Quintus Julius Cordinus Gaius Rutilius Gallicus 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 ...

who held several posts in the emperor's service. He was twice suffect consul: for the first time in the '' nundinium'' of September to October 70 AD; and the second time in 85 with

Lucius Valerius Catullus Messalinus Lucius Valerius Catullus Messalinus was a Roman senator during the Flavian dynasty, and is best known as the most hated and ruthless ''delator'' or informer of his age. He was feared all the more due to his blindness.Brian W. Jones, ''The Emperor ...

as his colleague, succeeding the Emperor

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 Fl ...

. Gallicus was well thought of by both the emperors

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Drusus and Antonia Minor ...

and

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...

. He was an important supporter of

Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Emp ...

in his early period as emperor and was rewarded by being made consul only months after Vespasian's arrival in Rome. Gallicus held a series of further civic and military positions, including three governorships,

pontifex A pontiff (from Latin ''pontifex'') was, in Roman antiquity, a member of the most illustrious of the colleges of priests of the Roman religion, the College of Pontiffs."Pontifex". "Oxford English Dictionary", March 2007 The term "pontiff" was lat ...

, and

urban prefect The ''praefectus urbanus'', also called ''praefectus urbi'' or urban prefect in English, was prefect of the city of Rome, and later also of Constantinople. The office originated under the Roman kings, continued during the Republic and Empire, and ...

of Rome.

Family

He was often referred to by the shorter name Gaius Rutilius Gallicus, which Olli Salomies notes was his name prior to his adoption; Gallicus was a member 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 ...

Rutilia ''Rutilia'' is a large genus of medium to large (>20mm) flies in the family Tachinidae native to Australia and the Oriental region, though notably absent from New Zealand.O'Hara, J.E. 2011. World genera of the Tachinidae (Diptera) and their reg ...

from Augusta Taurinorum, the modern

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

. The general consensus is that the adoptive element is ''Quintus Julius Cordius'', and when his full name was used "Gaius" was frequently dropped. Although a Quintus Julius Cordius was the suffect consul of 71, Salomies doubts he was the adoptive father, although "no doubt closely related" to him.

J. E. H. Spaul John Edward Houghton Spaul (1926–2018), sometimes known professionally as J. E. H. Spaul, was a British ancient historian and epigrapher. Much of his work focused on the Army of the Roman Empire. Education Spaul was born in Oakham in Rutland ...

suggested his birth father was

Gaius Rutilius Secundus The gens Rutilia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens appear in history beginning in the second century BC. The first to obtain the consulship was Publius Rutilius Rufus in 105 BC.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography ...

, equestrian governor of

Mauretania Tingitana Mauretania Tingitana ( Latin for "Tangerine Mauretania") was a Roman province, coinciding roughly with the northern part of present-day Morocco. The territory stretched from the northern peninsula opposite Gibraltar, to Sala Colonia (or Chel ...

during the reign of the emperor Claudius. Gallicus was married and his wife's name is known from an inscription found in Augusta Tauricorum: Minicia L.f. Paetina.

Biography

Offices under the Julio-Claudians

Gallicus' first known post was as

military tribune A military tribune (Latin ''tribunus militum'', "tribune of the soldiers") was an officer of the Roman army who ranked below the legate and above the centurion. Young men of Equestrian rank often served as military tribune as a stepping stone ...

Legio XIII Gemina , in English the 13th Twin Legion was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. It was one of Julius Caesar's key units in Gaul and in the civil war, and was the legion with which he crossed the Rubicon in January, perhaps the 10th, 49 BC. The legi ...

, which he is attested as holding in 52. = ILS 9499 This was followed by the Republican magistracies of ''

quaestor A ( , , ; "investigator") was a public official in Ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officials who ...

'' and ''

curule aedile ''Aedile'' ( ; la, aedīlis , from , "temple edifice") was an elected office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings () and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enf ...

''. He then served again in the military as the ''

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 XV Apollinaris Legio XV Apollinaris ("Apollo's Fifteenth Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. It was recruited by Octavian in 41/40 BC. The emblem of this legion was probably a picture of Apollo, or of one of his holy animals. XV ''Apollinaris ...

during the reign of the emperor Claudius. During Gallicus' term as commander the legion was stationed in

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located in the territory that is now west ...

. Following this he was assigned to govern the province of

Galatia Galatia (; grc, Γαλατία, ''Galatía'', "Gaul") was an ancient area in the highlands of central Anatolia, roughly corresponding to the provinces of Ankara and Eskişehir, in modern Turkey. Galatia was named after the Gauls from Thrace ...

in central Anatolia. In 68 Gallicus was co-opted into the ''

sodales Augustales The Sodales or Sacerdotes Augustales (''singular'' Sodalis or Sacerdos Augustalis), or simply Augustales,Tacitus, ''Annales'' 1.54 were an order ('' sodalitas'') of Roman priests originally instituted by Tiberius to attend to the maintenance of t ...

'', the

collegia A (plural ), or college, was any association in ancient Rome that acted as a legal entity. Following the passage of the ''Lex Julia'' during the reign of Julius Caesar as Consul and Dictator of the Roman Republic (49–44 BC), and their ...

of priests. = ILS 5025 This role was important to the

Julio-Claudian dynasty , native_name_lang=Latin, coat of arms=Great_Cameo_of_France-removebg.png, image_size=260px, caption= The Great Cameo of France depicting emperors Augustus, Tiberius, Claudius and Nero, type= Ancient Roman dynasty, country= Roman Empire, estates=* ...

, and the appointment is a clear indication that Gallicus was favored by the emperor Nero.

Offices under the Flavians

In addition to being favored by Nero, he was also well regarded by Vespasian. Gallicus was appointed consul by Vespasian very shortly after his arrival in Rome as a new emperor. The consulship was considered the highest honour the Roman state could bestow, and Vespasian would have made such appointments carefully, to reward loyalty and to consolidate support. Gallicus would have served alongside a fellow consul, but who this was is not recorded. During Vespasian's reign Gallicus was admitted to the

College of Pontiffs The College of Pontiffs ( la, Collegium Pontificum; see ''collegium'') was a body of the ancient Roman state whose members were the highest-ranking priests of the state religion. The college consisted of the '' pontifex maximus'' and the other '' ...

, again a sign of the Emperor's high esteem. He was

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 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 ...

in 73/74. Although being proconsul of Africa or

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 ...

was considered a senator's highest and usually the final step in imperial service, Gallicus is known to have been Governor of

Germania Inferior Germania Inferior ("Lower Germania") was a Roman province from AD 85 until the province was renamed Germania Secunda in the fourth century, on the west bank of the Rhine bordering the North Sea. The capital of the province was Colonia Agripp ...

from 76 to 78. He was appointed consul for a second time seven years later by the emperor

, serving with

. Gallicus' final office was urban prefect of Rome, which he held around 91.

Death

Statius Publius Papinius Statius ( Greek: Πόπλιος Παπίνιος Στάτιος; ; ) was a Greco-Roman poet of the 1st century CE. His surviving Latin poetry includes an epic in twelve books, the ''Thebaid''; a collection of occasional poetry, ...

dedicated a poem to him (''Silvae'', 1.4), celebrating his recovery from illness. His recovery proved short-lived, as Statius notes Gallicus died from that same illness in the preface to the first book of ''Silvae'', published not long after Gallicus' death.

Family

Biography

Offices under the Julio-Claudians

Offices under the Flavians

Death

References

Further reading