Lucius Valerius Messalla (fl. 3rd century) 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 ...

Life

Messalla, a member of the third century

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 ...

, was possibly the son of

Lucius Valerius Messalla Thrasea Priscus Lucius Valerius Messalla Thrasea Priscus (died c. 212) was a Roman senator active during the reigns of Commodus and Septimus Severus. Life Thrasea Priscus was a member of the second century gens Valeria. It is possible he was the son of Lucius Vip ...

and speculatively his wife Coelia Balbina, since the ''cognomen'' Balbinus appears in their great-grandson's name. He apparently did not suffer any repercussions following the purge that saw his father put to death on the orders 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 ( ...

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 ...

in 212, and in fact he was appointed '' consul prior'' in 214, alongside

Gaius Octavius Appius Suetrius Sabinus Gaius Octavius Appius Suetrius Sabinus (fl. 3rd century) was a Roman senator and military officer who was appointed consul twice, firstly in AD 214, and secondly in AD 240. Biography Originating from the town of Histonium, and the son of a sena ...

. It is believed this Messalla was the Valerius Messalla who was the

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 ' ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

sometime between 236 and 238. If so, there must have been some political circumstance that resulted in such a lengthy gap between his consulship and the proconsular governorship.

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 ...

has speculated, due to the combination of both's ''nomina'' and ''cognomina'', that Messalla married Claudia Acilia Priscilliana, daughter of

Tiberius Claudius Cleobulus Tiberius Claudius Cleobulus (165–213AD) was a Roman senator. Life He held the position of suffect consul for one ''nundinium Nundinium was a Latin word derived from the word ''nundinum'', which referred to the cycle of days observed by the Romans ...

and wife and first cousin Acilia Frestana, and that they may have been the parents of Lucius Valerius Claudius Acilius Priscillianus Maximus, who was twice consul.Christian Settipani, ''Continuité gentilice et continuité sénatoriale dans les familles sénatoriales romaines à l'époque impériale'', (2000), pp. 227-228

Ancestry

Notes

References

Sources

* Mennen, Inge, ''Power and Status in the Roman Empire, AD 193-284'' (2011) {{DEFAULTSORT:Valerius Messalla, Lucius Messalla Imperial Roman consuls

Lucius Lucius ( el, Λούκιος ''Loukios''; ett, Luvcie) is a male given name derived from '' Lucius'' (abbreviated ''L.''), one of the small group of common Latin forenames ('' praenomina'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius derives from ...

Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown