Lucius Annius Fabianus 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 ...

and general. He used to be considered the

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 ...

for the '' nundinium'' of November–December AD 141, but recent discoveries mean that his consular date is unknown. Fabianus was the first representative of his family in the senate, and thus was a '' novus homo''. Further, he is the first well-known senator from

Mauretania Caesariensis Mauretania Caesariensis (Latin for "Caesarea, Numidia, Caesarean Mauretania") was a Roman province located in present-day Algeria. The full name refers to its capital Caesarea, Numidia, Caesarea Mauretaniae (modern Cherchell). The province had ...

.Edward Dabrowa, ''Legio X Fretensis: A Prosopographical Study of its Officers (I-III c. A.D.)'' (Stuttgart: Franz Steiner, 1993), p. 43 Anthony Birley speculates that Fabianus may have been the son or a relative of the '' eques'' L. Annius C.f. Fabianus, known from an inscription recovered from Caesaria in Mauretania Caesariensis. Birley also notes that the ordinary consul of 201, Lucius Annius Fabianus, was "presumably" his grandson.Birley, ''The Fasti of Roman Britain'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1981), p. 273 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 documented in an inscription recovered from

Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa Ulpia Traiana Augusta Dacica Sarmizegetusa was the Capital (political), capital, the first, and largest city of Roman Dacia, named after ''Sarmizegetusa Regia, Sarmizegetusa'' the former Dacian capital, located some 30 km away. It was foun ...

. Fabianus began as a member of the ''

vigintiviri The ''vigintisexviri'' ( ''vigintisexvir''; ) were a college ( ''collegium'') of minor magistrates (''magistratus minores'') in the Roman Republic. The college consisted of six boards: * the '' decemviri stlitibus judicandis'' – 10 magis ...

'', a preliminary and required first step toward a gaining entry into the Roman Senate. He was allocated to the '' tresviri capitalis'', which was not a prestigious office. He served as

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 ...

Legio II Augusta Legio II Augusta ( Second Legion "Augustus'") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army that was founded during the late Roman Republic. Its emblems were the Capricornus, Pegasus, and Mars. It may have taken the name "''Augusta''" from a victory ...

which was stationed in

Roman Britain Roman Britain was the territory that became the Roman province of ''Britannia'' after the Roman conquest of Britain, consisting of a large part of the island of Great Britain. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. Julius Caes ...

; his service was during the tenure of Quintus Pompeius Falco as governor (118-122). Following this Fabianus held the typical series of republican magistracies:

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 ...

, assigned to the city of Rome; then

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 completing his duties as praetor, he was appointed curator of the

Via Latina The Via Latina (Latin for "Latin Road") was a Roman road of Italy, running southeast from Rome for about 200 kilometers. Route It led from the Porta Latina in the Aurelian walls of Rome to the pass of Mount Algidus; it was important in the ea ...

(c. 132-c. 135), then ''

legatus legionis A legate (Latin: , ) was a high-ranking Roman military officer in the Roman army, equivalent to a high-ranking general officer of modern times. Initially used to delegate power, the term became formalised under Augustus as the officer in comman ...

'' or commander of

Legio X Fretensis Legio X Fretensis ("Tenth legion of the Strait") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. It was founded by the young Gaius Octavius (later to become Augustus Caesar) in 41/40 BC to fight during the period of civil war that started the dissolu ...

stationed in

Judea Judea or Judaea (; ; , ; ) is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the pres ...

(c. 135-c. 138), and finally governor of the imperial province of

Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus ro ...

from 138 to 141. A suffect consulship might have followed. The career of Fabianus after his governorship is not documented.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Annius Fabianus, Lucius 2nd-century Romans Roman governors of Dacia

Fabius In Roman mythology, Fabius was the son of Hercules and an unnamed mother. In "The Life of Fabius Maximus" from the ''Parallel Lives'' by Plutarch, Fabius, the first of his name, was the son of Hercules by a nymph or a woman native to the country, ...