Lucius Lusius Geta ( ; fl. 1st-century AD) 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 lette ...

politician in the 1st century AD.

Biography

Lusius Geta belonged to the

equestrian order The ''equites'' (; literally "horse-" or "cavalrymen", though sometimes referred to as "knights" in English) constituted the second of the property-based classes of ancient Rome, ranking below the senatorial class. A member of the equestrian ...

. He was Emperor Claudius' praetorian prefect in AD 48, during the crisis of

Messalina Valeria Messalina (; ) was the third wife of Roman emperor Claudius. She was a paternal cousin of Emperor Nero, a second cousin of Emperor Caligula, and a great-grandniece of Emperor Augustus. A powerful and influential woman with a reputatio ...

's conspiracy against Claudius. According to

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 ...

, Claudius' advisors lacked confidence in Lusius Geta, thinking him too easily influenced; therefore, Claudius' chief advisor Narcissus temporarily relieved Lusius Geta of command after then-Empress

Valeria Messalina Valeria Messalina (; ) was the third wife of Roman emperor Claudius. She was a paternal cousin of Emperor Nero, a second cousin of Emperor Caligula, and a great-grandniece of Emperor Augustus. A powerful and influential woman with a reputatio ...

entered into a bigamous marriage with

Gaius Silius Gaius Silius (died AD 24) was a Roman senator who achieved successes as a general over German barbarians following the disaster of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. For this achievement he was appointed consul in AD 13 with Lucius Munatius Pla ...

in an apparent conspiracy to overthrow her husband as Emperor. (See Valeria Messalina#Downfall, death and aftermath.) However, Lusius Geta maintained the confidence of Claudius himself and remained in office as praetorian prefect until AD 51, although he shared his position with

Rufrius Crispinus Rufrius Crispinus was an equestrian who lived during the later Julio-Claudian dynasty. Under the Roman Emperor Claudius he was the commander of the Praetorian Guard. In 47, he suppressed a rebellion and was promoted by the Senate to the rank of ...

. In AD 51 Claudius' fourth wife Agrippina, fearing that Geta and Crispinus favored Messalina's son and imperial heir Britannicus more than her own son

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 unti ...

, had the pair replaced by Sextus Afranius Burrus.

, ''

Annals Annals ( la, annāles, from , "year") are a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The nature of the distinction between ann ...

'
XII 42.1

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 ...

br>LXI 32.6
/ref> In 54, Claudius appointed Geta governor of Egypt (''

praefectus ''Praefectus'', often with a further qualification, was the formal title of many, fairly low to high-ranking, military or civil officials in the Roman Empire, whose authority was not embodied in their person (as it was with elected Magistrates) but ...

Alexandreae et Aegypti''). He held this post from March 29 to November 17 of that year, when Nero (who had succeeded Claudius on October 13) recalled him to Rome.

References

{{s-end Roman governors of Egypt 1st-century Roman governors of Egypt 1st-century Romans Praetorian prefects

Geta Geta may refer to: Places *Geta (woreda), a woreda in Ethiopia's Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region *Geta, Åland, a municipality in Finland *Geta, Nepal, a town in Attariya Municipality, Kailali District, Seti Zone, Nepal *Get� ...