Titus Prifernius Paetus Rosianus 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 ...

of the second century who held a series of posts in the emperor's service. He was suffect consul for the '' nundinium'' of May-June AD 146 as the colleague of

Publius Mummius Sisenna Rutilianus Publius Mummius Sisenna Rutilianus was a Roman senator of the second century AD. He is best known from Lucian's vivid portrayal of him in ''Alexander vel Pseudomantis'', where the senator is described as "a man of good family and tested in many Rom ...

Life

Paetus was born in Trebula Mutusca to a senatorial family with many connections. His father, Titus Prifernius Paetus Rosianus Geminus, was suffect consul in 123, and his grandfather, Titus Prifernius Paetus, was suffect consul in 96. His family was prestigious not only on the wider level but also on the local; Paetus is recorded holding all of the municipal posts of his home city.Edward Dabrowa, ''Legio X Fretensis: A Prosopographical Study of its Officers (I-III c. A.D.)'' (Stuttgart: Franz Steiner, 1993), p. 56 The first recorded office Paetus held was as one of the '' decemviri stlitibus judicandus'', one of the four magistracies that comprised the ''

vigintiviri __NOTOC__The ''vigintisexviri'' ( ''vigintisexvir''; ) were a college ( ''collegium'') of minor magistrates (''magistratus minores'') in the Roman Republic. The college consisted of six boards: * the ''decemviri stlitibus judicandis'' – 1 ...

''. Then in the late 20s of the second century he served as

military tribune A military tribune (Latin ''tribunus militum'', "tribune of the soldiers") was an officer of the Roman army who ranked below the legate and above the centurion. Young men of Equestrian rank often served as military tribune as a stepping stone ...

in the

Legio X Fretensis Legio X ''Fretensis'' ("Tenth legion of the Strait") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. It was founded by the young Gaius Octavius (later to become Augustus Caesar) in 41/40 BC to fight during the period of civil war that started the disso ...

, stationed in

Judea Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous so ...

. Upon returning to Rome, he held the traditional Roman magistracies --

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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

-- all with the recommendation of the emperor

Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania ...

. Edward Dabrowa attributes this favor to the intercession of either his father or the well-known lawyer and friend of the Emperor, his brother-in-law

Publius Pactumeius Clemens Publius Pactumeius Clemens was a Roman senator and jurisconsult active during the first century AD. He was suffect consul for the '' nundinium'' April-June 138 as the colleague of Marcus Vindius Verus; according to Ronald Syme, Clemens is the earl ...

. According to

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 ...

, Clemens was quaestor to Paetus' father, when 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

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. After serving as praetor, Paetus went on to be ''

legatus legionis A ''legatus'' (; anglicised as legate) was a high-ranking Roman military officer in the Roman Army, equivalent to a modern high-ranking general officer. Initially used to delegate power, the term became formalised under Augustus as the office ...

'' or commander of a legion whose name has not been preserved (the two most likely units are

Legio XIV Gemina Legio XIV Gemina ("The Twinned Fourteenth Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army, levied by Julius Caesar in 57 BC. The cognomen ''Gemina'' (Twinned) was added when the legion was combined with another understrength legion after the B ...

Legio IV Scythica Legio was a Roman military camp south of Tel Megiddo in the Roman province of Galilee. History Following the Bar Kokhba Revolt (132-136CE), Legio VI Ferrata was stationed at Legio near Caparcotna. The approximate location of the camp of the Leg ...

), then governor of

Gallia Aquitania Gallia Aquitania ( , ), also known as Aquitaine or Aquitaine Gaul, was a province of the Roman Empire. It lies in present-day southwest France, where it gives its name to the modern region of Aquitaine. It was bordered by the provinces of Gal ...

; Géza Alföldy offers the dates for this office as from around 142 to 145. Dabrowa notes, "This post was of great significance because at that time it promised a swift promotion to consulship."Dabrowa, ''Legio X Fretensis'', p. 57 He became suffect consul a year after his return to Rome. After the consulship, Paetus was admitted to the ''

collegium 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 rea ...

'' of

augur An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying ...

s. He also held a series of consular offices: ''curator alvei Tiberis et cloacarum Urbis'', ''praefectus alimentorum''; then two governorships, that 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 ...

from 153 to 156, and the pinnacle of senatorial success, proconsular governor of Africa in 160/161.Alföldy, ''Konsulat und Senatorenstand'', p. 209

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prifernius Paetus Rosianus Geminus, Titus 2nd-century Romans Senators of the Roman Empire Imperial Roman consuls Roman governors of Gallia Aquitania Roman governors of Dalmatia Roman governors of Africa Augurs of the Roman Empire