Lucius Junius Caesennius Paetus (c. 20 - 72?) 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 ...

, and member of the ''

gens In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; plural: ''gentes'' ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same nomen and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a ''stirps'' (plural: ''stirpes''). The ''gen ...

'' Caesennia and Junia, who held several offices in the emperor's service. He was '' consul ordinarius'' for the year 61 as the colleague of

Publius Petronius Turpilianus Publius Petronius Turpilianus was a Roman senator who held a number of offices in the middle of the 1st century AD, most notably governor of Britain. He was an ordinary consul in the year 61 with Lucius Junius Caesennius Paetus as his colleague.Pau ...

. Judith Ginsburg notes this made him the first ''

novus homo ''Novus homo'' or ''homo novus'' ( Latin for 'new man'; ''novi homines'' or ''homines novi'') was the term in ancient Rome for a man who was the first in his family to serve in the Roman Senate or, more specifically, to be elected as consul. W ...

'' to reach the ordinary consulship since Quintus Veranius 12 years before.

Early life

Paetus, also known as "Caesennius Paetus" in a number of sources, was possibly the son of Publius Caesennius Paetus, an Etruscan from Tarquinia; the "Lucius Junius" suggests he was

adopted Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

by a Lucius Junius. He may also be the great-grandson of Lucius Caesennius Lento.

Career under Nero

Paetus served as a politician and general during the reigns 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 ( ...

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 ...

(54-68) and

Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Emp ...

(69-79). Ginsburg surmises that Paetus achieved the consulship through the influence of a group of senators that included the families of the Vitellii and Flavii. After he stepped down from the consulate in June, Paetus departed Rome to assume the governorship of the imperial province of

Cappadocia Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Revo ...

. During his governorship, the general Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo conducted Rome's war with

Parthia Parthia ( peo, 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 ''Parθava''; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 ''Parθaw''; pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Med ...

over

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''O ...

. In successive campaigns, Corbulo had established Roman rule over the country, and Paetus was placed in charge of defending it from Parthian counterstrokes. Paetus resented Corbulo's talent as a general. In 62 however, Paetus, at the head of an army that included the legions XII ''Fulminata'' and IV ''Scythica'', suffered a catastrophic defeat at the

Battle of Rhandeia A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

against the Parthian and Armenian forces of King Tiridates I of Armenia. Although relief forces headed by Corbulo were only 50 miles away, Paetus surrendered his fortified camp. He and his legions were shamed by passing under the yoke and were allowed to retreat from Armenia. After his defeat, Paetus' weak character and his incapability to command were revealed, and his military command was entrusted again to Corbulo. Charged with both incompetence and cowardice, Paetus was quickly pardoned by Nero, who dismissively commented that suspense would be harmful to someone of such timidity.

Career under Vespasian

In 72, Paetus, Governor of

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

since 70, had sent letters addressed to Vespasian accusing King

Antiochus IV Antiochus IV Epiphanes (; grc, Ἀντίοχος ὁ Ἐπιφανής, ''Antíochos ho Epiphanḗs'', "God Manifest"; c. 215 BC – November/December 164 BC) was a Greek Hellenistic king who ruled the Seleucid Empire from 175 BC until his deat ...

of the client Kingdom of Commagene, together with his sons Gaius Julius Archelaus Antiochus Epiphanes and

Callinicus Callinicus or Kallinikos ( el, Καλλίνικος) is a surname or male given name; the feminine form is Kalliniki, Callinice or Callinica ( el, Καλλινίκη). It is of Greek origin, meaning "beautiful victor". People named Callinicus Seleu ...

, of planning to revolt against

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 ...

and allying themselves with the King of

. It is not known whether these accusations were true or false. After reading the letters, Vespasian felt that he could no longer trust the family of Antiochus IV with the protection of the strategic crossings of the

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...

River at Samosata, and thus resolved to directly annex Commagene. Paetus invaded the Kingdom of Commagene at the head of ''Legio'' VI ''Ferrata''. The client Kings

Aristobulus of Chalcis Aristobulus V of Chalcis ( grc-gre, Ἀριστόβουλος) was a son of Herod of Chalcis and his first wife Mariamne. Herod of Chalcis, ruler of Chalcis in Iturea, was a grandson of Herod the Great through his father, Aristobulus IV. Mariamn ...

and Sohaemus of Emesa also supplied troops to Paetus. The two armies encamped opposite each other, but no battle occurred, as the Commagenians were loath to confront the Roman army. Antiochus Epiphanes, his family, and Callinicus fled to Parthia, while their father, Antiochus IV, fled to

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern co ...

. There is, however, a possibility that Epiphanes and Callinicus made a short-lived attempt to resist invasion before fleeing to

. Antiochus IV and his family had never wanted war with

and they wanted to rebut these accusations. Antiochus Epiphanes, with his family and Callinicus, were brought back to Rome with an honour guard, and lived out their lives there. Paetus' subsequent career and date of death are unknown.

Personal life

Paetus married Flavia Sabina, born c. 30, the daughter of Titus Flavius Sabinus and Arrecina Clementina and paternal niece of Vespasian. Their children included two sons: the oldest was named

Lucius Junius Caesennius Paetus Lucius Junius Caesennius Paetus (c. 45 - after 94) was a Roman senator active during the Flavian dynasty. He was suffect consul for the '' nundinium'' of March-June 79 with Publius Calvisius Ruso as his colleague. Caesennius was the son and na ...

, consul in 79; the younger

Lucius Caesennius Sospes Lucius Caesennius Sospes was a Roman senator of the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. Through his mother, Flavia Sabina, a cousin of the Roman emperors Titus and Domitian, his connections enabled him to hold a series of civil and military imperial appo ...

, consul in 114.Ronald Syme
"The Enigmatic Sospes"
'' Journal of Roman Studies'', 67 (1977), p. 45

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caesennius Paetus, Lucius 1st-century Romans 1st-century Roman governors of Syria Flavian dynasty Imperial Roman consuls Ancient Roman generals People of the Roman–Parthian Wars Roman governors of Syria Roman governors of Cappadocia Caesennius Paetus, Lucius Paetus, Lucius Junius 20s births 70s deaths Generals of Nero Generals of Vespasian Ancient Roman adoptees