Servius Cornelius Lentulus Maluginensis (died AD 23) 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 ...

statesman, who flourished during the reigns of

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 '' flamen dialis'', and consul ''suffectus'' in AD 10.

Descent

Descended from the patrician

Cornelia gens The gens Cornelia was one of the greatest patrician houses at ancient Rome. For more than seven hundred years, from the early decades of the Republic to the third century AD, the Cornelii produced more eminent statesmen and generals than any o ...

, Cornelius' father and grandfather were both named ''Gnaeus'', and they belonged to the family of the Cornelii Lentuli, which first appears in Roman history during the fourth century BC.''Fasti Capitolini'', . Their relationship to other prominent members of the family is not immediately apparent. It is possibly that Cornelius' father was a

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 ...

in 29 BC; he also might be the same person with

Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Augur Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus "Augur" (c. 54 BC – 25 AD) was a politician and general of the early Roman Empire during the reign of Augustus, who became consul in 14 BC as the colleague of Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi. Enormously wealthy, he reputed ...

. The surname ''Maluginensis'' was borne by the most ancient branch of the Cornelii, but had long since vanished from use; in Imperial times old

cognomina A ''cognomen'' (; plural ''cognomina''; from ''con-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became h ...

were frequently revived.

Career

Cornelius' chief notability is for having been appointed ''flamen dialis'', the high priest of Jupiter, at the direction of Augustus, after the position had been vacant for an unusually long period. The precise date of his appointment is uncertain;

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

places it about 11 BC, which is accepted by many modern scholars. But

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 ...

states that he was appointed seventy-two years after the suicide of Lucius Cornelius Merula, the previous holder of the priesthood, in 87 BC. In AD 10, Cornelius and

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 ...

, were appointed consul ''suffectus'' in the place of Publius Cornelius Dolabella and Gaius Junius Silanus. Cornelius and Blaesus served from the kalends of July to the end of the year. Twelve years later, Cornelius sought to be appointed 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 ...

for AD 22. Such an appointment would have been typical for a consular such as Cornelius. However, the emperor Tiberius asserted that the religious duties and obligations of the ''flamen dialis'' precluded his leaving Italy, and thus Cornelius was denied the governorship. He died in AD 23, and his son, also named Servius, was appointed ''flamen dialis'' in his place.Tacitus, ''Annales'', iii. 58, 71.

Footnotes

References

Bibliography

* Publius Cornelius Tacitus, '' Annales''. *

, ''Roman History''. * ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/ biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 ...

'', William Smith, ed., Little, Brown and Company, Boston (1849). {{DEFAULTSORT:Cornelius Lentulus Maluginensis, Servius 1st-century BC births 23 deaths 1st-century BC Romans 1st-century Romans Maluginensis, Servius Flamines Dialis Roman patricians Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome Year of birth uncertain

Descent

Career

See also

Footnotes

References

Bibliography