Lucius Vibius Sabinus 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 ...

Senator who lived in the 1st century. His daughter

Vibia Sabina Vibia Sabina (13 August 83–136/137) was a Roman Empress, wife and second cousin once removed to the Roman Emperor Hadrian. She was the daughter of Matidia (niece of Roman Emperor Trajan) and suffect consul Lucius Vibius Sabinus. Early li ...

married the emperor Hadrian.

Biography

Little is known about his family, but Sabinus came from a family of consular rank. He may have been related to

Lucius Junius Quintus Vibius Crispus Lucius Junius Quintus Vibius Crispus (sometimes known as Quintus Vibius Crispus) was a Roman senator and ''amicus'' or companion of the Emperors, known for his wit. He was a three-time suffect consul. Family Crispus came from a family of the eq ...

, three times consul, and his brother

Quintus Vibius Secundus Quintus Vibius Secundus was a Roman Senator who was active during the reigns of Domitian and Trajan. He was suffect consul for the '' nundinium'' of March to April 86. A member of the '' gens Vibia'', Secundus is considered to be the son of the i ...

, consul in 86. Sabinus became the second husband of Trajan's niece Salonia Matidia; he and Matidia had a daughter, Vibia Sabina (August 13th 83-136/137). Sabinus may have died soon after his daughter's birth, for in his funeral speech for Matidia, the emperor Hadrian alludes to her long widowhood.Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius: a biography'', Second Edition (London: Routledge, 2000), pp. 241 , Vibia Sabina married her distant maternal cousin and Trajan's heir, the future emperor Hadrian sometime before the year 101.

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 ...

has argued that a pair of fragmentary inscriptions from Asisium refer to Sabinus; If correct, this would mean he was a member of the ''

septemviri epulonum The (Latin for "feasters"; sing. ''epulo'') arranged feasts and public banquets at festivals and games ''( ludi)''. They constituted one of the four great religious corporations (''quattuor amplissima collegia'') of ancient Roman priests. Esta ...

'', one of the four most prestigious ancient Roman priesthoods.Syme, ''Tacitus'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1958), p. 795 Syme has also argued that, based on a reading preserved in later copies of the ''

Fasti Consulares In ancient Rome, the ''fasti'' (Latin plural) were chronological or calendar-based lists, or other diachronic records or plans of official and religiously sanctioned events. After Rome's decline, the word ''fasti'' continued to be used for simil ...

'' indicating that Sabinus and Arrius Antoninus were consular colleagues, which means he was suffect consul in the year 97—a reading

Theodor Mommsen Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicists of the 19th centu ...

had judged as unreliable. Anthony Birley accepted Syme's argument. In his own study on the suffect consuls of the year 97, Fausto Zevi rejected Syme's argument on several grounds, and argued that "Sabinus" in the later fasti was a corruption for "Piso"—Calpurnius Piso, the name which this portion of the

Fasti Ostienses The ''Fasti Ostienses'' are a calendar of Roman magistrates and significant events from 49 BC to AD 175, found at Ostia, the principal seaport of Rome. Together with similar inscriptions, such as the ''Fasti Capitolini'' and ''Fasti Triumphale ...

supports. Zevi also dismisses the identification of Sabinus with the inscriptions from Asisium as based on insufficient information. Based on an inscription that preserves Hadrian's funeral oration on his dead wife Matidia, Sabinus had died no later than the year 98.

References

External links

* R. Scott Moore
"The Stemmata [sic] of the Good Emperors"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vibius Sabinus, Lucius 1st-century Romans Ancient Roman politicians Senators of the Roman Empire Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome Epulones of the Roman Empire Sabinus

Biography

References

Further reading

External links