaimed emperor following the quick succession of the previous emperors Galba and Otho, in a year of ci ...

was notorious for having one of Asiaticus' cousins,

Gnaeus Cornelius Dolabella Gnaeus Cornelius Dolabella was a consul of the Roman Republic in 81 BC, with Marcus Tullius Decula, during the dictatorship of Sulla. Biography Possibly a military tribune in 89 BC, Dolabella soon was attached to the staff of Sulla as a legate, h ...

, murdered partly because the emperor Galba had considered Dolabella as his successor;Gwyn Morgan, ''69 A.D.: The year of four emperors'' (Oxford: University Press, 2006), pp. 152ff Asiaticus' similar closeness would have made him a similar risk. However, since our knowledge of the times is incomplete, anything from a premature death to a successful senatorial career and numerous children is equally possible.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus, Publius Senators of the Roman Empire

Scipio Asiaticus Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus (properly Asiagenes; 3rd century BC – after 183 BC) was a general and statesman of the Roman Republic. He was the son of Publius Cornelius Scipio and the younger brother of Scipio Africanus. He was elected co ...

1st-century Romans Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome