Gaius or Lucius Fulvius Plautianus (c. 150 – 22 January 205) was a member of the Roman ''gens'' Fulvia. Like

Sejanus Lucius Aelius Sejanus (c. 20 BC – 18 October AD 31), commonly known as Sejanus (), was a Roman soldier, friend and confidant of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. Of the Equites class by birth, Sejanus rose to power as prefect of the Praetorian Guar ...

, Perennis and Cleander, as head of the

Praetorian Guard The Praetorian Guard (Latin: ''cohortēs praetōriae'') was a unit of the Imperial Roman army that served as personal bodyguards and intelligence agents for the Roman emperors. During the Roman Republic, the Praetorian Guard were an escort for ...

, he was formally extraordinarily powerful and influential in the administration of state affairs, and was involved with

Julia Domna Julia Domna (; – 217 AD) was Roman empress from 193 to 211 as the wife of Emperor Septimius Severus. She was the first empress of the Severan dynasty. Domna was born in Emesa (present-day Homs) in Roman Syria to an Arab family of priests o ...

, the powerful wife of

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. As a young man he advanced through the customary succ ...

, who played a prominent public and political role, in influencing the emperor's decisions. Plautianus was originally from

Leptis Magna Leptis or Lepcis Magna, also known by other names in antiquity, was a prominent city of the Carthaginian Empire and Roman Libya at the mouth of the Wadi Lebda in the Mediterranean. Originally a 7th-centuryBC Phoenician foundation, it was grea ...

, southeast of

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the cl ...

(modern

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in t ...

). He was a maternal cousin and long-time friend of the

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

. Plautianus' father was another Gaius Fulvius Plautianus, born c. 130, whose sister, Fulvia Pia (c. 125 - after 198), was married to Severus' father Publius Septimius Geta. Plautianus was ''

Praefectus vigilum The ''Vigiles'' or more properly the ''Vigiles Urbani'' ("watchmen of the City") or ''Cohortes Vigilum'' (" cohorts of the watchmen") were the firefighters and police of ancient Rome. History The ''Triumviri Nocturni'' (meaning ''three men of ...

'' (commander of the '' Vigiles'' in Rome) from 193 to 197. Plautianus was appointed

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

of the

in 197. Due to their friendship, Severus rewarded Plautianus with various honors, including a consular insignia, a seat in the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...

and the

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 ...

ship of 203. During his consulship, Plautianus' image was minted on coins along with Severus' second son, Publius Septimius Geta. He assisted Severus in administering the empire and became very wealthy and powerful. Severus made him his second in command. He competed with

, the wife of the Emperor, in running the government (she too helped her husband run the empire, but was behind the scenes because of her gender). In 202, Plautianus married his daughter, Publia

Fulvia Plautilla Publia Fulvia Plautilla (c. 185/around 188/189 – 211) was the wife of the Roman emperor Caracalla, her paternal second cousin. After her father was condemned for treason, she was exiled and eventually killed, possibly on Caracalla's orders. ...

, to

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 ...

(Severus’ first son and co-emperor) in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Plautianus began to conduct himself like a ruthless ruler, having those who opposed him assassinated or executed at will. He became so powerful that Caracalla and his effective mother,

, began to be concerned. Aware of her reservations, Plautianus sought to disrepute, dishonor and disempower Julia. He had her servants and friends arrested and tortured in hopes of extracting some damaging testimony against her; however, he was unsuccessful in his efforts. The aforementioned marriage between Caracalla and Plautilla was not a happy one - In fact, Caracalla loathed both her and her father, threatening to kill them after becoming sole emperor. When Plautianus discovered this, he plotted to overthrow Severus' family. This deeply troubled Julia Domna, who began plotting Plautianus's downfall. When Plautianus' treachery was discovered, the imperial family summoned him to the palace and ordered his death on 22 January 205. From this point onwards, the Empress became only the chief political advisor to her husband the Emperor; as Augusta of the empire, she was now the only influential person in the government to help Severus run the empire. After his death, at the request of Julia Domna, Plautianus’ property was confiscated, his name was erased from public monuments, and his son of the same name, his daughter and his granddaughter were exiled to

Sicily Sicily ( it, Sicilia , ) is the list of islands in the Mediterranean, largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. The Strait of Messina divides it from the region of Calabria in Southern Italy. I ...

. They were all strangled on Caracalla's orders in early 212.

Family

He married Hortensia and had: *

* Gaius Fulvius Plautius Hortensianus (c. 170 - executed, 212).Birley, ''Septimius Severus'', p. 221 He was married to Aurelia (born c. 170), daughter of Lucius Aurelius Gallus consul in 174.

References

Sources

Ancientlibrary.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fulvius Plautianus, Gaius 150s births 205 deaths Year of birth uncertain Imperial Roman consuls Ancient Roman generals Plautianus, Gaius 2nd-century Romans 3rd-century Romans Praetorian prefects Generals of Septimius Severus