Quintus Anicius Faustus (fl. late 2nd century – early 3rd century AD) 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 letter ...

military officer and

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 was appointed suffect consul in AD 198.

Biography

Born either in Uzappa in the province of

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 ...

, or in

Praeneste Palestrina (ancient ''Praeneste''; grc, Πραίνεστος, ''Prainestos'') is a modern Italian city and ''comune'' (municipality) with a population of about 22,000, in Lazio, about east of Rome. It is connected to the latter by the Via Pre ...

Italia Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, it has been speculated that Anicius Faustus was possibly the son of a Sextus Anicius Saturninus and Seia Maxima. A member of the third century ''

gens Anicia The gens Anicia (or the Anicii) was a plebeian family at ancient Rome, mentioned first towards the end of the fourth century BC. The first of the Anicii to achieve prominence under the Republic was Lucius Anicius Gallus, who conducted the war a ...

'' and a ''

novus homo ''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 Roman gens, family to serve in the Roman Senate or, more specifically, to be elected as R ...

'', Faustus was appointed the ''

Legatus Augusti pro praetore A ''legatus Augusti pro praetore'' (literally: "envoy of the emperor – acting for the praetor") was the official title of the governor or general of some Imperial provincess of the Roman Empire during the Principate era, normally the larger ones ...

'' (or imperial governor) of the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

by the

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa (Roman province), Africa. As a young man he advanced thro ...

, a position he held from AD 197 – 201. During this time he built several defensive forts of the

Limes Tripolitanus The ''Limes Tripolitanus'' was a frontier zone of defence of the Roman Empire, built in the south of what is now Tunisia and the northwest of Libya. It was primarily intended as a protection for the tripolitanian cities of Leptis Magna, Sabratha ...

, in southern

and in

Tripolitania Tripolitania ( ar, طرابلس '; ber, Ṭrables, script=Latn; from Vulgar Latin: , from la, Regio Tripolitana, from grc-gre, Τριπολιτάνια), historically known as the Tripoli region, is a historic region and former province o ...

, in order to protect the province from the raids of nomadic tribes. Anicius Faustus was appointed '' consul suffectus in absentia'' in AD 198, while serving in Numidia. This was followed by his posting as ''Legatus Augusti pro praetore'' of

Moesia Superior Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; el, Μοισία, Moisía) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River, which included most of the territory of modern eastern Serbia, Kosovo, north-eastern Alban ...

, which he may have held from possibly AD 202 to 205. He then fell out of favour with Septimius Severus, and this continued through

Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname "Caracalla" () was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. He was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Emperor S ...

’s reign, possibly due to his close working relationship with

Gaius Fulvius Plautianus Gaius or Lucius Fulvius Plautianus (c. 150 – 22 January 205) was a member of the Roman ''gens'' Fulvia. Like Sejanus, Perennis and Cleander, as head of the Praetorian Guard, he was formally extraordinarily powerful and influential in the adm ...

, who was executed for plotting to overthrow the

Severan Dynasty The Severan dynasty was a Ancient Rome, Roman imperial dynasty that ruled the Roman Empire between 193 and 235, during the Roman imperial period (chronology), Roman imperial period. The dynasty was founded by the emperor Septimius Severus (), w ...

. It wasn't until the reign of

Macrinus Marcus Opellius Macrinus (; – June 218) was Roman emperor from April 217 to June 218, reigning jointly with his young son Diadumenianus. As a member of the equestrian class, he became the first emperor who did not hail from the senatori ...

that he returned to favour, with his appointment as the

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 ' ...

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

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 area ...

, succeeding Gaius Julius Asper, a post which he held for two consecutive years, from AD 217 to 219. His

prorogation Prorogation in the Westminster system of government is the action of proroguing, or interrupting, a parliament, or the discontinuance of meetings for a given period of time, without a dissolution of parliament. The term is also used for the peri ...

was made at the expense of the distinguished

Marcus Aufidius Fronto Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to: * Marcus (name), a masculine given name * Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name Places * Marcus, a main belt asteroid, also known as (369088) Marcus 2008 GG44 * Mărcuş, a village in Dobâr ...

, whom Macrinus wanted to humiliate. Anicius Faustus is speculated to have married either a Vesia Rustica or a Sergia Paulla, daughter of Lucius Sergius Paullus, consul ordinary 168. He probably had at least one son,

Quintus Anicius Faustus Paulinus Quintus Anicius Faustus Paulinus (or possibly Sextus Anicius Faustus Paulinus) (fl. 3rd century AD) was a Roman military officer and senator who was appointed suffect consul sometime before AD 230. Biography Probably the son of Quintus Anicius Fa ...

, who was a suffect consul sometime before AD 230.Leunissen, ''Konsuln und Konsulare'', p. 373

Sources

* Mennen, Inge, ''Power and Status in the Roman Empire, AD 193-284'' (2011) *

Pat Southern Patricia Southern (born 1948) is an English historian of classical Rome. Early life Born in 1948 near Altrincham, Cheshire, Southern studied Ancient History and Archaeology with the Universities of London and Newcastle upon Tyne. Career So ...

, ''Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine'', Routledge, 2001, , pp. 45, 295.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anicius Faustus, Quintus 2nd-century Romans 3rd-century Romans Faustus Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome Roman governors of Asia Roman governors of Upper Moesia Roman legates Year of death unknown Year of birth unknown