Titus Curtilius Mancia 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, who held several offices in the emperor's service during the middle of the first century. He was
suffect consul in the ''
nundinium'' of November to December 55 as the colleague of
Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Gaetulicus. No other senator with
his gentilicium is known, so Mancia seems to have been a ''
homo novus
''Novus homo'' or ''homo novus'' (Latin for 'new man'; ''novi homines'' or ''homines novi'') was the term in ancient Rome for a man who was the first in his family to serve in the Roman Senate or, more specifically, to be elected as consul. When ...
''.
His origins are not known for sure; however, there are several indications that he came from
Gallia Narbonensis. At this time several senators came from this province, probably due to the influence of Nero's advisor,
Sextus Afranius Burrus. In addition, his daughter married
Gnaeus Domitius Lucanus, a member of the Narbonensian aristocracy. His granddaughter, Domitia Lucilla Major, was, through her
eponymous daughter, grandmother of the emperor
Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...
.
Life
Details of Mancia's life are known only after his consulate. According to the ancient writer
Phlegon of Tralles he was governor of the imperial province of
Germania Superior by the year 56 as the successor of
Lucius Antistius Vetus. He still held this office in the year 58, for
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 ...
attests that his colleague in
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 ...
,
Lucius Duvius Avitus, asked him this year for military support for the campaign against the
Ampsivarii
The Ampsivarii, sometimes referenced by modern writers as Ampsivari (a simplification not warranted by the sources), were a Germanic tribe mentioned by ancient authors.
Their homeland was originally around the middle of the river Ems, which fl ...
. Mancia appears to have agreed to Duvius' request and campaigned with an army beyond the Rhine. It is not known when Mancia resigned the governorship; he possibly remained in Germania Superior until the appointment of
Publius Sulpicius Scribonius Proculus, in the year 63.
Several ancient inscriptions attest to the ''
Lex Manciana'', a law on the administration of state and imperial land ownership in the province 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 ...
. Various scholars have assumed from its name that Titus Curtilius Mancia enacted it. In turn, they have argued that he had been either governor or extraordinary legate of the emperor in that province, either during the reign of
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 unti ...
or 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 ...
. Ultimately, however, it is not certain whether Mancia is connected to the law, nor whether it was created at all during his lifetime.
Pliny the Younger reports in one of his letters that Mancia disliked his son-in-law, Domitius Lucanus. For this reason, he left his inheritance to his granddaughter on the condition that Lucanus release her from his power as
paterfamilias
The ''pater familias'', also written as ''paterfamilias'' (plural ''patres familias''), was the head of a Roman family. The ''pater familias'' was the oldest living male in a household, and could legally exercise autocratic authority over his ext ...
; this would prevent Lucanus from benefiting from the inheritance. This Lucanus did, only to have his brother
Gnaeus Domitius Tullus adopt her, allowing both brothers to benefit from her inheritance.
[Pliny, '' Epistulae'', VIII.18.4]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Curtilius Mancia, Titus
1st-century Romans
Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome
Roman governors of Germania Superior