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

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

who held a number of appointments in the imperial service, including the governorship of Britain. He was

suffect consul The consuls were the highest elected public officials of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC). Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum''an ascending sequence of public offices to which politicians aspire ...

succeeding the ''consul posterior'' Publius Dasumius Rusticus as the colleague of the emperor

Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

for March to April 119 AD.

Anthony Birley Anthony Richard Birley (8 October 1937 – 19 December 2020) was a British ancient historian, archaeologist and academic. He was one of the leaders of excavations at of the Roman fortress at Vindolanda and also published several books on Roman ...

notes that Nepos' career "in two important respects was an unusual one for a governor of Britain. In the first place, it is the only example recorded before the time of

Severus Alexander Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander (1 October 208 – March 235), also known as Alexander Severus, was Roman emperor from 222 until 235. He was the last emperor from the Severan dynasty. Alexander took power in 222, when he succeeded his slain c ...

of a man who had begun his career in the least favored post in the vigintivirate, the ''tresviri capitales'', later receiving an emperor's backing in his candidature for a higher post.... Secondly, this is only one of three known instances (the others being those of L. Flavius Silva (''ord''. 81) and C. Bruttius Praesens (II ''ord''. 139) of such men proceeding to the consulship after a single senior praetorian appointment."Birley, ''The ''Fasti'' of Roman Britain'', (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1981) p. 102

Life

It is unclear where he was born and raised, but because he was explicitly described as a friend of the emperor

before his accession, and both share the same tribe (Sergia), Birley states that it is "not improbable" that Nepos came from Southern Spain; he notes that the nomen Platorius is attested in

Baetica Hispania Baetica, often abbreviated Baetica, was one of three Roman provinces created in Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula) in 27 BC. Baetica was bordered to the west by Lusitania, and to the northeast by Tarraconensis. Baetica remained one of ...

.Birley, ''Fasti'', p. 101 In the final years of the 1st century Nepos served as a military tribune with

Legio XXII Primigenia Legio XXII Primigenia ("Fortune's Twenty-Second Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army dedicated to the goddess Fortuna Primigenia. Founded in AD 39 by the emperor Caligula for use in his campaigns in Germania, the XXII ''Primigenia' ...

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

under the eye of the governor of

Germania Superior Germania Superior ("Upper Germania") was an imperial province of the Roman Empire. It comprised an area of today's western Switzerland, the French Jura and Alsace regions, and southwestern Germany. Important cities were Besançon ('' Vesont ...

, who brought him to the attention of

Trajan Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...

, who, in turn, directly supported his candidacy for senatorial offices. Nepos likely became

praetor ''Praetor'' ( , ), also ''pretor'', was the title granted by the government of ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected ''magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to disch ...

in 111, then curator of the three roads in

Etruria Etruria ( ) was a region of Central Italy delimited by the rivers Arno and Tiber, an area that covered what is now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and north-western Umbria. It was inhabited by the Etruscans, an ancient civilization that f ...

in 112 and 113 before becoming legate of

Legio I Adiutrix Legio I Adiutrix ( First Legion "Rescuer"), was a legion of the Imperial Roman army founded in AD 68, probably by Nero or Galba when he rebelled against emperor Nero (r. 54–68). The last record mentioning the ''Adiutrix'' is in 344, when ...

during Trajan's Parthian campaigns. Upon Hadrian assuming the imperial throne, Nepos was made governor of

Thracia Thracia or Thrace () is the ancient name given to the southeastern Balkans, Balkan region, the land inhabited by the Thracians. Thrace was ruled by the Odrysian kingdom during the Classical Greece, Classical and Hellenistic period, Hellenis ...

, then

in the spring of 119. Shortly afterwards he was made

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of Germania Inferior, and while governor received Hadrian during his tour in 121. He accompanied Hadrian to

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

in 122, when he was made governor of that province, and oversaw the construction of

Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall (, also known as the ''Roman Wall'', Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Aelium'' in Latin) is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Roman Britain, Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Ru ...

. He probably brought Legio VI Victrix with him from the continent to assist in the construction and perhaps to replace Legio IX Hispana which had left around 108. His tenure as governor of Roman Britain is securely dated by two military diplomas, one dated to 17 July 122, and the other to 15 September 124. Nepos sought no further office after his time in Britain. Bricks bearing his name, and dated to 134, show he owned a brickworks near Rome. At some point Nepos held the

augur An augur was a priest and official in the ancient Rome, classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the List of Roman deities, gods by studying events he observed within a predetermined s ...

ate. The ''

Historia Augusta The ''Historia Augusta'' (English: ''Augustan History'') is a late Roman collection of biographies, written in Latin, of the Roman emperors, their junior colleagues, Caesar (title), designated heirs and Roman usurper, usurpers from 117 to 284. S ...

'' twice records how Hadrian came to dislike his old friend, which Birley attempts to explain, for the ''Historia'' is considered an unreliable source. Birley suggests that A. Platorius Nepos Calpurnianus, curator of the Tiber in 161, was his son.Birley, ''Fasti'', p. 105

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Platorius Nepos, Aulus 1st-century Romans 2nd-century Romans Roman governors of Thracia Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome Roman governors of Britain Roman governors of Germania Inferior Augurs of the Roman Empire

Nepos Nepos is a Latin word originally meaning "grandson" or "descendant", that evolved with time to signify " nephew". The word gives rise to the term nepotism. It may also refer to: * Cornelius Nepos, a Roman biographer * Julius Nepos, sometimes consi ...