Aulus Ducenius Geminus 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 ...

active in the first century AD. Geminus is best known as

Galba Galba (; born Servius Sulpicius Galba; 24 December 3 BC – 15 January AD 69) was the sixth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 68 to 69. After his adoption by his stepmother, and before becoming emperor, he was known as Livius Ocella Sulpicius Ga ...

's appointment as

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 ...

of Rome during the

Year of Four Emperors A year or annus is the orbital period of a planetary body, for example, the Earth, moving in its orbit around the Sun. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, marked by change in weather, the hou ...

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 ...

, ''

Histories Histories or, in Latin, Historiae may refer to: * the plural of history * ''Histories'' (Herodotus), by Herodotus * ''The Histories'', by Timaeus * ''The Histories'' (Polybius), by Polybius * ''Histories'' by Gaius Sallustius Crispus (Sallust), ...

'', i.14 Geminus had family connections with

Patavium Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

; he is one of three consular Ducenii that

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 ...

identifies as a native of that town. The other two are

Gaius Ducenius Proculus Gaius, sometimes spelled ''Gajus'', Kaius, Cajus, Caius, was a common Latin praenomen; see Gaius (praenomen). People *Gaius (jurist) (), Roman jurist *Gaius Acilius *Gaius Antonius * Gaius Antonius Hybrida *Gaius Asinius Gallus *Gaius Asinius P ...

, consul in 87, and

Publius Ducenius Verus Publius may refer to: Roman name * Publius (praenomen) * Ancient Romans with the name: ** Publius Valerius Publicola (died 503 BC), Roman consul, co-founder of the Republic **Publius Clodius Pulcher (c. 93 BC – 52 BC), Republican politician ...

, consul in 96.

Life

Most of Geminus' career is known from an acephalic inscription (one where the name of the subject is missing) recovered from

Epidaurus Epidaurus ( gr, Ἐπίδαυρος) was a small city ('' polis'') in ancient Greece, on the Argolid Peninsula at the Saronic Gulf. Two modern towns bear the name Epidavros: '' Palaia Epidavros'' and '' Nea Epidavros''. Since 2010 they belong t ...

in Greece;

Werner Eck Werner Eck (born 17 December 1939) is Professor of Ancient History at Cologne University, Germany, and a noted expert on the history and epigraphy of imperial Rome.Eck, W. (2007) ''The Age of Augustus''. 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell, cover notes. Hi ...

has argued that the subject of this inscription is Geminus."Miscellanea prosopographica"
''

Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik The ''Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik'' (commonly abbreviated ZPE; "Journal of Papyrology and Epigraphy") is a peer-reviewed academic journal which contains articles that pertain to papyrology and epigraphy. It has been described as " ...

'', 42 (1981), pp. 229f The earliest office found on this inscription is that of

quaestor A ( , , ; "investigator") was a public official in Ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officials who ...

, assigned to the province of

Crete and Cyrenaica Crete and Cyrenaica ( la, Provincia Creta et Cyrenaica, Ancient Greek ) was a senatorial province of the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire, established in 67 BC. It comprised the island of Crete and the region of Cyrenaica in present-day ...

; the office of quaestor qualified Geminus for admission to the Roman Senate. Next is the traditional republican magistracy 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 ...

, after which there is a gap in the inscription. It can be assumed he was

praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vari ...

, since Geminus had acceded to suffect consul. The date of his consulate is variously given. The older authorities follow

Edmund Groag Edmund Groag (2 February 1873, in Prerau – 19 August 1945, in Vienna) was an Austrian classical scholar, who specialized in Roman history. From 1892 he studied history and philology at the University of Vienna, receiving his doctorate in 18 ...

's argument that Geminus was suffect consul in AD 54 or 55. However, Eck has more recently shown that a '' nundinium'' in either year 60 or 61 is more likely. Syme endorses the years 60 or 61, and builds on it the hypothesis that Geminus may owe his appointment to the consulate to Lucius Vitellius, one 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 un ...

