Gnaeus Domitius Lucanus was a Roman

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 ...

and military commander active in the first century AD. His full name is Gnaeus Domitius Afer Titius Marcellus Curvius Lucanus. 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 ...

sometime between 76 and 78.

Early life

Lucanus was the son of Sextus Curvius Tullus of

Gallia Narbonensis Gallia Narbonensis (Latin for "Gaul of Narbonne", from its chief settlement) was a Roman province located in Occitania and Provence, in Southern France. It was also known as Provincia Nostra ("Our Province"), because it was the first ...

, and a woman whose name likely was Titia Marcella. The historian has proposed that Lucanus and his brother Tullus were adopted by a relative named Marcus Epidius Titius Marcellus.

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 ...

explains that their father had been prosecuted by the orator Gnaeus Domitius Afer and was successful in stripping the elder Tullus of his citizenship and wealth; however Afer then made both Lucanus and his brother Gnaeus Domitius Tullus his testamentary heirs, leaving them his fortune on the condition they took his family name as theirs.

Career

His ''

cursus honorum The , or more colloquially 'ladder of offices'; ) was the sequential order of public offices held by aspiring politicians in the Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire. It was designed for men of senatorial rank. The comprised a mixture of ...

'' is recorded in two inscriptions, and provides an outline of his life. Lucanus started his senatorial career likely in his teens as a member of the ''quattuorviri viarum curandarum'', one of the four boards of the '' vigintiviri'', a minor ''

collegium A (: ) or college was any association in ancient Rome that Corporation, acted as a Legal person, legal entity. Such associations could be civil or religious. The word literally means "society", from ("colleague"). They functioned as social cl ...

'' young senators serve in at the start of their careers. This was followed by service as a

military tribune A military tribune () was an officer of the Roman army who ranked below the legate and above the centurion. Young men of Equestrian rank often served as military tribunes as a stepping stone to the Senate. The should not be confused with the ...

with Legio V Alaudae on the Rhine frontier, the same legion his brother Tullus served in. Lucanus then was elected

quaestor A quaestor ( , ; ; "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 officia ...

assisting the

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a Roman consul, 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 ...

ar governor of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. Upon completion of this traditional Republican magistracy, Lucanus would be enrolled in the Senate. Returning to Rome, he proceeded through the next traditional Republican magistracies,

plebeian tribune Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune () was the first office of the Roman state that was open to the plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the power of the Roman Senate ...

and

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 ...

. After his praetorship, Lucanus and his brother were appointed '' legati legiones'', or commanders, of

Legio III Augusta Legio III Augusta ("Third Augustan Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army The Imperial Roman Army was the military land force of the Roman Empire from 27 BC to 476 AD, and the final incarnation in the long history of the Roman army ...

, a posting that included governing the province of

Numidia Numidia was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunisia and Libya. The polity was originally divided between ...

, from the year 70 to 73;

Werner Eck Werner Eck (born 17 December 1939) is professor of Ancient History at Cologne University, Germany, and a noted expert on the history and epigraphy of imperial Rome.Eck, W. (2007) ''The Age of Augustus''. 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell, cover notes. Hi ...

suggests Lucanus handled the civilian responsibilities while Tullus commanded the legion. After this, he and his brother were adlected into the Patrician class by the emperors

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 ...

and

Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September AD 81) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, becoming the first Roman emperor ever to succeed h ...

in 72/73. The exact reason for their elevation is not recorded, but during their

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

Vespasian and Titus promoted a number of people either to the Senate or as Patricians for their support during the Year of Four Emperors. Following his ''adlectio'', Lucanus served as prefect over a vexillation of soldiers who campaigned against German tribes, and for his success he received '' dona militaria'', or military awards, appropriate to his rank. This was followed by his admission into the '' Septemviri epulonum'', one of the four most prestigious ancient Roman priesthoods. Then he was appointed proconsular governor of Africa, assisted by his brother Tullus as his ''legatus'' in 84/85.

Family

If the fact that Lucanus and Tullus held the same office at the same time was not sufficient evidence that these brothers were very close, then Pliny's letter written following Tullus' death from years of living as an invalid, where he gives a clear example of their loyalty to each other, would provide it. Lucanus married the daughter of Titus Curtilius Mancia, suffect consul in 55; her name is not recorded. Together they had a daughter, Domitia Lucilla Maior. However Mancia developed a hatred for Lucanus, and offered to make Lucilla his heir only if Lucanus released her from his power as

paterfamilias The ''pater familias'', also written as ''paterfamilias'' (: ''patres familias''), was the head of a Roman family. The ''pater familias'' was the oldest living male in a household, and could legally exercise autocratic authority over his extende ...

; this would prevent Lucanus from benefiting from the inheritance. This Lucanus did, only to have his brother and her uncle Tullus then adopt her. Domitia Lucilla would later marry Publius Calvisius Tullus Ruso, and their daughter

Domitia Calvilla Calvisia Domitia Lucilla (also known as Domitia Lucilla Minor and Domitia Calvilla, ), was a noble Roman woman who lived in the 2nd century. She is best known as the mother of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Descent Lucilla was the daughter o ...

was the mother of the emperor

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...

. Lucanus may have remarried to

Domitia Longina Domitia Longina ( 50–55 – 126–130s AD) was a Roman empress and wife to the Roman emperor Domitian. She was the youngest daughter of the general and consul Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo. Domitia divorced her first husband, Lucius Aelius Lami ...

.DOMITIA LONGINA: AN UNDERESTIMATED AUGUSTA (c. 53-126/8). p. 242
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Domitius Lucanus, Gnaeus Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome 1st-century Romans 1st-century deaths Roman governors of Africa Epulones of the Roman Empire Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Ancient Roman adoptees Domitii Curvii

Early life

Career

Family

See also

References