Lucius Valerius Poplicola Balbinus Maximus (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

Valerius Balbinus Maximus was 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 ...

which by now had reached Patrician status. He was probably the son of Lucius Valerius Claudius Acilius Priscillianus Maximus, and like his father, he began his career by serving as one of the '' sevir equitum Romanorum'' at the annual review of the

equites 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 then appointed the '' triumvir capitalis'' (or manager of the prisons), probably for a year. Next, he was an imperial candidate for the office of ''

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 ...

'', and this was followed by his candidature for the office of '' praetor tutelaris'' (the official responsible for matters of guardianship), which he probably was nominated for prior to 240.Mennen, pg. 124 Valerius Balbinus Maximus was then appointed as ''

legatus proconsulis 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 officer ...

'' in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

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 ...

. He reached the office of

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 ...

in 253, serving as ''consul posterior'' alongside 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 ( ...

Volusianus, until Volusianus was murdered in the first few months of that year. His imperial successor

Aemilianus Marcus Aemilius Aemilianus ( – September 253), also known as Aemilian, was Roman emperor for three months in 253. Commander of the Moesian troops, he obtained an important victory against the invading Goths and was, for this reason, acclaim ...

may have replaced Valerius Balbinus Maximus with a suffect consul, although Aemilianus himself did not assume the position of consul during his brief reign.Richard Beale
"Roman Imperial Coins of 249–253 A.D."
Sometime between 254 and 260, Valerius Balbinus Maximus served as the ''

curator rei publicae A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

Laurentium Lavinatium item cognoscens ad sacras appellationes'' (curator for the public matters of two Italian towns and deputy judge). His post-consular career saw him remain in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. He served as ''

curator aquarum et miniciae A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

'' (official in charge of the distribution of water and grain 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 ...

), followed by his acting as '' praefectus alimentorum viae Flaminiae'' (or officer responsible for maintaining the

Via Flaminia The Via Flaminia or Flaminian Way was an ancient Roman road leading from Rome over the Apennine Mountains to ''Ariminum'' ( Rimini) on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, and due to the ruggedness of the mountains was the major option the Romans ha ...

and ensuring the provision of food to Rome). However, Valerius Poplicola Balbinus Maximus did not achieve a

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 governorship, nor a second consulship. Valerius Balbinus Maximus was probably the father of Lucius Valerius Messalla, who was

in 280.Mennen, pg. 125

Ancestry

References

Sources

* Mennen, Inge, ''Power and Status in the Roman Empire, AD 193-284'' (2011) {{DEFAULTSORT:Valerius Poplicola Balbinus Maximus, Lucius Poplicola Balbinus Maximus Imperial Roman consuls Lucius, Poplicola Balbinus Maximus Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown