Marcus Valerius Messalla Messallinus (also spelled as Messalinus,
[Gagarin, ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome: Academy Bible'', p.131] c. 36 BC – after AD 21) 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 ...
who was elected
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 ...
for 3 BC.
Early life
Messallinus was born and raised 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 ...
. He was the oldest son of the senator, orator and literary patron
Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus
Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus (64 BC – AD 8 or c. 12) was a Roman general, author, and patron of literature and art.
Family
Corvinus was the son of the consul in 61 BC, Marcus Valerius Messalla Niger,Syme, R., ''Augustan Aristocracy'', ...
[Juster, ''Elgies: With parallel Latin text'', p. 119][ (whom he resembled in character) and his wife Calpurnia. Messallinus is known to have had at least one sister, Valeria, who married the senator ]Titus Statilius Taurus
Titus Statilius Taurus was the name of a line of Roman senators. The first known and most important of these was a Roman general and two-time consul prominent during the Triumviral and Augustan periods. The other men who bore this name were hi ...
. From his father's second marriage,[Syme, ''Augustan Aristocracy'', p. 230] his younger paternal half-brother was the senator Marcus Aurelius Cotta Maximus Messalinus
Marcus Aurelius Cotta Maximus Messalinus (flourished second half of 1st century BC and first half of 1st century AD) was a Roman Senator who was a friend of the first two Roman emperors Augustus and Tiberius.Pettinger, ''The Republic in Danger: Dr ...
. Messallinus was the great-uncle of Lollia Paulina
Lollia Paulina, also known as Lollia Paullina[Caligula
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germani ...]
, and a relation to Statilia Messalina
Statilia Messalina (c. AD 35 – after 68) was a Roman patrician woman, a Roman Empress and third wife to Roman Emperor Nero.
Biography Background
The ancient sources say little of her family; however, Suetonius states that she was a great-gre ...
, the third wife 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 ...
.
Career
The poet Albius Tibullus mentions that Messallinus was admitted into 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 ...
'', the ''collegia
A (plural ), or college, was any association in ancient Rome that acted as a legal entity. Following the passage of the ''Lex Julia'' during the reign of Julius Caesar as Consul and Dictator of the Roman Republic (49–44 BC), and their ...
'' in charge of the Sibylline Books
The ''Sibylline Books'' ( la, Libri Sibyllini) were a collection of oracular utterances, set out in Greek hexameters, that, according to tradition, were purchased from a sibyl by the last king of Rome, Tarquinius Superbus, and were consulted at ...
. Syme notes that the date of Messallinus' admission was before the poet's death in 19 BC, and argues the admission was in 21 BC.[ He served as a consul in 3 BC.][
In AD 6, Messallinus served as a governor in Illyricum.][ During his time in Illyricum, he served with Tiberius with distinction in a campaign against the Pannonians and Dalmatians in the uprising of the ]Great Illyrian Revolt
The (Latin for 'War of the Batos') was a military conflict fought in the Roman province of Illyricum in the 1st century AD, in which an alliance of native peoples of the two regions of Illyricum, Dalmatia and Pannonia, revolted against the Roma ...
with the half-strength Legio XX Valeria Victrix
Legio XX Valeria Victrix, in English Twentieth Victorious Valeria Legion was a legion of the Imperial Roman army.
The origin of the Legion's name is unclear and there are various theories, but the legion may have gained its title ''Valeria ...
.[ Messallinus defeated the Pannonii, led by ]Bato the Daesitiate
Bato the Daesitiate (also known as Bato of the Daesitiates) was a chieftain of the Daesitiates, an Illyrian tribe which fought against the Roman Empire between 6 and 9 AD in a conflict known as '' Bellum Batonianum'' ("Bato's War").
Biography
...
, and prevented the spreading of the uprising. For his defeat over Bato, Messallinus was rewarded with a triumphal decoration (ornamenta triumphalia) and a place in the procession during Tiberius’ Pannonian triumph in AD 12, four years after the death of his father.
In the first session of the Senate after Tiberius
Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...
ascended to the imperial throne in AD 14, Messallinus suggested that an oath of allegiance should be sworn to the emperor yearly. Tiberius declined this offer, then asked if this motion was his own idea. Messallinus replied that it was a spontaneous suggestion, meant to show public spirit, even at the risk of his own safety. He next appears in history six years later, in AD 20, as part of the outcome of the trial and execution of Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso. 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 ...
notes that Messallinus, along with Caecina Severus
Aulus Caecina Severus was a Roman politician and general who was consul in 1 BC. He was Emperor Augustus' representative in Moesia when the Great Illyrian Revolt broke out. As a result, he spent 4 years in heavy fighting against the Illyrian ...
, proposed a golden statue be placed in the temple of Mars the Avenger, and an altar dedicated to Vengeance, in celebration of the execution of Piso. Emperor Tiberius blocked the motion, pointing out that victories over foreign powers were commemorated with such acts, but domestic conflicts should be shrouded in silent grief. Messallinus was recorded as also proposing that public thanks be given to Tiberius and other individuals for having avenged Germanicus
Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19) was an ancient Roman general, known for his campaigns in Germania. The son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia the Younger, Germanicus was born into an influential branch of the pa ...
. When Lucius Nonius Asprenas pointedly asked if Messallinus had intentionally omitted all mention of Claudius
Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Drusus and Antonia Minor ...
in his proposal, the future emperor was then added. Messallinus also appears as one of seven witnesses of the ''Senatus consultum de Cn. Pisone patre'', the Roman Senate's official act concerning the trial and punishment of Piso.
The last time Tacitus mentions Messallinus is in his account of AD 21, when he spoke against a motion before the Senate to forbid senators from bringing their wives with them when leaving to govern a province. Syme hints that Messallinus died not long after, noting that Tacitus provided no obituary notice for the senator, concluding that "the oration did service as a conspicuous exit."
Literature
Tibullus is not the only poet to mention Messallinus. From his exile at Tomis, the poet Ovid
Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom ...
addressed as many as three poems to him. Ovid's ''Tristia
The ''Tristia'' ("Sorrows" or "Lamentations") is a collection of letters written in elegiac couplets by the Augustan poet Ovid during his exile from Rome. Despite five books of his copious bewailing of his fate, the immediate cause of Augus ...
'' comprises poems written during his travel into exile, and his first years at Tomis, none of which mention names. Syme explains this omission "ostensibly to avoid embarrassment". Despite this, Syme is confident that one of the poems in ''Tristia'' (IV.4) is addressed to Messalinus. After beginning with a compliment to noble birth, to noble character, and to eloquence inherited from his father, Ovid pleads with Messalinus to intervene with Augustus to recall him from exile.
The next other two poems are part of his three-book collection titled ''Epistulae ex Ponto
''Epistulae ex Ponto'' (''Letters from the Black Sea'') is a work of Ovid, in four books. It is a collection of letters describing Ovid's exile in Tomis (modern-day Constanța) written in elegiac couplets and addressed to his wife and friends. ...
'' ("Letters from the Black Sea"), in elegiacs like ''Tristia
The ''Tristia'' ("Sorrows" or "Lamentations") is a collection of letters written in elegiac couplets by the Augustan poet Ovid during his exile from Rome. Despite five books of his copious bewailing of his fate, the immediate cause of Augus ...
'', but providing the names of the addressees of the poems unlike ''Trisita''. Syme dates the first poem (I.7) to AD 12, and the second (II.2) to the following year. Both repeat Ovid's pleas for help to be recalled from Tomis. "The three pieces to his address fail to disclose any close personal relationship, common acquaintances, or liking for poetry," Syme observes, and contrasts this to Ovid's relationship with Messalinus' brother Cotta Maximus. "Ovid knew him from the cradle (''Ex P.'' II.3.72), he mentions in 11 his wife and new-born son (''Tr.'' IV.5.27ff)."
Family
Messallinus' daughter Valeria Messallia was born c. 10 BC (her mother might have been Claudia Marcella Minor
Claudia Marcella Minor (''PIR2'' C 1103, born some time before 39 BC) was a niece of the first Roman emperor Augustus. She was the second surviving daughter of the emperor's sister Octavia the Younger and her first husband Gaius Claudius Marcellu ...
