RIB 1137 - Sextus Calpurnius Agricola - VI Victrix

Sextus Calpurnius Agricola 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 ...

and general active during the 2nd century. He was '' consul suffectus'' with Tiberius Claudius Julianus for the '' nundinium'' of September-October 154. Agricola is known primarily from inscriptions.

Life

No information has yet been found about Calpurnius Agricola prior to his consulate. His origin is attested in no surviving document, and the ''

gentilicium The (or simply ) was a hereditary name borne by the peoples of Roman Italy and later by the citizens of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. It was originally the name of one's (family or clan) by patrilineal descent. However, as Rome expande ...

'' "Calpurnius" is commonly found all over the Empire. However,

Anthony Birley Anthony Richard Birley (8 October 1937 – 19 December 2020) was a British ancient historian, archaeologist and academic. He was the son of Margaret Isabel (Goodlet) and historian and archaeologist Eric Birley. Early life and education Anthon ...

notes the combination "Sextus Calpurnius" is very uncommon, and he suggests that Agricola is related to Fronto's friend Sextus Calpurnius Julianus; if so, he may have been a native of

Cirta Cirta, also known by various other names in antiquity, was the ancient Berber and Roman settlement which later became Constantine, Algeria. Cirta was the capital city of the Berber kingdom of Numidia; its strategically important port city ...

or another town in

Numidia Numidia ( Berber: ''Inumiden''; 202–40 BC) was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians located in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up modern-day Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunis ...

. Calpurnius Agricola was governor of

Germania Superior Germania Superior ("Upper Germania") was an imperial province of the Roman Empire. It comprised an area of today's western Switzerland, the French Jura and Alsace regions, and southwestern Germany. Important cities were Besançon ('' Vesontio ...

around 158.Patricia Southern, ''Roman Britain: A New History 55BC - AD 450'' In 161 or 162 he was made governor of

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

and remained until at least 163, possibly until the end of the 160s. In 163, he was sent to Britain to control uprisings in the north. He rebuilt a number of forts, most notably that at Coria (

Corbridge Corbridge is a village in Northumberland, England, west of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle and east of Hexham. Villages nearby include Halton, Northumberland, Halton, Acomb, Northumberland, Acomb, Aydon and Sandhoe. Etymology Corbridge was kno ...

). He withdrew troops southwards from

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

towards the line of

Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall ( la, Vallum Aelium), also known as the Roman Wall, Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Hadriani'' in Latin, is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Ru ...

to contend with the threats of further rebellion. There are indications of unrest in Britain around the time of his rule attested by damage to the forum at Viroconium Cornoviorum (

Wroxeter Wroxeter is a village in Shropshire, England, which forms part of the civil parish of Wroxeter and Uppington, beside the River Severn, south-east of Shrewsbury. '' Viroconium Cornoviorum'', the fourth largest city in Roman Britain, was site ...

) and the burning of a large part of

Verulamium Verulamium was a town in Roman Britain. It was sited southwest of the modern city of St Albans in Hertfordshire, England. A large portion of the Roman city remains unexcavated, being now park and agricultural land, though much has been built upon ...

(

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman ...

Historia Augusta The ''Historia Augusta'' (English: ''Augustan History'') is a late Roman collection of biographies, written in Latin, of the Roman emperors, their junior colleagues, designated heirs and usurpers from 117 to 284. Supposedly modeled on the si ...

''Life of Marcus Aurelius'' 8.8 Around 166 AD Agricola was appointed imperial legate in

Roman Dacia Roman Dacia ( ; also known as Dacia Traiana, ; or Dacia Felix, 'Fertile/Happy Dacia') was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire from 106 to 271–275 AD. Its territory consisted of what are now the regions of Oltenia, Transylvania a ...

. Between 168 and 169, he was one of the governors of Lower Moesia.

Notes

Sources

Epigraphics

* '' PIR'' C 249 * '' CIL'' VII, 226 * ''

RIB In vertebrate anatomy, ribs ( la, costae) are the long curved bones which form the rib cage, part of the axial skeleton. In most tetrapods, ribs surround the chest, enabling the lungs to expand and thus facilitate breathing by expanding the ches ...

'' I, 1137

Secondary

* Patricia Southern, ''Roman Britain: A New History 55BC - AD 450'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Calpurnius Agricola, Sextus Calpurnius Agricola, Sextus Ancient Roman generals 2nd-century Romans Roman governors of Lower Moesia Roman governors of Germania Inferior Roman governors of Dacia Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome Agricola, Sextus Generals of Lucius Verus Generals of Marcus Aurelius