Sextus Erucius Clarus (died March 146) 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 and aristocrat. He was

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 ...

and twice

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

, the second time for the year AD 146. Clarus was the nephew of

Gaius Septicius Clarus Gaius Septicius Clarus ('' fl.'' 2nd century CE), was a prefect of the Roman imperial bodyguard (better known as the Praetorian Guard) and influential as a friend and supporter of famous Silver Age authors Pliny the Younger and Suetonius. Pra ...

, a friend of Pliny the Younger. Erucius Clarus was also a friend of Pliny, who assisted him in obtaining from the Emperor

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 ...

the '' latus clavus'', allowing him to hold the office of quaestor;

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 ...

dates when he held the magistracy as between the years 99 and 101. A letter from Pliny to Lucius Domitius Apollinaris (suffect consul 97) exists where the former asks the latter to help Clarus in his pursuit of the office of

plebeian tribune Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune ( la, tribunus plebis) was the first office of the Roman state that was open to the plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the power o ...

. Clarus is also the addressee of a letter from Pliny. Aulus Gellius writes of Clarus as a contemporary, stating that he was very devoted to the study of ancient literature. Syme notes that after all of this attention to Clarus in the early stages of his career, and to his uncle, "Pliny seems to have forgotten about him." Darkness descends on Clarus until the year 116 when

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 ...

reports two of the leading generals of the emperor

, Clarus and

Julius Alexander Julius Alexander also known as Julius Alexander of Emesa was prince from the Royal family of Emesa who lived in the 2nd century. Although Alexander was a nobleman from Emesa, little is known of his origins. He may have been the son of Sohaemus of ...

, capturing the city of Seleucia. As a reward, both were appointed suffect consuls; the date of this first consulship was estimated by

Géza Alföldy Géza Alföldy (June 7, 1935 – November 6, 2011) was a Hungarian historian of ancient history. Life Géza Alföldy was born in Budapest. He studied at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Budapest from 1953 to 1958, where he i ...

as around 117. However, through the reign of Hadrian there is no "record of any consular province, no sign of his existence all through the twenty-one years." It is not until the reign of Hadrian's successor that Clarus receives further appointments, namely his second consulship. Clarus died in 146 while simultaneously holding the posts of consul ordinarius and urban prefect. He was replaced as consul by Quintus Licinius Modestinus and as urban prefect by

Quintus Lollius Urbicus Quintus Lollius Urbicus was a Numidian Berber governor of Roman Britain between the years 139 and 142, during the reign of the Emperor Antoninus Pius. He is named in the ''Historia Augusta'', although it is not entirely historical, and his name ...

. A likely descendant, either son or grandson, is the consul of 170, Gaius Erucius Clarus.Alföldy, ''Konsulat und Senatorenstand'', p. 89 n. 60

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erucius Clarus, Sextus 2nd-century Romans 146 deaths Senators of the Roman Empire Clarus, Sextus Imperial Roman consuls Urban prefects of Rome Roman consuls who died in office