's ''comites'', as had

Titus Clodius Eprius Marcellus Titus Clodius Eprius Marcellus (died AD 79) was a Roman senator, twice consul, best known for his prosecution of the Stoic senator Thrasea Paetus and his bitter quarrel with Helvidius Priscus. Eprius was also notorious for his ability to in ...

and Lucius Junius Quintus Vibius Crispus.Syme, "Eight Consuls", p. 112 Nevertheless, either date would fit the next known office: in the year 62 the emperor

appointed Geminus, along with Lucius Calpurnius Piso and Aulus Pompeius Paulinus, to a commission to manage the public revenues. According to the inscription from Epidurus, after stepping down from the consulate Geminus became a member of the ''

quindecimviri sacris faciundis In ancient Rome, the were the fifteen () members of a college (''collegium'') with priestly duties. They guarded the Sibylline Books, scriptures which they consulted and interpreted at the request of the Senate. This ''collegium'' also oversa ...

'', one of the four most prestigious priesthoods of ancient Rome, and the ''

sodales Augustales The Sodales or Sacerdotes Augustales (''singular'' Sodalis or Sacerdos Augustalis), or simply Augustales,Tacitus, ''Annales'' 1.54 were an order ('' sodalitas'') of Roman priests originally instituted by Tiberius to attend to the maintenance of t ...

''. During the reign of Nero, Geminus was appointed governor of

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see names in other languages) is one of the four historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of the Adriatic Sea, str ...

; Syme dates his governorship prior to the year 69. A boundary stone attests that he participated in settling a dispute between Carinium (modern Karin Gornji in Croatia) and another community, possibly Ansium (modern Cvijina Gradina); other evidence records that he led a military expedition into

Illyria In classical antiquity, Illyria (; grc, Ἰλλυρία, ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; la, Illyria, ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyr ...

. Galba appointed Geminus as the replacement for Titus Flavius Sabinus as

mentions Geminus' presence at the meeting when Galba announced on 10 January 69 that he would make Lucius Calpurnius Piso his heir. Gwyn Morgan suspects Galba's motivation was to keep the urban cohorts in control by a trusted associate. Syme, on the other hand, suspected the influence of someone in Galba's entourage. "Perhaps friends of Thrasea Paetus now coming back from exile," Syme writes. "Or, for that matter, the consular

Silius Italicus Tiberius Catius Asconius Silius Italicus (, c. 26 – c. 101 AD) was a Roman senator, orator and epic poet of the Silver Age of Latin literature. His only surviving work is the 17-book '' Punica'', an epic poem about the Second Punic War and th ...

should not too readily be discounted, despite his recent and questionable activities." Following the assassination of Galba and the ascension of

Otho Marcus Otho (; born Marcus Salvius Otho; 28 April 32 – 16 April 69) was the seventh Roman emperor, ruling for three months from 15 January to 16 April 69. He was the second emperor of the Year of the Four Emperors. A member of a noble Etr ...

as emperor, Geminus lost his office and Flavius Sabinus was restored. Geminus somehow survived the chaos of that year. The inscription from Epidurus and a second from

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

both attest that he was

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 ' ...

ar governor of

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 are ...

. While older authorities who follow Groag's dating for Geminus' consulate date his tenure as governor to 68/69, Eck's more recent investigation supports a date of 73/74 as governor of Asia.Judith Ginsburg, "Nero's Consular Policy", ''

American Journal of Ancient History The ''American Journal of Ancient History'' (often abbreviated ''AJAH'') is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering ancient history and classical studies. It was established in 1976 at Harvard University and is published by Gorgias Press. The jou ...

'' 6 (1981), p. 68 n. 54 His life after this governorship is so far unknown; as he was at least in his fifties when he concluded his proconsular office, Geminus might have died soon afterwards.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ducenius Geminus, Aulus Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome 1st-century Romans Urban prefects of Rome Roman governors of Dalmatia Roman governors of Asia