Publius Julius Lupus 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, best known as the step-father of the emperor
Antoninus Pius
Antoninus Pius ( Latin: ''Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius''; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty.
Born into a senatori ...
. He was
suffect consul 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 November-December 98 as the colleague of
Quintus Fulvius Gillo Bittius Proculus.
Lupus was a descendant of
Julius Lupus, the brother-in-law of
Marcus Arrecinus Clemens,
praetorian prefect of the emperor
Caligula; this made him a distant relative of the
Flavian dynasty
The Flavian dynasty ruled the Roman Empire between AD 69 and 96, encompassing the reigns of Vespasian (69–79), and his two sons Titus (79–81) and Domitian (81–96). The Flavians rose to power during the civil war of 69, known ...
.
Anthony Birley suggests his origins lay in
Nemausus
Deus Nemausus is often said to have been the Celtic patron god of Nemausus (Nîmes). The god does not seem to have been worshipped outside this locality. The city certainly derives its name from Nemausus, which was perhaps the sacred wood in which ...
. Lupus married
Arria Fadilla, the mother of Antoninus, after the death of her first husband,
Titus Aurelius Fulvus consul in 89; between them they had two daughters,
Arria Lupula, and
Julia Fadilla.
John Grainger, noting that nothing is known of his senatorial career beyond that he was suffect consul, observes that Lupus was likely appointed to the consulship by
Nerva, but when Nerva selected
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 ...
to be his successor his ''nundinium'' was shortened from four to two months to accommodate a number of influential senators whose support was needed to ensure Trajan's acceptance as emperor.
[Grainger, ''Nerva: and the Roman Succession Crisis of AD 96-99'' (London: Routledge, 2003), p. 101]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Julius Lupus, Publius
1st-century Romans
Lupus, Publius
Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome