Quintus Julius Cordinus Gaius Rutilius Gallicus

Quintus Julius Cordinus Gaius Rutilius Gallicus was a Roman senator who held several posts in the emperor's service. He was twice suffect consul: for the first time in the nundinium September-October 70;[1] and the second time in 85, replacing the emperor Domitian and with Lucius Valerius Catullus Messalinus as his colleague.[2]

He was often referred to by the shorter name Gaius Rutilius Gallicus, which Olli Salomies notes was his name prior to his adoption; Gallicus was a member of the gens Rutilii from Augusta Taurinorum, the modern Turin. The general consensus is that the adoptive element is Quintus Julius Cordius, and when his full name was used "Gaius" was frequently dropped. Although a Quintus Julius Cordius was the suffect consul of 71, Salomies doubts he was the adoptive father, although "no doubt closely related" to him.[3]

Life

His first known post was military tribune of Legio XIII Gemina, which he is attested as holding AD 52.[4] This was followed by the Republican magistracies of quaestor and curule aedile, then legatus or commander of Legio XV Apollinaris, during the reign of the emperor Claudius, at the time it was stationed in Pannonia.[5] Following this he was assigned to govern the province of Galatia.[4] Gallicus was co-opted into the sodales Augustales in the year 68;[6] as this collegia of priests was important to the Julio-Claudian dynasty, it indicates Gallicus was favored by the emperor Nero.

Despite being favored by Nero, he found favor from Vespasian, for Gallicus he not only received his first consulate from that emperor, during his reign Gallicus was admitted to the College of Pontiffs.[7] He was proconsular governor of Africa in 73/74.[8] Although being proconsul of Africa or Asia was considered a senator's final step in imperial service, Gallicus is known to have been governor of Germania Inferior from 76 to 78.[9] His second consulate followed seven years later.

Gallicus' final office was Urban prefect, which he held around 91. Statius dedicated a poem to him (Silviae, 1.4), celebrating his recovery from illness. His recovery proved short-lived, as Statius notes Gallicus died from that same illness in the preface to the first book of Silviae, published not long Gallicus' death.

Gallicus was married, and her name is known from an inscription found in Augusta Tauricorum: Minicia L.f. Paetina.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Paul Gallivan, "The Fasti for A. D. 70-96", Classical Quarterly, 31 (1981), pp. 200, 213
  2. ↑ Gallivan, "The Fasti for A. D. 70-96", pp. 190, 216
  3. ↑ Salomies, Adoptive and polyonymous nomenclature in the Roman Empire, (Helsinski: Societas Scientiarum Fenica, 1992), pp. 116f and note
  4. 1 2 AE 1998, 128
  5. ↑ CIL III, 4591
  6. ↑ CIL VI, 1984
  7. ↑ CIL VIII, 25967
  8. ↑ Werner Eck, "Jahres- und Provinzialfasten der senatorischen Statthalter von 69/70 bis 138/139", Chiron 12 (1982), p. 293
  9. ↑ Eck, "Jahres- und Provinzialfasten", pp. 297-300
  10. ↑ CIL V, 6990

Further reading

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.