) and later married the praetor of AD 17, Lucius Vipstanus Gallus. In the next generation two Vipstani are known, with the cognomina "Messalla" and "Poplicola". This led 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 ...
to observe that either Lucius or Marcus Vipstanus Gallus married a daughter of Marcus Valerius Messalla Messallinus and Claudia Marcella Minor
Claudia Marcella Minor (''PIR2'' C 1103, born some time before 39 BC) was a niece of the first Roman emperor Augustus. She was the second surviving daughter of the emperor's sister Octavia the Younger and her first husband Gaius Claudius Marcellu ...
, who is named (for convenience) Valeria Messallia.[In Table IX of ''The Augustan Aristocracy'', Syme indicates Lucius Vipstanus Gallus as the husband of Valeria Messallia, but notes the relationship is "conjectural".] This alliance with the gens Valeria
The gens Valeria was a patrician family at ancient Rome, prominent from the very beginning of the Republic to the latest period of the Empire. Publius Valerius Poplicola was one of the consuls in 509 BC, the year that saw the overthrow of th ...
led to the prominence of the family during the first centuries of the Roman Empire.[Ronald Syme]
"Missing Persons III"
'' Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte'', 11 (1962), pp. 149f According to the French Historian Christian Settipani
Christian Settipani (born 31 January 1961) is a French genealogist, historian and IT professional, currently working as the Technical Director of a company in Paris.
Biography
Settipani holds a Master of Advanced Studies from the Paris-Sorbo ...
, after the death of her husband Paullus Aemilius Lepidus
Paullus Aemilius LepidusLightman, ''A to Z of Ancient Greek and Roman Women'', p. 205 (c. 77 BC – after 11 BC) was a Roman senator.
Biography
He was a grandson of Marcus Aemilius Lepidus and Appuleia through their son Lucius Aemilius Pa ...
, Marcella married the Roman Senator Marcus Valerius Messalla Messallinus.[Settipani, ''Continuité gentilice et continuité sénatoriale dans les familles sénatoriales romaines à l'époque impériale''] Marcella bore Messallinus a daughter called Valeria Messallia, born ca. 10 BC, who later married the praetor of 17, Lucius Vipstanus Gallus.[ However, Messallinus (son of Corvinus) was younger than Marcella. That fact does not prevent the marriage, but makes it unlikely, given Roman tradition.
]
References
Sources
* Marcus Velleius Paterculus
Marcus Velleius Paterculus (; c. 19 BC – c. AD 31) was a Roman historian, soldier and senator. His Roman history, written in a highly rhetorical style, covered the period from the end of the Trojan War to AD 30, but is most useful for the per ...
- 2.112.1-2
* 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 ...
- The Annals of Imperial Rome
* Suetonius
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; c. AD 69 – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τ� ...
- The Lives of the Twelve Caesars
* Cassius Dio
Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...
, 55.30.1-5.
* A. Tibullus, ''The Complete Poems of Tibullus: An En Face Bilingual Edition'', University of California Press, 2012
* A. M. Juster, ''Elegies: With parallel Latin text'' (Google eBook), Oxford University Press, 2012
* Velleius Paterculus – Translated with Introduction and Notes by J.C. Yardley & A.A. Barrett, The Roman History, Hackett Publishing, 2011
* M. Gagarin & E. Fantham, ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome: Academy Bible'', Oxford University Press, 2009
* V. Paterculus, ''Paterculus: The Tiberian Narrative'', Cambridge University Press, 2004
* Ronald Syme, ''The Augustan Aristocracy'', Oxford University Press, 1989
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valerius Messalla Messallinus, Marcus
30s BC births
1st-century deaths
1st-century BC clergy
1st-century BC Roman consuls
1st-century Romans
Imperial Roman consuls
Julio-Claudian dynasty
Ovid
Quindecimviri sacris faciundis
Roman patricians
Messallinus, Marcus
Year of birth uncertain
Year of death uncertain