Anicetus was the leader of an unsuccessful anti-

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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

uprising in

Colchis In classical antiquity and Greco-Roman geography, Colchis (; ) was an exonym for the Georgian polity of Egrisi ( ka, ეგრისი) located on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, centered in present-day western Georgia. Its population, the ...

in 69 AD. He claimed to be acting on behalf of

Vitellius Aulus Vitellius ( ; ; 24 September 1520 December 69) was Roman emperor for eight months, from 19 April to 20 December AD 69. Vitellius became emperor following the quick succession of the previous emperors Galba and Otho, in a year of civil wa ...

, and destroyed a

cohort Cohort or cohortes may refer to: Cohort Sociological * Cohort (military unit), the basic tactical unit of a Roman legion * Cohort (educational group), a group of students working together through the same academic curriculum Scientific * Cohort ...

and part of the Roman fleet stationed at

Trapezus Trabzon, historically known as Trebizond, is a city on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. The city was founded in 756 BC as "Trapezous" by colonists from Miletus. It was added into the Achaemenid Em ...

.Woods, David (2006). "Tacitus, Nero, and the 'Pirate' Anicetus" in ''Latomus'' 65(3), p. 641 The revolt was put down by the Roman reinforcements under Virdius Geminus, a lieutenant of

Vespasian Vespasian (; ; 17 November AD 9 – 23 June 79) was Roman emperor from 69 to 79. The last emperor to reign in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for 27 years. His fiscal reforms and consolida ...

.Wheeler, Everett L. 2011. "Roman Fleets in the Black Sea", in ''Acta Classica'' pp.125–126 Overtaken at the mouth of the river Chobus (now the

Enguri River The Enguri ( ka, ენგური, tr , , , ''Egry'') is a river in western Georgia. It is long, and has a drainage basin of .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. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...

, the only ancient source to mention him, Anicetus had been a

freedman A freedman or freedwoman is a person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self- ...

of King

Polemon II of Pontus Marcus Antonius Polemon Pythodoros, also known as Polemon II of Pontus and Polemon of Cilicia (; 12 BC/11 BC–74), was a prince of the Bosporan, Pontus, Cilicia, and Cappadocia. He served as a Roman client king of Pontus, Colchis, and Cilicia. ...

, and had commanded the royal fleet. In 64 AD, the

Kingdom of Pontus Pontus ( ) was a Hellenistic kingdom centered in the historical region of Pontus in modern-day Turkey, and ruled by the Mithridatic dynasty of Persian origin, which may have been directly related to Darius the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty. ...

had become a Roman province, and Tacitus implies that Anicetus' rebellion was motivated by his desire to free Pontus from Roman rule. However, David Woods argues that Anicetus should in fact be identified with the prefect of the fleet at Misenum who shared the name, and who was involved in

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...

's murder of his mother, Agrippina. Woods argues that his actions were therefore not those of someone fighting for independence from Rome, but of a Roman hoping to secure a position of power by supporting the Vitellian faction in the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

which followed the death of Nero.Woods, David (2006). "Tacitus, Nero, and the 'Pirate' Anicetus" in ''Latomus'' 65(3), p. 648

References

External links

Roman Fleet
Roman-era pirates Laz people 69 deaths Year of birth unknown 1st-century people 60s in the Roman Empire 1st-century rebels {{AncientRome-bio-stub