Gaius Vibius Maximus was an ''

eques Eques, ''horseman'' or ''rider'' in Latin, may refer to: * Equites, a member of the Roman Equestrian order * the Latin word for a knight in chess * '' Eques'', a small genus of fishes in the drum family Sciaenidae Sciaenidae is a family (biolo ...

'' active during the reign of the emperors

Domitian Domitian ( ; ; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was Roman emperor from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavian dynasty. Described as "a r ...

Nerva Nerva (; born Marcus Cocceius Nerva; 8 November 30 – 27 January 98) was a Roman emperor from 96 to 98. Nerva became emperor when aged almost 66, after a lifetime of imperial service under Nero and the succeeding rulers of the Flavian dynast ...

and

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 ...

. His appointments include

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...

Roman Egypt Roman Egypt was an imperial province of the Roman Empire from 30 BC to AD 642. The province encompassed most of modern-day Egypt except for the Sinai. It was bordered by the provinces of Crete and Cyrenaica to the west and Judaea, ...

. Maximus was also a figure in literary circles, and said to have written a history that has not survived.

Life

The earliest step known in Maximus' career is that he was prefect of an ala in

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

A. N. Sherwin-White Adrian Nicolas Sherwin-White, FBA (10 August 1911 – 1November 1993) was a British academic and ancient historian. He was a fellow of St John's College, University of Oxford and President of the Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies. Hi ...

''The letters of Pliny: a historical and social commentary''
(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1966), p. 210 one of the steps of the ''

tres militiae The ''tres militiae'' ("three military posts") was a career progression of the Roman Imperial army for men of the equestrian order. It developed as an alternative to the ''cursus honorum'' of the senatorial order for enabling the social mobility ...

'' that most equestrians followed. The poet

Statius Publius Papinius Statius (Greek language, Greek: Πόπλιος Παπίνιος Στάτιος; , ; ) was a Latin poetry, Latin poet of the 1st century CE. His surviving poetry includes an epic in twelve books, the ''Thebaid (Latin poem), Theb ...

is our source for his next known appointment: in his ''

Silvae The is a collection of Latin occasional poetry in hexameters, hendecasyllables, and lyric meters by Publius Papinius Statius (c. 45 – c. 96 CE). There are 32 poems in the collection, divided into five books. Each book contains a prose pref ...

'' Statius begs Maximus to leave

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

, where he apparently held an appointment as ''

procurator Procurator (with procuracy or procuratorate referring to the office itself) may refer to: * Procurator, one engaged in procuration, the action of taking care of, hence management, stewardship, agency * Procurator (Ancient Rome), the title of var ...

'', and return to Rome to be with his sick son; Statius hopes this son will show an aptitude for writing history like his father. His final known posting was as prefect of Egypt, which he held from 103 to 107. When his friend

Pliny the Younger Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo; 61 – ), better known in English as Pliny the Younger ( ), was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and e ...

heard of Maximus' appointment, he wrote to him on behalf of Arrianus Maturus, a citizen of

Altinum Altinum (in Altino, a ''frazione'' of Quarto d'Altino) was an ancient town of the Adriatic Veneti, Veneti 15 km southeast of modern Treviso, close to the mainland shore of the Lagoon of Venice. It was also close to the mouths of the rivers D ...

, asking Maximus to find a position for Maturus. While governor of Egypt, he issued an edict that a census (''apographa'') be conducted for that province. He is also attested as being requested to make a decision in a lawsuit over a property dispute in

Oxyrhynchus Oxyrhynchus ( ; , ; ; ), also known by its modern name Al-Bahnasa (), is a city in Middle Egypt located about 160 km south-southwest of Cairo in Minya Governorate. It is also an important archaeological site. Since the late 19th century, t ...

. During his tenure Maximus visited the

Colossi of Memnon The Colossi of Memnon ( or ''es-Salamat'') are two massive stone statues of the Pharaoh Amenhotep III, which stand at the front of the ruined Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III, the largest temple in the Theban Necropolis. They have stood since 1 ...

at dawn of 16 February 104 and heard the statue sing. If he is the same Maximus Pliny addressed one of his later letters, then Vibius Maximus was engaged in a fierce rivalry with

Gaius Pompeius Planta Gaius Pompeius Planta was a Roman ''eques'' who was a close associate of the emperor Trajan. He is best known for being ''praefectus'' or governor of Roman Egypt, which he held from 98 to 100 AD. How Planta came to the attention of Trajan is not kn ...

, one of his predecessors as prefect of Egypt.Pliny, ''Epistulae'', ix.1 However, experts believe this Maximus is a different man: Sherwin-White argues that this letter was addressed to

Novius Maximus Novius may refer to: *Decimus Junius Novius Priscus, consul of the Roman Empire in 78 *Quintus Novius, Roman dramatist of the first century BCE *Tiberius Claudius Novius, leading statesman of Athens 41-61 *River Nith, in Scotland; ''Novius'' in Lat ...

. Another possible identification for this Maximus is Maesius Maximus. After he completed his appointment as prefect of Egypt, Vibius Maximus was condemned on a serious charge, suffered ''

damnatio memoriae () is a modern Latin phrase meaning "condemnation of memory" or "damnation of memory", indicating that a person is to be excluded from official accounts. Depending on the extent, it can be a case of historical negationism. There are and have b ...

'', and his name was erased from public inscriptions.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vibius Maximus, Gaius 1st-century Romans 2nd-century Romans 2nd-century Roman governors of Egypt Roman governors of Egypt Maximus, Gaius